After having dinner everyone sat down and chatted for a while and then left to their respective houses. Shree was the last one to leave, once he left, Anu turned to Riya and Arjun. She was all smiles since Arjun and Rathore welcomed Shree and their relationship with open arms. She ran to her brother happily and hugged him jumping up and down like a small child.
"I am soo happy today bhaiii..." She screamed.
Arjun laughed and hugged her, "Ab maa aur papa ko kaun bathayega??"
"Aap..." Anu said simply.
"Accha?" Arjun was amused at her confidence.
"Haan, Riya ke bare mein maa aur papa ko maine bathaya, ab Shree ke baare mein aap bathao...simple..."
"Riya ke baare main kya bathayaa??" Riya immediately piped in.
"Ki aap dono ek doosrese baaahooott pyaar karte ho..."
Riya's eyes widened as she looked at her with an open mouth. She started running after Anu, trying to hit her with a pillow. They ran around the living room, climbed every couch, Anu even used Arjun as a shield from Riya a few times. After running around the room a couple of times, Anu came to an abrupt stop pointing towards the stereo from which songs were playing throughout the evening in the background.
"Ohh love this song..." She said increasing the volume.
She started doing typical Amitab Bachan steps before pulling Riya to dance. Riya hesitated glancing at Arjun; he looked at her for a second and then turned his attention to Anu. Riya frowned seeing his attitude, he had not once talked to her directly all evening. She was pondering on whether he was angry at her and if he is was, what she should do, when Anu again pulled her to dance. Riya shrugged her worries off for the moment and joined Anu. Both girls jumped up and down to the beats as they sang the lyrics loudly,
(This is only part of the song. Everything in bold is sung by the girls with the song...)
...,
Arrey Ram Duhaai Ee Ee Ee,
Kaise Chakkar Mein PaD Gayaa Haay Haay Haay..
Kahaan Jaan Fansaai Ee Ee Ee,
Main To Sooli Pe Chadh Gayaa Haay Haay
Kaisaa Seedhaa Saadaa Main Kaisaa Bholaa
Bhaalaa, HaaN HaaN!
Arrey, Kaisaa Seedhaa Saadaa Main Kaisaa Bholaa Bhaalaa
Jaane Kaun Ghadi Mein Pad Gayaa
Padhe-Likhon Se Paalaa
Meethi Chhoori Se, Meethi Chhoori Se Huaa Halaal
Chhoraa Gangaa Kinaare Vaalaa
O Chhoraa Gangaa Kinaare Vaalaa
O Khaike Paan Banaaras Vaalaa
Khul Jaaye Band Akal Kaa Taalaa...
...
Arjun watched, with a huge grin as they danced for the whole song. His feet and fingers tapped on their own accord. Anu tried pulling him to dance, but as expected he did not heed to that request. When the song finished both of them fell onto the couch laughing.
"Pagal ho tum dono, pata hain..." Arjun finally said, seeing them out of breath after all the jumping and dancing.
"Woh toh hum hain" Anu said giving Riya a hi-five.
After a few minutes of chatting utter non-sense, which made sense to only Riya and Anu, Riya got up suddenly and started clearing the dining table.
Anu rolled her eyes seeing the pile of dishes and the messy kitchen, "Riya, can't we do that tomorrow??"
Riya smiled, "tum jaake so jao Anu. Main yeh kar loongi..."
Anu looked at her guiltily and started helping. Riya laughed seeing her and insisted that she'll do everything by herself. Anu did not listen to her till Arjun joined Riya and assured her that he'll help her. Anu finally bid them goodnight and left.
Arjun started helping Riya, he kept asking her where to put the dishes with leftovers, to which Riya replied patiently β "In the fridge", "On the counter", "In the shelf over there", "In the fridge".
Throughout, Riya noticed he wasn't looking at her; she looked at him for a few seconds and walked up to him.
"Arjun..."
"Hmmm..." He said, still not looking at her.
"Arjun!!" Riya said bit more loudly and waited.
"Haan, yeh kahan rakhu?" He asked again, picking up another dish from the table.
"Arjun, agar aap mujhse naaraaz ho toh batha do..."
"Nahi Riya, mein kyun naaraaz..."
"Aap ho naaraaz" Riya said with a little pout.
Arjun looked at her, a smile lurking at the corners of his lip.
"Riya mein..."
She walked around the table to Arjun and stood in front of him with folded hands and a frown.
"Haan boliye, aap naaraaz ho na? Mujhe patha tha, agar naaraaz ho toh batha do na! Aise chup rehne se kya hota? Aap naaraaz..."
"Baapre!!!! Ri, naaraaz main hoon ya tum??" Arjun asked dumfounded, he was all set to act angry at her but looks like it wasn't his day for acting.
Riya immediately loosened, she started fidgeting with her fingers and looked at Arjun nervously.
