Chapter 7: The Dare, The Truth, The Talk

"Well I've gotta give it to you Payal...at first I thought this was a bad idea but now that we're done with the classes...I'm actually going to miss them."   Anjali noted, walking into the penthouse with Khushi and Payal.

Payal chuckled.  "See?  I knew you two would like it!  Maybe I'll sign us up for salsa next."

"Maybe we can try to get Rohan and Akash to sign up too."  Anjali said excitedly.

"I thought it was a girls' night out."  Khushi wiggled her eyebrows teasingly.

"She's right.  Besides, I don't think they're going to give up their guys' night out for salsa classes."  Payal plopped down on the couch.  "Where are you going?"  She asked Khushi who was headed towards her room.

"To take this damn hoodie off!  I hate emotional blackmail."  And with that Khushi walked into her room, muttering about Arnav and his tantrums.

The door clicked shut behind Khushi and, Anjali and Payal immediately broke out into a hushed discussion.

"Ask Rohan where they are and ask how long they'll be."  Payal suggested.

Anjali was already dialling the number before Payal even finished her sentence.

"Rohan...are you guys going to be home anytime soon?"  She spoke quickly.

"We're bowling tonight...and then we're headed out to the bar...do you want me to come home?"  He sounded worried.

"Oh no.  Not at all.  Take your time."  Anjali gave Payal a thumbs-up gleefully.  "Bye Rohan. Love you!"

Before waiting for him to respond, she hung up and squirmed in excitement.

"Alright...go find a bottle."  She instructed Payal and walked off towards Khushi's room.

Knocking twice, she popped her head in and found Khushi by her closet.

"Khushi...the guys will be out longer tonight so Payal and I decided to play some game...see you at the dining table in fifteen minutes?"

Khushi smiled at her.  "Sounds good."

*

An hour later, Khushi placed her cards on the table victoriously.  Payal and Anjali groaned in defeat.

"You always win at this game."  Payal whined.

"Let's play something else...umm...truth or dare?"  Anjali suggested.

"Yes!"  Payal agreed excitedly while Khushi just groaned and rolled her eyes.

Payal walked into the kitchen and came back with an empty champagne bottle within a minute.  She put the bottle on the table and gave it a spin.  Khushi looked on with a bored expression as it stopped, pointing towards Anjali.

"Truth or dare?"  Payal prompted.

"Truth."  Anjali smiled.

"Would you marry Rohan today if he walked in this moment and proposed?"  Payal smirked as she saw Anjali blush.

"Tempting idea but No.  I wouldn't.  I'm not ready for marriage yet.  Maybe in a couple years."  Anjali smiled.

"Way to waste a question, Payal."  Khushi chided.

Giggling, Anjali gave the bottle a spin next and it stopped pointing at Khushi.  Payal leaned forward in anticipation.

"Dare."  Khushi picked before either of them could ask.

Anjali frowned.  Of course.  How had they left this out of the plan?  Khushi always picked dare.  Payal, however, had thought of this.

"Okay...um...I dare you to pick truth the next time it's your turn."  Payal smirked as she felt Anjali squeezing her hand excitedly under the table, cheering her on.

Khushi looked at her with raised eyebrows.  "Are you sure...?"

"Yes."  Anjali and Payal spoke simultaneously.

Khushi shrugged.  "Done."  She gave the bottle a spin.

Anjali groaned when it stopped at her again.  "Truth."

Khushi rolled her eyes.  This is why she didn't like playing this game with them...they mostly always picked truth!  Where's the fun without a little dare?  Little did she know that Anjali and Payal planned on having their own fun with truths?

"What's your weirdest fantasy about Rohan?"  Khushi asked before Payal could waste another question.

Anjali's eyes widened and her face turned beetroot red.  She hadn't even shared this with Rohan and now she was going to have to say it out loud in front of these two.  Great.

Why don't you make more plans, Anjali?  This seems to be working perfectly.  She chided herself sarcastically.

"Good one Khushi!"  Payal winked and turned back to Anjali.

Anjali sighed and closed her eyes.  "I want to be dressed as Belle from Beauty and the Beast and I want him to be dressed as a vampire...to represent the beast...and...This is how we become high miles club members."

"Wooohooo...An-ja-li" Payal teased along with a laughing Khushi.

"I swear...if you tell anyone I.  Will. Kill. You."  Anjali glared at them, embarrassed.

