ArShi FF : The Boy Next Door

v. Date Nights and Drama

Khushi hadn't heard from Arnav for the rest of yesterday and when she went to the office today morning, she had a very well thought out explanation in her head for the question he had asked her yesterday, "WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE ENGAGED?"

The question had haunted her the entire night and she had imagined their conversation a million times in her head before finally figuring out what she was going to tell him. Least to say, she didn't get a good night's sleep. And to her misfortune, the day hadn't gone any better. It turned out that Arnav had to go for an outdoor shoot of one of their productions to overlook the management and so he hadn't come to the office at all. Thanks to that, her anxiety had only been bubbling up for the big night.

On the professional front, Khushi was doing great at her job. In fact, the only good part of her day was when Lavanya had praised her for coming up with a cost cutting solution for an otherwise expensive set. All those years of budgeting in the small city had come in handy for her and she was oddly pleased about that.

After coming home, she knew she had to get ready and look her best because even though she had a whirlwind of emotions going inside of her, she was representing the production house and that's what mattered the most. She had asked Lavanya earlier that day about the dress code and she just told Khushi to wear something nice and formal. That obviously didn't help much.

She started trying out the gowns she owned, one by one and that's when Payal joked, "What are you getting ready? I get that it's the finale of The Bachelor tonight but you don't have to get ready for it."

"Ha ha ha, really funny, di. I'm getting ready for a party. It's a work thing. Arnav asked me to accompany him." Khushi sarcastically responded to her joke.

"So, it's a date?"

"Trust me, it's the farthest thing from a date."

Only if Khushi could explain to Payal what was about to go down... but she was saving the conversation for later because she had a party to get ready for.
As she was trying on a bunch of her dresses, Payal asked her to wear a saree.

"It's a classy party not a sangeet ceremony, di."

Ignoring what Khushi said, Payal went ahead and pulled out her mother's minimalistic ivory lace saree that had sequined embroidery on the borders. After a lot of struggling and reluctance, Khushi agreed to try it on. Payal helped her drape the saree and Khushi's disproval remained intact until she saw herself in the mirror and a smile quickly replaced the frown.

Okay... so sometimes you should shut up and listen to big sisters.

***

Arnav's expensive as hell sedan had been driven out of the parking lot and stood in the middle of their houses.  Arnav's chauffer held the door for Khushi as he sat in there with an icy cold look. Khushi almost greeted him as she sat in the car but stopped realising his ignorance towards her. And that's when she knew this was going to be a difficult evening.

"You look good."

Two minutes into the drive and Khushi almost jumped when she heard him say that. The tension in the car had been suffocating her and every minute seemed like an hour till Arnav said that.

"Thanks. You look great, too." Khushi wasn't sure what else to say. It seemed like a time-bomb was waiting to go off. The loaded conversation could start any moment and she wasn't ready.