Chapter Eight
Chapter
Eight
Naina’s Anti-Honeymoon Checklist
Kiss a stranger.
Go to a rave.
Never in her life had Naina felt this free.
The pounding music, the neon lights, the alcohol in her veins…
and, of course, Tejas’s hands all over her body, his lips all over her face and neck as they slow-danced to the fast beats.
Naina hadn’t kissed someone out of the blue before.
She wasn’t sure if this was her wild side or her true side, but God, this felt good.
So very good that she couldn’t wait to get out of this party and go back to their room, finish what they’d started. But even in her moderately drunken senses, she knew the only way to the hostel was Raziya’s car—taxis in Goa were overpriced and, in the group’s current condition, decidedly unsafe.
When their friends joined them, whooping and jeering, Naina pulled away from Tejas embarrassedly. “Took you both long enough,” Jonah teased as he danced with Aleksy next to them. “I sensed a vibe the minute you walked into the kitchen together.”
As the others laughed, Tejas spun Naina around, then whispered in her ear, “Was that okay?”
She let her hands trail down his shoulders and chest until they came to rest on his hips. “Yes,” she breathed. “Better than okay.”
“Good,” he said, his voice rumbling. They danced close to one another, occasionally kissing or touching, and the throbbing between Naina’s legs only grew with every passing minute.
Was this what being brave and throwing caution to the wind felt like?
Why hadn’t Naina done this in forever? Her ex had never been one for PDA, claiming “affection is best saved for the bedroom,” but Naina had to admit there was something incredibly sexy about being touched like this in public.
Around one a.m., after the gang had had their fair share of dancing and drinking, they piled into the car, exhausted, sweaty, and eager for a good night’s sleep.
Tejas slung his arm around Naina, and she rested her head on his shoulder, her eyes half closed while he chatted with their new friends.
His voice was light and easy, his laughter melodious, and his touch gentle on her neck where his fingers made small circles.
Naina swallowed. She didn’t know what would happen when they got back to the room, but she knew what she wanted to happen.
He’s a stranger, her brain reasoned, but her heart—no, the ache deep in her core—argued back in a voice that sounded suspiciously like the old Naina, the one who had died after life got in the way. He won’t be a stranger for much longer.
And it was that voice, that feeling, that need that made her launch into Tejas’s arms seconds after he shut the door behind them.
She let him press her against the wall, his abs clenching at her touch under his shirt, as her mouth found his once more.
When she reached for the waistband of his pants, Tejas broke their kiss, touching his forehead to hers. “You sure about this?”
Naina pulled him in closer, grazing his hard-on with her fingers until he groaned. “I’m sure,” she replied.
Tejas made a noise in the back of his throat as she shimmied out of her dress, letting it pool at her feet.
They crashed into the bottom bunk, a tangle of limbs and lips while their clothes fell to the floor.
As she pulled him in for another kiss, his eyes fell to the tattoo on her waist, right under her ribs. “What’s that tattoo?” he asked.
“See for yourself,” she said, taking his hand and placing it on her cold skin.
Tejas traced her tattoo with a finger: an eye framed by thick lashes, except the eyeball was in the shape of a heart. Beneath the eye were the words open eyes, open heart.
“It’s beautiful,” he said, his mouth falling open. “When did you get it?”
Naina let out a soft sigh. “Years ago, when I was a na?ve, foolish, and drunk teenager.” She chose not to mention that she’d gotten it the summer after high school, eager for her real real life to start so she could meet the perfect guy in college, fall in love, and have the wedding of her dreams. Naina now knew that an open heart was a recipe for disaster.
“Why—” Tejas started, but Naina hooked her legs around his hips, straddling him, and he stopped talking. In no time, Naina was arching into him and gasping, her head thrown back, as he rocked his hips into her core.
An hour later, as Tejas’s eyes drifted closed, Naina stroked his messy curls with her hand, her heart full but her mind racing.
She hesitated, then kissed him on the cheek and changed into one of her nightdresses, not wanting to do something as intimate as waking up beside him.
She climbed up to the top bunk and settled into the sheets, resting an arm over her head as she stared up at the ceiling.
Naina Shetty had just had sex with someone she’d only just met.
The best sex of her life, in fact, with a complete stranger.
This wasn’t the kind of joy she’d planned on reclaiming—after all, casual sex had never been her thing.
She and Santhosh had waited a whole month before hooking up.
But it was joy nonetheless, and she’d made good progress on the list tonight.
Smiling, she turned onto her side and let Tejas’s soft snores lull her to sleep.
The next morning, around ten a.m., Naina roused before Tejas. He was still lightly snoring on the bottom bunk, probably exhausted from the party and, well, the cardio after that.
