Part 16
Arjun raised his eyebrows as he watched Arohi rush into their bedroom. She was the most confusing woman he'd ever met. One minute she's crying on his shoulder and the next she's yanking her hand free of his and demanding to leave the fair. Would he ever understand her he thought as he walked in behind her. He watched as she grabbed her pajamas and quickly walked into the bathroom. Staring at the closed door he thought back to what happened that night. She'd been a wreck. Not that he wanted her to be a wreck, but she had been devastated thinking something had happened to him. He'd never forget the look on her face when she'd seen that he was fine. The anguish, the shock, the happiness. The way she'd thrown herself into his arms. He didn't want to ever let her go. If he didn't know it before he did know it now. No matter how much Arohi denied it she had feelings for him. There was no other explanation for the way she had behaved. The two people most unlikely to fall for eachother, were falling for eachother. Arjun's smile slowly turned into a frown. If Arohi started analyzing her feelings she was sure to push him away. He knew it, and he wasn't going to let her. She was his. And the sooner she came to terms with that. The better is would be for the both of them.
Arohi stood with her hand on the doorknob willing herself to open the bathroom room and go outside. But she couldn't. She had to, but she couldn't. She had gone ahead and done the unthinkable. Taking a knife to the heart would have been less painful then what she'd done. She'd fallen in love with Arjun. Thinking back to the evenings events she instantly felt tears form in her eyes when she remembered the fear and pain she felt thinking Arjun was the one that had been hit by the truck. She couldn't imagine living without him. But love, where the hell had this love come from. It had just snuck up on her and she had no idea what she was going to do with it. How could she be in love with someone, that she until recently, hated. She wasn't even sure if she even liked him. Maybe she wasn't in love with him. What did she even know about love, really, if she really thought about it, what did she really know about love. Sure, she felt butterflies in the pit of her stomach whenever Arjun was close, sure she'd gone a little crazy in her grief tonight, sure she melted at his touch and kisses, sure she had a lifetime's worth of memories, many of them fond with him. Sure she knew him and he knew her better then almost anyone. Sure thoughts of him plagued her day and night. But was that really love? YES! Screamed a little voice in her head. She was in trouble because Arjun and her could be civil towards eachother, but being in love with eachother was a whole new thing altogether.
"Arohi, are you coming out?" Arjun asked knocking on the door. She'd been in there for 45 minutes. He knew she was hiding out. "Wait a minute!" Arohi said from the other side of the door. "No more waiting, either you come out or I'm coming in!" he snapped. Arohi glared at the door. And then finally grabbing the doorknob she opened the door and stepped into the bedroom. "Happy now!" she snapped. "No!" "Are you going to tell me what's going through that brain of yours?" he asked standing infront of her. Arohi would not look at him, instead she started pulling out clothes from her closet. "I really need to organize things in here" she said. Arjun stared at her with his arms crossed across his chest. He waited. "I'd forgotten about this dress, I think I'll wear it tomorrow." she said pulling out a sleeveless blue and yellow sun dress. Arjun had had enough. Grabbing her wrist he pulled her over to their bed. Sitting her down. Arohi stared at him as Arjun sat down. "What's wrong?" "Nothing." Arohi answered. "Somethings wrong." he said tipping up her chin until her eyes were forced to meet his. "Are you still scared about what happened this evening? " he asked. "No, I know you're fine." she replied. "No, I'm not talking about the accident, I'm talking about the fact that you realized you have feelings for me." "I don't have feelings for you." Arohi said looking away. "I would have reacted the same way for anyone I knew." "And I was worried about what I'd tell your parents. and.." Arjun put his finger to her lips. "Are you convincing me, or yourself?" Arohi stared at him. "Why are you fighting it?" "If you're starting to develop feelings for me as far as I'm concerned it's a good thing." "We're married after all." "Wouldn't it be easier if we more then just tolerated eachother?" Arjun asked. "Oh, that's great, that's always what I wanted from a marriage, for my husband and I to more then just tolerate eachother." Arohi said sarcastically. Arjun stared at her. "That's not what I said!" "As usual you're trying to start a fight, but I'm not interested." Arohi bit the inside of her mouth. She didn't want to have this conversation. "I'm tired, I'm going to bed." she said. Arjun stared at her. " I have developed feelings for you." he said. "I like you and I want to see where this could go." Arohi stared at him. He liked her. Wonderful. Well guess what Arjun, I'm freakin way past like...I've catapulted into LOVE! she thought to herself. "I don't think things with us could work." she said instead. "I think they can." he said moving closer to her. Arohi moved further away. "What are you afraid of?" he asked. You not loving me, she thought to herself. "Go on another date with me." and then decide." "If you decide after that you don't want to be together we won't be." Arjun said. "One date?" she asked looking at him suspiciously. "Yes." he said. Giving her a dimpled boyish smile. Arohi felt that familiar fluttering feeling. "Okay," she said softly. Arjun's smile got bigger. "I can't believe I'm practically begging to go on a date with my own wife!" he said rolling his eyes and smiling. Getting up he headed to the bathroom, whistling as he shut the door. Arohi took a deep breath. One date wouldn't be so bad. Would it?
