Chapter 54- Frozen hearts...will they melt by Deepti

Chapter 54

With just two weeks time for the wedding, Kushi’s focus shifted to the Sangeet preparations and she invited her friend’s home on a Sunday morning to plan for the Sangeet. The girls assembled in her room and were listening to various hit songs, shortlisting the ones which all the four of them agreed upon when  something caught Preeti’s attention and she walked towards the balcony. Even after a minute when she didn’t return and didn’t care to look behind, ” What are you doing there?”, asked Pragya for which she got no response from Preeti.

“Now what is she staring at?”, said Kushi as she got down the bed and went towards Preeti with the other two girls following her. On reaching the balcony they looked in the direction in which Preeti was looking and stood still eyeing the sight in the lawn. There he was, jogging in the lawn in black pants and a grey  sleeveless active wear tee, with the tee hugging his body like a second skin and giving a clear idea of the well toned abs underneath it. He was unaware of the attention he was getting and stopped near the table to grab the water bottle. He uncapped the bottle and poured some water on top of his head while the four girls watched his biceps which looked carved in that angle. As he shook his head making tiny droplets of water travel in all directions, the girls watched him without blinking their eyelids. And when he raised his head to take few sips from the bottle, the movement in his adam’s apple made the girls suck in their breath.

“Man!! He is too hot to resist!!”, said Preeti , breaking Nisha and Pragya’s trance while nothing seemed to effect Kushi’s concentration at that moment. She was still staring at him when Arnav was done drinking water and got a sight of the four girls who were gawking at him.

“RUN!! He saw us”, Pragya squeaked and ran inside and the other two girls followed her leaving a startled Kushi behind. Though the commotion brought her to back to this world, she was little late in reacting and there she stood in the balcony with Arnav looking at her from the lawn with a surprised look on his face. Not wanting to fall in his eyes while she looked here and there in the open sky, running a hand on her hair  pretending that she wasn’t even aware of his presence there, a smirk grew on his face witnessing her attempt to cover up. After looking here and there for few seconds when she looked back at him to check if he was still looking at her, she found him smirking at her. And when his smirk grew into a wide lopsided grin she jerked and ran into the room without looking back.

“Why did you girls run like that leaving me behind?”, asked Kushi, the moment she was back in her  room, mad at her friends for making her look like a fool in front of Arnav.

“What do we know??Pragya asked us to run and we followed her instructions”, replied Nisha pointing her hand at Pragya.

“But why did you want us to run, Pragya?”, asked an equally confused Preeti.

“I don’t know. He looked at us and I got scared about being caught”, answered Pragya innocently.

“Oh come on! We were just looking at him, not trying to steal any of his property. What should we be scared of? It’s not like he is going to sue us for staring at him”, said Preeti addressing the girls.

“He is capable of doing that too”, muttered Kushi hearing which, ” Now what are you muttering?”, asked Preeti.

“Nothing! Let’s just forget about him and get back to work”, she announced in an attempt to divert their attention from the man whose sturdy, muscular physique impressed all the four girls in that room.

“What?Forget HIM?? After seeing that, carved biceps , toned abs, chiseled face and his ravishing features? Impossible!! I bet no girl can forget him that easily after the delightful sight which he offered today”, said Preeti dreamily  hearing which the other two agreed with her while Kushi got carried away. How could she deny any of which Preeti uttered when she herself was bowled by what she just saw.

“I wonder how he  would look if he actually smiled. Never seen him smiling”, said Pragya, which made Kushi recollect the loop sided grin which he just gave her.

“Why don’t you go now and check? For what you all did, he must be laughing at me right now”, complained Kushi crashing on the bed, feeling silly for falling in his eyes.

“Oh come on, Kushi! What did we even do?”, questioned Preeti sitting next to Kushi.

“How can you even ask me that question? Don’t you know what you girls did?”,  she asked and when the girls stared at each other and shrugged their shoulders, “Mud heads, You all were drooling over him!!”, she said hitting Preeti with a pillow.

