Chapter Eighteen
Chapter
Eighteen
Naina’s Anti-Honeymoon Checklist
Get shit-faced drunk.
Tejas’s shoulders sank with relief when he bumped into Naina outside the hostel bathroom the next morning around ten-thirty. She had fallen asleep in his arms minutes after they returned from karaoke last night, both of them drunk and exhilarated but also exhausted.
“Oh, you’re here,” he said, smiling. “I woke up and you weren’t on the top bunk.”
Naina clapped a hand to her forehead, and that was when Tejas noticed her slumped posture and the bags under her eyes. “I’ve been in the bathroom for a while,” she said, her voice choked, probably from throwing up. “And my head is pounding. Hangovers are brutal when you’re twenty-nine.”
“I’m twenty-nine,” Tejas said, spreading his arms wide, “and I feel perfectly fine.”
Groaning, she shuffled past him toward their room, and he followed her, not caring that he had to pee.
Naina paused when they were inside, looking from Tejas to the bed, then slid into Tejas’s blanket on the bottom bunk.
“Sorry, I don’t have the strength to climb to the top bunk,” she mumbled, her closed eyes scrunched up in pain.
He knelt down beside her to brush some hair off her cool forehead, and she let out a tired sigh. She didn’t seem to have a fever, but the combination of beer and feni had definitely dealt some damage. “What about breakfast?” he asked her, keeping his voice soft.
Naina gave the slightest jerk of the head. “No energy. Can’t go to the kitchen.”
“But you won’t have energy unless you…” His words trailed off when Naina’s breathing slowed, her mouth slightly open as sleep took over. Sighing, Tejas kissed her cheek and straightened.
He brushed his teeth and took a quick shower, then beelined for the kitchen.
Aleksy, Jonah, and Raziya were already at the table with one other tourist who was busy scrolling on his phone as he sat two chairs away from them.
“Hey,” Tejas said, eyeing their mostly empty plates.
The sweet smell of maple syrup still hung in the air. “Pancakes today?”
“You just missed it.” Aleksy wiped his hands on a tissue. “We finished off the batter.”
“That’s fine,” Tejas said. He rummaged in the fridge for milk, bread, and some eggs, then lit one of the burners on the stove. “Naina’s hungover, so I’m gonna make us some scrambled eggs. My sister says it helps when you’re really out of it.”
Jonah whistled; bits of pancake flew out of his mouth. “That’s nice of you.”
Raziya stood. “I could make them for you, Tejas. I’m on kitchen duty this morning.”
“Nah, I’ll do it.” Tejas hummed as he broke four eggs in a bowl. “Naina and I had a little too much fun at karaoke last night. What did y’all get up to after we left?”
Aleksy chuckled. “Not too different from you. We got drunk off our asses and Raziya had to drive us back in our sorry state.” He winced as she exaggeratedly rolled her eyes at him. “Thank you for putting up with us, Raziya.”
Tejas laughed and focused on the stove. After he put the eggs and toast on two plates, he tuned back in to the gang’s conversation as he wiped the countertops.
“This concert is gonna be incredible.” Raziya gestured wildly, her face flushed with excitement. “I’ve wanted to attend some of these artists’ live shows for years!”
Jonah rubbed his hands together. “Can’t wait.” Then he turned to Tejas, grinning at the breakfast-laden plates in his hands. “Meet us in the lobby around three. Raziya got passes to an EDM sundowner concert for all of us.”
“It’s a showcase of the best DJs from around the world,” Raziya said, bright-eyed. “You can’t miss it.”
“Text me the details. We’ll be there.” Tejas nodded and shuffled out of the kitchen.
Naina was still asleep, her long, dark hair haphazardly strewn across her face and the pillow.
The blanket was halfway down to the floor, barely covering the bottom of her legs.
Tejas cursed. He kept the plates on the desk and pulled the blanket over Naina, hoping she wasn’t cold.
With the Goan summer heat, the air-conditioning was on full blast throughout the hostel.
Then he bent down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, letting his lips linger until she roused with a smile on her face.
“Mm. Morning,” Naina mumbled. She stifled a yawn, then sat up halfway, pressing a hand to her belly, which growled loudly.
“Fuck. I missed breakfast, didn’t I? It must be past noon—”
“Actually, I thought we could have breakfast in bed,” Tejas said.
He brought over the plates, not missing the gasp Naina let out as he joined her on the bottom bunk.
It didn’t sound like a gasp of delight as much as a gasp of confusion.
“I’m not a great cook, and I don’t cook all that often,” he explained as Naina frowned, “but Astrid loves my scrambled eggs, though I make hers plain without any other ingredients, obviously, because she’s a cat, and…
Sorry, I’m rambling.” He cringed. Was he overstepping? “I hope you like scrambled eggs?”
Naina nodded, not meeting his gaze, then slowly spooned some egg onto the bread and took a bite. The crunch was loud; it made her silence a hundred times more anxiety-inducing. She sank against the wall and finally grinned. “Oh my God, it’s delicious. Thank you!”
“Of course.” Tejas leaned back, mimicking her, and breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Tejas got Naina a painkiller from the medicines she’d packed for the trip, hoping it would help her hangover.
They talked as they finished breakfast and some more of Naina’s homemade snacks, sitting cross-legged on the bunk bed, their knees comfortably touching.
Tejas told her about the sundowner concert and how excited Raziya was for it.
“She doesn’t look like an EDM lover at first glance,” he said, chuckling. “I guess appearances can be deceiving.”
“She’s pretty cool,” Naina agreed. She got up to set their empty plates aside, then crawled right back into bed, putting her head in Tejas’s lap. He stroked her hair, enjoying the moment, until she spoke. “You didn’t have to make breakfast for me.”
