Chapter 41Frozen hearts...will they melt by Deepti

Chapter 41

Sensing that he was still in a state of shock, she tried to escape from there. But when her slight movement alerted him,  he tightened  his grip around her and Kushi panicked.

“And YOU!! Where are you trying to escape now?”, he asked huskily as he pulled her closer.

While his husky voice melted her insides, his close proximity made her tremble.

“I…I”, she uttered as she searched for words.

“After all that you spoke about me, how could you even think that you can get away that easily from me?”, he asked looking keenly into her hazel brown orbs.

Fearing what might follow, her brain searched for an escape route and found one instantly.

“Di!!!”, she said aloud looking over Arnav’s shoulder, hearing which he jerked and took his hand off her, setting her free. But when he turned around to address his sister, he was surprised to find no one there. He looked for Anjali, and spotted her at the other end of the room dancing with her partner. Understanding that he had been tricked he turned back and was not at all surprised to find the spot vacant.

While Kushi took a deep breathe of relief once she made sure that she was nowhere in his vicinity,   “Damn!! I won’t let you go that easily”,  mumbled Arnav as his eyes searched for her in that hall filled with people

Taking a seat at the vacant table which was at one corner of the hall, Kushi grabbed the water bottle lying there.After taking few sips from it she started her retrospective thinking, “Was it required to talk all that nonsense about him. I don’t have any control over my tongue.Now see where I landed myself. He will not let me go that easily“.

She was placing the bottle back on the table  when she felt someone taking the chair next to her. Fearing that it was Arnav, she raised her head slowly and was glad to find a complete stranger dressed in a black suit, joining her at the table.

“Hi”, said the guy as soon as he got her attention.

She greeted back and looked away.

“You are beautiful. Can I have a dance with you”, he asked coming straight to the point.

“Sorry, but I’m in no mood to dance”, she replied rejecting his offer bluntly.

“No problem. Can we at least have a drink?”, he asked without any hesitation.

“No”, came her curt reply.

“How about a talk?”, he asked enthusiastically.

“NO! Can you please leave me alone”, she almost yelled as she banged her hands on the table getting irritated with his scrutinizing looks.

Trying to place his hand on hers, he said, “Hey chill! I was just trying to be frei…”, and stopped midway when a rugged hand came in his way.

As her eyes traveled along the length of that rugged hand, Kushi was relieved to find Arnav there. She instantly raised from the chair and took the spot right next to him, while he said, ” She is with me”.

“Oh! I thought she is single”, said the guy raising from his seat.

“No. She is not”, came the reply from Abhay, as he joined the trio.

“Go find someone else dude. She is taken”, said Abhay as he gestured his friend to exit from there.

Shaking his head as the guy walked away from them, ” He is one of the biggest flirts on earth and unfortunately, my friend. Hope he didn’t cause any inconvenience?”, inquired Abhay.

As Kushi shook her head in negative, Abhay smiled and asked, ” Good. Between, why aren’t you guys on the dance floor when all other couples are right there?”

“We were about to go”, replied Arnav, hearing which Kushi became all alert.

“Cool! Then let’s go”, said Abhay gesturing Kushi to take the lead. And as Kushi looked at the man who answered on behalf of her, she shuddered looking at the smirk on his face.

“Kushi, you are dead. Why did you even come to this party”,  thought Kushi as she took the lead and walked towards the dance floor feeling his constant gaze piercing her from behind. And Arnav followed her thinking, “ Where will you go now?”

On reaching the dance floor,  Abhay left them all alone and walked away, leaving the prey at the mercy of the hunter. Kushi stood rooted to her spot for few seconds and when she dared to lift her head and look at him, she felt a chill run down her spine on finding his gaze fixed on her.

As her eyes met with his, he extended his hand and kept his palm right in front of her, with the smirk not leaving his face.

Kushi stared at his palm as she thought, ” Do I have to accept the open invitation?”.

She looked in the direction in which Abhay went and on finding him showing cheers to her, she muttered,  ” As if I have a choice”.

She looked back at the man how had his smirk glued to his face and cursed her fate. Hesitatingly, she lifted her right hand and placed her fingers in his palm.And he instantly wrapped his fingers around hers. With her hand in his grip, he tugged her towards him and Kushi would have collided with him had she not placed her left hand on his chest to stop herself from hitting his torso.

