Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter
Twenty-Two
Naina’s Anti-Honeymoon Checklist
Go on a real adventure.
Naina lifted her head and soaked in the late afternoon sunshine that blazed over her, loving the way it complemented the wind howling around the scooter she drove through the streets of Goa.
Party music floated up from the beachside restaurants, fellow tourists dancing and having the time of their lives just like her, while locals strolled by, some walking their pets, others running errands.
What a perfect contrast in this perfect moment.
She smiled. Anil, Iqbal, and the others had been right: She’d needed this trip more than oxygen.
And yet…
A couple drove past her on their own scooter, the man clinging on to the woman and screaming bloody murder as she attempted a wheelie.
Giggling, she brought the front wheel back down and blew a kiss at the man over her shoulder before resuming the drive.
Their laughter echoed long after they disappeared from sight.
Naina sighed, then turned the scooter back. She’d been driving around for the past hour, and although she usually enjoyed being by herself, exploring Goa like this would have been so much more fun with Tejas sitting behind her.
She sucked on her teeth and plugged the directions for the hostel into Maps.
Everything was more fun when she was with Tejas.
Dancing, drinking, doing adventurous activities, and watching Tejas fight his fears and take the leap, not to mention the kindness he’d shown her while she was hungover and sick…
He had such a beautiful soul. He lit up every room he walked into.
That first day, when he’d said hello to her in their room at the hostel, she’d forced herself to appear standoffish even though she couldn’t take her eyes off of him.
Not just because he was attractive, but because he was so…
bright, like a ray of sunshine. So radiant and warm, despite everything she now knew he’d gone through.
She had a feeling that he was slowly becoming someone she couldn’t forget.
Someone she wouldn’t want to forget. And that scared her more than she could say.
But you have to forget him, she reminded herself as moments from their trip ran through her mind, one after the other, and she blinked them away.
Her time with Tejas would come to a close in a matter of days, after all.
So she would make the most of it while she still could—soaking in his laughter, his kisses, his touch—after which it was goodbye forever.
Naina drove the scooter back to the hostel, since she didn’t have to return it until the next morning.
She waved hello to the gang, who were heading for a dip in the pool, then took the stairs to the second floor.
As she walked up to room 202, voices sounded from behind the closed door. Tejas was talking to…a woman?
What the fuck? Naina was seconds away from shoving the door open when she heard the word bhai. Oh. That must be Latika’s voice. Tejas’s sister. She breathed a silent sigh of relief and lifted her hand up to knock.
“…is she willing to do long-distance?” Latika was saying, and Naina let her hand drop to her side. Were they talking about…her?
Naina pressed her ear to the door, her heart lurching. Tejas cleared his throat. “I don’t think she feels the same way.” As Latika sighed loudly, he added, “Go on, rub it in my face.”
Fuck. Naina blinked rapidly, trying to process what she was hearing. Tejas had caught feelings for her. But feelings could be shut down and overcome. Feelings could fade. She knew that all too well. As long as what he felt wasn’t—
“Bhai, I would never do that. Has Naina said she’s not falling for you, in those exact words?” Latika said.
Oh, shit, shit, shit. Naina backed away from the door and clapped a hand to her mouth as her breaths came out in loud gasps. Tejas was falling in love with her?
She walked down the hallway to the bathroom, which was thankfully empty, and locked the door.
As she splashed water on her face, her thoughts raced a mile a minute.
How had she not seen this coming? All those wonderful things he’d done for her…
the smile in his eyes when he looked at her…
the way he touched her, kissed her, pleasured her…
Maybe she didn’t know his last name or his job or where he was from, but she knew enough about him to guess his heart wasn’t bolted shut like hers. Tejas had a soft vulnerability about him that Naina would never allow for herself again. He was sweet, he was gentle, he wasn’t as broken as she was.
In another life, he could be someone she’d love without a moment’s hesitation.
But if Naina wanted to walk away from this trip without getting hurt again, she would have to pretend that she didn’t see him as anything more than a summer fling.
That they didn’t want each other as lovers as much as they’d needed each other as rebounds.
She couldn’t give him hope.
Naina nodded at her reflection, then wiped her face with her hands and returned to their door. She knocked, then entered when Tejas yelled “Come in!”
Off the phone now, he was sitting at the desk, browsing through what looked like Outlook. Naina averted her eyes; she didn’t want to accidentally find out what he did for a living. She didn’t want to give herself any way to look him up online.
“Hi,” Tejas said, his voice bright and cheery. “Did you enjoy the drive?”
Uh-oh. Had his sister given him some sort of hope by the end of that conversation? Why else would he sound so…excited?
“Yes,” Naina said, swallowing back her anxiety. She bolted the door behind her and got dressed in her pajamas in silence, although her mind was still loud with questions and doubts and fears and frustrations and—
Tejas must have sensed the tension in the air, because he stood and wrapped his arms around her, planting a kiss on the top of her head. “Sorry I ditched you,” he said, still holding her tight. “I just wanted to come back and plan the final item on the list.”
“Oh,” she said, stiffening in his grip. “And did you find anything?”
“We could book a private dinner cruise on a yacht for day after tomorrow. The prices are a bit steep, but it’s a two-hour experience with a five-course meal and live music. What do you think?”
Naina forced herself to smile and turned to face him. “I’m not sure.”
Tejas smiled. “It’ll be fun,” he insisted, taking both her hands in his. “We could dress up, have a good meal, some drinks. It’ll be the perfect—”
“The perfect goodbye,” Naina said quickly.
She hadn’t had a fun date night in a long time.
As much as she didn’t want to encourage his feelings, as much as she wanted to put distance between them…
there would be plenty of time for that after she left.
As long as she stuck to her resolve, she’d be safe.
With a soft exhale, Tejas pulled her closer, and they lay down on the bed. “Don’t remind me of that,” he said glumly. “Do you really think you’ll never want to find me again? After…after this?”
Naina snuggled into his chest and tucked her legs in between his thighs. “I’ll want to look you up,” she admitted, “but I shouldn’t. It’s for the best if we keep things that way.”
“Why?” he pressed.
She blinked back tears, hoping he couldn’t feel them against his shirt.
“Right now, you’re perfect, Tejas. I haven’t found a single thing I don’t like about you.
But if we kept talking, if we met in real life, that illusion would shatter, and we’d find reasons to hurt each other, whether we wanted to or not. ”
“Naina, I know you’re scared”—Tejas kissed the top of her head again—“but it might not end up being that way. What if…”
“I never want us to hate each other, Prince Charming,” she said, winding her arms tighter around him. She dropped her voice to a whisper. “Don’t give me that chance. Please.”
He tilted her face up and said, seconds before he kissed her, “Okay.”
But somehow, Naina didn’t believe him.