"I've heard weirder fantasies Anjali..."  Khushi tried to help out her friend from the embarrassment.

"And what goes on during this game...stays between us three.  Forever."  Payal said solemnly.

Before the two had a chance to tease her further, Anjali spun the bottle and grinned evilly when it pointed at Payal.

"Are you a virgin?"  Anjali asked right away making Payal gasp out loud.  This game was going into dangerous territory.  Maybe this wasn't the best idea to find out about Khushi's feelings.  It seemed that Anjali and Payal were letting out even more personal details as a cost.

"Woot!  That's a good one!"  Khushi smirked and wiggled her eyebrows at Payal.

Although the redness of her cheeks had answered her question for her, she answered anyway.  "N-no."

Anjali squealed girlishly making Payal blush even more while Khushi threw her head back and laughed.

Laugh all you want, Khushi...when it's your turn...we'll see how much you laugh. Payal smirked inwardly and spun the bottle again.

Khushi's laughter only doubled when the bottle pointed at Payal again.  Anjali also laughed at the glare Payal shot towards the treacherous bottle.

"Wait...wait..."  Anjali said between her peals of laughter.  "Who did you lose it to?"  She asked Payal and roared with laughter again.

Anjali and Khushi shared a high five and turned to look at Payal who now blushed from her hairline to the neckline of her t-shirt.  Yeap, this was definitely costing them more...maybe they should have come up with another way.

"A...I...Uhh...A...Ak...Akash."  Payal blurted thinking might as well get over with it.

Anjali was aw-ing at her answer when Payal grudgingly spun the bottle again.

Bingo! Payal thought to herself when she saw the bottle slowing down considerably, ready to point at the person who was to be the real target of this game.

The nuzzle of the bottle stopped, pointing at Khushi once again.  Anjali and Payal nearly jumped in their seats in excitement.

"Well...I guess I pick truth..."  Khushi shrugged.  "Not like I have any other choice."  She threw an accusing glare at Payal.

"Okay then.  Truth it is.  I have a question for you..."  Anjali grinned and looked at Payal.  "Actually...we have a question for you."

Khushi just rolled her eyes.  "Ask away."

Anjali took a deep breath and tried to control her excitement.  "Are you in love with Arnav?"

Khushi's face resembled that of a deer caught in the headlights.  All the laughter and giggles had evaporated from the room.  Anjali and Payal looked at her seriously, with gentle smiles on their faces.  Khushi looked between the two a few times.

Khushi tried to find a loophole in the question.  If they had asked whether or not she loved him, she would have said yes.  Of course she loved her best friend.  But the question was whether or not she was in love with him.  They had planned this well and she knew she was cornered.

A long, quiet minute later Khushi sighed and rested her elbows on the table, straightening her back.  She looked up at Anjali and after all these years, let the mask slip from her face.

"Yes."

Anjali and Payal gasped, even though they had expected the answer.  Khushi looked at the table and bit her lower lip, suddenly feeling guilty for hiding it from the two of them.

"Payal...replace a bottle with a full one and I'll get the glasses."  Anjali nodded to Payal and turned to look at Khushi.  "We need to talk."

Khushi gulped.  Maybe she should have said no' and lied about her answer.  The only problem was that apart from pranks and surprise parties, there was nothing Khushi would lie about, especially, when the topic was of such serious nature.  Even if Arnav had been here for this game, she would have answered it honestly.  Hell, even if Arnav himself had asked, she would have answered honestly. 

For the past few months, this secret had been gnawing at her.  She had tried spilling her heart into a diary but that barely helped.  She wanted to share things with someone, find someone to whine to, find someone to look to for advice.  Normally, she did all that with Arnav but given the situation, he wasn't the most suitable person.  Anjali and Payal were the next best thing and Khushi knew that.  It was time she let them in on this.  She was getting tired of putting up this charade on her own.  She needed someone to share this burden of a secret with. 

So, by the time the other two ladies had returned with needed items, Khushi had made a decision.  She was going to spill her heart to them today.  She was going to seek solace in her friend and her cousin's company. 

A few minutes later, they found themselves seated cross legged on Khushi's bed, holding stem glasses filled with red wine.

"So you're in love with Arnav."  Anjali stated rather than asked, staring into the red liquid, not wanting to embarrass or patronize Khushi.  Besides, she didn't want Khushi to see the traces of smugness on her face.

"Yes."  Khushi choked out.

"Since when?"  Payal fired right away.

