Chapter Fourteen
Chapter
Fourteen
Naina’s Anti-Honeymoon Checklist
Go skinny-dipping.
Tejas pushed Naina against the glass balcony door, rattling it, his mouth moving hard and fast against hers.
Her cold fingers moved to unbutton his shirt as her tongue flicked over his lower lip.
He let out a moan, his hand lifting up the hemline of her short skirt, and she broke their kiss to shush him.
A week had passed since they’d started working on the list, and Naina had decided today’s agenda was to check off the ninth item.
Tejas had had sex outside of a bedroom plenty of times, but it was Naina’s first time doing anything as “scandalous” as this—her words, not his—and though Tejas had suggested doing it in the bathroom of a pub or on the beach, she’d decided the balcony of their second-floor room was a safer bet.
She told him it was “exposed” enough for the wild side of her she was slowly reclaiming without being so dangerous as to get them in trouble with the law.
“We have to be quiet,” she reminded him as he pressed kisses along her neck. “It’s barely dinner time, so people must still be awake.”
“It’s Goa,” he replied, grinning when she gasped at his hand sliding in between her legs. “I guarantee nobody’s counting on us to be quiet.”
“I’d like to see you try anyway,” she teased, clapping a hand to Tejas’s lips, even as her head pushed farther back into the balcony door. He kissed her hand and took her fingers in his mouth, licking and sucking until she moaned louder than him.
“Condom,” she breathed, tugging his jeans down, and he complied, pinning her against the balcony door and filling her up as her eyes rolled back.
When they finally pulled apart, both of their chests heaving, Naina’s shoulders went slack, and she whooshed out a breath. “My God, why haven’t I done that before?”
“Wrong timing, wrong guy,” Tejas said, pressing a kiss to her forehead before he could stop himself. Hopefully, that didn’t feel as romantic to Naina as it did to him.
Naina smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Maybe,” she said, then adjusted her skirt and went back inside their room. With a silent sigh, Tejas followed her, his mind whirling with thoughts.
Honestly, seven days into this trip, Tejas had finally gotten used to his new routine: Wake up alone on the bottom bunk after a night of great sex; say good morning to Naina, who was always scrolling through her phone on the top bunk; fuel up with Aleksy’s delicious breakfast; spend the entire day with the gang drinking, dancing, and exploring Goa; come back to the room and worship every inch of Naina’s body; and… repeat.
There was just one thing that frustrated him. He knew the individual bunk beds weren’t exactly spacious enough to accommodate both his and Naina’s long limbs, but he wished he could wake up with her in his arms at least one morning. Maybe he’d ask her about it again soon.
They met up with the gang for their dinner reservation at one of the best sea-facing nightclubs in town.
At the club, while Raziya and Naina headed to the ladies’ bathroom to touch up their makeup, Jonah shifted his chair closer to Tejas’s, his voice conspiratorial as he said, “So? How’s it going with Naina? ”
Tejas swirled the ice around in his whiskey sour, not meeting Jonah’s gaze. “Great progress on the list, if that’s what you mean.”
Aleksy’s laughter boomed. “Man, anyone with eyes can see how you look at her. You’re catching feelings, aren’t you?”
“No,” Tejas snapped, more defensively than needed. “It’s just…” He hesitated, then told them about Naina’s sleeping habits. “She’s already told me she’s not ready to wake up next to me, which is fair, except it makes me feel like a never-ending booty call.”
Jonah and Aleksy exchanged glances. “But isn’t that what you are?” Aleksy asked.
“I mean, it’s difficult to keep things casual for some people,” Jonah intoned, gesturing to himself. “I’ve never been good at it.”
“Me neither,” Tejas started, but Jonah went on.
“And maybe casual is just Naina’s style?”
Tejas gritted his teeth. “But she said she’s never had a fling before. Maybe,” he wondered aloud, “she gets really hot at night and can’t go to bed cuddling. It’s just that she always waits till I’m asleep to climb into the top bunk. I wish she’d…”
“Look, Tejas,” Jonah said as he took a big gulp of his beer. “You agreed to this weird rule. If you’ve changed your mind and aren’t okay with it, tell her instead of overthinking so much.”
Tejas was silent for a moment, mulling over Jonah’s words. Then he said, “So I should tell her I want more?”
“Do you think you’re ready for more, though?” Aleksy tutted. “You’ve both had terrible and awfully recent breakups. This is the time to be alone, heal your wounds, and look inward, not assume you have feelings for her just because the sex is fun.”
