Dark Night Dawning Chapter 4

Synopsis: As you can see, Arnav does make it to the dinner. Read on to find out what happens when they reach the restaurant.

Dark Night Dawning – Part 4

Khushi realized it was not her imagination when the safety pin she was trying to pin her pallu with poked her, making her wince as it slipped out of her hands. What was he doing here?

Arnav was mesmerized. He had come up thinking which colour of the rainbow she would have chosen to wear tonight. But, when he saw her he was zapped. She was draped in the most beautiful wine coloured saree. But all he could see was her back. Except for the two narrow strips of cloth brought together by a jewelled clasp, he could see her entire back. There was something very sexy about her back. His body hardened just looking at that sight. One day she was driving him up the wall with her pativrata avatar. The next day she was a siren. Which one was she? Whatever it was, he’d better get her out to that restaurant fast or else he would be tempted to drag her to their bed right now and that was closer!

‘Khushi, hurry up, will you?’ he said, his voice rough, ‘We are already running late.’

Khushi quickly pinned up her pallu, surprized at his sudden change of behaviour. One moment, it looked like he was going to devour her and the in the next, he was ordering her about.

‘What are you doing here?’ she asked anger rising at his tone, ‘I thought you had an important meeting.’

‘I am Arnav Singh Raizada,’ he said haughtily, ‘I don’t revolve around meetings, it’s the other way around. So if you are done with your interrogation, we should be on our way.’

Khushi sat in the car miffed with Arnav. She had disliked the tone in which he had talked earlier. Why did he have to be such a Laad Governor all the time?

‘Where is Di?’ she asked looking around for Anjali.

‘Di left early so that we don’t lose the reservation,’ he said, ‘God knows how much more time you would have taken to dress up.’

‘The reason I was running late was because Di asked me to go back and change from my suit into this saree.’ she explained irritated.

So Di had planned all this, he thought. She just won’t stop meddling, will she?He had called her in advance to let her know he was joining them for dinner.After thinking about it the entire day at work, he had finally decided that he had to go to this dinner at any cost. He would have to pull a few strings to reschedule that meeting but he’d be damned if he let Khushi go all alone anywhere in the vicinity of Shyam. He remembered how his hands had itched to punch him right in the face when he had slyly persuaded Anjali to bring Khushi along for the dinner. The slimeball!

**

When they reached the hotel building, he called Anjali to let her know that they were in the parking lot and would be up in a few minutes. They got in the elevator and pressed the button to the 13^th floor. When they went up to the 2^nd floor, a little boy got into the elevator all by himself. They were wondering if he was lost when suddenly he pressed a bunch of buttons from 3 to 9. Just when Arnav was about to ask him what he was doing he got off on the 3^rd floor and ran away.

Arnav was so irritated with the little boy when the lift started stopping at each and every floor. Finally after the 8^th floor, the lift gave a lurch, and began to creep upward.

‘What’s happening?’ asked Khushi, when the floor beneath her stuttered, swayed and stopped.The door remained closed.

‘I think the lift is stuck between two floors,’ he returned. He tried pressing the alarm button and checked the signal on his phone.  ‘The alarm button doesn’t seem to be working and there is no signal here. We will have to wait until someone comes along to fix it.’

He went to the far corner of the lift and stripped off his coat jacket. He had worn a white shirt inside. Khushi loved to see him in white. He looked very sexy. She wished she could walk up to him and run her fingers through his hair and undo couple of his buttons……. What was she thinking? She remembered what she was going to tell him.

‘What? No way! We can’t just wait until someone comes,’ she said her voice shrill, ‘Can we not try to climb out of this lift?’

‘Are you crazy?’ he asked her incredulously.

‘I have seen it a movie,’ she insisted.

‘For God’s sake Khushi, this is India. Look up. Do you see a exit door anywhere? No! They don’t make those kinds of lifts here. OK?’

‘Ok, ok there is no need to yell Laad governor,’ she muttered under her breath.

‘Is this some kind of family tradition?’ he asked her.

‘What?’ she asked surprized.

‘Giving nick names to people. This Laad Governor, and then your buaji calls you sanka devi, parmeshwari, titaliya.’ He particularly loved titaliya. It suited her. He wished she would just stop talking and fly over to him right now.

