Chapter Two
Chapter
Two
The wind whipped Tejas Rajput’s curly hair around as he stared out the open car window, his face breaking into a smile for the first time since his best friend’s wedding.
As the taxi turned around the bend, now steadily moving across a bumpy seaside road, he caught glimpses of coconut trees, sandy beaches, and tourists clad in bikinis and shorts—all of whom were drinking, smoking, and dancing like they had no care in the world.
Well, they probably didn’t. They were in Goa, after all.
“First time here, sir?” the balding taxi driver asked, catching Tejas’s eye in the rearview mirror and grinning.
“Yep,” Tejas answered. He leaned forward in his seat, eager to make conversation with someone local. “I took the bus from Mumbai. Any must-see places near the hostel you’re taking me to?”
“Too many to name, sir.” The driver laughed and wiped the back of his neck.
It was sunny and humid, and the stench of sweat permeated the air inside the small taxi.
May in Goa was not the best time to visit—summer was no joke here—but Tejas had packed plenty of sleeveless shirts, shorts, and flip-flops.
He’d make the most of this desperately needed vacation, regardless of the scorching heat.
“You need to visit Baga Beach, of course.” The driver took out a piece of paper from his shirt pocket.
“Here is a list of the best parties happening in North Goa this week. Whatever you need, be it hash, grass, shrooms, or acid, you can get it there with the phone number listed at the bottom. Here, take a photo.” He slowed the car and handed the paper to Tejas before returning to the steering wheel.
Tejas swallowed, considering it. He wasn’t in Goa to get high, but…
parties were definitely on the agenda. He snapped a picture with his phone camera, then handed the paper back to the driver with a quick thanks.
He continued staring out the window, watching the trees and shrubbery fly past, the gray-blue waves cresting and troughing in the distance, until his phone chimed with a text.
Rahul
hope you reached Goa ok?
Tejas almost scoffed before letting his phone screen fade to black.
He wouldn’t reply. He had every right to be mad at stupid Rahul.
So what if Rahul was his best friend? Rahul was also his secret ex-boyfriend who was now married to some woman his parents picked out for him.
Why? Because according to him, being queer in India was too difficult and this was just a simpler, easier way to survive life.
On some level, Tejas got it. He didn’t flaunt his bisexual identity, either. It was hard to be out in many parts of the world, but especially India. His parents still didn’t know, not that he talked to them anymore; he’d only told a few friends and his sister, Latika.
But what Tejas wasn’t okay with was Rahul insisting he come to said wedding and then dance alongside the other guests in the baraat—the groom’s wedding procession with all his guests—as they headed to the wedding venue.
Tejas had had no desire to celebrate Rahul’s marriage to a woman he didn’t love, a woman he’d only met two months ago at his parents’ behest. Rahul was supposed to love Tejas, his boyfriend of three years.
They were supposed to end up together, have a big fat Indian wedding when the government legalized queer marriage (with their small circle of progressive friends in attendance, family be damned), and drive off into the sunset with two adopted kids sitting in the back seat.
Tejas gritted his teeth as another text lit up his screen.
Rahul
thanks for coming to the wedding btw. meant a lot to me
Rahul is typing…
we’re boarding the plane to the Maldives now. i know you said you wanted space but i’m always here for you ok?
Sighing, Tejas picked up his phone and started typing. Enjoy the honeymoon, you asshole. Then he shook his head, hit backspace, and simply added a thumbs-up reaction to Rahul’s last text. That would have to do. Not just for right now, but forever.
Rahul’s parents were conservative, old-fashioned, and traditional enough that they would start pushing their son’s new wife for grandchildren soon enough.
If Tejas stayed in touch with Rahul, he’d probably become the kids’ godfather.
Doing the work of the unofficial best man at the wedding, welcoming the bride and groom’s extended family to the hotel, and being introduced to the guests as “Rahul’s best friend” was enough self-inflicted pain for a lifetime.
