"I don't think I'll be able to handle this. I'll trip over and embarrass myself in front of every celebrity of Bollywood."

Wriggling into the high heels her sister had thrust into her hands, Surbhi walked a few steps in her room to get the hang of it. She did wear heels, of course, but handling them while wearing a floor-length lehenga that wouldn't even let her get a glimpse of her feet? Impossible.

"You will do no such thing," Pranavi glared up at her little sister while smoothing down the skirt at the bottom. "Please don't be on the tabloids tomorrow morning for having fallen face first at Isha Ambani's reception. The only reason I want to see you in the newspapers is for more gossip about you and Nakuul, laughing at all the fake shit they make up."

"Speaking of Nakuul," Surbhi frowned, "Why is he not here yet? He said he'll pick me up at 7.30 sharp and-"

"Oh, he's already here," Pranavi replied simply, pinning up Surbhi's dupatta on one shoulder. "Been here for about 15 minutes now, actually. He and mom are discussing cuisines or something. Oh no wait, last I heard they'd moved on to talking about their favorite vacation spot..."

The frown on Surbhi's face deepened, earning her a smack from Pranavi because apparently, she was ruining her foundation by contorting her face like that.

"I don't get it, though. My boyfriend comes to my house and doesn't come to meet me?"

"It's good he hasn't come to meet you. With just foundation on you're looking like a bhootni. Let me finish getting you ready and then we'll present to him his fairy queen. Or whatever he calls you."

"How long is it gonna take?" Surbhi groaned, tired of all this already. She had wanted to go simple but her fashionista sister had dramatically proclaimed that she would rather bury herself than let her little sister go to Isha Ambani's reception party dressed up 'simple'. So now, Surbhi was acting as Pranavi's Barbie, wearing and putting on whatever her sister order she should. Surbhi had to admit, she would be lost without her sister. Pranavi had amazing taste and an equally amazing talent in make-up, and a part of Surbhi was excited to see what she ended up looking like when Pranavi was done with her. Right now, the elder one was busy curling her hair, putting up a few strands up to form a bun, all being done very immaculately.

"How is Nakuul looking?" Surbhi asked with a shy smile. 

"Handsome, as usual. Tough competition you've got there," Pranavi replied without getting distracted from her task.

"He's not competition!" Surbhi protested. "Is he wearing the pink suit I asked him to?"

"How am I supposed to know!" Pranavi cried. "Now will you please shut up and let me do my work?"

Scared of her sister's wrath, Surbhi nodded, and obediently put a finger over her lips. She sat still as Pranavi expertly applied her makeup, chose her jewelry and put some final touches on. Finally, as Surbhi stood up from the chair and swirled around, Pranavi gasped.

"You look absolutely gorgeous," She gushed, wiping away a fake tear. "I'm so proud of myself," Patting herself on the shoulder, she held Surbhi's hand to guide her to the living room.

**

"...and I keep telling Surbhi to stop eating all those junk food, but does she listen? No! Madame is crazy about those unhealthy burgers and pizzas and what not."

"I know, aunty. In fact, your daughter has made me obsessed about them too. I'm supposed to eat healthy always, along with regular gymming, but this break, I barely followed my routine! My coach is gonna have a seizure when he sees me play again, I'm sure."

"Aww, poor boy. You shouldn't have listened to Surbhi, she toh-"

"If you both are done complaining about me, shall we leave?"

Looking up, Nakuul and Shashi, who were having some real fun gossiping together, saw Surbhi looking like nothing less than a princess. Or for Nakuul, a Goddess herself. She was dressed in a glimmering pink and turquoise lehenga, the blouse being halter neck and the netted pink dupatta held over one shoulder. Her hair was up in a braided bun with some strands let out to add a casual essence, and her diamond earrings dangled till her shoulders.

"Wow," Nakuul breathed out, his mouth falling open. "You look, you look..."

"Breathtaking?" Pranavi helped, trying to stifle her giggle seeing Nakuul's lost face. He nodded, eyes still transfixed on Surbhi. Her mother went ahead to put some kajal behind her ear.

"You look lovely, Jinni," She said.

"Thanks to me," Pranavi said. "Or she'd go looking like a hobo."

"Shut up," Surbhi said, narrowing her eyes. She had finally been able to take her eyes off of her gorgeous boyfriend, looking delectable in a pink suit- her choice- and white shirt, with white loafers and his favorite Rolex watch.  

