Arohi raised her sweaty hand to knock on Arjun's door, nerves
bubbling in her stomach. She took a deep breath and hit the door, three quick
raps and waited for what felt like an eternity.
"Come in," his musical, velvet voice called out lazily.
She let her breath out, not even realizing that she had been
holding it. She opened the door and walked in. He was on the computer, his back
to her. She walked over and placed her hands on both of his shoulders, leaning
down to whisper in his ear.
"Guess who?" she said breathlessly. He wheeled around in
his spinny chair and grinned her favorite crooked grin. He was just as
beautiful as always, his deep brown eyes alight with surprise.
"Arohi. I didn't expect to see you here," he said. He
sounded pleased and Arohi took that as a good sign.
"Yeah, well, mujhe bhi nahi pata tha ki mein yahan aaongi
until 5 minutes ago" She explained. "Otherwise I would've called."
"No need, pehle kab karti thi. Aur aaj knock bhi kiya. Aaj
kya hua Ms. Alhuwalia" he said, teasing. "Yaar, ab hasi bhi nahi, I
am kidding. You're always welcome here." She grinned at his words and
slowly made her way over to his bed and sank onto it, patting the space next to
her. She waited until she felt his weight next to her before she continued.
"You know, mujhe laga ki Simmi aur tum aaj date par gaye
thai." She confessed and shivered lightly, in anticipation for what she was
going to do. "That's where I thought you were rushing off."
"Arohi, agar aisa hota toh sabse pehle tumhe batata na." he
said gently. "I had a doctor's appointment."
"Yeah, mujhe pata lag gaya tha jab Simmi ghar aayi. Aur usne
mujhe aapni date ke baare me bataya, lekin mujhe laga ki woh tumhare saath gayi
thi." She took a deep breath. "Mujhe bahut gussa aya. Just the thought of
you and her. A romantic date on the beach. Kissing." she shuddered and he
laughed. It sounded like wind chimes and it gave her the courage to continue.
"So I yelled at her," she said. Arjun's eyebrows
furrowed in confusion. "Actually, meine to bechari ko dara hi diya. I
didn't want to hear about her dating you. It was making me sick." He was
staring at her now. His face looked surprised and slightly hopefully. His eyes were
sparkling.
"Then usne mujhe bataya ki woh tumahare saath nahi Romit ke
saath gayi thi. Tum soch bhi nahi sakte ki yeh sun kar mujhe kitni khushi hui."
she said softly. Arohi was staring at her hands, not able to look at his eyes,
knowing that she would get lost and forget everything if she looked at him.
"Aur tab meine realize kiya ki mein kitni stupid hoon. If I
had stopped wallowing in my misery for five minutes, I would've heard her say
she was going out with Romit, not you. Then I would have saved myself a lot of
unnecessary pain," she continued. A blush was steadily making its way up
her face, as she confessed her feelings for him. She could feel Arjun scoot a
bit closer to her.
"Were you jealous?" he asked, his voice half hopeful
half teasing. She gulped once before continuing.
"Very." she peeked up at him and his eyes were
smoldering, drawing her in. She wanted to hug him right then and there. But she
quickly averted her gaze back to her hands before continuing. "Itne saalo
sai meine hamesha tumhe aapna best friend samjha. Lekin jab meine tumko aur
Simmi ko sath dhekha…it made me much more upset then a friend should be. I felt
things…that friends wouldn't feel."
"Arohi…tum kya kehne ki koshish kar rahi ho?" he asked.
His voice was hopeful but cautious. He scooted a tiny bit closer to Arohi and
she took a deep breath, gathering her strength. Here I go. She closed her eyes, preparing to leap off of the cliff
into uncharted waters.
"Arjun… I'm in love with you," Arohi managed to mumble.
For a moment, the whole world seemed to freeze. Arohi could feel Arjun
stiffen beside her and she automatically stiffened.
Oh my
God. He doesn't love me. He's going to tell me he doesn't feel the same way. Oh
my God this is-
Her internal suffering was cut short when she felt his warm hand
entwine with hers. His other hand gently cupped her chin, lifting her head up
to look at him. His sparkling brown eyes were blazing, like fire and he was
grinning her favorite uneven grin. He looked at her, right in her eyes, causing
her heart to skip a beat.
"Finally," he whispered. And then he crushed his lips to
hers.
