One Day At A Time

Chapter Twenty Four - Cold Turkey

It was happening again, that swift rise in his pulse, that unbearable longing in his heart with the mere thought of seeing her, a feeling he had gotten accustomed to in the last few months when he had been sitting thousands of miles away from her. As the world was slowly waking up to the mellow Christmas morning, Arnav rode with Akash through the hazy cold mist of Pune streets, cursing himself for putting Khushi through so much pain and losing out on precious time when he had just one week left to fly back to London. He desperately wanted to end the misery that had descended upon them through circumstances and some impulsive behaviour, his mind committed to try and get them back to where they were before.

Standing outside her door impatiently after Akash had dropped him off, he felt a fluttering in his stomach as he rang the doorbell, and was a tad bit disappointed to see Avinash open the door.

"Morning, Arnav beta."

"Morning Kaka." Arnav wished him with a smile, utilising the moments of silence which followed the greeting to formulate a perfect excuse for disturbing him this early in the morning on his day off. "I came to—"

"Give me one minute." Khushi appeared out of nowhere looking stunning in jeans and a red top, and thrust her jacket into Arnav's hands, leaving him completely baffled. Before he could say anything, he saw her rush inside to grab her set of keys and handbag to join him outside in a hurry. By now, Arnav was too confounded to react and glanced at Avinash for some sort of explanation for her behaviour.

"Be here by noon, Arnav. We don't want to be late for the Christmas lunch at my friend's house." Avinash said sharply and turned towards Khushi. "Mithhoo, by noon, or I won't be very happy."

Khushi nodded. "Yes, Baba. It's just casual shopping for his friends and the receptionist in his dorm. How long can it take?"

Arnav stared at her in complete awe with a stupefied expression on his face as the realisation of what she was doing dawned on him. At that moment, more than any other, he felt like the worst man in the world for having doubted the perceptivity, the understanding and the beautiful heart of this girl. He was aware she knew him well, but this was taking it to a whole new level. She was so confident he would want to come to see her the first thing in the morning? For some reason, the realisation that she could read him like a book warmed the cockles of his heart.

They climbed down the stairs in silence for he couldn't come up with a single word to say to her. The only sentence that was exchanged between them from the parking lot of their building to Akash's house was from him. "You never cease to amaze me, Khush," to which she had responded with a perfunctory smile.

***

Half an hour later, Arnav was waiting for her impatiently in Akash's guest room. The room brought back the memory of those beautiful moments shared with her, a feeling of warmth suffusing inside him, sending tingles down to every nerve ending of his body. He could hear her downstairs, chatting up Chef Chacha and Akash with disconcerting alacrity, which meant only one thing — she was as nervous as him. He leaned against a wall and sighed. He had missed her. Terribly. She hadn't said much during their ride nor had she avoided him. Her behaviour had left him restless, and he couldn't wait to talk to her to sort things out between them once and for all.

A smell of hundred roses and coffee wafted through the air, and he breathed her scent in as she glided into the room holding a hot mug of coffee in her hand. "I've brought you coffee, the way you like it." She placed it on the mahogany bedside table and stood staring at him pensively.

He pinned his lips together and ambled towards her. "Thank you, Khush." He smiled as he threw a quick glance at the mug before his eyes found her's again. "I know you are angry." He said gently as he looked into her sparkling brown eyes. "I have been an ass, I admit. I am sorry. I shouldn't have behaved the way I did."