“Dr Danes!”
Khushi called out, as she ran to catch up with her mentor and boss.
“Yes Khushi?”
Oliver kept up his pace as walked toward the OR.
“I heard you’re doing
a valve replacement. I’d really love to assist.” Dr Danes stopped abruptly,
causing Khushi to trip over her own feet as she skidded to a halt.
He smirked as he looked his resident up and down. “Nice try Gupta. It’s 6.00 pm already. I’m
not giving you any excuse to back out of your date. Now go on, get out of here.
” he shooed her away.
Shaking his head and laughing, he continued walking
away from her.
Khushi groaned in frustration. Not having gone on a date
before, her anxiety had been building up all day. She started biting the ends
of her fingernails.
“Stop that!”
Khushi scrunched up her nose and turned around to see Meg,
Shagun and Jahnvi staring at her. Shagun swatted at her hands...”You’ll ruin your nails.”
Without any warning she was yanked into the shower room and
handed a towel and some toiletries.
“Have a shower,
shampoo your hair and make yourself smell nice.” Meg instructed.
“I am capable of dressing myself!’
snapped Khushi.
“Oh we know! What was
it that Khush wore at the last office party?” Shagun asked her voice
dripping with sarcasm.
“Mmmm…jeans and an
old sweat shirt if I remember correctly. Great look!” Jahnvi laughed as she
remembered the horror with which they had looked at Khushi as she came through
the door.
Khushi opened her mouth to justify her choice of attire when
Meg butted in..
“Look we can argue
later. Just go!” Meg gave her a final shove.
Grumbling profanities the whole way, Khushi trudged into the
showers. 15 minutes later she came out
feeling a whole lot more refreshed. Her
hair smelled of frangipani and her skin was tinged slightly red where she had
rubbed herself raw with the loofa.
With a towel wrapped around her body, she lifted her arms in
the air and spun around; droplets of water flying everywhere. “Ta-duh! Happy now?”
They all smiled. “Very!
Now sit down.” Meg pulled her onto the bench of the change rooms. Khushi’s
jaw dropped. In front of her was an arsenal of beauty and hair products. The
locker room looked eerily like the dressing room of America’s next top model.
“What…” Khushi began to protest. Jahnvi put a hand over her
mouth.
“Na-uh! You be
quiet now and let us do our job.” A flurry of activity ensued; Shagun attacked her nails,
Jahnvi took on her hair and Meg organized the make up. 40 minutes later and
Khushi’s nails were buffed to perfection. Jahnvi had dried her hair,
straightened it and put it up in an elegant ponytail.
With those departments handled, Meg began to do her makeup.
They opted for an au natural look except on her lips.
“No! I can’t wear
that colour! It’s not me.” Khushi whined.
Meg glared at her…Khushi shut up.
A deep scarlet colour was decided on and all the girls
clapped in delight with the finished product. Khushi looked stunning.
“Now we all chipped
in and bought you this. Since its like your first big date…ever.” Shagun
began.
“You’re not allowed
to say no!” Jahnvi piped in.
“Khush this guy is
handsome, rich, intelligent and completely into you. We all want you to be
happy.” Meg cajoled.
They presented her with the most beautiful chiffon, halter
neck dress. It was a yellow print; her favourite colour. It was taking all her
will power not to burst into tears; she had no idea what she had done to
deserve such friends.
“Don’t cry stupid!
You’ll ruin your makeup.” Shagun warned in alarm.
Khushi bit down on her lips and took the dress. She gathered
all three of them in a tight group hug and whispered… “You guys are the best! Thank you.”
“We know.” They answered
as a chorus and laughed.
“Go get dressed.
We’ll wait for you outside.” Meg squeezed her hand comfortingly.
*********************************************************************
A little while later she emerged from the locker room
wearing her dress, beige heels and a small clutch. She was greeted with wolf
whistles, cheers and claps. It seemed the whole department, doctors, nurses and
even some patients, had turned out to wish her well on her date. Khushi blushed
a furious shade of red.