Tejas had tortured himself far too much this past weekend at the wedding. The solution? Partying in Goa, the one place he’d always wanted to visit since moving to Mumbai for law school. And it was finally happening. He’d had his dark moment, and now there would only be sunshine.
And alcohol. Tons of it. And maybe Tejas would even make use of the jumbo pack of condoms in his suitcase.
The taxi slowed to a halt in front of a three-story white building with multicolored accents along the walls—red, orange, blue, yellow.
A sign out front proclaimed it to be the GoGoa Youth Hostel.
Grinning, Tejas thanked the driver, paid the taxi fare, and entered the hostel with his suitcase in tow.
“You’ve opted for the semiprivate room, yes?” the woman at the narrow front desk in the hostel lobby asked. When Tejas nodded, she handed him a yellow key that said 202 on it and directed him to the second floor. “The communal bathroom stalls are three doors down from your room,” she added.
There was no elevator at the hostel, so Tejas dragged his suitcase up the staircase.
There were at least fifteen rooms on the second floor, all numbered weirdly.
For instance, room 213 was across from room 207, next to which was room 201.
There were no directions in sight. He pursed his lips and looked at the yellow key again.
“Can I help?”
Tejas lifted his head and smiled at a friendly-looking short woman with a thick, long braided hairstyle, wearing a kurti and jeans. “Uh, room 202?” he asked.
The woman gestured for him to follow her down a narrow corridor. “Down here,” she said. Once they were in front of room 202, he said, “Thanks. I’m Tejas.”
“Raziya,” she replied, then smirked and jutted her head toward the door. “Huh, 202? Interesting.”
He frowned at the closed door. “What do you mean?”
Raziya laughed. “You and your roommate have really different vibes. She’s downstairs talking to the others—I’m sure you’ll meet her soon. See you!”
Tejas stared at the door in confusion for a full ten seconds after Raziya left, then shook himself out of it and unlocked the door.
More color greeted his eyes. The air-conditioned room, painted a cheerful yellow, had a blue cupboard off to one side, a small desk and chair in the corner, and a white wooden bunk bed with a laptop on the top bunk.
There was also a tiny balcony off on the side, the curtains partially open to let some sunshine in.
He dumped his stuff on the bottom bunk, wondering when the roommate Raziya had mentioned would be back. Her things were already scattered around the room: the laptop on the top bunk with zero stickers on it, a towel hanging neatly on the back of the door, a makeup bag full to the brim…
Guess he’d have to get acquainted with the mysterious roommate some other time. He decided to take a quick shower in the communal bathroom, then returned to his room, which was still empty. Shrugging, he settled into the bottom bunk and FaceTimed his sister.
“Hi,” Latika said, smiling widely. Her short black hair was pulled into a ponytail away from her face. “How’s Goa? And the hostel?”
“Good.” Tejas set two fluffy blue pillows against the wall and settled in. “It’s hot. Like, really hot. Thank goodness I picked a hostel with AC. But anyway, I didn’t call you to talk to you. Where is she?”
Latika smirked and turned the phone to the right. A furry white paw appeared on the screen, followed by the face of the cutest cat in the world. Green-yellow eyes blinked at Tejas before Astrid let out a meow and snuggled into Latika’s chest.
“My baby.” Tejas tried to hold back his tears. It had been four days since he last saw his cat, and he already missed her. “Is she eating and sleeping okay? What about her poop? How’s her poop?”
“All good, don’t worry. Astrid loves her auntie, doesn’t she?” Latika moved the phone so it was closer to Astrid’s beautiful gray-and-white face. “Give your old man a kiss, Astrid!”
Astrid meowed again before hopping off Latika’s lap. Her footsteps had always been loud—Tejas distinctly heard the sound of her paws thudding against the floor as she ran into a different room.
He exhaled, his heart aching, as Astrid’s footsteps faded.
He’d adopted Astrid a year ago when she was a mere three-month-old kitten, and he hadn’t ever been away from her for longer than a day or two until now.
Yes, Latika often took on the role of the dutiful cat-sitter, since she lived thirty minutes away from him in Mumbai, but surely Astrid missed having her papa around?