“As much as I relate to you, Tejas,” Jonah said, “I have to agree with Aleksy. I tried the casual route with the last guy I dated.” His face darkened. “It…was a disaster. I’ve never been that heartbroken.”
Aleksy slung an arm around Jonah and kissed his forehead. “But you found me, so it was all worth it, right?”
Jonah hummed in agreement, then turned to Tejas. “Based on what little we’ve gathered about Naina, it’s clear she’s here just for her list agenda. Keep your feelings in check, yeah?”
Tejas swallowed as Naina and Raziya walked toward the table. “Yeah,” he said quickly. “Got it.”
His friends were wrong. Tejas didn’t have feelings for Naina.
It was a simple crush, brought on by their proximity and Naina’s mesmerizing beauty.
But they’d clocked one thing: He couldn’t let this crush turn into something more.
He had come to Goa with a broken heart, after all.
No way would he leave this place with his heart in the exact same condition.
“What were we talking about?” Raziya asked when she sat down.
Jonah coughed. “Oh, uh…”
Thankfully, the waiter appeared, giving them the perfect distraction: food.
Goan-style lobster, fish curry, vegetable xacuti, and a chicken tikka platter, all waiting to be devoured.
Naina sat beside Tejas, one hand on his thigh as she dived into her fish curry and rice.
Her cheeks were still flushed, though Tejas didn’t know whether it was from the sex, the humidity, or her makeup. Maybe all three.
The gang talked about their plans for the next week. Jonah and Aleksy were going skydiving, and Raziya, who had been to Goa twice before, gave them suggestions on the best places to dive from.
“You wanted to do something adventurous for your list, right?” Aleksy asked Naina as he tore off a piece of malai chicken tikka with his teeth. “Skydiving’s pretty adventurous.”
Naina chewed her food, thinking. “I’m not sure I want to jump off a plane,” she said, “but Tejas and I can figure something else out.”
Tejas smiled; Jonah’s gaze immediately went to him, and he shook his head ever so slightly. The message was clear: Don’t you dare jump to conclusions. Tejas tried not to roll his eyes and returned his attention to the delicious lobster on his plate.
Close to the end of their meal, by which time they’d all had at least three drinks, the DJ played Naina’s favorite pop song, and she dragged Tejas onto the dance floor.
Laughing, he shuffled his feet to the beat while she threw her hands in the air and swung her hips, not a care in the world.
Tejas grinned goofily at the sight. Naina had said the list was about finding her way back to her old self, and it was evident that she’d succeeded.
This woman was a free bird; she was brave, beautiful, and most of all… happy.
And some of that happiness was because of Tejas.
Just as the others joined them on the floor, Tejas’s phone buzzed from his pocket. His blood turned cold when he saw the text message from Rahul.
Tejas hadn’t texted his ex-boyfriend back since Rahul had last reached out. In fact, Tejas had taken the extra step of unfollowing Rahul on social media so those dreamy honeymoon photos wouldn’t be all up in his face. Was that what he wanted to talk about now?
Frowning, Tejas read the text message.
Rahul
hey man. look, I miss you, and I don’t think what you’re doing is fair. we have history as best friends and it’s not ok for you to dismiss that simply because I’m married now. why don’t we get on a call sometime?
Tejas’s eyes narrowed even as his stomach clenched. Who was Rahul kidding? “Best friends”? Besides, after how he’d treated Tejas, that man was owed nothing.
“Hey.” Tejas looked up at Naina, whose eyes flicked between him and the phone. “You okay?” she said.
“I will be,” he replied, squeezing her shoulder. With a sour mood and a dull ache in his heart, he blocked Rahul everywhere—Instagram, iMessage, even LinkedIn—adamant that he would never, ever let that vile man into his life again.
When his gaze met Naina’s—concerned, worried, caring—his resolve to let things with Rahul die strengthened. Rahul was his past; who knew what the future held for Tejas?
“Do you want to talk about it?” Naina asked as she put her hands around Tejas’s shoulders and moved her body to the pulsing music.
Tejas put his phone inside his pocket and wound his arms around Naina. “I can’t answer that without breaking our rule.”
She leaned into his chest as tendrils of her long brown hair brushed along his skin, leaving gooseflesh in their wake. “Fine. Then break it.”
He pulled away, his eyes wide. “Wait, what?”
Shrugging, Naina patted the side of her purse, as if checking for something, then said, “Follow me.”
They stepped outside the club, closer to the sea, where it was relatively quieter with just the sounds of gushing waves, chirping crickets, and the occasional group of people walking by.