So he notices my nick names ha? He should be one to talk. She realized she had said that aloud when he said ‘Excuse me?’

‘I have heard that someone used to be called Archie in his college days.’

‘How did you know?’ he was glaring at her, the glint in those deep brown eyes like a danger signal.

Before she could say anything he realized, ‘Ah let me guess. Karan* told you, didn’t he?’

‘Yes.’ She couldn’t help the mischievous smile that stole into her lips. ‘He also told me why.’

‘I don’t know what he told you,’ he began, ‘But it was definitely not because I was like that Archie character.’

‘If you say so.’ Her expression told him that she didn’t believe him one bit.

‘Look. The real reason was that, there were these two girls who had proposed to me at the same time. They apparently had a fight with each other. So, my friends started calling them Betty and Veronica. Then the nickname Archie got stuck on me. That’s it.’

Khushi began to giggle slowly at first and then it turned into an uncontrollable laughter.

‘Shut up Khushi,’ snapped Arnav, ‘I am so glad I could be of some entertainment to you.’

‘So?’ she asked giggling, ‘Who did you choose?’

‘What? No way. I wasn’t into that!’ he snarled.

‘Why?’ she asked looking at him doubtfully.

‘Oh God!’ he rolled his eyes, exasperated, ‘I just wasn’t into those girls.’

‘Oh I see’ she said nodding her head.

‘Not that I was a saint or anything,’ he said sheepishly. That grin, the little boyish thing that pulled at one corner of his mouth was back again.

‘Don’t I know that!’ she muttered under her breath.

‘It’s just that I couldn’t afford to waste my time in such frivolities.’ He said grimly.

Khushi thought she saw a flash pain in his eyes, but it was gone so fast, masked again by the glint that she had seen earlier.

‘Arnavji, look!’ Khushi stood up, pointing to a small square junction box at one corner of the roof of the lift, ‘Maybe there is something in that, which will help us.’

Arnav decided to just sit where he was. He wasn’t sure he would be able to keep his hands off her if went close to her tonight. Moreover, her hair-brained ideas only ended up causing more trouble

‘Ok looks like I will have to do it myself then’ she said irritated. She tried reaching but realized it was way too high for her. She also realized it would be way too high for Arnav even if he tried. There was only one way.

‘Arnavji?’ she asked softly, ‘Could you please lift me up so I can reach up to that box?’

‘Damn!’ He groaned inwardly. Why couldn’t she be quiet like normal wives? Only the day before, she was in that ugly saree wearing a ghoongat on her head. And now, here she was in her sanka devi avatar.

‘Please Arnavji,’ she pleaded, ‘I hate closed spaces.’

She had batted her eyelashes again. Gosh! Did she know that was his weakness? He stood up and walked up to her staring at her intently. She briefly closed her eyes as he put both his hands on her waist and lifted her high up in the air, holding the position by pressing his elbows to her hips.

‘A little higher Arnavji’ she gasped, using her right hand to reach the box, while the other hand rested on his shoulder for support.

Arnav swore under his breath. She was unbelievable! It was hard for him already his face being in level with her breasts, and here she was asking him to lift her higher! He loosened his hands so she slid down him gently, his face brushing the valley between her breasts in the most feathery of touches. As her feet touched the ground, Khushi looked at him nervously with luminous eyes in a way only she could, her lips trembling a little, her hands on his shoulders. Then suddenly, he lifted her higher this time, holding her in place with his hands wrapped around her thighs. This way, he was at kissing distance with her midriff. Khushi found that she was able to open the door of the junction box. Inside she found a bunch of switches.

‘Arnavji,’ she called out to him, ‘There seem to be so many switches here. What should I do?’

‘Khushi, just don’t touch any of them,’ he warned her, ‘I am getting you down now, ok?’

Khushi didn’t want to let it go without trying. She pressed them all one by one. Suddenly the lift gave a lurch and was plunged into complete darkness! Arnav lost his balance and they both fell in a heap, with Arnav cushioning Khushi’s fall.

‘Arnavji!’ screamed Khushi, ‘What’s happening? Is the lift falling? Are we going to die?’

Arnav realized that Khushi was having an anxiety attack because of her fear for darkness and closed spaces. He took her in his arms and made her sit on his lap.

