‘Why do I get such a hard one?’ I whined, but I was already setting my wine glass aside and tugging the rug closer to soften my landing. I tried not to focus on the way Neil was watching me—curious, amused and with a tinge of trepidation, like he wasn’t sure what side of me he might discover.Here goes nothing. I took a deep breath and launched into the SRK routine I’d performed a million times as a kid, ending with the dramatic landing on both knees.
‘Chaiyya Chaiyya,’ Tanya and Rhea screamed in unison.
And then it was Neil’s turn. Tanya whispered the song into his ear and his face went blank. He turned to look at her, horrified. ‘No way.’
She just smiled at him sweetly and walked back to where our team was seated. Neil scanned the room like he was genuinely considering escaping through a window. Just when I thought he was going to chicken out, he put both hands behind his head, stuck his hip out, and began doing the extremely suggestive, ridiculously over the top pelvic-thrust hookstep of ‘Chikni Chameli’ in my parents’ living room. My brother howled and my mother covered her mouth to hide her laughter and I … I felt like my heart might explode from the overwhelming fondness I felt for him in that moment.
But then the game ended and the moment passed as quickly as it had come. My parents retired to their room and my brother decided that the next logical activity was whipping out the PS5. Tanya and I watched in awe as the guys got their asses kicked at FIFA by Rhea.
‘Wanna bet on which one of them is going to hit on her tonight?’ Tanya asked, waggling her eyebrows in their direction.
For my sake, I hoped it wouldn’t be anyone other than Abhinav. After a few minutes of laughing at their dramatic meltdowns, Tanya excused herself to go use the loo.
‘Hey Tanya,’ I called out after her, remembering the plumbing issue my mum had warned me about in the guest washroom. ‘Can you use the one in my bedroom? It’s up the stairs and to your right.’
I took the opportunity to escape to the front porch with my glass of wine. The drizzle had died down, leaving behind a frosty breeze in its place. The porch was strung with the old fairy lights I had put up two years ago for Christmas that no one had bothered to take down. The wooden steps leading to the vegetable garden were damp, but I sat down on the top step anyway. I rubbed my arms, trying to chase away the chill. Bursts of laughter and Rhea’s triumphant shrieks were still audible through the wooden walls, but out here, it was easy to let the noise fade into the background. I let my eyes roam over the garden—the flowerbeds glistening with rain, the tomato bush that had spilled out of its little planter and the old wooden fence casting long shadows across the stone path that led to the road outside. It all felt untouched and precious, like the outside world hadn’t gotten to it yet. A small pocket of calm in a day that had been anything but.
The wind picked up again, brushing past my hair and making me shiver for the second time. The front door creaked softly and footsteps tapped the wooden floor behind me. I didn’t turnaround, assuming it was Tanya. But then a pair of strong hands draped a warm blanket over my shoulders.
‘Thought you might be cold,’ Neil said, his voice so low that it almost got lost in the breeze.
‘Oh … um, thanks,’ I clutched the blanket around me and continued looking out into the distance, hoping he’d take the hint and head back inside. But, of course, he didn’t. Instead, he lowered himself onto the step beside me, while I tried to gather whatever was left of my composure.
‘Your house is beautiful, Kavya,’ he said after a minute. ‘All those rants about Bombay … it all makes sense now.’
‘Can you not?’ I exhaled. ‘I’m not in the mood to be psychoanalysed on my own front porch.’
‘Okay, okay.’ He held up his hands in surrender. ‘I’m just saying … it’s easy to see why you miss this.’
I fiddled with the edge of the blanket and conceded, ‘Who wouldn’t miss a place where people shove food at you every ten minutes?’
‘Or make you dance to “Chikni Chameli” for post-dinner entertainment.’
That pulled a reluctant laugh out of me. ‘You’re never living that down, by the way.’
‘I figured.’ I could see his smile out of the corner of my eye.
For a moment, neither of us said anything. The breeze moved gently through the garden, brushing past the flowers, stirring the leaves on the ground and filling the silence with something thatalmostfelt comfortable. Which was probably why he chose that exact moment to ruin it.
‘So … you and Arjun, huh?’ His tone was casual.Toocasual.
‘Arjun and I … what?’
He shrugged, as if he couldn’t find the right words. ‘You’re not thinking of getting back with him, are you?’
My eyes snapped to his and I was shocked to find a hint of jealousy buried under his impossibly long eyelashes.Great. Just great.This is exactly what my life had been missing—Neil Desai acting possessive like he had any claim left to me whatsoever.
‘No, you don’t get to ask me that.’ I shook my head at him.
‘Why not? It’s only fair that I know … as someone who will be affected by your decision.’
I snorted. ‘Right.’
When he just continued looking at me in confusion, I threw my hands up. ‘Why do you care anyway? You were literally on a date with your ex last week.’
‘What? I didn’t go on adatewith my ex.’ When I refused to look in his direction, he added, ‘I just met her, Kavya. She … she wanted to talk.’ He looked genuinely taken aback. ‘Wait, is that why you’ve been acting so weird lately?’
‘I’vebeen acting weird?’ All the hurt I hadn’t let myself feel all week finally bled into my voice. ‘You gave me the most beautiful night of my life, kissed me like I might actually mean something to you and then pretended like nothing happened … andI’mthe one acting weird?’