“You guys are
unbelievable!” she complained, utterly embarrassed.
“Looking hot Gupta!”
Parker winked at her cheekily. This statement was met with another round of
wolf whistles and loud laughs. Khushi hid her face in her hands…
“That’s quite
enough!” Dr Danes said to quiet everybody down. Oliver kissed Khushi’s
cheek. “You look lovely Dr. Gupta. Have
a good time. But not too good…we need you in the OR tomorrow morning.” He
joked. Turning to the crowd…”I’m sure
you all have work to do. Hop to it!”
Khushi shrugged into her beautiful tweed overcoat and made
her way toward the main entrance. The three amigo’s called out after her…
“Have a good time!”
“You look
stunning”
“Message me if
you need an out!”
Khushi waved them off laughing; they were crazy.
************************************************************************
Arnav was already waiting for her; leaning against his car, arms
folded across his chest. The devil looked delicious; as devils usually do.
Jahnvi was right. He was drop dead gorgeous. Why had she not noticed it before?
Dressed in white chino’s and a white linen shirt he looked the definition of
cool. Khushi tried to divert her mind elsewhere as his eyes roamed her form
from head to toe.
Standing up straight as she walked toward him, he took her
hand in his and dropped a delicate kiss on her knuckles…“Yellow really is your colour.”
Khushi blushed. “And exactly
how many girls have you used that line on?” she raised an eyebrow and
challenged him
Arnav gave the question considerable thought before he
replied in mock seriousness… “Five.”
Khushi rolled her eyes and laughed…”You’re an ass.” He grinned as he opened the car door for her.
“Indeed I am.”
********************************************************************
The car ride had been a journey of stolen glances, of
deliberate lingering touches…of building anticipation. Neither had uttered a
word and the occasion had lent itself to a companionable silence; the
atmosphere devastatingly electric. Soon they arrived at the venue and Arnav
rushed to the passenger side, offering a hand to help her out.
“Are you always this
helpful or is this a special occasion?” she questioned skeptically.
“Are you always this
cynical or is this a special occasion?” he fired back. Khushi pursed her
lips trying not to openly laugh.
As she stood up he put his hand on the small of her back and
whispered in her ear… “You can laugh you
know. As far as I know they haven’t put a tax on that as yet.”
She smiled shyly and he raised an eyebrow… “So, you do behave like a girl occasionally.
Interesting.” Her mouth hung open and she glared at him. Deciding to not
act on her instinctive impulse to slap him she asked instead…
“What is this place?”
Steering her toward the main doors he replied. “You’ll see soon enough doc. I promise.”
They waited at the reception for the maître di. Khushi could hear loud music
coming from outside and people laughing, the atmosphere was welcoming. Arnav
slipped his hand in hers and Khushi looked in his direction, her eyes wide with
disbelief. Arnav simply looked toward the man who approached them; ignoring her
attempts to wriggle her hand out of his.
“I have a booking
under Raizada.”
“Ahhh yes. Table for
two. Let me take your coats. There are outdoor heaters, they provide plenty of
warmth.” Khushi shrugged out of her coat and Arnav felt his throat go dry.
The dress drew attention to her well sculpted collarbones and her petite sinewy
arms. He supposed as a surgeon she would have beautiful hands but there was
something about the way her collarbones dipped into the hollow of her shoulder
that made him slight dizzy.
“Right this way.”
The maître di led them outside.
Arnav shook himself out of his stupor and took her hand once
again. This time she resisted with a little less conviction but refused to look
in his direction.
As they walked out Khushi couldn’t help but gasp. It was one
of the most beautiful places she had ever had the privilege of seeing. As a
doctor she neither had the time nor the monetary means to afford to go to such
places. It was a rare treat. They were seated at a table that took cover under
the shade of a large tree. She took the opportunity to soak in her
surroundings. Tables were staggered around a large dance floor that had been covered
in a canopy of fairy lights. The same fairy lights wrapped themselves around
all the trees and lanterns hung in every corner, lending a soft romantic glow
to the atmosphere. A live band stood in a corner playing upbeat latin numbers
as couples took to the floor reveling in the glorious night.