As he bent his head and looked at the hand which was resting on his chest, his smirk grew wider, and on noticing this Kushi tried to withdraw her hand. But as if he read her mind, he ruined her plan by catching her hand midway and made her  to place it on his right shoulder.

As she stood like a doll,without objecting his actions, he placed his right hand on the side of her waist and raised his eyebrows as if he wanted to know what her reaction was. And when she looked down to control the nervousness which was taking a toll on her, he started dancing by swaying his body very gently in line with the soft music which the DJ was playing. And to her utter surprise she found herself swaying with  him in unison, with no effort from her side.

While the smirk didn’t leave his face, her eyelids didn’t dare to raise. And  Arnav thoroughly enjoyed her situation. With his gaze fixed on her face, he kept dancing giving her enough time to relax.

And when Anjali spotted the couple she was awestruck.

“Rishi, are you seeing what I am seeing or am I dreaming”, she asked Rishi who was standing next to her.

“What is it Di?”, asked Rishi not getting the point.

“Look there!”, said Anjali showing the stunning couple in blue attires to Rishi.

“Hmm. I see them. They are dancing. What’s the big deal?”, asked Rishi as he shrugged his shoulders and got back to playing on his phone.

Anjali slapped on his shoulder and said, ” What’s the deal? They are Arnav and Kushi,  Rishi. Arnav and Kushi. Did you ever think that you would see them together like this?”

“True Di. I never thought that our Tom and Jerry could dance together”, replied Rishi,  as he rubbed his shoulder.

As Anjali glared at him “Sorry! Arnav and Kushi”, said Rishi correcting himself.

“I wish Dhadhi was here”, said Anjali dreamily as she looked back at the ravishing couple.

“Why? You want to see her dance too?”, asked Rishi genuinely.

While Anjali glared back at him he said, ” Oops!Sorry” and escaped from there.

” How cute they look together.I wish you were here Dhadhi” thought Anjali, as she stared at her brother and Kushi.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Karan, who said, “Sorry…it was an urgent call…had to take it”. And as Anjali responded with a smile, he led her back to the dance floor and soon got all of her attention.

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After three minutes, when he sensed that she had finally got used to him and his intimacy,  ” Now, tell me”, said Arnav, all of a sudden, breaking the silence which had been prevailing  between them.

“Tell what?’, she asked, raising her head for the first time in those past three minutes, with a confused look on her face.

“The same thing which you were telling, Shriya”,  mentioned Arnav.

“Oh that. It was nothing. Was just trying to help you out”, replied Kushi with a sheepish grin on her face.

“Really!!!”, he asked for which she nodded her head.

“So, what do I do in PRIVATE, Kushi?”, he asked with innocence all over his face hearing which Kushi felt like hiding somewhere.

As his words turned her cheeks red, Kushi looked away, though her body was in full sync with his.

Glad with the state in which he landed her, he repeated his question saying, ” You didn’t answer my question, Kushi. What do I do in private?”

Gathering her courage she looked at him and when she saw his raising his brow with the smirk back on his face, she instantly dropped down her gaze.

“See.. I didn’t mean it that way. That girl’s understanding went in a different tangent to what I actually said.  I never said anything like that”, said Kushi without looking at him.

“True. You never said anything. Nothing like Grumpy, Monstor uncle… right”, he asked as he twirled her around.

Kushi bit her tongue and realizing that she had no way to escape she said, ” Actually, I had to say all those just to damage your image so that she never comes back to you”.

“And why do you want her not to come for me?”, he asked putting her in a fix.

“So that you could be saved from her torture”, she replied instantly.

“Was that the only reason?”, he questioned.

“Was that the only reason?”, she asked herself and somehow felt that it was not the actual reason why she wanted to get rid of Shriya.” Then what might be the real reason?”. She had no clue.

While Kushi was in her own world, the music changed and  Arnav stopped twirling her and pulled her towards him. But since she was lost in her thoughts and was not at all prepared for that move, she went and banged right against his chest. While her chin landed on his left shoulder, her eyes got ready to pop out of their sockets as she realized that she was literally hugging him, with no gap between their torsos.

Though it was not something which he had anticipated, Arnav was thrilled to have her glued to his body. His eyes got closed the moment she collided with him and as he felt  her soft curves against his hard torso,  some strange sensations took root inside him, which were so alien to him. And as it was something which he had never experienced, he completely lost control and got carried away as if he was in a state of trance.

