Chapter 17
VEDIKA
Vedika’s damp hair studded with salt crystals and sand stuck uncomfortably to her back as she shifted in the dress she’d just bought. It was too bright, too form fitting, too much… How had Daksh managed to find a plain, black t-shirt that fit him perfectly in the same amount of time?
She yanked at the neckline as they left the store, trying to get it to cover more than it did. Sadly, it stayed resolutely low on her chest.
“Daksh,” she murmured, as they left the shop. “I want to go back to the room and shower. You can stay here and grab dinner but I think I’ll just get something with room service.”
He turned to look at her, his gaze a little strange, dark and unfocused. “To the room?”
“Yes.” Vedika nodded, bundling her messy hair together. There was too much of it to let it hang down her back in a sodden mess. “But you stay and enjoy your dinner. I’ll head back.”
“I’ll walk you to your room,” he said.
“Daksh no,” she smiled. “I’m a grown ass woman. I can get from the shack to the hotel on my own. You stay and have a relaxed meal. I’m pretty sure the food here is better than the food on the room service menu. I know you’ve been eyeing the lobster for dinner.”
“Fuck the lobster,” he said roughly. “I’ll walk you to your room.”
She slapped a hand to his chest halting his forward motion. Her palm burned and she dropped it quickly, trying to act like she’d felt nothing.
“Wait,” she said. She tapped her phone open and handed it to him. “Feed in your number.”
His dark gaze rested on her for a disquieting moment before he took the phone and entered his details.
She glanced down to see he’d saved it as Daksh – Ashish’s brother.
Something pinched in the vicinity of her chest but she pasted a bright smile on her face as she opened up a text window and sent him her live location.
“There,” she said brightly. “Now you can track me all the way back to my room.”
Daksh stared at his phone, at the message from her unsaved number. He swallowed hard and nodded. “Good night then. I’ll see you in the morning.”
She forced another smile to her lips. A strange fear swam through her as she looked at him. Great, now from being afraid of everything, she had graduated to being afraid of nothing in particular. Her stomach cramped, reminding her of her resolve to head back to her room.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” she said, that unease or fear growing in the pit of her stomach, spreading through her and urging her to move. And still, her feet stayed rooted in the same spot.
Daksh was watching her intently, something just the slightest bit off kilter in his expression. Her gaze dropped to his right hand which was fisted at his side, veins standing out with the pressure he was exerting.
Her phone rang, breaking the moment and she glanced down to see Ashish’s name flashing on it. She gave Daksh one last smile in farewell and turned away, her phone to her ear.
“Hi Ash.”
“Vedu.” His deep voice was as familiar as it was soothing. The strange disquiet that had taken hold of her vanishing in its wake. “I checked in with the airline. Flights will most likely resume tomorrow.”
“That’s wonderful,” she said flatly, a surge of disappointment taking her unawares. Disappointed? She wasn’t disappointed. She wanted to get home. She had work. She had family. She had Ash…She was getting married. She wasn’t disappointed, she told herself. She was excited.
“You don’t sound too happy about that,” Ashish said, picking up on her weirdness.
“I’m just tired,” Vedika murmured, pushing through the heavy doors that led back to the hotel.
“Of course,” Ashish was immediately conciliatory. “You should get some sleep.”
Vedika glanced at the time on the enormous clock hanging on the wall across from her in the hotel lobby. It was eight thirty at night. Most people her age were getting ready to go out and party at this time. And she was being urged into bed like a geriatric with arthritis.
“Yeah,” she said, making her way to the bank of elevators. “I will. Good night.”
She disconnected, lost in thought, tapping her phone against her palm.
She got into the elevator the minute the doors opened, relieved to find herself alone in it.
The minute the doors opened on her floor, she stepped out, making her brisk way to her room, her mind churning a million miles a minute.
Then she called the one person in her life she knew would understand her and maybe help her understand herself. Her cousin, Kimaya Kashyap, picked up on the second ring.
“Vedu!” she shrieked. “How do you get lucky enough to get stranded in Goa while I’m stuck here in boring old Mumbai.”
“Nowhere is boring if you’re there, Kimi,” Vedika laughed.
“How are you doing?” Kimi’s voice changed, a thread of worry streaming through it. “Your stomach’s holding up?”
Vedika pressed a hand to her tummy, more out of habit than anything else. Her stomach hadn’t bothered her in a while, she realised. When had that happened?
“Yeah,” she said, surprised. “I’m fine.”
“Awesome. You’re not stressed then?”
“I was,” Vedika answered. “I am but I seem to be okay physically.”
A beat of silence and then Kimi said, “That’s wonderful news, V. Maybe it’s time for a review with the doctor? Let him know you’re doing better?”