“What’s the need to stare him like that as if you were seeing someone exercising for the first time. Haven’t you seen anyone like that before?”, she asked her friends.

“Have seen in some movies but not in real life,Kushi. He is the my first”, replied Nisha innocently for which Kushi gave an annoyed look to her,

“I don’t get why you are so mad at us when you yourself were drooling over him”, questioned Preeti putting Kushi in a fix.

“What? ME? Have you gone mad?”, reacted Kushi sitting upright on the bed.

“Don’t bluff. I noticed how you were staring him.More than us we feel you are the one who was more interested in his muscles”, teased Preeti, pulling Kushi’s leg.

“Oh just shut up!”, said Kushi, trying to cover up.

“But Kushi, if we were drooling over him, we have a reason that we have never seen anything or anyone like that. But why were you drooling over him? You both live in the same house, don’t you get to see this daily?”, inquired Pragya.

Before Kushi could respond, “Yes, Why were you looking at him as if it was your first time too?”, asked Preeti.

“Because, it was indeed my first time seeing him like that”, blurted Kushi and then realized what she had accepted seeing the looks on her friends’ faces.

“There she is! Look how she herself accepted that she indeed was eyeing him…liiike thaaat”, said Preeti winking an eye at Kushi.

And when all the girls started giggling in response, Kushi took a pillow and started hitting each one of them and they too picked up the pillows and started hitting her back. The pillow fight lasted for few minutes with the girls hitting each other and when they were finally done, they all fell flat on the bed and laughed.

“Between Kushi, does he exercise daily at the same time?”, asked Preeti very casually.

“What’s your interest in knowing that?”, said Kushi.

“Nothing major. Just want to pay  a daily visit to your home at that time”, Preeti paused and then added, ” To get a glimpse of your demigod”, to tease Kushi.

As Kushi pushed her elbow into Preeti’s rib, hitting her gently, ” Ouch!”, screamed Preeti while Kusi warned her saying, ” Not a word more about him”.

“Fine fine! You can have him all to yourself”, replied Preeti for which she got one more shot from her friend.

Soon,they gave a break to their girly talk and got back to selecting songs for the sangeet and after three hours of debate and non stop arguments they finalized the song for which they would be performing. They started choreographing the steps when they got a call for lunch and when the girls were coming downstairs  they were delighted to find Arnav at the dining table.

“Look who he is here”, remarked Pragya on noticing him while Nisha said, ” How come he looks good in anything he wears”, eyeing the man who was dressed in a dark blue tee-shirt paired with a light blue denim jeans.

“I wonder how he looks without anything”, whispered Preeti in Kushi’s ears for which Kushi slapped on Preeti’s arm saying, ” Oh my God!, You are becoming more shameless day by day”.

“Come on! What’s so shameless about it. I said I’m just wondering how he would look, not that I actually want to see him like that”, replied Preeti which made Kushi turn all red.

“Enough! Just shut your mouth now. I don’t want to hear even one more word about him. And I’m warning you all. You better behave at the table. Don’t stare at him shamelessly and make me look like an idiot”, warned Kushi, before the girls approached the dining table.

Since Arnav, Anjali and Rishi were already seated on one the side of the table,leaving the other side for Kushi and her friends, Preeti moved ahead to take the seat opposite to Arnav’s. But before she could grab that chair, Kushi set her hand on it and pulled it backwards, warning Preeti to not even think about it.

“Why did you steal my seat?”, whispered Preeti taking the seat next to Kushi.

“To stop you from drooling over him”,whispered back Kushi

“Why don’t you accept that you want all his attention”, Preeti murmured for which Kushi asked her to shut her mouth.

“No matter how many times you try to shut my mouth I have a feeling that you have a crush on him. Accept it”, said Preeti secretly for which Kushi narrowed her gaze and gestured Preeti to keep quiet.

Soon lunch was served for the girls and when Preeti picked up her spoon, it slipped out of her hand and fell on the floor. Though she was offered a replacement, she went under the table to find the lost one and noticed the duo’s legs which were opposite to each others. As a silly thought crossed her head she giggled and came up, sat in her chair properly and  waited for two good minutes before implementing her thought.

