ARNAV

We stopped at the Romano's to pick up dinner, it was Shrey and Khushi's second wedding anniversary and unlike usual couples, they dint make a fuss about it but kept in simple, he wanted to do something for her and he thought getting her some Italian dish for dinner would be it.

I waited for him inside the car in the parking lot as he headed inside the restaurant to make his order, I knew it was going to take a while so I pulled my phone from the pocket and started playing some games.

A few minutes into it, I heard a buzzing sound and it wasn't from my phone, I looked at the driver's seat and found Shrey's phone there, it must have fallen from his pocket maybe.

I picked it up and the screen was flashing with the name 'wifey' on it, couples and there nick names seriously. I placed it back where it was and decided to ignore it thinking I would tell him to call back when he returns.

The phone kept on buzzing every now and then and it was almost pissing the hell out of me, If he wasn't receiving the call, why wouldn't she stop calling? Cant you get that maybe the person is just busy or something? I picked it up and walked out of the car, I had to take it to Shrey, Maybe it was something something urgent because Khushi never kept on calling like this before, i mean of course i knew because i spent mostly all day with Shrey in the same office.

I locked the car and headed inside the restaurant, unlike what I thought, today it wasn't as crowded as it usually was, which meant it would be easier to find Shrey.

I looked around for a while until I spotted him standing in a corner talking to a girl, she was just as tall as Khushi but I couldn't say much as she had some black 4 inch heels on. Dint those hurt? I wasn't really judging but i always wondered how girls managed to walk in something like those, but maybe they knew how to so that's why they wore it.

I walked a bit closer from where I could see her properly, this girl was pretty attractive, she had grey eyes just like Shrey, but not the same shade, her hair was all straightened and left open hanging till her waist, she flipped it backward and now I could get a clear look at her yellow summer dress, it was as if this color was completely meant for her.

She was talking to Shrey with so much interest it looked like they'd known each other for ages, but according to me that wasn't the case, I had been friends with Shrey since forever, we were the best buddies and we told each other everything, but he had never mentioned anything about this girl to me which meant maybe he dint know her much so why was he talking to her? I wasn't being nosy or anything, I was just a bit curious.

The phone started buzzing again reminding me why I was here, as much as I dint want to be nosy, I had to intervene the conversation he was having with the girl in the yellow dress, no matter how interesting it looked from the way they were talking.

I rushed towards him and stopped right next to the girl, he was a bit surprised to see me there as if he had forgotten that he had brought me along to buy dinner.

"Sorry for disturbing but your phone has been buzzing since long." I said as I handed him his phone, he looked at the screen and it looked like there was a sudden realization of something, I couldn't tell what exactly, but there was this expression on his face that said a lot of things which i dint really want to decipher.

"We're getting late, I think we should go home." He said as he disconnected the call and looked at me nervously, as if I had caught him doing something wrong, i couldnt understand why he was nervous, i mean it was completely okay to have a conversation with someone right?

He turned to look at the girl in the yellow dress who hadn't taken her eyes off him yet, she had a beautiful smile plastered on her face as she admired Shrey, it almost made me feel like she had developed a crush on him, only if she knew he was married and he had a wife waiting for him at home.

"It was nice talking to you, we should catch up some time later, what do you say?" Shrey asked

"Sure, I would love to." She smiled wider.

"Here's my number, you can give me a call anytime." He pulled out a business card from his pocket and handed it over to the girl, they both then waved a goodbye at each other as we headed out of the restaurant.

"Where's the dinner?" I asked as I noticed his empty hands, wasnt that why we were here at the first place? To buy dinner because he wanted to do something for his wife on their anniversary? What was wrong with him seriously?

"Actually I was going to place the order and then I met that girl and we started talking, I forgot to place the order, and Khushi has called me a hundred times now, so I think I'll have to cancel the dinner plan." He said as he hopped inside the car.

"But it's your anniversary dude." I said as I joined him inside, he looked at me nervously but dint say anything, he switched on the engine and drove off.

I kept on staring at him wondering why he was so nervous, I could notice him shivering when it was pretty hot, there was some kind of a strange feeling inside me telling me that a lot of things were wrong, only if I knew what. Shrey wasnt the kind of a person to behave this way, i knew him for a long time to know that he acted this way only when he was trying to hide something.

"Dude, you were supposed to go left, remember you were dropping me home first?" I asked him when he took the right turn heading towards Juhu, where his apartment was located.

"Can I drop you later? I mean can you come home with me for now? I had told Khushi I'll pick up dinner for her from somewhere and now I have nothing, you can accompany me so it would be easier to convince her that we got late from work." he said as he continued looking ahead, he wouldnt even look at me and that was making me really suspicious.

Okay i wasnt his wife or anything to doubt on him and it was his life, who cared whatever he did, but him acting like this was telling me he was hiding something from me and he never hid anything from me, never!