"I think I realized it a few months after...after bauji passed away."  

Payal and Anjali were truly shocked at that information.  They had been oblivious to this for nearly four years?!  Khushi had been hiding this for all these years??  What the hell was wrong with all of them?

"At first I thought I was just getting used to all the attention from him, you know...he used to spend a lot more time with me and he used to try and cheer me up all the time...we have this weird connection, this weird understanding and at first I thought I was just imagining things or maybe it was a little crush or an infatuation...but with time I realized what the deal was...I tried to get out of it, of course...tried to feel differently but the harder I tried, the deeper I got sucked into it."

"Is that why you stopped dating?"  Anjali questioned.

"partly...after I realized how I felt about him...any guy I dated was inevitably compared to him...in every sense and that eventually started depressing me...because it made me realize over and over again how badly I'd fallen for him."

"Why do you hide it then, Khushi?  Why didn't you tell us?  Why didn't you tell him?"  Payal fired off, looking hurt about the fact that she had been kept in the dark about this.  Khushi was the first person to find out when Payal had fallen for Akash and now, when Khushi was in a similar situation, Payal didn't know about it for years and probably wouldn't have if Anjali hadn't been on a rant about this lately.  This piece of information had hurt Payal, though she tried hard to not let it show.  Today wasn't about her, it was about Khushi.

Khushi laughed without humour.  "One...he harps on about how he's not ready for commitment.  Two...have you not realized how many girls he has dated in the last three years?  Where was the time gap for me to try and say anything to him?  And three...if I tell him...two things can happen...first, and more likely of the two...he would say yes or say he feels the same way just to keep me from getting hurt."

Khushi paused, challenging the other two to argue with her point.  When she saw Payal sigh and Anjali nod in acknowledgement, Khushi went on.  They all knew Arnav enough to know that if he found out, he would get into a relationship with her just to keep her happy, even if he didn't feel the same way.

"And second...I can't lose my best friend over this.  Apparently, in his books, if one friend falls for another and the other doesn't feel the same way...its best to stop being friends."  Khushi saw Anjali open her mouth to argue and put up her hand.  "He said it to me the night you sent me on a date with Joel.  He wanted me to stop being friends with Joel because of the way he feels about me...so I rounded the question on him...I asked him whether he would say the same thing if the situation involved us...he said yes."

Anjali frowned.  That was unlike Arnav.  The fact that he had even said that their friendship would end because of difference of feelings didn't settle with Anjali.  She knew her brother better than that.  She knew what Khushi meant to him.  She wasn't ready to believe that he would really stop being friends with Khushi...ever.  Over anything.

"What if he feels the same way...that's another possibility that you haven't considered."  Anjali smiled hopefully.

"I don't blame her for not considering that...I mean...Khushi's right...how many girls has he dated in the last three years?"  Payal added her two cents.

Anjali paused swirling the liquid in the glass and looked up at Khushi suddenly.  Something had just driven home and very guiltily at that.

"Oh My God...You've had to see that for three years...him with all those girls..."  Anjali whispered guiltily.  Payal's eyes looked at her cousin worriedly.

Payal had seen Akash date someone when she had a crush on him and she recalled exactly how horrible that experience was for her.  And here...Khushi had been doing it for years.

"I'm so sorry..."  Anjali put a hand on Khushi's shoulder and mentally cursed her brother for his Casanova personality.

"I would be lying if I say it doesn't bother me...of course it bothers me but I think it would bother me more if suddenly one of his girlfriends became more important to him than me."  Khushi smiled, confusing Anjali and Payal.

"What I mean is...no matter how many girls he dates...he always puts me first.  I know it sounds very childish and silly...but...He broke up with a lot of them because they didn't treat me nicely or talked smack about me...and every time he brings someone new home...I tell myself that she'll go soon, just like the rest but I'll be here.  No matter how many girls have walked in and out of his life in the last few years, I'm still there and just as important as before if not more."  Khushi paused for a few seconds.  From the corner of her eyes, she spotted the hoodie that he had forced her to wear earlier in the day and smiled.

"And his possessiveness adds fuel to the fire...That's why I'm still hopeful that maybe not today...maybe in days...months...or years, he'll look at me differently..."  Khushi explained.

"Well...his ridiculous sense of possessiveness and protectiveness towards you is why we suspect that he feels more for you than he shows..."  Anjali started.  "My theory is that his feelings for you mirror yours for him but he doesn't realize it...I think he's dating all those girls so that he can find the one and it's only a matter of time until he realizes thatyou are the one."