As she spotted Anjali at a distance, Kushi became aware of the  compromising position she was in and tried to move apart. But she failed in her attempt as Arnav did something which surprised her to the core. As soon as his senses sensed the decrease of pressure on his chest, his hand involuntarily went behind her and brought her closer, there by exerting more pressure.  And as he hugged her, Kushi’s mind froze and her heart beat raced. She remained like that for a minute in his embrace and when she finally found her voice, she said, ” What …. a….re…..you…. do…ing”.

Though her voice was a mere whisper, it broke his trance and Arnav shot opened his eyes. As soon as he realized the compromising position they were in, he jerked and moved apart, taking his hand off her and leaving her hand which was in his hold.

As they  pulled apart they felt the instant loss and were kind of confused. Not able to face each other they  turned away and stood with their backs facing each others.  While Kushi stood there with her hand on her heart, in an attempt to calm down her racing heart, Arnav was utterly confused with his behavior.

Badly in need of some air and space to set their thoughts straight, both parted their ways and went in opposite directions. While Kushi found a secluded spot near the lobby, Arnav went  to the lawn to get some fresh air. He raked his hand in his hair as the thoughts in his head seemed jumbled.

“What was I trying to do just a while ago? She banged against me and I? Why did I not let her go? What must have she thought about me. Damn!! How will I face her now??”, he asked himself as he stared at the wide open sky.

And there near the lobby, Kushi had no clue what was happening to her. Forget about calming her heart, what should she do to her cheeks which were turning hot with each fleeting second. The very thought of him was pumping more blood into them.

“God!! What did just happen. Did he literally hug me?”, she mumbled and felt the heat in her cheeks take a hike.  The feeling was so new to her and as she recollected the way she remained his embrace, the redness on her cheeks took a deeper shade.

Interrupting their thoughts, their phones buzzed and on getting a call for the dinner from Anjali and Rishi, both walked back into the function hall though they were not yet ready to face each other. They entered the hall from opposite directions and as soon as their eyes met, they looked away to avoid any eye contact with the opposite person. While it was shyness that was holding back one, it was embarrassment that was bothering the other.

They were successful in avoiding each other for the rest of the party but were not at all aware that they were being closely watched. The party ended around 1.00 a.m and as soon as they all got into their car, Anjali started her questionnaire.

“What’s wrong with you two?  For a moment I find you both dancing together and the next moment  I find you both going in different tangents. I have been noticing you both all the while. If Arnav is anywhere around, you are walking away and if Kushi is anywhere around, you are running away. Did you both fight again??”, she asked addressing the duo.

As he looked in the rear view mirror, his gaze met with  hers. But the instant the hug they shared flashed before their eyes, they broke the eye contact and looked away.

“No, Di”, replied both in unison and  as their answer slipped from their mouths, their gaze met again.

“Then what went wrong? You both were dancing so nicely on the dance floor. But didn’t see you talking to each other after that. Forget about  talking, you weren’t even looking at each other in the eye and were avoiding each other as best as you can.  Did something happen during the dance?”, asked Anjali.

As Anjali’s questions made them revisit the moment they shared, both got carried away with their own thoughts.

“For Gods sake. I’m asking something. Will someone care to answer me?”, asked Anjali looking at the duo who were in their own world.

“Chill Di! They must be tired . Just leave them alone”, said Rishi looking at Arnav who seemed to be lost somewhere.

“Yes Di. I was just tired. Nothing more than that”, said Kushi picking up the line from Rishi’s words. As the expression on her face was quite convincing, Anjali got convinced and said, ” Glad to know that. Unnecessarily, I got worried that something major must have happened between you to. Good that nothing happened and the party went well”.

And the duo who knew what major happened between them, couldn’t help but stare at each others eyes on hearing Anjali’s words.

The rest of the drive went in complete silence as Anjali got busy in chatting with Karan, and Rishi in playing temple run on his phone. Soon their 30 minutes silent drive came to an end and as soon as Arnav stopped the car, Rishi hopped out of the car and went inside. Arnav too got down and was coming around the car when he heard his sister say, ” Oh no! She is asleep!!”.

As he bent and looked inside , he found Kushi in a deep slumber. With her head resting on the head rest and with her hands in her lap, the lady in the blue gown looked ravishing, with the moon light adding the additional glow to her face.

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-Deepti ©

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