Chapter 4: The one that tells the tale of the beginning
Arnav didn't really want to talk. To be frank, talking was the last thing on his mind, surely they could use theirs mouths for more pleasurable activities. But as much as he didn't want to spend the night talking, the thing that he wanted even less, was to leave this room. To leave the chance of maybe being with Khushi. He didn't know when this whole thing went so wrong. She was the one who asked him for this, but now she was the one that wasn't sure, if this was what she wanted, why was she the one having second thoughts? Arnav didn't know how he had landed in such a situation. He only knew that it was a first, never before had he given someone else the power of deciding his faith. When did he loose control, he used to be the one calling the shoots. Know this Khushi Kumari Gupta, was holding the key to his happiness. Okay, maybe he was getting ahead of himself, not his happiness, only his satisfaction. Either way it didn't really matter, somewhere along the line on the last eight months, he had changed. For better or for the worst was yet to be decided.
As letting her go was not an option he decided that for the moment he would humor her. At least talking wasn't the worst option. He looked strait into her eyes and asked:
"What would you like to talk about?"
Khushi was relieved that he didn't oppose her suggestion. Maybe this way she could buy herself sometime, much needed time to decide what she really wanted. She knew she was attracted to him, hell who wasn't. She knew that he had grown on her, not that she had hated him the first time they met, but still she had changed her opinion about him. In the last couple of days she had almost started appreciating him. That he was different was something that had been evident right from the start, but that she liked his different that was an whole different matter. She didn't hate him in the beginning, it was more of a; he's tolerable. As she was already thinking about the first impression he had given her, she decided that the best topic would be to talked about the first time they met. As most of the time Khushi wasn't a thinker, but a doer, she got right to it.
"Do you remember the first time we met?"
"Of course I do, you made a complete fool of yourself."
"I did not!"
"There is no need in denying it, I was there, remember? You could barely stand at the end of the night."
"I could stand up, and I could take care of myself. I didn't need your help at all!"
"Khushi, I'm sorry but you clearly don't remember the events of that night. I think it's best that I jog your memory."
"So, you expect me to believe that you remember every single detail of that night, even though you were also drinking?"
"Yes, I do, and I'll prove it to you. Listen carefully, don't interrupt as always, and then at the end you can argue about how true or false my depiction is."
Thus, Arnav started his own personal tale of the day he met the "different" Khushi Kumari Gupta. He talked about how he noticed her when she walked into the club with his sister Anjali, and her friends. The reason she caught his attention was (according to him) that he had never seen a girl in a club trying to cover herself up before she even got in. He talked about how he couldn't figure out why she would wear something she wasn't comfortable with. Was it really that important to look pretty. And how if that wasn't enough, when they finally made their ways over to him, she somehow just decided to fall on to his lap while he was sitting by the bar. And how she then had the nerve to scold him about the fact that he had no right to touch her. For heavens sake, she was the one on him, not vice versa. How she in the heat of the moment first wanted to throw his own drink on him, but at the last second drank it. He went on for what seamed like ages. And lastly he talked about how she at the end of the night was totally drunk, and tried to get away from one of the guys in the club. But as she was out of it, instead of pushing him away she was, pushing a invisible wall next to her or something. And how he had found it comical but at the same time he felt sorry for her and therefore he had come to her rescue.
Khushi stayed quiet for the whole part of his rambling. Even though devi maiya knows that she wanted to stop him right at the beginning. He had got everything wrong, every part of his story was his own fiction. The more she listened to him, the more angry did she get. As soon as he was finished, she started her own rambling. She told him that, she wasn't one of the girls that picks to wear something she isn't comfortable in, just to look pretty. But the real reason was that she couldn't say no to her jiji. She was the one that had picked out the dress for her. She wasn't angry at him for the whole lap debacle. And she did most certainly not yell at or scold him. She was angry with herself for being clumsy as always and was obviously talking to herself when she had shouted; idiot, moron what the hell are you doing, you cant just behave as if you have no inhibitions. Okay, she had to admit that the throwing a drink at him part maybe was a bit true. Since she didn't like the smirk he had on when she fell on him. But that was only for a split second, she really was thirsty from her tiresome day. And yes she didn't know that it wasn't just plain coke, but it's not like she hadn't tried alcohol before. She could most certainly hold her liquor. And for the last part, were she supposedly needed rescuing. She wasn't trying to push that guy away, she was showing him one of Sallu's latest dance steps. Man any moron had to know Salman Ji's dance steps, they were all over the internet and TV.
Arnav had listened to her what seemed like patiently and given her a nod now and then as to show that he was listening. But in reality he drifted to somewhere else a long time ago. He wanted to laugh at how differently they remembered that night. At how they always seemed to have different takes on things. How he had believed that he was a real life hero that night, but in reality at best he had been a comical supporting actor. He was thinking about how in her presence, he was never the ASR people idolized, but a mere Arnav that was as human as they all came while all of these thoughts clogged his mind, there was one thought that poped up constantly like one of those disturbing ads you always get when you try to stream something. The thought of just how beautiful she was according to him.
After some time he noticed that Khushi had stopped talking, a while back. And was now once again concentrating on the floor. He couldn't take the silence that only promised unfinished business. He wanted this night to proceed, he had been exercising all his self-control to not just, run up to her and take her there and then. He had tried to talk to her, agreed that he did enjoy their conversation, but still. He wanted to feel more enjoyment, he wanted to fulfill his desires. Desires most likely they both possessed. He had at an early stage of this evening gathered that he needed to be the one taking control, and he had tried to do that a multiple times. This was one more of his attempts:
"Khushi, we have been talking for quite some time now. What would you like to do now?"
"Arnav, I think talking was a good idea. We had clearly a lot of misunderstandings about that evening. I think it's good to clear things, Maybe we should talk about our second meeting, and see if we are on the same page about that day?" Khushi answered smiling.
Arnav wasn't as happy about this suggestion, he didn't have the patience to control himself any longer and blurted out: "You have to be kidding me. Are we supposed to talk all night.
"THEN WHY THE HELL ARE WE IN A HOTELROOM!"
This exclamation instantly wiped the smile off of Khushi's face.
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