Giving a glance to the others who were busy in eating, she moved her left foot and kicked Arnav’s feet which made Arnav jerk and say , “What the!”, staring at Kushi.

Not understanding why he was looking at him while Kushi stared back at him blankly, “What happened, Arnav?”, asked Anjali.

“Nothing!”, he replied looking at Kushi though he didn’t understand why she kicked him.

Once everyone resumed eating, Preeti repeated her actions which made Arnav bark at Kushi, ” What’s wrong with you?”, he asked for which Kushi looked at him all confused.

“Whatever”, he mumbled and picked his phone to check his mails when Preeti kicked him again and this time Kushi figured out what was happening.

“Kushi !!”, he uttered  looking straight at her for which she gave him a sheepish grin and pinched Preeti on her thigh.

While Preeti tried her best to not let the scream escape her mouth, ” What’s going on here? Will someone care to tell us?”, asked Anjali looking at Arnav and Kushi.

Before Arnav could open his mouth, “Nothing Di. Something is wrong with my ankle and when I’m stretching my leg looks like he is getting hit”, said Kushi.

“What happened to your ankle?”, he asked instantly and the concern in his eyes didn’t go unnoticed by her.

“Nothing major. It’s just a sprain”, she told him but somehow felt bad for lying to him.

He opened his mouth to say something but realizing that there were people around them, he shut it and resumed eating.

After lunch when the others vacated the dining table leaving Kushi and her friends alone , Kushi took a good class to Preeti and told the other two what a trouble her friend was.
And the  girls had a hearty laugh at Kushi’s expense and later resumed their dance practice.

At bedtime, when she was all alone in the comfort of her room, she couldn’t help but think about the morning encounter with him and his smile got registered in her head like never before. Covering her face with the blanket, she dozed off, unknown of the surprise which would wake her up in the morning.

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Feeling her blanket being tugged, she  held it tightly and turned to one side on the bed. But when the blanket was completely pulled, waking her up, she got up, to scream at the person who tried to bother her when she was sleeping. She opened her eyes and mouth to shout at the person but when she realized who it was, “Buaji!!!”, she screamed in excitement and jumped off the bed.

“What a pleasant surprise”, she said giving a bear hug to Madhu and shook her up.

“Stop screaming or my ear drums will explode”, said Madhu responding to the hug.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were coming? Does anyone know about it or is it a surprise to everyone?”, inquired Kushi releasing her aunt from the hug.

“Everyone knows except you. I wanted it to be a surprise to you”, replied Madhu looking fondly  at Kushi.

“I’m so glad to see you. We missed you so much during Di’s engagement”, said Kushi.

“I know. I too missed you all.That’s one reason why I came so early for the wedding. Didn’t want to miss any event”, replied Madhu.

“Super! Give me 10 minutes. Will  freshen up and come and we both can have our breakfast together. There is a lot to catch up”, said Kushi dashing towards the restroom.

She later came downstairs after taking bath and seeing the girl who was dressed in a magenta color salwar suit, “She was a doll since childhood. But now, she became more prettier”, remarked Madhu, who was waiting with Devyani at the breakfast table.

“Can’t disagree with that fact”, replied Devyani looking at Kushi, who joined them at the table.

“So Buaji, tell me now. How is everything going on in Mumbai. When is uncle going to come?”, Kushi shot her questions taking a seat next to Madhu. While Madhu was filling her with the answers Arnav came to have his breakfast and was surprised to see Madhu there. He greeted her and took her blessings which instantly impressed Madhu. She was glad to see that in spite of living abroad for many years, Arnav was still the same.

He went to sit in the chair opposite to Kushi but before doing so,  he bent and checked below the table which surprised the elder ladies.

“What are you looking for?”, asked Devyani for which he said, ” Nothing Dhadhi”, though he murmured, ” Just making sure that I don’t get kicked today as well”.