"So you want me to lie to her?" I looked at him seriously, if he thought i was going to lie to his wife about anything then he was wrong, he already knew i wouldnt do something like that.

I looked at him wondering what was wrong with him suddenly, I mean he could just explain to her that he had gone to buy dinner but he got into a conversation with someone and because she was calling repeatedly he decided to leave everything behind and just be back home, it was as simple as that, why did he have to lie or make me lie for him?

"Okay don't look at me like that, at times you have to lie in marriages to keep them going..." He said.

"That's why I hate marriages, why can't two people just be honest to each other if they are going to spend the rest of their lives together? It wasnt like you were doing anything wrong, you were just talking, to a person in a public place, i'm sure if you told her that she would understand, why lie then?"

He looked at me angrily but dint say a word, until we stopped at the parking lot down his apartment, we both stepped out of the car as I felt the cold breeze that came from the beach opposite the apartment, I wish I could find an apartment here too, it would be good to wake up to beautiful sunrise and sleep to beautiful sunsets around the beach, but well this was the kind of a place where everyone wanted to live, it was difficult to find an apartment here, Shrey was lucky to have found one.

"Just say what I told you to!" Shrey said to me as we both got inside the lift and headed to the 4th floor where his apartment was.

He rang the doorbell as we waited outside for a few seconds until Khushi opened the door, as soon as her eyes fell on him, she pulled him inside and kissed him, I stood at the door feeling awkward, what was I supposed to do at a couple's house who were busy making out while I stood at the door?

"Do you know how worried I was, why couldn't you just receive my call and tell me you were okay? I wouldn't have to call you fifty times at least." Khushi said as she broke the kiss and looked him into the eyes, by the way she looked at him, i knew she really loved him and here Shrey was just lying to her, why?

"I'm sorry I was a bit held up." He kissed her on the temple and then turned to look at me, gesturing me to walk inside.

"Hi Khushi..." I greeted her as I walked in, she nodded at my greeting without even replying, I knew she never really liked me, she must even be wondering why Shrey is friends with me. I've met her a lot of times and I don't know why but whenever I talked to her, I would just say things to irritate her, it was fun at times, the way she reacted was hillarious.

She took Shrey's coat and walked to the bedroom leaving the both of us alone in the hall, Shrey turned to look at me, he looked all relaxed and normal unlike what he was when we were driving back here.

"I guess I wouldn't have brought you here, things aren't the way I thought they were going to be... anyway I'll just inform her and then come to drop you."

I nodded positively as he walked inside the bedroom while I settled down on the sofa, opposite me I could see the beach from the huge glass windows, the water was shining bright in the beautiful moonlight, it was sucha  beautiful view, i was jealous of Shrey for having this apartment, i mean who wouldnt want a house opposite the beach right?

"I am so sorry." I heard Shrey's voice, I turned to look towards the room and saw him standing with Khushi at the door, he was holding her hand and looking at her innocently, he looked like a baby, i remember this face of his, it's the face he always made while apologizing to people, it actually helped him get the apology because people would say he looked really cute, but whatever.

"It's okay, I am not disappointed, give me a few minutes, I'll cook something." She smiled at him and although she said she wasn't disappointed, I could feel the disappointment in her voice, I could see it in her eyes too, i wondered why Shrye couldnt see it, i mean he loved this girl, he had been married to her for two years now, he should be knowing such things.

Maybe I had been wrong a while back when I said to Shrey that there was no need to lie in marriages, maybe there was a need, you could lie if it was going to make the other person happy but as long as that lie din't end up hurting them later.

"I'll drop Arnav home and be back in a while, and then we'll cook together."he said to her to which she nodded and looked at me, she rolled her eyes and looked back at him again, this girl really hated me didn't she?

"Sure, I'll start preparing then." Khushi smiled, he pecked on her cheek and then walked back to the hall while Khushi headed to the kitchen.

I mean i dont really look at girls this way, let's just say i've avoided being around them for a whie now because of reasons but then there was something really attractive about this girl who was dressed in her pajamas with her hair tied up in a messy bun, even though she dint have any make up on accompanied with a sexy outfit, I couldn't stop staring at her.

I dint know what it was but there was this sudden urge inside me, I felt like I wanted to see more of her, to know more about her than what I had usually heard from Shrey or what I had seen of her the couple of times I had met her, she wasn't like every other girl out there, she was just herself and it was beautiful.

I stood up brushing off the thoughts in my mind, I had to remind myself that she was my best friend's wife and thinking of her otherwise was wrong, I followed Shrey downstairs without bidding her a goodbye, because I knew talking to her was like starting an argument.

Hello! Ignore the typo's and the grammatical errors please, i'm terrible at proof - reading...