Arohi thought about her "date" all morning. Arjun was picking her up late afternoon so she needed to get home right after class. "Earth to Arohi!" Rashi called waving her hand infront of Arohi as they sat in class waiting for it to begin. "HuH?" "Sorry," Arohi said. "What were we talking about?" she asked. "We were talking about how lost in my brother's thoughts you've been lately." "Shut-up Rashi!" Arohi said feeling her face go red. "I was thinking about my next exam." Rashi burst out laughing. "Arohi if you're going to lie, atleast make it believable." Arohi glared at Rashi. As she opened her mouth to tell her off, Tthe teacher walked into the classroom. Rashi hid a smile. The afternoon passed quickly and Arohi rushed home and got herself ready. Arjun had told her to dress casually so she wore a royal blue and pink knee length sundress with little spaghetti straps. Her hair hung in waves down her back and she wore small crystal hoop earrings in her ears. Once she was ready, she paced trying to shake the nervous feeling that suddenly overwhelmed her. Hearing the door open she unconsciously took a step back. Arjun walked in and smiled at her and then looking her up and down his smile got bigger and his eyes got darker. "You look amazing." he said walking towards her. Arohi took a few more steps back. Why was she running away she thought to herself in a panic as she hit the wall behind her. Arjun stood infront of her and then slowly brought his hand up tracing the one side of her face with his finger. "Don't you get tired of always running Arohi?" he asked. Arohi looked up at him, surprised. She'd just been thinking that. "What if for tonight you don't run, and just be." "Just let yourself relax, let your guard down." he asked picking up her hand and kissing the inside of her wrist. Arohi felt her mouth go dry. "Could you do that for me?" he asked softly placing another kiss on her wrist. Arohi nodded slowly. Arjun smiled at her. "Thank you." "I'll get ready and then we'll go." "Am I over dressed." she asked. "No you're perfect" he replied.
"Where are we going?" Arohi asked glancing at Arjun as he drove. "You'll see." They drove for a while, mostly in a comfortable silence Arjun glancing at Arohi a few times and smiled Arohi smiled back nervously. What is wrong with me? she asked herself. This is Arjun, just Arjun. So why am I behaving this way. They pulled to the side of the road and Arohi looked around and frowned. "Arjun this looks like a jungle." "You've brought me to a jungle for our date?" she asked. "You'll see," he said smiling. Getting out of the car he grabbed some things from the trunk of his car including what looked like a picnic basket. "We're picnicking in the jungle?" she asked with a confused look on her face. "Arohi!" "You'll see!" he said grabbing her hand. They walked through a pathway and suddenly came upon a clearing. "This seems familiar" Arohi said slowly looking around. They walked further into the clearing and Arohi stopped. Infront of her were lights, lights and more lights. Little twinkling lights hanging from tree branches along with large lanterns. There was a huge garden and further down she could see a gazebo. "This looks like an enchanted garden" Arohi said with awe. "We used to come here for picnics with our families when we were younger!" she exclaimed with a smile on her face. "This isn't the jungle...this is a park." And then she paused...and listened. "There's a small creek close by too isn't there." "I remember we use to go there and throw rocks to see who could throw the farthest." "But I don't remember the lights." she said. "I had that done" he said sheepishly. "It's still fairly light out now but later on I thought a picnic in the dark might not be so much fun." Arohi smiled and twirled around. "I love it!" she said. "I can't believe you did this." "Turning around she gave him a huge smile. "Thank you." "This brings me back to our childhood." "Just a simple thank you?" Arjun asked. "Shouldn't I get more then that?" Arohi stared at him knowing exactly what he wanted. "Did you do this for me expecting something in return?" She saw Arjun's eyes flash dangerously. "What do you think?" he asked tersely. Arohi stared at him and then slowly walked over, leaning over she kissed his cheek. "Thank you." "It's perfect." Arjun stared down at her and then slowly grinned. His dimples flashing. "You're welcome!" he said. "Now can you please help me set up this picnic!" "They busied themselves spreading out a large picnic blanket and then Arohi opened up the picnic basket. "Wow, so much food." "Where did you get it from?" she asked. "How do you know I didn't slave over it myself." "Cooking all day." "Right!" Arohi said laughing as she pulled out a bottle of wine, and wine glasses. "First of all you don't know the first thing about cooking." "Secondly, your mom wouldn't let you enter her kitchen." Arjun grinned. "I got it from the little catering company next to our office." "They have great food." he said grabbing the bottle of wine and uncorking it. Arohi took a sip of her wine. "Let's see whatelse is in here." she said pulling things out. Gourmet deli sandwiches, fresh strawberries, pasta salad, crackers and various cheeses, and chocolate cake with yet another bottle of wine. "Wow, that's a lot of food" she said. "And I'm starving." she added grabbing a plate and linen napkin. Arjun stared at her as she took a bite out of a strawberry. "Yummy," she said looking down at him laying on the blanket. "What?" she asked. "Nothing." he said shaking his head and getting up and grabbing a