Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter
Thirty-One
As Naina unlocked her front door and stepped inside, she didn’t quite know how she felt about a dinner date with Tejas.
Although she hoped it would lead to him inviting her home, was she ready for anything more than sex?
Knowing Tejas and how he hadn’t been able to handle a two-week fling in Goa without catching feelings, he wouldn’t want this relationship between them, if she could call it that, to stay strictly casual for long.
As much as she wanted to have Tejas’s mouth on hers, she also wanted to share a drink or two with him, ask him about his life in Mumbai, even laugh at his cat’s shenanigans. Was it a bad thing that maybe, just maybe, Naina’s icy resolve to guard her heart was thawing?
She’d find out. For now, the challenge was to tell her father she wasn’t coming home tonight without him suspecting she was going on a date or thinking she was in a real relationship. She hadn’t been gone for a night since, well, since before her engagement ended.
So she wasn’t surprised when Appa had a hundred questions about where she was going and who would be there. She was prepared with her answers, all of which were white lies.
“Appa, it’s just dinner with some colleagues,” she insisted, “after which we have to finish a lot of work for the case. I’d rather not come home late and disturb your sleep.”
He followed her into her room, watching as she took out her overnight bag and ransacked her closet for a pretty dress. “Wait, are you staying at your colleague’s apartment? The same one who’s working on Preethi’s case with you?”
“He has a spare room,” she said, which was technically true. It was a storage room that hosted multiple cat beds for Astrid, though Tejas said she only ever slept on his pillow, curled up beside his head.
“Ah!” Appa’s eyebrows shot up. “It’s a he!”
She picked out a dress and gave her father a weird look. “You already knew that.”
“I did.” Appa chuckled as he gestured to the dress, a sleek fiery-red number that was simple at first glance but made Naina’s muscly legs look modelesque. “That’s a great choice for a work dinner.”
“Appa!” Naina scolded. “Get out!”
Laughing, he wiggled his fingers at her in goodbye. “Bring my future son-in-law home sometime so I can judge him. Or”—he paused in the doorway—“judge you with him.”
She glared until he was gone, the door closing behind him with a soft click.
Appa had never been narrow-minded like her friends’ parents, but she thought he would have been at least a little upset that she would be staying over at a male colleague’s apartment.
Then again, nearly two years had passed since the broken engagement.
Appa would probably give his left kidney if it meant Naina found someone new to marry.
Once she was dressed, she packed her laptop along with a fresh set of work clothes in her overnight bag.
Tomorrow was Saturday, but she had a meeting with Iqbal and Kumble at ten a.m. to discuss her progress and her chances at the promotion to senior associate.
With Preethi’s case taking up most of Naina’s work hours, the weekend was the only time she was available.
Hopefully, the promising first day of trial would give her a leg up.
Naina rushed downstairs before Appa could say anything else.
Her Uber was already waiting to take her to her favorite restaurant in Tejas’s neighborhood.
She’d never been there on a date, since her ex didn’t drink and was heavily opposed to any music playing at restaurants during meals because it “messed” with his digestion, but she’d gone there with Anil before.
Tejas was waiting for her outside the restaurant, wearing an all too familiar deep violet shirt and a well-fitting pair of jeans. “You look beautiful,” he said.
She grinned. “Nice shirt. I love the color.”
“I knew you would,” he said.
They walked in together, and when their hands brushed, Naina found herself reaching for his warm touch, interlocking their fingers. She didn’t let go until the server led them to a cozy table for two in the corner and handed them menus.
“Have you been here before?” Naina asked, settling herself across from him.
Tejas leaned forward so their knees brushed, sending a jolt down her core. “You do realize I only moved to Bangalore last month?”
She frowned. “Tejas, you live two streets away from this restaurant.”
“Well”—his eyes twinkled—“I wouldn’t have wanted to bring anyone here except for you, and you were playing so unbelievably hard to get.”
Naina scoffed louder than the music. “Excuse me! I was focusing on our client, thank you very much.”
He rested his chin on his hand, his gaze softening with what looked like fondness. “I know. That’s one of my favorite things about you.”
The server came by to fill their water glasses. Naina took a sip, chuckling. “What, that I’m such a workaholic?”
