Rushing to
see her, he stumbled and almost fell down in the middle of the busy
airport.
"Stop
laughing!" he chided her on the phone, "Where are you?"
"I can
see you falling for me!" she chuckled.
He spun
around, scanning the area, phone close to his ear. He heard the call
being disconnected and almost simultaneously he was poked in his
back.
He turned
around, and there she was, all smiles. All laughter, to be precise.
"Finally!"
he breathed out.
She nodded,
shaking with laughter.
"It
wasn't that funny!" he frowned.
"It was.
You weren't watching yourself." she grinned, extending her hand
to pinch his nose.
He embraced
her as she did so.
"Nice to
finally see you!"
"Aw!"
she patted his head, giggling.
"Could've
been more expressive." he muttered, pushing her luggage trolley
and walking out in the general direction of his car.
She followed
him, with a renewed round of laughter.
"Do you
ever stop laughing?" he asked, stuffing her stuff on the
backseat of his car.
"Nice
drive!" she commented, checking out his massive SUV.
"Would
you take a bit of interest in me? Or, at least feign it?" he
said, leaning against the passenger door, his arms crossed against
his chest.
"I
wouldn't have come this far if I weren't interested!" she rolled
her eyes, slapping him playfully.
Prateek and
Arushi had been friends for long. They had been together through each
other's hookups, breakups, successes, failures and everything. But
since they lived in different cities, separated by thousands of
miles, they could meet only rarely. This was one of those rare times.
"So,
how's Loofah?" she questioned as he drove skilfully through the
rush-hour traffic.
"She has
a name, you know!"
"Oh,
come on! She turns a little drop of anything into such a big issue.
Loofah is perfect for her." she gave him a toothy grin.
"We talk
infrequently ever since our breakup six months ago."
"You
guys didn't talk much while in a relationship, either." she
smiled, taunting him.
Her smile
took his breath away, even though he had turned his head with the
intention of making a witty comeback.
Instead, he
took off his hand from the gearstick and squeezed her hand gently,
"Thank
you."
"For
being insane and keeping me sane." he answered the surprised
expression on her face.
"Well,
that escalated quickly!" she burst out laughing.
"Trust
you to ruin the moment." he gripped the steering wheel with both
his hands now.
She ruffled
his hair and smiled at him, petrifying him momentarily.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"My
room?" she asked, happily, as he ushered her into a huge guest
room at his house.
"With
your immense luggage, I think you'll have to sleep in my room."
he guffawed.
"Keep
dreaming! Anyway, I am hungry. Feed me." she stated, slumping
into her bed.
"Yes,
ma'am." he saluted as he left the room.
When he
returned, she had already changed from her jeans and tee into a pair
of loose shorts and a huge tee.
"Food?"
she pouted as she saw him return with a glass of apple juice.
"I've
ordered stuff for you. Have patience."
"Stuff?"
she looked at him suspiciously.
"Yeah.
Pizza and similar things that you like. Italian stuff."
"Aw. Thank you! And, where are your parents?" she asked, sipping her juice.
"They
have gone out for a bit." he answered, sinking down into the bed
next to her.
She studied
his profile for a moment before placing her glass on the bedside
table and hugging him tightly. He was taken aback at first but
welcomed the embrace the next moment.
His body
seemed to be on fire. It had been long since he had felt that way. He
was surprised at its intensity. And, he was shocked. Because he had
no idea why his body was reacting that way. He had never had any
romantic feelings for her.
His hands
rubbed her back softly and slowly, his head snuggled in into her
tresses, at the base of her neck.
He felt her
pulling away just as he was losing himself.
"Prateek?"
He was gazing
at her, his grey eyes misty.
She felt his
warm hand push away strands of her hair, tucking them behind her ear.
His hands lingered along the length of her neck and she shuddered.
"Pr-"
her sentence was cut short by his lips that had taken hold of hers.
Epiphany had
taken place a hug ago. He had realized why Loofah did not matter to
him anymore. It was Arushi's presence, her care, her affection, her
selflessness... He had become attached to her without realizing it.