plate himself. They ate and kept up a steady chatter. Actually, Arohi who was feeling much more relaxed now did the bulk of the talking. Arjun kept asking questions. Arohi kept answering them. "So what's your plans after University?" "This is your last year isn't it." "Or have you changed your mind and switched to another program again." Arohi gave him a look. "No, I haven't changed my mind." "I'm finishing my Business Management Program." "And then we'll see where that take me." "You could always come work with me." he said. Arohi made a face. "No thanks" "I have no desire to sit in an office all day long behind some boring desk!" Arjun rolled his eyes. "Then what else are you going to do with your Business Degree?" he asked. "I don't know, I'll see." "The world is my oyster." "I'll figure it out?" "Arjun shook his head. "Why are you shaking your head at me?" she asked. "I know you think I'm going to do nothing, and can't make my own decisions." "But I'm not stupid, it's my life and I'll figure it out." "I don't think you're stupid." Arjun said looking at her intently. "I know you're intelligent and can make your own decisions." "I think when you make comments like that it's because you sometimes doubts your own abilities" . Arohi stared at Arjun. He'd hit a little too close to home with that comment. "I think you start doing something, get successful at it and then start doubting yourself." "That's when you start pulling away." "I think you did that with school and now you're doing it with us." "What you don't always understand is if you want something or someone you can have it." "It's all within your grasp, you just need to reach out and grab it." Arohi stared at him. How could he know one of her biggest insecurity. She didn't even let herself dwell on it, how could he know it.
"Can we talk about something else?" she asked looking away from him. Arjun stared at her for a few seconds and then asked "Do you want to go for a walk?" "We can check out that creek?" Arohi smiled. They got up and Ajrun grabbed her hand. "Do you remember which way it was?" he asked. "Nope" she said giggling as he started walking in one direction and she walked in the other. They eventually found their way to the creek, getting lost a few times, laughing and joking their way there. "It's so nice here." she said looking around. "Remember how much we used to play around here?" Arjun nodded. "I bet you I can throw the furthest." Arohi said picking up a rock. "Yeah right!" Arjun replied picking up a rock himself. "You never win this game, I don't know why you make bets on it." Arohi sent a glare his way. "Whatever!" "I used to win all the time!" "You're just a sore loser." "Oh really." Arjun said shaking his head. "It's funny how I remember you being the sore loser." "Me?" Arohi said with her hands on her hips." "They say in old age the memory is the first to go." she said smirking. "Who are you calling old?" Arjun asked. "You!" Arohi said giggling at the expression on his face. Arjun leaned down to pick up another rock and Arohi took that opportunity to splash him with water from the creek. "OOH!" Arjun said wiping his face. "You're going to pay for that Arohi." Arohi giggled some more and quickly moved out of his reach. "That's only if you can catch me." she said running off. Arjun was after her within seconds. "She laughed and dodged him as much as possible but he caught her just as soon as she reached their picnic blanket. Arohi laughed as Arjun's arm snaked around her waist and pulled her to him. "Let go." She said giggling. "No, not until you say Arjun Singhania is not a sore loser." "Arjun Singhania is a loser" she said giggling as he tickled her. "You never learn." he said as he laughed himself. He turned her around and pulled her against him. Arohi''s laughter suddenly stopped as she looked up into Arjun's face. She was pressed against his wet t-shirt and his arms tightened around her. Arjun's laughter had also stopped and he leaned down and kissed her. It was a soft,and slow kiss that Arohi felt down to her toes. Her hands sneaked up his chest to his shoulders. Her little moan had Arjun deepening their kiss. They stood kissing for several minutes and Arohi didn't even notice when Arjun had pulled her down onto the blanket. All she processed was his hands on her body and the brain numbing kisses he was giving her. As they lay on the blanket, Arohi and Arjun continued to kiss, they didn't know how long. All Arohi knew was that she didn't have the want or desire to make him stop. When Arjun finally did pull away he rolled to the side and pulled Arohi to him. Arohi's face nestled on his chest. "You make me crazy." he said. "So crazy that it kills me to pull away from you." "Then why did you?" Arohi asked before she could stop herself. "Because the first time we make love will be in the privacy of our bedroom." Arjun said. "Hmm." Arohi replied. Arjun laughed at her somber" Hmm." "Besides, we're not there yet." he said. Arohi lifted her head and looked at him." "What do you mean." "I mean that you've just gotten over your stupid notion that I was paying attention to you just so we would make love." "I don't want to make love right now and go back to that." Arohi put her head back down on to his chest. Little did Arjun know that she was already in love with him and if he did make love to her the last thing she would care about was what his intentions had been. She'd be too lost in him, just like she was every time he touched her. They lay cuddled next to eachother for quite awhile. Just holding eachother and looking up at the stars.