His heart leaped into his throat. “I know, but I didn’t want you to miss it,” he said hastily. “The kitchen gets super-crowded later in the day.”
“Right, of course.” Naina shifted slightly, curling into a fetal position with Tejas’s fingers still in her hair. “When’s the concert?”
Tejas checked his phone for the details Raziya had sent. “It’s an hour’s drive, so they want to leave around three.”
She pressed a hand to her forehead, groaning. “I hope my headache goes away by then. That bartender wasn’t lying when he said feni is a potent liquor.”
“I’m sure it is, you lightweight,” he said, pinching her cheek until her face melted into a smile. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”
Three hours later, Tejas leaned against the doorframe, shaking his head worriedly as Naina popped another painkiller. Her headache had only gotten worse after a walk around the neighborhood. The fresh, breezy air was no match for the scorching sunlight and humidity.
“I’m gonna skip the concert and go back to sleep,” Naina said morosely. She climbed into the bottom bunk and flopped onto the bed, burritoing into Tejas’s blanket. “Take tons of videos to show me, okay?”
Tejas swallowed as he contemplated his options. A sundowner concert sounded fun, but he’d never liked EDM enough to go someplace just for the music. He enjoyed hanging out with the gang, but he liked Naina’s company more. How could he have a fun evening when he knew she was unwell and exhausted?
“I’ll be fine,” Naina promised, a forced smile on her lips. Tejas could tell the difference by now; her nose crinkled when she smiled for real. “Go, get ready,” she insisted when he didn’t move. “You don’t want to make the others wait too long.”
Tejas nodded slowly. “Right, yeah. Sleep tight. I’ll be right back.
” Hands in his pockets, he walked to the lobby, where Raziya was already sitting on the tiny couch.
She must have clocked his worried face, the ratty old T-shirt and faded sweatpants he wore, and of course, Naina’s absence.
She stood, sighing. “You can’t make it?” she said, pouting.
“I’m sorry.” He hung his head. “I don’t want to leave Naina alone in case she needs me.”
Raziya nodded slowly. “Take care of her, all right?”
“Thanks. Well, I’m off.” He saluted at her, then waltzed back to room 202.
Naina was asleep again, snoring softly every few seconds.
She didn’t rouse as the door creaked to a close.
Tejas turned off the lights and changed into cargo shorts.
He tucked his wallet in his pocket and headed outside into the stifling afternoon heat.
Smiling, he opened Google Maps, typing in “party decoration store near me,” and browsed through the results.
If Naina couldn’t come to the concert, he’d bring the concert to her.
The sun had almost dipped into the horizon, drenching the streets in shades of orange, by the time Tejas returned to the hostel, holding one large bag of supplies in his hands.
“Excuse me,” he mumbled as he shuffled toward his room past other tourists who milled about the staircase.
Then he paused, turning to address the group at large.
“Hey, do any of you have Bluetooth speakers?”
Back in the room, Naina hadn’t stirred at all.
Tejas touched her forehead—no abnormal temperature.
Good, he thought, then returned to the large bag he’d dumped by the door.
It was time to turn this place into a concert floor.
Before he opened Spotify on his phone, he looked through his camera gallery.
He’d sneakily taken a picture of Naina at karaoke night.
Maybe he shouldn’t have, but she looked so happy, he couldn’t help it.
It was time to make her even happier.
Tejas smiled, sneaking peeks at Naina in between decorating the room.
He shut the curtains, strung the color-changing lightbulbs on the wall, and plugged in the rotating disco ball he’d hung by the door.
He’d already connected his phone to the speaker he borrowed from the Russian tourist in room 207.
Tejas put his hands on his hips and took in the space.
The bulbs cast the room in delicate colors—blue, purple, pink, yellow—and refracted against the silver disco ball, scattering light across the space.
He tapped play on Spotify and soft music poured out of the speakers.
“Naina?” Tejas whispered, easing her out of sleep. “You’ve been asleep for a bit. Wanna wake up?”
“Oh…yeah, it’s probably late…” Naina sat up and stretched, her eyes still half shut as she yawned.
Tejas waited with bated breath for her to notice.
She blinked, then said, “Why didn’t you go to the—wait.
Fuck.” Slowly, she stood and walked around the room, taking in the disco ball and the lights strung along the entire periphery of the room.
A few seconds went by, and she said nothing.
As Tejas scrambled to join her by the desk where he’d put the speakers, she asked in a small voice, facing away from him, “You did all this?”
“I did. I wanted to bring the concert to you. With soft music, since you have a headache, and anything louder might make it worse…” He paused, realizing he was rambling again, then pulled her closer so her back was pressed against his chest. Winding both arms across her shoulders, he kissed the top of her head. “Are you feeling better?”
Naina didn’t speak. Slowly, Tejas nudged her around, expecting the worst—anger?
annoyance? dismissal?—but no, she had tears in her eyes.
She started to wipe them away, but Tejas stopped her by running his fingers down her cheeks, then he kissed where they had traced. “What are you thinking?” he whispered.
Naina’s lower lip trembled. She cupped his face, leaning closer so their foreheads touched. “Where did you come from, Tejas?” she breathed before covering his mouth with hers.
Fuck, he thought as he kissed her back. She said “Tejas.” Not “Prince Charming.” Adrenaline rushed through his veins—or was it serotonin, or oxytocin, or whatever hormone made people feel on top of the world?
He bit her bottom lip, then grazed the spot with his tongue as she moaned against the kiss.
Her hands went to his back, tracing shapes along the side, and his muscles clenched at her cool touch.
Seconds later, Naina was the one to pull away.
She burrowed her face into his shirt and said, her voice muffled, “I’ll never forget you. ”
Tejas’s own eyes misted. He swallowed the pebble forming in his throat and hugged her tighter. “Me neither,” he whispered.