I adjusted the straps of my top, my self-consciousness about my appearance growing as we stepped into the driveway where a lineup of luxury cars were neatly parked. As someonewho exclusively wore fusion wear, this was new territory. ‘I’m listening …’
Nikita walked up to the front porch without missing a beat, as if she were a regular in this neighbourhood. ‘A) You can seduce him,’ she said, reapplying her lipstick before ringing the doorbell.
The loud laugh that escaped me had her giving me the side-eye. ‘Or, B) You can find some dirt onhim. Uno-reverse him, you know?’
‘That’s ridiculous,’ I told her at the exact moment that the door opened and the music drowned me out.
As a certified introvert, I felt out of place at most parties—but this one? I stuck out like a sore thumb. When Nikita had said ‘house party’, she’d failed to mention that it was being thrown by Mumbai’s Mr Gatsby, Aditya Jindal. Everywhere I looked, I spotted faces I already knew—and they certainly didn’t knowme. Influencers, socialites, hell, half of Bollywood’s star kids seemed to be here. I could bet that the average Instagram following of this party was at least 500k.
‘Dude, where the hell have you brought me?’ I hissed at Nikita, who looked vaguely impressed, at best.
She just told me to ‘be cool’ before thrusting a beer bottle in my hand from the drinks table. And so I took it upon myself to fill her in on every internet scandal I’d ever read about these people.That girl in the blue dress? She’s in a throuple. Oh my God, the guy who went viral for ugly-crying on that speed dating reality show just made eye contact with me. You see that woman walking towards the pool? She apparently slapped apap for taking an unflattering photo of her. And that leather jacket dude got cancelled for cracking a #MeToo joke.
After twenty minutes of indulging me, she asked if I’d be okay by myself while she went to look for the guy who’d invited her. It took every ounce of willpower to keep from begging her not to leave me. I tried braving it on my own for all of thirty seconds before making a run for the washroom. On my way back from the first floor, I spotted a glass door leading out to a balcony and slipped through it. Although ‘balcony’ was probably too modest a word for this spacious outdoor patio overlooking the swimming pool. Below me, fairy lights shimmered in the reflection of the water as people in head-to-toe designer wear mingled in clusters.
I leaned against the glass railing and set the beer bottle beside me, relieved to be outside. It was easy to pretend that I was still watching these people on a screen from up here.
‘Kavya?’ A man’s voice from behind me made me jump. ‘Is that you?’
A flicker of comfort at hearing a familiar voice was replaced by immediate exasperation when I realized who it belonged to. Neil stood there squinting at me, a cigarette hanging halfway to his lips.Why couldn’t this man leave me the fuck alone?
‘What are you doing here?’ I demanded, crossing my arms, suddenly feeling exposed in my corset top. Neil, on the other hand, looked as effortlessly stylish as ever in a sand-coloured linen shirt and trousers.
‘Me?’ He took a drag. ‘What areyoudoing here? Didn’t know you were pals with Adi.’
I shuffled my feet as he walked over to join me. Even in the heels I’d borrowed from Nikita, he was at least a head taller than me. ‘I’m not. My flatmate is friends with one of his friends.’
He nodded, exhaling a puff of smoke. ‘That makes a lot more sense.’
I narrowed my eyes at him. ‘Why?’
‘You just didn’t strike me as the party animal type.’
‘And you didn’t strike me as the blackmailing type. Guess we never really know, do we?’ I shot back.
‘Ouch,’ he said, suppressing a half-chuckle. ‘The claws are out already.’
I turned to the party, hoping the view below would distract me from the urge to strangle this man. ‘What’d you expect? Gratitude?’
I figured he’d be ready with a retort, but he remained silent. He took a few more drags before stubbing the half-smoked cigarette in an ashtray by his side. Even with my eyes fixed ahead, I could feel his gaze on me. Lazy. Curious. Pondering.
When I couldn’t take it anymore, I faced him. ‘What?’
The intensity of his gaze caught me off guard. In the warm yellow light spilling from inside, his eyes looked softer, framed by those ridiculously long eyelashes that made it even harder to look away.
‘Why did you feel the need to lie about attending NYU in the first place? Why not just say where you actually went?’
I could tell he was genuinely confused and somehow that irked me more than it would if he’d been teasing me. ‘Trust a privileged man to be completely blind to how the real world works.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘You think I wanted to lie? I did it because Ihadto.’ I could feel my cheeks getting hot with indignation. ‘I knew I was tanking that interview. People like me can’t impress your Rajat uncle with our skillsets, you know? All he cares about is status.’
He opened his mouth like he was going to argue, then stopped. I willed him to challenge me, but he just shook his head in silence. When he looked at me again, his expression had softened.
‘You know what?’ he finally said. ‘Don’t worry about that website project. I’ll figure it out.’
‘Don’t do that …’ I rolled my eyes at him. ‘Don’t un-blackmail me out of pity.’