“No.” He smiled. “Your passion. I saw it even in Goa, how determined you were to get things checked off the list, but today, and all these weeks, seeing you in your natural element…I’m more attracted to you than ever.”
Naina’s cheeks flooded with heat. “Even with my glasses and unstyled hair and boring business attire?”
He reached for her hand, and she gave it to him. “Especially with all of that. I’m grateful I finally got to see this version of you. A lawyer, just like me. I…” He exhaled. “Naina, I didn’t think we’d ever run into each other again.”
She tightened her grasp on his fingers. “Me, neither. I didn’t even let myself scroll through the photos from the trip. I knew I would be tempted to find you.”
Tejas pressed his lips together and withdrew his hand, tugging on his collar. “I’m not sure how you’ll react to this,” he said, swiping to the Gallery app on his phone, “but I’ve looked at this photo more times than I can count.”
Naina peered at the screen, her forehead wrinkling.
Huh. It was a picture of her from karaoke night in Goa all those months ago.
She didn’t know when he’d taken it, but the far-off, distant look in her glazed eyes was familiar.
She clapped a hand to her mouth to keep from snorting. “Oh my God, I was so drunk that night.”
“And yet you sang like a pro.”
Naina shrugged. “I mean, it is what it is.”
He licked his lips. “The night we first kissed, I said that maybe us meeting was fate. Now I’m absolutely sure it was—the hostel, the list, ending up at the same office months after letting each other go—it was all meant to be.”
She swallowed, her heart thumping in her chest loud and fast, and when the words slipped from her mouth, she knew she meant them, despite every single reservation she still had about dating and relationships and…love. “I think so too.”
“I don’t want to let you go again,” he said, taking both her hands in his.
The server appeared before them, holding a notepad. “Are we ready to order?”
“I’m so sorry, we haven’t looked at the menus yet.
” Naina chuckled weakly, grateful for the interruption, and the server nodded and stepped away.
Perhaps Tejas was about to say the three words she’d forced herself not to think, let alone say, over a year ago.
But despite their complicated history, this was new, this was uncharted territory, and he was her colleague.
They couldn’t, shouldn’t, rush this. Naina didn’t want a blazing inferno of instalove with Tejas; she wanted a crackling fireplace to thaw the ice in her heart.
And that needed time. “I’m hungry,” she said before Tejas could return to the dangerous topic he’d broached.
She perused the menu. “What are your thoughts on coastal chicken curry and rice?”
Tejas must have gotten the message, because although he grinned, the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Coastal food? Déjà vu. Let’s do it.”
Right as they walked into the apartment and took off their shoes, Astrid came running toward Tejas, her paws thudding. “There’s my baby girl,” Tejas cooed. Astrid let out an eager meow, and he picked her up and kissed the top of her head. “Did you have a good day? Did you miss your papa?”
Naina’s core clenched, an ache between her legs.
Was this what people meant about men being more attractive if they were good with children?
Sure, Astrid wasn’t a human child, and Naina wasn’t the most maternal woman out there, but when she looked at Tejas, pressing Astrid snugly to his chest as she purred loudly, Naina couldn’t help but smile. “Hey, let me take a picture,” she said.
Tejas turned to face her, grinning at the phone camera while Astrid stared lovingly at him. “Text it to me,” he said when Naina showed him. “You have my number now, so make use of it.”
“Don’t tease me,” she said, laughing as he set down Astrid, who ambled into the hallway. “I was just trying to stick to our rules in Goa.”
“You mean your rules, which could have easily been amended,” he corrected her. “As they say, if she wanted to, she would.”
As a laugh bubbled out of his lips, Naina shoved him. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll show you what I want and what I’ll do to get it.”
Tejas’s eyes turned molten. He stepped forward, one hand reaching behind her to bolt the front door shut. His other arm went around her waist, and he pulled her flush against him. “How about we show each other?” he murmured.
Naina swallowed. “I’d…like that.”
In one quick motion, he lifted her up, hooking her legs around his hips. “Bedroom?”
“God, yes,” she breathed, pressing her lips to his.
He carried her down the hallway, maneuvering past Astrid, who meowed loudly in protest when he shut the door to his bedroom, leaving her behind. “Will she be okay?” Naina asked, her brow puckered, as Tejas set her down on the bed, which was soft underneath her.
