One Day At A Time

Chapter 8 - Misled

August 20, 1993
Pune

"Hey! I was just coming over to have a word with Kaka about—" Arnav paused as he saw Khushi standing in front of him, looking like a million bucks. "—are you going out somewhere?"

He had been standing at her doorstep, about to ring the doorbell when she had opened the door. Despite making a conscious effort to not stare at her blatantly of late, he winded up doing precisely that at that moment. She looked stunning in black leggings and a simple turmeric yellow kurti. The colour suited her, bringing about radiance to her persona. He saw her hair left open and drew in a shaky breath. But more than anything else, the thing that always drew his attention of late was the kohl in her eyes. The weird part was that he just couldn't remember the time when she had started wearing it. And now, whenever she did, it transformed her face — from gentle to a vibrant one or —even spicy? It enhanced the shape of her light brown eyes, rendering them even more expressive and beautiful. For some reason, the kurti was making her eyes look smokier or was it her face that looked more alluring? Whatever the reason, she had no idea of how beautiful she was looking right now —absolutely no idea!

"Baba is in his room reading a book. You can see him now. I was just stepping out to meet Kabs." Khushi replied as she wrapped her scarf around her neck, which would then go round her head once she was on the road.

"With Kabir —at this hour? It's 8 pm! Kaka allowed you to step out?" Arnav asked, surprised and slightly irked.

"Shhh! I fed him an entertaining yet compelling story. I think he bought it. But I got to be back in an hour." Khushi whispered near his ears.

The moment she leaned in, his heart skipped a bit. She was standing close to him, the mild whiff of her summery perfume and the fruity smell of her shampooed hair hit him at the same time, buzzing his senses. Every passing day, he noticed a new thing about her. With every moment he spent with her, it was getting challenging to rein in his feelings. Over the months, he had grown adept at concealing them from her, but lately, it was wearing him out, more so with his impending travel to London.

"Why? What's going on?" Arnav whispered back, stealing a glance at her lower lip which was caught under her teeth.

"A new girl, after a long time. I am all excited!" Khushi whispered with a twinkle in her eyes.

Arnav was surprised. Despite being close to Kabir, he didn't remember a single moment where there was a mention of any girl that he was interested in. Why was he always the last one to know of his interests?

"That is number two in two years. And I am not counting the crushes and little flings, especially now that he plays the guitar! I hope for his sake that this one stays for more than one week!" Arnav smiled.

"I hope so too, Arnav." Khushi smiled back.

"The guy never tells me anything, and neither do you Khush! What the hell?"

"Arey! Do you need to be informed of everything that happens with everyone?! Kahin ke maharaja ho? Besides, it is always better to ask a girl about a girl. It's between him and me. You might be close to him, but I am closer!" Khushi spoke to him, flicking the tip of her nose with her finger in the air.

"I see. So tell me Khush, how does it feel being very very very close to a monkey??" Arnav asked, mirth dancing in his eyes

"Simple! All I have to do is come close to you to see how it —" She stopped mid-sentence when she realised that his eyes had lost the amusement and the light orbs had turned a shade darker. She looked away quickly and fumbled in her handbag for her house keys.