Arohi could've laughed right then she was so relieved so excited
and happy. Sure, she had jumped off the cliff but all she had found was a pair
of warm arms to catch her. She felt joy bubbling inside of her and she just
wanted to do a happy dance. But instead she just pressed her lips back against
his. She reached her arms up around his neck and tangled her fingers in his
hair, pulling him closer. Kissing him felt like magic, like passion. The hand
cupping her chin moved to her neck and his other hand wrapped around her waist,
holding her against him. She could've stayed there all day, every day, forever.
If it wasn't for the applause behind them.
At the sudden burst of noise they split apart. They both turned to
his open door to see Rashi, Romit, Rajveer, Sanchit, Lovedeep and Shefali
clapping and cheering, wide grins plastered on everyone's faces. Arohi and
Arjun blushed fire engine red. Although, even though they had company, they couldn't
wipe the goofy grin off their face.
"Yay!" Rashi squealed. She ran in and tossed her arms
around both of them. She seemed almost as happy about this as they were. "Hai
Arjun bechari ko attack karna zaroori tha?" She teased.
"Mujhe toh laga ki Arohi ne Arjun ko attack kiya" Rajveer laughed.
"You guys…tum log yahan kyun aye ho?" Arohi gasped. Why
didn't she close that damn door?
"Hum sab is din ke liye kitne din se intezaar kar rahe hai.
Ever since your first wedding." Lovedeep said.
Arjun and Arohi were both blushing and looked around embarrassed.
"Guys. Next time door toh band kar lena agar kise aur ne dekh
liya hota toh kal tum dono ki shaadi ho rahi hoti." Laughed Sanchit.
"Okay, ab tum sab mere room se jao." Arjun announced. Rashi
moved to grab Arohi but Arjun quickly scooped her up in his arms, pulling her
onto his lap. "Oye. Meri wifey ko toh chode dai." Arjun laughed.
"I'm so happy I could sing!" Rashi sang as they left the
room.
"Well that was embarassing," Arohi sighed.
"It could've been worse,"Arjun said.
"How?" Arohi mumbled.
"They could've taken a picture," he grinned.
"Good Idea!" Rashi shouted.
"Rashi, chup kar ja!" Arohi yelled.
"No privacy," Arjun murmured. Then Arohi was struck with
a sudden inspiration.
"I know where we can go." she said, grabbing his hand
and pulling him from the room.
"Arohi, hum kaha jaa rahe hai?" he asked cautiously.
"You'll see," she sang. She dragged him down the stairs
as fast as she could go without tripping. They ran, hand in hand, out of the
front door and into Arohi's huge backyard.
"Tumhara backyard?" Arjun laughed.
"Haha, chup karo. Atleast yaha koi ayga to nahi." She said leading
him to the huge tree. She sat down beside it and pulled Arjun down with her.
It was almost dark as the sun went down.
"Arohi, hum hamesha yaha hi aate hai, woh sabse pehle yaha hi
dehenge," Arjun said, a lopsided grin spreading over his face.
"Shut up. Jab koi ayga tab dekhenge na." Arohi said.
Arjun smiled and layed down on the soft grass. Arohi smiled and
lay down beside him. Arjun pulled her closer to her body laying her head on his
shoulder.
They stayed like that for a long time. Not really talking, just
enjoying each other's presence. Eventually all signs of the sun were gone and
the sky was littered with stars. Arohi lifted her hand and gently traced a
shape in the sky.
"It's a flower," she announced. Arjun grinned, rembering
the old days. He held her close to him, gently kissing her forehead.
"You know woh sab sach
keha rahe thai," he said calmly.
"Who?"
"Our families. Our friends," he replied.
"Kiske bare?" she asked curiously. He smiled at her.
"About how I've loved you for years. I was just waiting for
you to realize it." He lightly tapped the tip of her nose with his finger.
"I'm sorry I kept you waiting," she mumbled. "Mein
kitni pagal hoon."
"Woh toh tum ho." he agreed with a laugh. Arohi made a
face at him. "But tum pagal hi perfect ho. Atleast tumhe pata to chal
gaya. Mujhe toh laga ki tumhe shaadi ke mandap mai realize karoge." He poked
her side.
"Arjun!" Arohi squealed.
"Arohi," he said casually.
"Yes?"
"In case it wasn't clear," he began. "I love you
too."
And with that he brought his lips back to hers for one perfect
kiss.
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