Khushi smiled sadly.  "Don't.  You're getting my hopes high."

"For how long do you plan on not telling him?"  Anjali rolled the stem of the glass between her index finger and thumb.

Khushi thought for a minute before shrugging.  "I don't know."  She admitted.  "Maybe I'll tell him when he's ready to stop sowing wild oats and settle down..."

"And what if he finds someone else he wants to settle with?"  Payal said in a small voice.

"Then my best wishes will be with him."  Khushi tried to smile and took in the appalled faces of her friend and cousin.  "Look...if I tell him now, he'll either date me out of pity or he'll stop being friends and I can't have any of that...and do you think I'm not prepared?  I'm prepared for the day he comes home with a girl who will take a higher spot on his priority list than me...and if that happens then I'll leave him to it."

She saw looks of disbelief on Anjali and Payal's faces.

"Look...just because I'm in love with him, it doesn't mean that he has to feel the same way...you can't expect him to like me back simply because I have feelings for him.  He has every right to fall in love with the person of his choice and not the person you two...or I, for that matter... want him to fall in love with."  Khushi's tone was pleading, asking them to understand.

Silence took over the room for the next few minutes.  Each individual was deeply lost in their own thoughts.  Khushi had her reasons for not confessing her feelings to him and though they may seem silly to some people, to her, it made sense and that's all that mattered.  Anjali was just plain guilty that Khushi had to go through nothing short of an emotional hell just because her brother, Arnav, had chosen a not so ideal lifestyle.  Payal wanted to save her cousin sister from the pain of a heartbreak.  Knowing Arnav, that's exactly where this led if Khushi didn't get over him fast.

"Maybe you should try to get over him."  Payal spoke confidently.

Anjali looked at her disbelievingly, although, deep down past the selfish sister in her, she couldn't agree more.  Her brother was a Casanova who didn't want to be committed to a serious relationship.  Khushi was her best friend and she wasn't going to be a selfish sister and let Khushi get hurt in this tangled mess.

Khushi just looked indignant.  "It's not some switch that I can turn off at the blink of an eye, Payal.  Did I not say that I've tried to get out of this and I only got sucked in deeper?"

"I just don't want you to get hurt!"  Payal defended herself.

"That's not up to any of us."  Khushi replied calmly.  "You don't choose the one you fall in love with...you just do.  And just like that, unfortunately, you can't force them to love you back.  It's something beyond my control at this point and I am just going to deal with it as it comes.  One day at a time."

"Will you be able to see him be truly happy, in a serious relationship, with another woman?"  Payal shot out.

"I don't know!"  Khushi snapped and then took deep breaths to calm herself.  "I don't know how that will make me feel...because I haven't had to witness that yet.  That's exactly why I said I'm going to deal with it as it comes.  When I have to see him in a serious relationship, I'll consider how I feel about it at the time and deal with it the way I think is right for me.  I can't predict how I'll react to something...I would like to say that I would be angry at first but then get over it...but I honestly don't know what my reaction will be if I am to face a situation like that."

Payal winced, unhappy with the answer and silence took over the room again for a few minutes.

Suddenly, Anjali groaned in frustration.  "I just want to go and knock some sense into his thick head!  I just want to tell him to stop being an a**hole and take a look at the one woman who loves him more tha""

"NO!"  Khushi interrupted fiercely.  "Absolutely not.  It was decided that whatever we talk about today stays between us...forever.  You're not allowed to tell anyone anything!"  Khushi stared them down for a few seconds.  "Please."

Anjali bit her lower lip and nodded, albeit reluctantly.  Defeated by the pleading look on Khushi's face, Payal nodded too.

"Do your boyfriends know about this?"  Khushi raised an eyebrow at the two of them, almost accusingly.

Anjali looked at her sheepishly.  "We shared our theories with them but they're being typical men and they don't see what we see.  They're buying your best friends' charade."

"Good."  Khushi muttered.  "It's taking a supernatural effort from my side and I'll be damned if all of that is just going to waste."

Payal and Anjali chuckled.  Anjali downed the rest of the wine in her glass in one go and let out a silly giggle.

"You're in love with my idiotic brother...Oh God!  It's almost too good to be true!"

"Khush?"

The three women froze and their heads snapped to the recently opened door of Khushi's bedroom to look at the source of the husky voice.

Arnav.