Khushi sighed voicing her thoughts out loud… “It’s beautiful.”
“Sure is.” She
heard Arnav whisper. Turning herself to look at him, she noticed that he was
staring straight at her. The implication of his words rung home and she gnawed
on her bottom lip nervously.
Arnav could sense she was nervous and decided to shift her
focus.
“It’s a Spanish place. People come here usually just to
drink and dance but they have a really good selection of tapas.”
This caught her interest. “Tapas”
“Hmmm…tapas. It’s
like a variety of snackish foods. Spanish people eat it when they drink
sangria. Its basically there so they don’t get drunk quickly and can drink more
sangria.” He said with a smirk.
“What is sangria?”
asked Khushi. Arnav was intrigued at her curiosity. Her hunger for knowledge
was refreshing. Most women would have just nodded along pretending to
understand, rather than risk the chance of being embarrassed. Khushi, he could
tell, would prefer embarrassment to not knowing something.
“Sangria is a
traditional drink made out of cheap red wine, spirits, lemonade and lots of
fruit. Its really refreshing. They also have mojitos...which if I may say so
myself are to die for.”
The waitress came up to them handing over menu’s. “Would you
like anything to drink meanwhile?”
Arnav looked at Khushi. “I’ll have a mojito.” She said,
sounding nervous as she tried to pronounce it correctly. Arnav beamed at her
and then turned to the waiter…
“Tremendos dos
mojito, por favour.” The up til now sullen lady suddenly became much more
friendly and jovially replied…
“En seguida”
(Right away)
“You speak Spanish?”
her voice was laced with surprise.
He shrugged his shoulders “Enough to get me by…we have a lot of clients in Spain.”
“Do you speak any
other languages?”
“Well Hindi…if
that counts. But nothing apart from that. You?”
“I took French
in high school. I always wished I could have finished learning it.”
“Why didn’t
you?”
“Life got in the
way.”
Arnav looked at her contemplating his answer… “Maybe you will one day.”
Khushi laughed his comment off. “Forget about it. Tell me, what exactly is it that you do?”
Arnav grimaced… “It’s
a long and boring answer.”
“If I remember
correctly, wasn’t it you who was claiming that the BBC was waiting in line for
an interview with your company?” Khushi teased as she munched on a bread
stick.
“I’ll have you know
that wasn’t a lie!” Arnav pointed a breadstick right at her nose, before
preceeding to chew on it.
“Sure…sure”
The waitress placed the two mojito’s on the table. “Disfrutar de las bebidas” (Enjoy the
drinks)
Khushi sipped on her drink and he waited for her reaction. “Mmmmm…that’s good!” she exclaimed in
delight. Arnav couldn’t believe the look of pure ecstasy on her face. Her nose
crinkled, her smile broadened and her eyes twinkled…all from the sip of a
drink. Leaning back in his chair he enjoyed the beverage with her.
“Told you so.”
The band picked up steam and more couples headed out on to
the dance floor. The clapping, laughter and twirls of dresses drew Khushi’s
gaze. Arnav took another large sip of his drink and grabbed her hand.
“Leave your drink. I
happen to know this is a great song.”
Khushi eyes widened so much he feared they would pop out of
her head as she choked lightly on her drink. “Are you joking? I don’t dance!”
“I have it on good
authority that you do.”
Khushi narrowed her eyes. “Which one of them told you?” she asked accusingly.
“Do I look crazy to
you?” Khushi opened her mouth but he cut her off… “Actually don’t answer that. I know if I tell you who told me that they
might not be alive tomorrow. So…no! You don’t get to know. Now are you coming
with me or not?”
**********************************************************************
The date part 2 will be next. In which I promise I will do
thankyous. After that update hopefully I will update YLME! BTW You guys are
AWESOME! SO many commentwas. I love you I love you I love you all. May you have
a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
Love Sasak!
