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He clutched my arms tightly. “I didn’t mean it.”
“You hurt me.”
He glanced down at his feet before peering up at me again, and pain flashed through his eyes. “I was angry and hurt. You were talking about marriage with another man. How the fuck was I supposed to take it?”
Axel was still standing too close to not draw attention. He was still gripping my arms with familiarity.
“Kanchu, who is this?” My mom was walking up to us with her eyes narrowed and head cocked to the side.
I took a step back, and Axel dropped his hands. “This is my friend, Axel Thomas. He goes to Hillside, and we had a class together. He plays football and was just drafted to play in the NFL in the fall.” My mother stared at me blankly, since she had zero interest in sports. “He also graduated with a degree in biology,” I added.
“Dean’s list with distinction and summa cum laude,” Axel clarified.
I held my arm out to my mom. “Axel. This is my mom, Alina Pradhan.”
Axel smiled widely before he held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Pradhan.”
“Likewise. Why are you here?”
He gave me an imperceptible smirk, and I knew what he was thinking…The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
“Your daughter obviously forgot to tell you.” He studied me again, and his eyes held a devious glint that made me nervous. “We’reclosefriends, and she invited me over to attend this… function.”
My mother nodded and gestured with her hands. “Well then. Please join us. We are about to start serving food.”
“Yes, ma’am. I will,” he said like the perfect Boy Scout, and I was surprised at his audacity. Who was I kidding? This was Axel. He could make the biggest skeptic his number-one fan with the crook of his smile and a few nice words.
Mom shuffled off to rejoin our guests, and we followed at a distance.
“That was shady,” I said lowly, not wanting to cause a scene at my mother’s party.
“You already know the means I’ll take to have you be my girl.” His tone was light but unapologetic.
My stomach clenched uncomfortably as I saw Kiran making his way over with his hands in his pants pockets and a curious expression. “What is Axel Thomas doing here?” he asked in disbelief.
“How do you know who he is?” I felt Axel tense up beside me, and I hoped he’d behave.
“Are you kidding? Two-time national champion. First-round draft pick. Of course, I’ve heard of him.” He reached out a hand. “I’m Kiran and a big fan.”
“Kiran.” The word sounded like a curse on his lips, and I clenched Axel on the arm, not giving him a chance to either shake his hand or punch his face. Kiran was the last person who deserved any ill will.
His muscles flexed under my hands, and I knew he was restraining himself from taking out his anger on Kiran.
“Let’s grab something to eat,” I said and tugged on his arm. Surprisingly, he allowed me to lead him away from a potentially unprovoked fight. Maybe he was trying to make an effort to be respectful, but I could still feel the tension emanating from his body. He bent his head to mine. “Can we talk in private?”
I noticed others were peering at us, and I dropped his arm, forcing a pleasant smile. “Not now.”
When I led him inside, there were platters of food set up in the kitchen—goat curry, chicken curry, fish curry, and achar. My mom took over, as usual, and began making a plate of food for him before directing Axel to a seat at the table in the dining room. I made my plate as Kiran did, too. We had two seats at the table next to Rajina, who was seated at the head of the table with Raaj on her other side.
“This is the best birthday,” Rajina said. “To have my family and dear friend host this celebration…” She turned her attention to Kiran and me with joy written all over her face. “And soon, we will have a wedding.”
Clang. The sound of silverware on a ceramic plate was hard to ignore, and I gazed at Axel briefly who sat with fists clenched beside his dish.Please don’t do this, I begged silently.
Swallowing thickly, I tried to keep the bile from rising in my throat. “We aren’t getting married anytime soon.” I laughed nervously, as if that would ease the tension no one knew about except Axel and me. I couldn’t even think about the elephant in the room—that I might be pregnant. I was in denial and couldn’t go there right now.
“True.” She tilted her head, and her eyes tapered in suspicion. “But your engagement party is coming up in two weeks, and time will fly faster than you think. The wedding will be here before you know it.”
“You’re having an engagement party in two weeks?” Axel asked, his voice sounding garbled as if he’d swallowed razor blades. His jaw ticked, and I was worried he was about to cause a scene.