"Shall we?" Nakuul asked, offering his hand to her. She took a deep breath, wondering why she had to date the one man who kept putting her into these anxiety-inducing situations, and held his hand.

"We shall."

**

As their car neared Jio Gardens- the lavish ground where this reception was taking place- Surbhi's heartbeat increased. She felt stupid at the fact that she had been feeling nervous at Virushka's wedding because that was nothing compared to this. Ambanis were the richest family in the country, and their guests were all going to be incredibly important people for whom being invited was a great privilege. Surbhi couldn't imagine how she had landed here, when just about a month back this would have been the kind of party she would only stalk on Instagram, lying comfortably in her bed. 

"Where are you lost?" Nakuul asked, keeping his hand over her on the back seat of his car.

"Just thinking about how much I hate you," She replied with a sweet smile. "Thank you for putting me in situations where I want to die."

"Hey," Nakuul whined, "Don't hate me. I lo-" He stopped suddenly.

"You what?" Surbhi asked, distractedly. The car was entering the gates of the ground and she could see how buzzing the place was, with people dressed expensively getting out of their cars. She could almost hear the flashing of cameras even from this far away.

"Nothing," Nakuul replied, looking uncomfortable. "And don't worry, you'll be fine. I'm here."

Soon, their car had stopped and it was time for them to get out.

**

"Mr. Mehta! Mr. Mehta! Are you both dating? Please reply!"

Hearing such chants from the cluster of media clicking pictures and taking videos from behind a barricade, Surbhi and Nakuul were led towards the main area of the reception party by a small army of guards. They had posed for one picture out of courtesy before walking away from all the questions. It seemed that everywhere Surbhi looked, she was met by celebrities she had only gawked at on the screen all this while, and all the people she had missed out on seeing at Virushka's reception were now here for her to fangirl over.

Finally, when they, hand-in-hand, entered the main hall, she could breathe a sigh of relief. The venue was, of course, decorated extravagantly, looking every inch the party thrown by the rich it was supposed to be. Many guests had already arrived; while some were seated in front of a stage on one side to appreciate the performances being given, others were mingling around or enjoying the High-Tea.

"Oh, Nakuul, you're here!"

Hearing a sweet, female voice, Surbhi and Nakuul turned around to be met by a beautiful looking Neetu Ambani. She was sporting a genuine smile as Nakuul gave her a quick hug.

"Ma'am, how are you? Congratulations on Isha's wedding- this is a wonderful party."

"Why, thank you." Then, noticing Surbhi standing there awkwardly, she asked- "And who is this lovely lady? Did you finally get yourself a girlfriend?"

"I did," Nakuul grinned, rubbing the back of his neck. "This is Surbhi- Surbhi Chandna. She's a television actress."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Surbhi smiled, shaking her hand. 

"Lovely to meet you, sweetheart. I thought I'd seen you somewhere, and no wonder you're an actress- you're very beautiful. Lucky man, Nakuul!"

"I sure am," Nakuul replied, and Neetu Ambani, after asking them to enjoy the party, went on to meet other guests. Surbhi turned to Nakuul, excitedly.

"She's so nice!" She exclaimed. She was starting to learn, really, that the rich were not always arrogant. Unlike her on-screen hubby.

"I know, right," Nakuul said, looking around. Some of his other friends, including of course Virat and Anushka, were supposed to be here too. Spotting them talking to Ranveer and Deepika, he started dragging Surbhi there. When she realized that Deep-Veer was there too, her mouth fell open, and she tried unsuccessfully to let go of his hold.

**

"This is so surreal."

Smiling, Nakuul looked at Surbhi to see her taking in everything, wide-eyed. After having met many guests that he knew, they had sat down for dinner, sharing a table with his cricketer friends and their wives. To their surprise, many highly regarded celebrities, such as Shahrukh Khan and Abhishek Bachchan, were serving dinner to the guests. They had smiles on their faces and were doing their work without any hesitation. Nakuul had asked Mr. Ambani if he should help as well, but the older man had smilingly insisted that he and the pretty lady please enjoy themselves. Nakuul had even introduced Surbhi to Isha- who he had met a couple of times during IPL last year- and her husband, along with Anant Ambani, and Akash and his fiance.

"Oh hey, pretty lady, I remember you!"

Startled, Surbhi looked up and was shocked to see Shahrukh Khan himself smiling down at her.

"Wait, let me think- Surbhi! Right?"