He rubbed the side of his head awkwardly. “She’s probably just confused. I haven’t had anyone over in a while.”
Naina sat up, tugging on his collar until he was leaning over her, pinning her down on the bed. “Define ‘a while,’ ” she teased.
“Ah, fuck.” Tejas grazed his lips along her cheek. “Do we have to do that now?”
She pulled his face closer, her breath mingling with his. “We must,” she said, sucking on the skin just below his ear.
Tejas groaned, visible goosebumps sprouting along his neck. Then he grinned, settling himself in between her legs. Every graze of his fingers as he scrunched her dress up, inch by inch, was agonizing. Naina let out a breathy sigh when his hand cupped the back of her thigh.
“Eighteen months,” he said finally.
“Eighteen?” Naina blinked at him as she did the math in her head. “So you haven’t been with anyone since Goa?”
Tejas lifted his head to smile at her sadly. “I tried to. Trust me, I did, I went on so many dates. But I…”
Biting her lip, she sat up so they were eye level. “But you what?”
“God, Naina.” He pressed his mouth to her forehead.
“I couldn’t stop searching for your face in every crowd.
I found myself reaching for your warmth in my dreams. I never looked you up, out of respect for your rules, but you were on my mind, tormenting me, every day.
I—” He paused, then traced his finger along the first tear that fell down her cheek. “Did I say something wrong?”
Naina’s lip trembled. “Keep talking,” she said, clasping his hands with hers. “Please.”
Tejas sighed, squeezing his eyes shut like he was reliving the past all over again. “I couldn’t live in a city where I was so brokenhearted—twice. So on a whim, I started looking for jobs outside of Mumbai and eventually landed the job at AKC.”
Another tear clung to Naina’s lashes, on the brink of falling, just like her.
A small smile cracked Tejas’s lips. “When I saw you at the office, I felt it for the first time since Goa.”
“Felt what?” she asked.
“Like I was alive again. Like fate was on my side and had brought me back to you after I’d nearly lost all hope.”
Naina gripped his collar and touched her forehead to his. “Tejas, I…” She blinked back the dampness in her eyes. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you too.” As they kissed, his grin pressed against her smile, and as they undressed each other, their hands roaming, clinging, aching for more and more and more, the faintest feeling stirred inside Naina’s heart, its icy exteriors melting as it awoke from its eighteen-month-long slumber.
Tejas took out a condom from his bedside drawer, his gaze steadily on Naina as he put it on. “You’re sure about this?” he asked when he got on top, one hand cradling her face.
“I’m sure,” she whispered.
He let out a “hmm” sound, a smirk playing on his lips. “How sure?”
Naina groaned. “Please, Tejas, don’t tease me. I…I need you inside me. Right now, no holding back.”
“Good.” His jaw clenched, and he slid into her, gently at first, then with more force.
Naina moaned, gripping the sheets for support.
With every familiar thrust and every familiar kiss and every familiar touch that she had already memorized, the pressure in her core built and sent her over the brink.
Tejas gasped and pressed his lips to hers, their shaky breaths in sync.
Suddenly, Naina Shetty knew there was no running from the truth anymore.
She was falling for Tejas—and she didn’t know how to make it stop.
Goddamn it.
“Naina?” Tejas rumbled, her name on his lips softer than the thump of her beating heart.
“Hmm?”
His fingers roamed over the eye tattoo below her ribs, the one she was slowly starting to not regret. “You’re staying over, right?”
She snuggled into his chest and closed her eyes. “I am.”
His arms tightened over her waist, like he was scared she’d leave if he let go. “You know my one big regret from Goa?”
Naina tried not to giggle as she pressed a kiss to his biceps curled around her. “Ghosting me the morning of my flight?”
“Hey!” Tejas laughed. “I thought we went over that already. It wasn’t an easy decision, but I thought it was for the best.”
“Mhmm.” She looked up at him and bit her lip. “What’s the big regret?”
Tejas toyed with a stray lock of her hair, not meeting her eyes. “That I never got to wake up with you in my arms. Will you let me, Naina Shetty? Tonight?”
She leaned her cheek against his rising chest, hoping that the one tear in the corner of her eye wouldn’t fall. “Yes,” she finally said. “I’d like that.”