Sea Mist

Chapter 22

When Khushi woke up, it felt like a dream as she saw the ocean from the glass doors. She used the washroom and then flopped down on the bed again and jumped back into bed and snuggled into the blanket.

"Good morning!" Arnav walked in, shirtless, his track pants low on his waist. He smiled showing off his white teeth and Khushi stared at how devastatingly handsome he looked with his tousled hair, beard and his spectacularly muscled body. She opened her eyes wide, pinching herself just to make sure all this was real.

"Khushi?" Arnav came up to her and leaned down to kiss her in the cheek, "I said good morning."

"Good morning." Khushi sat up and accepted the coffee cup hoping he hadn't noticed that she was drooling over him.

"I will go out in a little bit and get some breakfast for us," he told her as he sat down beside her. "I have some work in the city," he put his arm around her, "after that I will be back and we can go to lunch."

The aroma of the coffee was invigorating. "Arnav, how long are we going to stay here?" she asked him.

"Why?" He asked her, "Don't you like it here?"

"I absolutely love it here, but the art project is complete --- I have to start my Masters course soon –"

"Well the whole point of distance learning is that you can do it from anywhere," Arnav pointed out.

"Arnav, we can't keep eating out all the time," she told him, "the kitchen here doesn't have all the utensils. Wouldn't it be easier if we just stayed at the ancestral house?"

"We can't be like this with Ratna hovering over us."

"That's true but we have to get the house cleaned up before aunty arrives next week, don't we?" She took a sip of her coffee.

"Yes, we do," he agreed, "we need to spruce up the house for Aarav's engagement."

Khushi sat up in surprise, "Aarav is getting engaged!?" She put her coffee cup on the nightstand.

"He called me a few days back," he said, "he has found his future wife."

"You are telling me now!" Khushi exclaimed, "Who's the girl? Is she a doctor?"

"No, she is not a doctor," Arnav smiled mischievously, "she is a baker."

"Oh," Khushi said, "where is she from?"

"Udupi."

Enlightenment dawned on Khushi. "Oh, my God – it's Rashmi!"

Arnav smiled. "I was wondering how many more clues I would have to give you."

"How did it happen?" Khushi asked him.

"Rashmi recently took Sanvi and her mother to the US for a holiday. They stayed with Aarav and then they all went to Florida together and spent a week visiting all the amusement parks there."

"I think it all began when Aarav took Rashmi home after our trip to the waterfall," Khushi reminisced, "He helped her with Sanvi when she was sick." Khushi was playing with his chest hair absently sending goose bumps down his body.

"Yes, they kept in touch after Aarav left India," Arnav said as he put his coffee cup away. "Looks like Aarav always had a crush on her since college days and that was the reason for his frequent trips to Udupi all the way from Mysore."

"Really? That's so romantic! His story is just like Manav's --," Khushi blurted out before she could stop herself, "I mean he had a crush on Rashmi too –"

"I know you are talking about Di." Arnav said.

"You knew?" Khushi asked him in surprise.

"Of course, I knew," he said, "he is my best friend. It was hard to watch him all these years, but there was nothing that could be done about the situation."