“Relax.” Latika rolled her eyes. “It’s only two more weeks. And you deserve a vacation after…everything.” She lowered her gaze and added, more hesitantly, “Are you still talking to him?”
“He texted me, but I’m not going to reply.” Tejas bit the inside of his cheek. “I can’t move on without space, and if he doesn’t seem to understand that, then it’s his problem.”
She nodded. “Love sucks. I’m here for you, bhai.”
He cracked a smile. “I know.”
Latika was still nursing a broken heart.
Her arranged marriage had gone awry last year because her ex-husband had pressured their families into making a decision quickly, giving the Rajput family no time to do a thorough background check.
Mere weeks after the wedding, she found out he was unemployed with a mountain of debt, a drinking problem, and no desire to ever work again.
Her job as a budding psychotherapist, fresh out of college, couldn’t pay the bills.
Both sides of the family had opposed the divorce, because “What will people say?” Latika and Tejas hadn’t spoken to their parents since.
Tejas shook off these thoughts and got up from the bunk bed to give his sister a tour of the room.
Latika oohed and aahed over the colorful décor and furniture, as well as the modest but beautiful view of Goan streets from the small attached balcony in the room.
Tejas came back inside a minute later, missing the air-conditioning, and as he was sliding the balcony door closed, a woman came in, holding a half-eaten apple, her AirPods in as she grooved to whatever she was listening to.
She saw him and lurched to a stop. “Oh.”
Tejas didn’t miss Latika’s eyebrows shooting up at the sight of her.
“Hey,” he said to the woman, smiling even as his cheeks flushed red.
Fuck, this woman was hot. She looked about his age—late twenties—with long, wavy brown hair that fell to her waist as she regarded him curiously from the doorway.
She was tall, perhaps five foot nine to his six foot one, with legs that went on for days beneath her short floral red dress.
He flipped the camera back to his face and said into the phone, “Uh, I guess that’s my roommate.”
The woman frowned as she stood at the doorway and took a bite of the apple. “Are you on the phone?”
“I’m talking to my sister,” he said, then addressed Latika. “I’ll call you soon, okay?”
“Wait—” Latika started, a glint in her eyes, but he hit the end call button and slid his phone into the pocket of his shorts.
Tejas shook out his curly hair and smiled at the woman, who was still by the door.
“Sorry about that, roomie! I’m Tejas.” He kept his distance but held a hand out, and the woman walked up to him, raising an eyebrow as she sized him up.
With how she folded her muscular arms and stared at him, stone-faced, Tejas knew right away that she was not someone to mess with.
Her mouth parted, her tongue darting out to lick her bottom lip as her eyes fell to his outstretched hand.
Tejas’s face flamed again, and he wondered what she was thinking.
Finally, she dumped the apple core into the trash and returned his handshake.
Her grip was solid and confident; this woman was probably a badass at work, and yet her touch sent shivers down his spine. “Naina.”
A shadow fell over the room as clouds settled in place of the bright sun. Tejas glanced at the balcony and the slowly darkening evening sky before hooking a thumb at the room door. “Looks like it’s getting cooler outside. Want to grab a beer or something?”
Naina thought for a moment, looking him up and down, her eyes lingering on the bulge of his muscled legs and the coarse chest hair peeking out from under his sleeveless shirt.
Tejas scratched the back of his neck. He wasn’t often self-conscious, but with a hot girl presumably checking him out, he had to wonder what was on her mind.
At last, Naina said, “If you’re trying to make a move on me, just know I’m not looking for anything serious. I’m”—she exhaled—“taking a break from relationships.”
Tejas laughed. Were all women this honest in Goa? “I wasn’t making a move. You’re the one checking me out.”
Her nostrils flared. It was a cute look on her. “One beer,” she finally said. “I know a good place two streets away.” She grabbed her purse from her bed and left the room.
“Okay, then,” Tejas said, chuckling as he followed her. This was going to be a very interesting two weeks.