"It's getting dark, maybe we should get going." Arohi finally said not really wanting to move out of Arjun's embrace but knowing they should. Arjun stayed silent for a moment and then slowly sat up with Arohi next to him. "Did you enjoy yourself tonight?" he asked. "Yes, thank you." "The picnic was a great idea and this place brought back so many memories." "Good, I'm glad" he said cupping her face and giving her a soft kiss. "So are we going to do it again?" "Do what again?" Arohi asked. "Go out again." Arohi laughed. Arjun you've proven your point, you don't have to keep taking me out on these dates. Arjun frowned. "Why?" You don't like them?" he asked. "I love them." "You don't like spending time with me then?" he questioned. "I like spending time with you." she said softly. "So do I," he said. "I like doing things with you and having you close by." "And I love kissing you, and holding you." he said as he kissed her neck. Arohi looked into his eyes. "I like all those things too." she said being truthful with him and herself. Arjun grinned. "Alright then we're dating!" Arohi looked at him and burst out laughing. "I guess we're dating." she said." "So what are you my husband or boyfriend?" she asked. "I'm your husband." he said his eyes suddenly turning dark and intense. "And you're my wife." "Only mine." Grasping the back of her neck he brought her lips to his for a hot passionate kiss. When they did pull away Arohi was left dazed. "Now we can go" he said pulling her up. They cleaned up and hand in hand they headed back to their car.
The next 4 weeks they spent lots of time together. Movies, dinners out, nights out dancing, walks on the beach, concerts and even another visit to Prospect point which was nothing like their last time. They enjoyed being together and getting to know eachother in a different way. Even though they had grown up together there was still so much they didn't know about eachother or things they had missed because they had spent so many years fighting. "Arjun nuzzled Arohi's neck as they sat under the stars watching a Concert in the park. There were lots of couples scattered throughout the park on their own blankets listening to beautiful classical music. "I love Mozart." Arohi said closing her eyes as Arjun kissed her neck again. "And I love you." Arjun almost said but stopped himself. Instead he said "I love that little catch in your throat when I kiss your neck." Arohi blushed and leaned her head on his shoulder. "What else do you love?" she asked. "I love your little moans when I'm kissing you, and I love the way you pull at my shirt when you're so turned on you can't seem to get close enough to me. "Oh my god!" Arohi said blushing fiercely! "I can't believe you notice all that." "Believe it." "When we're close I notice everything about you." "Arohi leaned her head back on his shoulder. They hadn't made love yet. They'd come close a few times but for some reason Arjun always pulled away from her. The closer they got emotionally the more they wanted eachother physically. But Arohi wasn't about to make the "first move" Arjun was the guy he needed to do that, except his restraint was getting to be a little irritating! "Do you want to grab dinner after the concert?" Arjun asked now laying with his head in her lap. "Sure," she said. "Let's get Chinese." "We haven't had that in awhile." "My exams are starting next week so Rashi, Shefali and I are going to be doing late nights at the library starting tomorrow." Arohi said running her hands through his hair. "For how long." "Until exams are finished" she answered. "Why don't you study at home, I'll help you." he said. "Becasue with you around I won't get any studying done." "Hey, I'm a great study partner" he said kissing her hand. "No you're a great disrtaction." "Remember last week when you tried to "help me study?" "We ended up making out for an hour!" Arjun grinned. "Oh yeah." "That was fun" he said chuckling when Arohi slapped his arm. They continued to laugh and listen to the beautiful music that filled the park.
