Arshi: Off The Stage (On-hold)

17

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"You look gorgeous. Makes me wonder if we should offer you a lifetime contract instead of the one-year contract I had offered you." Arnav said as he took his seat in front of her.

"I like lifetime contract, not in this context though." Khushi muttered under her breath. Arnav was not supposed to hear that, but he did. And he was glad to know that 'aag dono tharaf barabar lagi hai'.

"Thank you for the compliment. I am going out clubbing with friends after this. Hence the over the top outfit." She clarified for him, even though he did not ask that.

"Oh. And here I thought you dressed up so well to meet me." He was genuinely disappointed to know that her outfit was not because he had called her out on a 'date'.

"And why would I do that?" Khushi asked and Arnav had no words to reply to that. The way Khushi's eyes sparkled as she asked him that rendered him speechless. Khushi saw his predicament and decided not to torture him further.

"I had plans already in place with my friends. I was planning to go home after gym, get ready and then go out. Since you called me for this" – Khushi's hands moved to show the setting they were in, "I had to get ready using the gym facilities again."

"I am so sorry to spring this on you on short notice." Arnav apologized.

"Well, I am here, aren't I? I wanted to come. Otherwise I would've said No when you called. I don't agree to things just to please anyone. You should know that about me." Khushi said and Arnav nodded.

"Noted." Arnav said in response.

"Okay, so thank you for the compliment. You don't look too shabby yourself." Khushi commented on his appearance.

Arnav had ditched the blazer and tie he had worn to office. He looked nice in the sky-blue shirt and grey trousers. He tousled his hair, probably out of habit, or because her compliment had caught him off hand. She liked the way his messy hair looked. The Arnav Singh Raizada, she heard about from her sister over the years, was a very organized man, not a hair out of place. The guy in front of her looked comfortable, happy and at peace. Khushi was glad he was able to be his actual self with her.

"And thank you for noticing." Arnav replied to her compliment.

Arnav and Khushi, as two individuals, were not people who were too much comfortable with flirting. But, with each other, they didn't realize they were doing it. They just seemed to like the way their conversation was progressing.

"How much time do we have before you have to go?" Arnav asked and Khushi looked at her Phone to check. Soon, she got engrossed in a text she had received and excused herself to reply to it.

As she turned her head, a strand of hair fell on to her face and Arnav had to hold himself back from moving the rogue hair back in place. Khushi didn't seem to be bothered by it.

'Do something, anything. Distract yourself.' Arnav thought to himself. He picked up his phone. There were no new notifications and Arnav didn't know what to do. His finger accidentally brushed the camera icon on the screen and the application opened up. He knew what he could do. He sneakily raised his phone and clicked a picture of her. That strand of hair that had bothered him earlier, framed her face beautifully. He didn't want to appear creepy and stopped clicking after three pictures.

"Sorry about that. I can stay for another hour." Khushi said looking up at Arnav who was distracted by her photo on his phone.

"We should order something then." Arnav said as he called the waiter over. Arnav ordered himself a chicken croissant and Americano while Khushi ordered a blueberry cheesecake and Latte for herself.