“Yeah. Yeah.” Vedika walked into the bathroom and slipped out of the dress, letting it fall to the floor as she opened the shower to test the temperature of the water. “But that’s not why I’m calling. I need your help. Advice actually.”
She held her hand out under the stream of water, hot enough to steam up the tiny space.
“You need advice from me?” Kimi got a little squeaky at the end. “Hold on a second.”
Vedika rolled her eyes at her cousin’s theatrics. “What are you doing?”
“Checking to see if the pigs at the farm have taken flight.”
The smart ass answer had Vedika grinning. Her cousin was nothing like her. She was a wild, rebellious free spirit who lived to torment her father and brother. And no one, literally no one, understood Vedika and her million hang ups better.
“Kimi,” she remonstrated.
“Okay. Shoot. I’m listening.” Vedika heard a chair scraping in the background.
“I…” Her words failed her at the last moment.
“V?” Worry snuck back into Kimi’s voice. “What’s wrong?”
“Do you know how I always said Ashish made me feel calm and secure?”
“Yeah.” She could almost hear Kimi rolling her eyes. “Who needs excitement when you have calm and secure, right? That’s your mantra?”
“Well, I thought I didn’t. I thought I couldn’t actually feel it…excitement.” She shut her eyes, squeezing them tightly.
“But you do?”
“Yes.” Vedika nodded though her cousin couldn’t see her.
“That’s wonderful, V,” Kimi said warmly yet hesitantly. “If you’re finally feeling the tingles for Ashish, then it just makes it all the more perfect right? The fairytale is coming true.”
“Not him.”
Kimi went very, very quiet on the other end. “Someone else?” she asked, her voice a whisper now.
Vedika nodded again but she couldn’t get her voice to frame the words. Finally she managed a strangled ‘hmm’.
“V, it’s normal to feel attracted to someone,” Kimi said, after a beat. “Even if you’re in a relationship, you’re not dead. But you know what’s important, right?”
“That I don’t act on it,” Vedika whispered.
“Yeah.” Kimi agreed. “Look at me being the sensible one! I bet the damn pigs have reached London by now.”
Vedika laughed, a watery chuckle.
“Who is he?” Kimi asked, her curiosity filtering through the phone.
Oh no, that wasn’t something Vedika could share. There were lines and then there was this line. She wouldn’t be stepping over this one.
“Just someone I met in Goa,” she murmured.
“Well, like I said,” Kimi replied wryly.
“You’re living the life I dream of.” Her voice gentled, aware that her introverted sister wouldn’t be able to handle too much.
“You’re going to be fine, V. It’s a little slice of life that’s out of the ordinary.
Once you’re back home, everything will fall into place. ”
“Yeah.” Vedika exhaled. “I need to go shower now. Wash the ocean off me. We’ll talk later?”
“You…you went in the water?” Kimi sounded possibly dumbfounded now. “ Who are you and what have you done with my sister?” she demanded.
Vedika laughed. “I guess even I am capable of being adventurous once in a while.”
“Is it because of him?” Kimi asked, now sounding a little panicked. “This mystery man?”
“No, of course not,” Vedika lied, defensively. “Listen, I need to go for a bath. The water’s getting cold. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
Before Kimi could sputter out her objections, Vedika hung up. She slipped off her undergarments and stepped under the hot spray, allowing it to wash away her confusion, doubt and worry.
Her phone chimed, the alert signalling new email. But she didn’t bother with it. For now, all she wanted to do was wash away this day and with it the confusing feelings coursing through her.
When her fingers started to wrinkle, and she’d scrubbed herself raw, she stepped out and dried herself off, dressing in a comfortable pair of shorts and a t-shirt.
She wrapped her hair in a towel, twisting it into a turban on top of her head.
She’d just stepped out of the bathroom when she heard the knock on the door.
Frowning, she walked over and opened it. Daksh stood on the other side, a bag dangling from his fingers, camera kit slung over the other shoulder.
“I brought you dinner,” he said.
“From what I’ve been able to figure out,” he continued when she did nothing but stare at him, “you prefer bland food, nothing too rich or too spicy. I picked mashed potatoes, french fries, grilled chicken, and a light chicken soup for your dinner tonight. Figured something out of that should work for you.”
Vedika continued to stare at him, unable to summon a single, coherent word.
“May I come in?” he asked, holding the bag up in the air.
“I thought,” she said, finally finding her voice, “you were looking forward to the tandoori lobster.”
Daksh’s gaze snagged on hers and held it with an intensity that had her knees feeling strangely liquefied.
“Fuck the lobster,” he said, quietly.