The concert ended and Arohi and Arjun made their way hand in hand out of the park along with crowds of other people. It was just at the exit that Arohi saw Abhi. She pulled her hand out of Arjun's hand. Arjun looked at her and then at Abhi. "Abhi, what are you doing here?" she asked. Abhi looked at Arohi and then at Arjun and frowned. "I came with a friend" he said pointing at a girl who stood not too far away. "Oh really, that's great!" Arohi said happily. Abhi continued to frown at Arjun and then putting his hand on Arohi's arm he pulled her aside. Arjun stood staring at the two, his fist clenched to his side. He didn't like Abhi touching his wife in any way. "What is it?" Arohi asked looking back at Arjun's cold and slightly dangerous expression. He looked too volatile right now. "Why are you here with him?" Abhi asked his hand still on her arm. Arohi frowned at him. "Because I want to be here with him." "We're married." she said. "Do you like him?" Abhi asked hesitantly. Arohi didn't say anything. "Do you like him Arohi?" Abhi asked again. "Yes, I do, very much." "I'm sorry Abhi, I didn't want to hurt you but I've always just considered you a good friend." "Even now that's all I wanted, was friendship." "I'm with Arjun now." Abhi glared back at her. "You're in love with him." he said softly. Arohi didn't say anything. "I can't believe you're in love with that Bas**rd." Abhi said squeezing her arm. "Abhi!" "That's my husband!' "I don't want you saying anything about him." Arohi said forcefully. "Sh*t...I can't believe this" Abhi said running his hand through his hair. "I just can't..." He never got to finish his sentence because Arjun walked up and grabbed Arohi's hand.
"You're done here!" he said roughly pulling her away. Abhi glared after them. Arjun walked so fast he was practically dragging Arohi with him. She could tell he was furious. As they got into the car, it started to rain softly. Arjun pulled out of his parking spot and sped away. "Arjun, please slow down." Arohi said trying to be calm. "That sounds familiar." Arjun said furiously. We had this conversation the last time Abhi put his hands on my wife." "Arjun, he just had his hand on my arm." "It's not a big deal." "Him touching you is a big deal." Arjun said. "And you letting him touch you is an even bigger deal." Arohi stared at him in shock. "Let me out!" she said calmly, tears starting to form in her eyes. "Don't be stupid!" Arjun said. "Let Me out!" she shouted as she tried to open her door. Arjun slammed on the brakes. "Are you trying to kill yourself." he yelled. Arohi threw open her door and got out, running she didn't know where. It was dark, and the rain was pouring down now. "Arohi!" Arjun yelled getting out of the car and chasing after her. They were in some sort of open space with just grass for miles and miles. Arohi didn't know where she was or what she was doing all she knew was she'd fallen in love with a jerk. She just kept running. Arjun chased her and as he got closer he grabbed her arm and pulled her around. Still holding her arm he yelled "Have you lost your freakin mind?" The rain had soaked through their clothes and Arohi stood shivering infront of him now. "Yes, I've lost my mind" she screamed. "I lost it a while go when I started thinking you were different!" "Stop with your drama and let's go home!' Arjun yelled pulling her. Arohi struggled. "I'm not going anywhere with you!" she yelled. "You want me to call Abhi!" "he could probably convince you to leave!" Arjun shouted. Arohi put out her hand to slap Arjun and he caught it! "I can't believe I was so stupid, so stupid" she said. "Stupid about what?" "Stupid about making me think we could be a real husband and wife?' he yelled. "No Stupid about falling in love with you!" she screamed. Arjun stared at her as her tears mixed with the rain. "What did you say?" he asked softly. "Nothing!" she screamed at him, trying to pull away. "You love me?" he said softly. " "Not anymore!" she said sobbing. Arjun paused and pulled her into his arms hugging her close. "You love me" he said. Arohi struggled until she heard him say. "I love you too Arohi." "So much that seeing you with Abhi makes me feel like I can lose you at any time." Arohi stopped struggling and pulled away to look at him. "I'm so damn in love with you." Arjun said that "I can't think straight." "I'm sorry for what I said earlier, I'm an idiot!" Arohi stared at him and then threw herself into his arms. Arjun squeezed her to him lifting her off her feet. "I love you" "I love you so much." she said. Arjun put her down and in the pouring rain he took her face in his hands and kissed her passionately. The rain continued to fall but they didn't notice anything but the two of them and their love for eachother.
Extra long part this time. Please let me know what you think. Sorry about the delay. And for those of you who are interested I've started a new FF called Kambakht Ishq. If you read it please let me know what you think. Thanks and take care.
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