And since his murmur reached her ears Kushi was embarrassed and cursed Preeti for it. She didn’t dare to look at him and finished her breakfast pretending that he was nowhere around. After breakfast when he left to work, she breathed a sigh a relief and got back to her usual self with her aunt.She spent a good amount of time with her and later realized that she was running late for the movie which she planned to watch with her friends. She thought of dropping her plan but when Madhu insisted her not to do so, Kushi went ahead and met her friends. She spent the evening with them and after collecting some dresses from her workplace, she returned home late in the evening.

“Did you go to watch a single movie or more than two?”, Sakshi asked seeing her daughter enter the house.

“Please Maa. Not now, I’m really tired”, replied Kushi, dumping the bags in her hand  in a vacant spot on the couch.She instructed the driver, who followed her with few more bags to place the bags there and leave for the day.

“What are all these”, asked Aarthi, looking at the bags which were piled in the couch.

“Give me few minutes, I’ll freshen up and come and then I will show what’s inside these bags. Till then you ladies have to wait”, replied Kushi who went towards her room. She came back in no time and was glad to find the men back from their work.

Having everyone assembled in the living room, Kushi stepped forward and opened the first four bags. “Here are the saris which I designed for you ladies,  for the wedding”, she said passing on the saris to Sakshi, Aarthi, Devyani and Madhu.

Madhu was utterly shocked and surprised to know that Kushi designed one for her too and she couldn’t hold back her surprise. ” You got one done for me too?”, she asked looking at the Sari which Kushi passed her.

“How can I forget my favorite Buaji”, replied Kushi giving her a wink. “Do you like it?”, she asked helping Madhu unfold the sari.

” It’s beautiful Kushi… just like you”, responded a happy Madhu, checking the sari in her hand.

“You know what, there was one problem when I was designing the blouse”, said Kushi.

“What’ that?”, asked Madhu examining the blouse and Kushi whispered something in her ear for which she got a slap on her arm in response.

“Along with you,your naughtiness seems to be growing too. Wait and watch. One day you too will put on a lot if weight and then I will make fun of you”, said Madhu hearing which  everyone smiled understanding what Kushi might have said to Madhu.

“I will never give you that chance, Buaji”, replied Kushi showing her tongue out to Madhu.

“Let’s see”, responded Madhu for which ” Let’s see”, replied Kushi.

“What about my outfits? Are they in those bags?”, asked Anjali pointing to the bags which were still unopened.

“You need to wait, Di. Your outfits will be ready in  a week. But don’t worry, you will get them on time. These bags have the sherwanis”, replied Kushi opening the four bags which Anjali was referring to.

She passed two boxes to Aakash and Shashi and after asking them to have a look at the stuff inside, she picked the two leftover boxes and walked towards the couch where Rishi and Arnav were sitting.

She gave a box to Rishi and then  extended the other box  hesitatingly towards Arnav. He was glad to know that she made  one for him too and took the box readily.

“Open it and see if you like it”, she said looking at Rishi but somehow Arnav felt that those words were addressed to him.

While the men got busy in opening their boxes the women praised Kushi for her work. “How come you know so well about everyone’s choice.I just love the work and the color”, said Sakshi, draping her sari on her shoulder.

“I couldn’t have bought anything better than this for Anjali’s wedding, Kushi. The pattern on this sari is so beautiful and the details are just lovely”, said Aarthi appreciating Kushi and her work.

As Kushi flashed a broad smile hearing the comments, Arnav got lost in her smile  forgetting about the box which was lying on his laps. She didn’t notice that his eyes were on her as she herself was staring her father who seemed to be lost somewhere.

She went to him and sitting on the hand rest of his chair, ” What’s it Babuji? Don’t you like the sherwani?”, she asked her father.

“No Kushi. Nothing like that”, replied Shashi coming out of his thoughts,

“Then what is it that’s bothering you?”, she asked him again.

“It’s just that, along with Anjali you too would be leaving this house and us, soon.. in few weeks time”, he said and paused.

“Now where is she going?? Are you planning to get her married too ?? Is there something which I’m not aware of ??”, asked a confused Madhu, who was clueless about  Kushi’s London trip.

