Snuck-in Bride

6.Stolen glances

You waved at Arjun as soon as he spotted you, a small smile on your face as you ended his call.

He waved back, mirroring your own smile as he walked past a few people.

A few didn't recognize him, some did, and there were people who gave him a long stare, knowing they had seen him somewhere but couldn't exactly remember where.

He walked past all of them and finally stood in front of you.

"Hey," he said with the same smile.

"Hey, Arjun," your voice was surprisingly calm as you greeted him back. "Am I late?"

"I'm just early," he replied and you nodded, glancing around the mall before facing him again.

"Where should we start?" You asked and a second later, you both turned your heads to the arcade you were standing in front of.

"Shall we?" He asked and you nodded again, walking beside him and inside the arcade.

And you kept telling yourself that you were going to be as normal as being normal goes, and not do anything crazy.

Ten minutes later~

"Y/n, no!" Arjun tried pulling you away as you held on to the claw machine for dear life. "You'll bankrupt yourself if you keep doing this."

"Just one more time, Arjun," you tried to convince him, still clinging to the game with one arm. "I'll definitely win that plushie."

You got weird looks as you seemed another pull away from probably dragging the claw machine with you.

Between all this, he was still trying to stop you from spending your salary of an entire month in a single game.

"I know the mistakes I've made now," you reasoned. "I can win it now."

"Okay, but let's try the other games before trying again," Arjun said. "What about the hammer?"

"That sounds good," you finally let go of the claw machine.

"Let me refill the card," he was still holding your hand. "Do you want to wait here?"

"No, I'll do it," you got the card from him. "Don't get lost, okay?"

You left to stand in queue to pay for the card again, and Arjun turned to stare at the claw machine.

Quickly, he clicked a picture of the Baby Yoda plushie you wanted to win, so that if he finds the exact same one in a claw machine again, he'll try to win it for you.

You returned after five minutes, and after the hammer game, you tried a different claw machine.

While you were in the queue, a staff member told you genuinely that it's useless to try winning the one with the plushies.

You were a bit dejected but you won jellies and tokens in the next claw machine so it did the work to mend your heart.

Jumping up and down as you won, you handed the jellies to Arjun, and the tokens to the person behind the counter where cards were paid for.

The staff took the tokens and gave you extra points in the card and needless to say, you both didn't leave the arcade for a couple of hours.

Time went by with soft and sometimes wild laughter, glancing when you both thought the other wasn't looking, and it felt like you'd known each other for years.

It's just like how you loved your burger. Cheesy.

For lunch, it was KFC in all obviousness. Your take on Tender Wings of Desire.

"And there are more than three hundred KitKat flavors," you went on after finishing the burger. "I've always wanted to try the green tea flavor."

"That's a nice one," Arjun said as he ate the rest of the fries. "I want to try the sweet potato flavor though."

"The bright purple one, right?" You asked, peeking inside the bucket that previously had fried chicken, making sure nothing was left behind. "Do you like sweet potatoes?"

"Boiled," he added and reached for the tissues, taking one for himself and handing one to you.

"Thank you," you mumbled, using the tissue and placing it on the tray with the rest of the empty boxes.

When you placed your hand back on the table, about to resume your conversation, Arjun did the same coincidentally.

You paused, blinked, realized your hand was in his, and then looked into his eyes.

The fact that he was already looking at you didn't help.

You glanced around for no reason, mentally slapping yourself so that you'd respond.

Arjun's fingers laced themselves around yours, and you looked at him again.

'Is this a date?' You wanted to ask.

But you pushed the thought to the back of your mind as his fingers moved again to interlock with yours.

It was a divine feeling, a sense of security for both of you as your heartbeat raised and lowered again.

For exactly five seconds, you stared at each other impromptu.

"You wanted to go home before evening," Arjun was the one to break the silence. "Shall we?" He asked and you nodded.

His fingers slipped out of yours slowly.

If not for the team meeting, due the next hour, you swear you both could've stayed until the mall was closed down and the security kicked you out.

Neither of you spoke during the walk to the elevator, and only let the back of your hands touch now and then.

Once you were inside the elevator, Arjun pressed the button to the basement parking lot where you both had parked your cars after arriving at different times.

You stood beside each other, waiting for the doors to close.

Empty elevator, you glanced around again, no cameras. You have no idea why you did that.

"Dizzy?" You asked when the elevator started moving.

"Faintly," Arjun answered, looking at you as he added. "I enjoyed my day, Y/n. I love spending time with you."

Keyword: 'love.' Not 'loved.'

"Same with you," you looked back at him, not willing to say anything that'd put him in the spot.

But at this point, you should've known that your brain is traitorous.

"Is this a date?" Your mouth acted before your mind did.

'Is it not a date?' Arjun was still looking at you as he spoke courteously. "I want to get to know you, Y/n. I've loved every minute with you and I want to buy you KFC for even longer in the future, if you consider this as a date too."

Why else would introvert-he try to make conversation with you at a wedding where thousands were gathered?

One look at you eating pani puri and he was a goner.

At this point, you were facing him, your gazes flickering just slightly down to each other's lips.

For the most part, you were looking up at him like you were going to smack him down.

And you did, but towards yourself, a hand on his cheek and lips on his.

Arjun kissed you back, head dipped towards you as he leaned in closer, saying a lot of things without using words.