Mouth slightly open, Surbhi nodded, and Nakuul smiled at how cute she looked. Serving them some paneer, Shahrukh Khan moved on, and Surbhi held Nakuul's hand over the table, gasping.

"He remembers me. He remembers me!"

"How can one not?" Nakuul asked like the smitten boyfriend he was. Surbhi smiled gleefully and kissed his cheek, before starting with dinner. The food looked and tasted amazing, and she wasn't going to not gorge herself just because it was such a classy party with classy people all around.

**

"Do you think Ranbir and Alia are dating?"

"I don't know," Nakuul shrugged. "But that's probably the question everyone's asking about us, as well," he grinned. Surbhi hit his chest playfully.

"Priyanka and Nick are so cute," She gushed, looking at the couple looking into each others' eyes while sharing a dance.

"So are we," Nakuul said, trying to draw her attention back to him. It was towards the end of the party, and the Ambanis had requested that everyone get on the floor to dance. After grooving to some peppy numbers, Nakuul and Surbhi were now sharing a couple dance, along with many others.

"Oh God, look at Saif and Kareena!" Surbhi whispered excitedly. "So beautiful!"

Nakuul groaned and tightened his arms around Surbhi's waist.

"Jaan, look at me!" He whined like a kid, making her giggle and mouth a 'sorry'. He smiled, and they got lost in each other. Surbhi's arms were around his neck, playing with the hair tickling his neck, and he was feeling tingling sensations at that. He had never thought it would be possible to feel so much for someone, but here she was, proving him wrong with those hypnotizing eyes of hers. Leaning down, he gave her an Eskimo kiss.

"You're beautiful," He whispered, making her blush. Then, placing kisses along her jawline, he reached her ear. Pressing his mouth there and making her shiver, he asked impatiently-

"Let's go somewhere private?"

Surbhi gasped, both at his question and at how his hands were feeling her bare waist.

"Nakuul," She tried to say sternly but it only came out breathless. She could gauge the look in his eyes and he was definitely not up for any 'decent' action. "We're at a party!"

"So?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sure we'll find many deserted places here. Come."

Before she could protest, he had started pulling her away yet again, this time away from the party.

**

"This seems empty enough," He mused, as they came across a quiet corridor in the large make-shift hall set up for the function. Nakuul checked around properly to see if there were any media or cctv cameras around, and satisfied, turned to her. Then, he backed her up against the wall, so suddenly that she almost stumbled. 

"W-what's up with you?" She asked, voice quivering under his intent gaze. He grinned lasciviously, pressing his body closer against hers.

"I'm impatient," He said slowly, his eye traveling to her lips and back up again, "And needy, and smitten..." He trailed off, pressing soft kisses from the corner of her lips to underneath her ear. Surbhi's breathing increased erratically, and she clutched his suit tightly, creasing the expensive material.

"And you are beautiful," He continued, peppering kisses on whatever skin of hers was available to him due to the halter-neck, "and tempting...and very hot..."

Having had enough with his sweetness filled torture, Surbhi held his hair and pulled his mouth over hers, and he smiled at the urgency in her that was matching his. He kissed her passionately, nibbling on her lower lip that looked even more alluring in the pink lipstick it was coated in. He licked it a couple of time to soothe it, before plunging his tongue into her warm mouth and getting a taste of the chocolate mousse she had had for dessert, along with her natural flavor. His hands explored a never-discovered before territory by roaming across her back, left very much exposed by the backless blouse. He moved his fingers down her spine at leisure, making her arch up into his embrace. Nakuul pulled back to let her breathe and moved to her neck.

"Ugh, this goddamned blouse," he groaned, pissed that a piece of clothing was barring his way to her skin. She giggled at his despair, but moaned the very next second as he placed multiple kisses at the sensitive spot below her ear. With ragged breathing, in the heat of the moment, Nakuul spoke into her ears while nipping at her earlobe.

"Surbhi," His voice was extremely husky, making her tremble, "I love you so much."

As the words came out, he felt her freeze in his arms.

**

I don't know if it was even okay to have them romancing like this at the AMBANI'S party, and I wasn't initially planning on it, but oh well, it just kinda flowed. What do you all think about this? Hope you liked it! 

Also, I really wanna know, do you prefer long updates like this one, or shorter ones? Because personally, I sometimes find that if a chapter is too long, it makes me bored and takes the charm away :\ (But that might just be me because I get distracted and can't spend too much time on a single task :P )