“Buaji, it’s not about my wedding. I’m going to London to study there”,replied Kushi to clear Madhu’s confusion.

“Ya, and she is going to be there for a year”, added Sakshi.

“Seriously!!! But Sakshi,why are you sending her abroad? Do you think she  will  be able to leave all of us and live there for a year?”, asked a surprised Madhu who knew that Kushi never lived apart from her family.

“It’s totally her decision, Madhu. And we are with her in this. It’s just a matter of a year. She will be fine”, replied  Sakshi which made Kushi admire her mother. As the mother,daughter duo exchanged a smile, ” When are you supposed to be there, Kushi?”, asked Aakash.

“The first day of the school is on June 18th, Papa. I may have to be there by 15th or so”, replied Kushi.

“Hmmm.. So you and Di will be departing in a weeks difference”, remarked Rishi making some mental calculations and when Kushi responded with a nod, ” You have only three weeks left, Kushi. After that I will be the one who would get  your and Di’s share of pampering too”, he said lifting his collar.

“Just three weeks? “,the very thought of it made Kushi get carried away and all of a sudden she became sad thinking that soon she would have to leave everyone and live abroad for an year. Though she was prepared for it, somehow Rishi’s words affected her making her  realize that she has only few days left.

“Both our girls would be leaving soon and this house wouldn’t be the same without them”, said Devyani sadly, which made everyone get lost in their own thoughts. While tears beamed in Kushi’s and Anjali’s eyes seeing the gloomy faces around them, complete silence prevailed in that room for few minutes.

And seeing the girl who had handled a similar situation very efficiently in the past, sitting idle and lost in her own world, Arnav decided to take charge. He opened his box making a sound and said, ” Let me see what’s in this. Hope it’s not something disappointing”, to get everyone’s attention. And he was successful in his attempt as everyone around him, except for one , halted their thoughts and composing themselves, looked at him.

As he pulled out the half white sherwani and held it up with both his hands, ” Isn’t that beautiful. What do you think Arnav”, asked his mother and when he shot a glance at the girl who still seemed to be elsewhere, ” Not bad. But definitely not something which I would wear for the wedding”, he replied pretty loudly making Kushi come back to this world.

“How can you say that. It will look very good on you”, said Anjali pulling the sherwani from his hand. She held it against his body and looked at the others for the response.

And as his previous words didn’t sync in her head Kushi looked at the siblings all confused as it took her few seconds to process what was happening there.

“Come on, Di. I already said it. It might be good but not to that extent where I would wear it for  your wedding. I will get something else”, he said  firmly without even looking at the girl getting whose attention was his target.

“What? Did he just say that he would get something else for the wedding?How dare he? I spent hours to design this for him and he???”, the designer in her felt insulted and the tigress  woke up from her sleep. “Come again!! What did you just say?”, she asked marching towards the siblings.

“Were your ears blocked?”, he replied carelessly to rile her up.

Gritting her teeth, ” I heard you, but what I’m asking is what made you say that”, said Kushi angrily and when he rolled his eyes in response, ” What’s wrong with this dress?Why won’t you wear it for the wedding”, she questioned placing her hands on either side of her waist, forgetting all about the thoughts which made her sad few minutes ago.

“I never said that something is wrong with it. I just said that I will get something else. Got it”, he replied in a tone as if he was enlightening her.

“That is what I’m asking. Why something else and not this one?”, she asking pushing Anjali aside and moving towards him.

“Why should I tell you?”, he replied watching her every move.

“YOU SHOULD!! Because I’m the designer of this dress. And if you think it’s not so good for you  then you need to also say what’s that which is not so good about it. I need one good reason and I need it now”, she said demanding him to answer.

“I don’t think I need to answer that”, came the arrogant reply from him.

While the words war between them continued, “Oh God! These two started again. Will they ever stop fighting?”, said Sakshi addressing Aarthi.

“I think it’s better to have dinner now. Once they get tired with their argument, they will join us. Let’s go”, replied Aarthi raising from her seat and she gestured others to follow her.