He had moved on without knowing why it had become possible. He had
thought that his heart was now his own, without knowing it had found
a new home.
His train of
thought was derailed by something that he hadn't expected. Somewhere
deep down, he knew she would push him away, probably with a slap on
his face. But, she was kissing him back!
She felt his
lips curve upwards into a smile as her lips nibbled his.
"Aru,"
he whispered, his breath hot against her lips.
"Shhhhh,"
her right hand moved slowly through his brilliant black hair, her
left hand on his nape.
He happily
shut up, pushing her down to the bed, leaving a trail of kisses from
her lips down her neck, across the collar bone and back.
He took off
his shirt with some difficulty as he was reluctant to leave
her lips.
Her delicate
fingers dug into his skin making him wince.
"Sorry,"
she whispered, as she kissed his chest where she had hurt him,
switching positions, climbing on top of him.
He let out a
moan of pleasure. Before long, her lips had found his lips again
while his hands fidgeted clumsily, trying to get her out of her tee.
"A
little help?" he asked, his voice husky.
"Be a
man!" she challenged, biting his earlobe.
So he yanked
off her tee forcibly, messing up her hair. The sound of the seams
bursting was formidable.
"Hey!"
she frowned, "That was one of my favorite tops."
"Now?
Really?" he raised an eyebrow.
She smirked.
"C'mon!
I look better on you." he drawled, pulling her closer.
"Corny!" she laughed, kissing him nevertheless.
It had
steadily gotten darker outside. Their bodies were faintly illuminated
by the soft glow emitted by the fairy lights hanging outside the
bedroom window, filtering in through the translucent white curtains.
"Arushi?"
he asked, as they lay there beneath the summer blanket, her head on
his chest, his arm around her waist.
"Hmm?"
"That
was-"
"Unexpected,
I know." she finished for him.
"Yeah,
that too. But I was about to say something else. I realized something about Loofah," he began.
"Isn't
the stuff late?" she asked, suddenly getting up, "It has
been over an hour. And, your parents, damn it. They could be home any
moment"
She looked
flustered.
"Relax!" he rubbed her hand.
"We have
to dress up. Take your clothes and get out." she ordered.
He did as he
was told, bewildered. This was unexpected. Her reaction, that is.
"Aru!"
he knocked softly at the door. It had been nearly fifteen minutes and
she hadn't come out. She never took this long to dress.
"Stuff
is here." he informed a little uncertainly.
"Did I hear food calling out to me?" he heard her voice from the other side and he
couldn't help smiling.
He heard the
soft click of the door being unlocked.
"Sorry,
I was washing my face." she smiled.
She seemed
normal now.
"Arushi,"
he started.
"Oh,
and, I got a call from work. I've to get back tomorrow." she
told him, unperturbed, perching on the edge of the bed, away from him.
"But you
just came! And, you promised you'd stay for a week at least."
"Duty
calls!" she shrugged, biting off a pizza slice. "Mmmm. This
is good."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
They drove
normally to the airport next morning. That seemed abnormal to
Prateek.
Maybe I am
over-thinking. Maybe she's just shy to talk about last evening. It was
unexpected, after all. He talked to himself.
She prattled
on about unimportant matters as they reached the airport.
"Oh, by
the way," she chuckled as he unloaded her luggage from the car.
I guess she's
going to talk about it. High time!
"I
messaged Loofah last night." she grinned.
"What
the fuck! Why would you do that?"
"From
your number, sweetheart, as you." she winked at him.
"Are you
out of your mind?" he was seriously mad.
"Oh,
come on." she laughed, "I know you're in love with her and all. So I thought why
not. And, you're gonna thank me for this. I cleared up every thing. She did reply and said she wanted to meet. Voohoo!"
"Yeah.
Thank you, for clarifying every thing."
"It was
clear right from the beginning." she smiled, "Anyway, I
gotta go now. Hope to see you soon. You take care, okay? All the best
with Loofah!"
She hugged
him but he was too puzzled to reciprocate. She had already let go
before he could react.
"Bye."
she waved at him, walking away.
Did I just
get fucked? He stood there, wondering.