‘Ssh…. Khushi, it’s ok,’ he tried calming her down, ‘I am right here. I won’ t let anything happen to you.’

‘I am not able to breath,’ gasped Khushi hyperventilating, ‘Please do something Arnavji, get me out of here!’

Arnav had heard that people who had anxiety attacks could be calmed down with distraction. And he decided to do just that in the only way he knew how. He brought his lips down on hers.

His tongue ran lightly across the line of her mouth, trailing intoxicating fire from corner to corner. Against her will she felt every muscle in her body relaxing, her arms beginning to slide around his neck, one hand finding the crisp warmth of his thick hair.

Her lips parted voluntarily under the passionate, gentle insistence of his. Suddenly it was as though some unbelievably wonderful firework had exploded in her mind, showering brilliance and colour through the darkness. She found her back arching upwards, thrusting her breasts against his hard chest. Her fingers clenched in his hair ---- and then she was lost in a kiss more utterly sensual, more bone-melting, than anything she had ever dreamed of. His body was fierce and hard against hers, their mouths locked together in a sweetness that was scalding, enveloping like fire …

As he drew away from her, she clung to him with confused passion, offering her face to his kisses ----passionate, dizzying kisses that came like scalding rain on her eyelids, her cheeks, her mouth ….

As his hands unclasped the jewel at the back her blouse to claim the shuddering skin, her own fingers slipped into his shirt to dig into the firm muscles of his chest, and she met his kiss with a blazing passion that had them both gasping and dizzy.

‘God,’ he whispered fiercely, ‘I need you so much, Khushi! You are so beautiful ----‘

‘Arnavji!’ Khushi looked up at him her eyes luminous and their eyes locked for countless moments. They didn’t realize that door had opened until they heard familiar voices penetrate through the haze.

‘Bhai? Chote ! Khushi!’ All voices spoke at once. They looked up, their eyes still glazed to see two guys who looked like technicians, a manager, Payal, Akash, Anjali and Shyam staring at them their mouths open.

Arnavrealized that how it must look to them, withKhushi sitting on his lap with their arms on each other, their hair mussed up because of the tumble they took in the dark, his top two shirt buttons had popped off when Khushi had clutched at it while she fell and her lipstick was totally gone, not to mention the flushed look she had on her face. Arnav helped Khushi up and stood up in one swift movement. He picked up his jacket that he had discarded earlier and as Khushi tried to rush off, he pulled her back, and she clashed against his chest. At her gasped shock, he placed the jacket on her back, bending toward her to whisper in her ear.

‘Go to the rest room with Payal and fix your blouse first.’

She turned a deeper shade of red if that was possible, as she grabbed Payal’s hand and walked away as fast as her legs could take her.

Apologizing for the inconvenience, the hotel manager explained to everyone that the lift often got stuck if the 9^th floor button was pressed as that floor was not yet operational. He also explained that the lift boy had stepped out for an emergency. After the manager left,Anjali told Arnav how they had asked the hotel manager, when he and Khushi had not come up even after 10 minutes. The manager had figured out that they were probably stuck in the lift and brought the technicians to fix the problem. They had all waited there while the technicians worked until they could get the lift doors open.

‘This is not what it looks like,’ Arnav turned toward his sister, ‘I can explain.’

‘I am sure you have an explanation just like the one you gave us for the bathroom incident,’ she said mischievously.

‘What bathroom incident?’ asked Akash, ‘No one told me anything about it.’

‘Don’t worry Akash,’ said Anjali playfully patting Akash’s back‘Let’ go back to our table. I will explain what happened the other day. But first I want to hear from Chotey.’

‘What you doing here?’ Arnav asked Akash hoping to distract him, ‘Weren’t you supposed to take Payal to a movie tonight?’

‘We couldn’t get tickets to the movie we wanted to watch, so we decided to join Di for dinner. I am so glad we missed that movie. We got to watch a better show here.’ He added tongue in cheek.

These two were not going to let it go, thought Arnav desperately trying to prepare his explanation.

As the three siblings walked together engrossed in their own world, the loner left behind on his own watched them with simmering resentment, his face twitching. He wrung his hands in frustration thinking that things were getting out of hand.