ArShi | Phir Subah Hogi

~2~

The night was still in full swing, Anjali and Shyam's family and friends were performing one after the other. Since Arnav and Khushi had bumped into each other and introduced themselves, they went their separate directions but their eyes lingered on each other from the distance.

Arnav glanced around the room and his eyes narrowed in on her figure making her way upstairs. An earshot away, Arnav overheard his brother in law Shyam telling his sister Anjali that Khushi was going to perform and as per Shyam, she was a phenomenal dancer. Arnav already knew she was a great dancer, from the moment he saw her for the first time earlier, dancing in the circle.

Khushi hummed to herself as she walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom that she had used to change her outfit for her performance. She folded her ghagra choli and placed it on the bed along with her bag. She was excited for her performance, ever since Shyam had announced his marriage she had been looking forward to it and she had put a lot of effort into preparing the act. She looked around the room fascinated by what she saw. The room was adorned in grey, royal blue and black interior filled with personal touches, from a gallery wall of black and white photos to a collection of cassettes near the tv.

Arnav walked through the corridor and saw the door was already open slightly, he further pushed the door open and that's when he saw Khushi staring into space. He crept up behind her and whispered, "Hi."

The soft husky voice startled her from behind, making her hold onto her chest, in an attempt to calm her frantic heartbeat. She turned around swiftly to face him.

She frowned at him, "Don't sneak up on me like that."

He surrendered his hands mid-air, "Sorry..." He looked around and asked, "What are you doing here anyways?"

She casually replied, "Needed a place to change, Anjali told me upstairs, I could use any of the rooms."

She narrowed her eyes, "So what are you doing here?"

He held a finger up, "One this is my house." He held another finger up, "And two this is my bedroom."

She widened her eyes, and pointed around the room, "This is your-?" He nodded before she could complete her question. "Ohh..." She raised an eyebrow, "Those old filmy cassettes are yours?"

He shrugged, "Can't a guy have cassettes?"

She looked amused, "He can, I just didn't think you did."

He pushed his hands into his pockets, "You've known me for all of two hours at tops, judging much?"

She laughed, "First impressions are lasting ones, but I didn't mean to judge."

He pursed his lips, "First impressions are definitely lasting." He took a good look at her, she was dressed in a royal blue saree with a glittered border, her hair remained open, and her only jewellery were heart shaped stud diamond earrings. "You look beautiful by the way."

She folded her arms across her abdomen, "Is that a sincere compliment? Or plain flirting?"

Just as he was about to reply, the shrilling sound of her phone interrupted them. He stepped back just as she moved a few steps ahead, putting some distance between them, to answer her phone.

He observed the different faces she made while on the phone with whoever the lucky person was. She walked back to him and asked him something while she was still on the phone. He nodded, without registering a word she was saying.

As she ended the call, she clasped his hands into hers, "Thank you so much! You're amazing." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek without thinking twice, "I really didn't think you could dance, it seems like today is my day."