Chapter 39
KABIR
His head pounded, a relentless drum that kept time to the music. Music…he had to get ready for his concert, get these strangers out of his suite, and…
Before he could finish that thought, the door swung open again. Dammit, Varsha was a real pain in the ass. But when he turned to look, it wasn’t Varsha.
His vision zeroed in on that wild tangle of curls as she stood in the doorway taking in the scene.
He saw Tani’s gaze drop to the arm he had wrapped around the strange girl whose name he still didn’t know.
He fought the urge to remove his hand though it felt like her eyes were burning holes into it.
Tani walked into the room, followed closely by Vikram and Varsha. She stepped over a guy who was sprawled on the ground with his girl draped over him and walked over to the music system. She turned it off with a snap of her wrist and blessed silence fell on the room.
“Hey!” One of the guys objected, raising his hand like he was in a classroom and needed permission from his teacher. “Why are you guys-“
“Shut up.” Varsha swung her killer gaze on him and he subsided, lowering his hand like a chastised school boy. “Everybody out.”
Everyone’s heads swivelled towards Kabir who was still staring at Tani.
“Kabs?” Tani said, her voice level and coldly angry as she held his gaze.
“Everybody out,” he repeated, not looking away from Tani. Grumbles filled the room as everyone filed out. The emptier the room got, the more apparent the destruction was. Varsha’s expression kept souring as she took it in, until it looked like she’d swallowed an entire lemon tree.
The girl beside Kabir curled deeper into his side but he let go, stepping away from her, a silent rejection that had her eyes flashing. She stomped out after giving Tani the evil eye. Tani didn’t seem to notice, her eyes stayed on Kabir and Kabir only.
Vik was taking everything in, his eyes bright with interest. “This is awesome bro!”
Varsha turned on him, her gaze practically smoking. “Awesome? This is reckless, idiotic, and a fucking PR nightmare.”
Tani and Kabir didn’t look away from each other. “Could we have the room?” Tani asked quietly.
Varsha and Vik disappeared a second later, the door shutting behind them. And then, they were alone.
Kabir waited for her to say something…yell, scream, shout, cry…something…anything other than this blank, detached calmness with which she surveyed him.
“You’re here,” he said huskily.
Tani took a step back, closing her eyes and shaking her head in some silent message to herself. Then she mumbled, “Concert.”
“What?” Kabir’s head was spinning, the alcohol reeking from his every pore making him want to retch.
“Get into the bathroom,” she said, grabbing his arm and yanking him along.
The sudden motion had his stomach churning as all the excess alcohol sloshed around inside him.
He barely made it to the toilet before he lost the contents of his stomach.
A slim, cool hand cupped his forehead, bracing him as he retched over and over again, until it felt like there was nothing left inside him to bring out.
Her hand disappeared from his sweaty, clammy forehead and he felt the loss of it acutely.
A second later, it reappeared with a glass of water in it.
He took the glass gratefully, rinsing out his mouth before drinking some.
He watched in silence as Tani turned on the shower in the cubicle, checking on the temperature of the water until she got it right.
Without a word, she held out a hand to him and he stood, his legs feeling wobbly and disjointed. She braced him against her side before helping him into the stall and under the shower.
For a second, their gazes dropped to his clothes as he stood under the water fountaining down over his head.
Kabir saw her cheeks heat with a hint of colour.
He waited for her eyes to meet his before he slowly took off his soaking wet shirt, dropping it in the hamper outside the cubicle.
Tani’s gaze dropped as his hand went to the button of his jeans, popping it open before yanking the zipper down and stripping it off completely, leaving him in tight black boxers.
Her tongue snuck out, wetting her lips as she watched his boxers wilt under the onslaught of water, outlining the hard length of his arousal.
“Tan?” he said huskily, a plea in his voice, as he reached for her.
She allowed him to pull her closer, water droplets sprinkling over her face, running down her cheeks like tears.
He dipped his head down to nuzzle her cheek, a deep sigh escaping him, his body seeming to settle into itself as she allowed him to hold her.
“Shower,” she said, her voice muffled against his wet shoulder. “I’ll be waiting for you outside.”
She pulled out of his embrace, stepping back.
“Promise?”
She nodded once before walking out of the shower and into the bedroom.
Kabir showered quickly before stripping off his wet boxers and wrapping a towel around his waist, and following her.
He found her standing by the bed, her gaze fixed on the messy sheets, her clothes still damp from their embrace.
He could almost see her thoughts play out on her face.
“Nothing happened,” he said to her stiff back.
Fear churned in his stomach when she didn’t reply, her back to him, her gaze fixed on that bed like she was trying to read all its secrets.
I wasn’t waiting for marriage. I was waiting for Kabir.
Her words were a silent presence in the room with them, a dagger to his shattered heart.
“Bug?” He walked over to where she stood, coming to a stop in front of her. His hands went to cup her face, tilting it up so she met his eyes. “Tell me you believe me.”
She closed her eyes almost like the sight of him was too much to bear. He brought his forehead to rest on hers, his heart shuddering in his chest.
“Please?”
She didn’t answer though her hands came up to curl around his wrists.
“Bug?”
“You have a concert to get to.”
“Fuck the concert!” His trembling thumb traced the curve of her cheek. “Fuck all of it. Nothing matters except for you telling me that you believe me.”
A single tear escaped her, slipping down her cheek, a damp curl stuck to its trail.
“Tan, I don’t know how to live a life that doesn’t have you in it. I-“ his voice broke and he swallowed hard, striving for some semblance of control. “Tell me how to fix this. Tell me what to do to make it right. What do I do to erase this distance between us?”
“That’s just it, Kabs,” she said, sadly. “I don’t think you can.”