While Kushi was so engrossed in the argument that she didn’t pay any attention to what was happening around her, Arnav just waited for everyone to leave.

“They haven’t changed a bit. Still fighting the same way they used to in their childhood”, mumbled Madhu before leaving the room for which Anjail giggled and placing the Sherwani in her hand on the couch, she too followed her aunt.

“Come on, say it”, Kushi asked when she was just a feet away from him and when he stood still without uttering a word, ” Now why are you standing like a statue? Answer me! You have to tell me what’s bad in my design. Until then, I’m not going to leave you”,  she said going onto him, as she was totally unaware that they were left alone in that living room, hoping to extract a reply from him.

But since Arnav had other plans, the moment she came close to him, he wrapped his right arm around her waist and in a swift movement pulled her towards himself, making her crash against his chest.

Though she was astonished with his actions, “What are you doing??”, she managed to say looking around, while her hands rested on his chest.

“There is no one around”, he said noticing the surprise in her eyes as she looked around.

” Where did they go?”, she asked turning her head to the other side, checking if there was anyone nearby.

“Dining hall”, he replied looking at her.

“When?? How come I didn’t notice”, she asked still surprised, without trying to free herself.

“Because your eyes were glued on me”, he teased her which made her flush.

“What rubbish! Leave me”, she said wiggling in his grip.

“Just now you said you will not leave me and now you are asking me to leave you?”, asked Arnav tilting his head.

“Leave me!Someone might see us like this”, said Kushi looking in the direction of the dining hall.

“Oh!! So you have no problem to stay like this if no one sees us like this?”, teased Arnav, bringing her more closer to his body. While that closeness affected her senses, “What! No! I didn’t mean it that way. Leave me”, said Kushi trying to push him away with her hands. She felt her heat racing and could feel his heartbeat under her hand and the cologne which filled her head didn’t let her think straight.

“First you make a choice. Will you not leave me or should I not leave you”, he whispered coming close to her, confusing her with his words and nearness.

“What??? It makes no sense…first you leave me”, she replied standing still, as her cheeks started reddening.

“What happened??? Just a while ago you were coming onto me like a tigress and now you are standing like a kitten ?? What happened Kushi??”, he whispered in her ear and breathed on her ear lobe, which sent shivers down her spine.

As he brought her more closer, her mouth went dry and not a word escaped her mouth as all she was thinking was about the contact between their bodies.

“Say something! I’m waiting”, he said though he knew that it’s tough for her talk in a position like this. He knows her weak point. Doesn’t he? A smirk appeared on his face looking at the girl who was turning all red.

“I.. I”, she tried to say when Sakshi’s voice interrupted their conversation.”Are you both done or still fighting”, shouted Sakshi from the dining hall which made Arnav leave Kushi instantly. Scared that her silence would make her mother check on them, ” Coming Maa”,shouted back Kushi. She took a step towards the dining hall and that’s when her eyes fell on the Sherwani which Anjali left on the couch. And as his eyes followed her gaze, as if he read her mind, he reacted fast and grabbed the dress before she could get her hands on it.

She looked at him all confused and said, ” Give it back to me”, extending her hand towards the sherwani.

“I won’t”, came his response.

“You said you will not wear it. Then what will you do with it?”, asked Kushi

“I will do whatever I feel like. It’s mine”, he replied.

“Since when?”, she asked sarcastically.

“From the moment it was being made for me”, came his reply which made her speechless.
Shaking her head she  tried to pull it from his hand but he moved his hand away just in time saying, ” A aa.. you need to come  closer if you want to get your hold on it”, with a smirk on his face, knowing that she wouldn’t dare to do that.

And since she understood his intentions, she stomped her foot and giving up, she went towards the dining room.

“Just for your information…. anything that belongs to me…stays with me ….FOREVER….. so don’t expect to get it back”, he added as he followed her and as she stopped and looked at him,” I was talking about this”, he said showing the dress to her and went away, leaving her behind.

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