She stifled a yawn, then checked her phone.
Scrolling through her never-ending work emails, she bit her lip.
She’d needed the two weeks off, and everyone at work had told her as much.
Iqbal had requested she make use of her paid leave and not cancel her vacation.
“Your brain needs a refresh,” he’d said.
“You won’t be able to help your clients if you’re not thinking straight. ”
He was probably right, but Naina’s teeth gritted anyway when she noticed one of her cases had been reassigned to Dhanush for the time being.
He’d also been promoted to junior associate not long before, and in all honesty, he was the only one at the office who could threaten her chances at making partner one day.
No doubt he planned to poach all her clients and keep them even after she returned to the office.
He was as competitive as he was competent.
Naina’s phone buzzed with a text.
Anil
Why does your work status say “online”? Stop checking email and enjoy your time off, for fuck’s sake
Naina
Pssh. I *am* enjoying my time off. In fact, I already checked items 1, 2, 4, and 5 off the list
Anil is typing…
Hold on, lemme see what they were
Anil is typing…
YOU KISSED A STRANGER???? WHO???
Naina laughed, then clapped a hand to her mouth when Tejas’s snores paused from below her bunk. She waited for a moment, and when he didn’t wake up, she returned to her texts.
My roommate lol
DETAILS!
Let’s just call him Prince Charming for now
Cheesy, but ok. Did anything else happen?
She licked her lips as memories of the previous night flooded her mind. God, Tejas knew his way around a woman’s body.
We may have slept together…
WHAT THE FUCK
Anil is typing…
Are you serious Nay????
Who are you and what have you done with my bestie?
Naina’s stomach grumbled. She carefully got down from the bed and grabbed the homemade snacks Anil had packed for her. Then she returned to her top bunk and reread Anil’s text, her insides squirming, and not out of hunger.
As she popped a murukku into her mouth, a rather concerning message popped up.
Anil
This trip is turning you into a brand-new person, and I have to say, I like it
Naina
That’s not fair. I used to be wild before Santhosh, you just never saw it
It was true. She’d met her ex before she joined Akhtar, Kumble & Co., back when she was a regular at all her local college bars and clubs. By the time she and Anil became friends, Santhosh had already sapped the life out of her.
Sure, I believe you
A hand rapped sharply on the bottom of her bunk. “Naina?” Tejas said, his voice sleepy. “What are you doing up there?”
She coughed, sending Anil a quick ttyl and setting her phone aside. “Uh, I sleep better alone. Good morning.”
“Morning,” he mumbled, then stood to face her. He was tall enough to rest his arms along the sides of her bunk bed. He smiled dazedly. “Hope you slept well.”
“I did,” Naina said, smiling back. She got down from the top bunk, and Tejas pulled her in for a quick close-mouthed kiss, probably worried about his morning breath—not that Naina cared about it at all. “Breakfast?” she asked, and he nodded.
Thankfully, by the time they went downstairs to the kitchen, Raziya was wearing a plain white apron and midway through making Polish breakfast for the others in the kitchen, with Aleksy supervising.
He didn’t seem to be able to get out of his chef mindset.
“Today’s special: open sandwiches,” he announced, handing plates to Tejas and Naina.
They sat down, and Naina eagerly dug into the crunchy toasted sandwich, loving the flavors of smoked salmon, parsley, pickled cucumber, and cream cheese that mingled in her mouth.
She preferred Indian food for breakfast—whether Bangalore dishes like dosa and uthappam with chutney, or the more traditionally North Indian options like aloo parathas—but this trip was all about new experiences, and so far, things were looking good.
Anil’s text message flashed in her mind.
This trip is turning you into a brand-new person, and I have to say, I like it.
Naina rolled her eyes and blinked away the visual.
Just focus on the delicious breakfast, she told herself.
She wouldn’t let Anil’s opinions sway how she felt about last night—or herself.
As Raziya dished out some Bollywood gossip, Naina listened and made all the right sounds of shock and amusement, but her mind was still on what Anil had said: Her behavior last night had been out of character.
She’d planned this vacation so she could let loose and distract herself with good company and lots of alcohol, but despite the items Anil had added to the list, she never actually imagined herself kissing a stranger or having a fling.
She’d been a romantic through and through before Santhosh broke her heart.
And yet, she’d felt safe in Tejas’s arms, euphoric as he’d thrust into her last night, and she didn’t think it had just been the alcohol talking.
Anil was right, this wasn’t the version of Naina he knew, especially not the one who’d rolled her eyes when he’d added “kiss a stranger” to the list, but…
Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. Right?