"Are you really angry? Arjun, I didn't hide it from you on purpose. How could I tell you anything, when Shree and Anu themselves weren't ready...I..."
Arjun rolled his eyes and held her by her shoulders, "Riya tum apne aap chup ho jaogi ya mere paas aur bhi tareeke hain tumhe chup karane ke liye..."
"Kaunse tareeke?" Riya immediately asked innocently.
Arjun looked at her with an open mouth but recovered quickly, with raised eyebrows and a smile spread across his lips,
"Riya, what am I going to do with you??"
She looked at him with a frown between her brows, which smoothed out when she realised what he was talking about. Her eyes widened as Arjun started taking slow steps towards her, his intention evident on his face.
She took a step back for every step he took forward. Even she was in a bit of a teasing mood today.
"Riyaa, kya kar rahi ho?" Arjun asked as she took yet another step back.
"Aap kya kar rahe hain, SIR?"
"Agar peeche jaana band karogi, toh dikha doonga kya karna chaah tha hoon..." Arjun said cheekily.
Riya giggled, "Raat bahut hogayi hain, aapko lodge waapas nahi jaana?"
Arjun shook his head from left to right, not taking his eyes off Riya. He took several steps forward towards her, only to be stopped by her,
"Ek minute, ek minute...my hands are dirty. I need to wash them..." Saying so, she walked away from him with a mischievous smile.
Arjun followed her. Standing behind her, he slowly put his hands under the tap and washed his own hands with hers. He entwined his fingers with hers, rubbed his palm against hers and played with her hands under the cold water.
"Arjun..." Riya whispered after a few seconds.
"Hmmm...?" Arjun said nuzzling his nose into her hair.
"My...my hands are clean" Riya whispered again.
Arjun chuckled and turned the tap off. He handed her one end of the towel to dry her hands while he took the other end. Holding his end firmly, Arjun pulled on the towel making Riya jerk forward into his arms. Slowly leaning in, he nuzzled his nose into the crook of her neck and started placing light, feather kisses on the side of her neck. He was about to pull her closer and move to her lips when they heard a cell phone ring. Arjun rolled his eyes and looked towards the cell phone on the dining table. He walked to the phone and realised that it was Anu's, and Shree calling.
Anu's room door clicked open and she came out running.
"It's mine! It's mine!!" She said and took the phone from Arjun's hand. She gave them an embarrassed look and ran back into her room, answering the call.
Arjun turned back to Riya,
"Ab in dono ka set hogaya toh humaara romance kyun bigad rahe hain??"
Riya laughed and walked up to him. He smiled and took her hands in his and kissed them on the back of her palms, one after the other. Pulling both her hands behind him so she came closer to him, he kissed her forehead and then her eyelids, before claiming her lips. His lips moved on her soft ones passionately, as he gently backed her against the wall.
Riya's palms which were pressed against Arjun's chest travelled up and wrapped around his neck. She slowly sank her fingers into his hair and firmly drew him closer, deepening the kiss. Arjun smiled against her lips before slowly parting to continuing his kisses on her neck. His palm moved up and down her waist as his lips made their way to her ear,
"Aaj hassi nahi aa rahi??" He whispered, lightly. Riya smiled and shook her head, moving her head so he can claim her lips once again.
Arjun's fingers slowly tugged at the hem of her shirt before sliding beneath it. A soft moan escaped from her as his fingers burned her bare skin and she leaned more into him.
Arjun slowly parted from her lips and her waist, retrieving his fingers from underneath her shirt. She stood for a few seconds with her eyes shut tight before slowly opening them to a smiling Arjun. He rested his forehead against hers', looking at her to his hearts' content before pulling her into a tight hug.
"I thought you'd be angry...with me...when you find out about Shree" Riya said slowly after staying in his arms for a while.
Arjun pulled her away slightly and looked at her, "I understand the situation you were in Riya, and I would have done the same if I were in your place..."
Riya smiled and rested her head back on his chest.
Arjun stayed for longer than he thought as they started talking, about nothing in particular but just kept talking. They sat on the dining table for a while and then moved onto the couch. They sat facing each other, with their legs stretched out in front of them and their feet touching each other's.
He told her how he went to Rathore's house after dropping her home and how they planned to tease Shree for as long as they could. Riya told him how Shree and Anu came home and told her about Chotu's call and that they thought Arjun would have figured it out. Then how they thought of cooking his favourite food and slowly break the news to him.
They talked for a while longer, Arjun after hesitating for a few minutes finally mentioned her father,
"Riya don't you think you should talk to your dad..."
"Please Arjun, unke baare main abhi kuch nahi..."
He did not push her, but made a promise to himself that he'll not let her ruin her relation with her father, for his sake. Arjun smiled half-heartedly and put it aside for the moment, he didn't want to ruin the perfect evening that it has turned out to be.
Simar ,