Chapter 33
On the first day of the new year, Jia woke up snuggled in the arms of the man she loved, his grip solid and reassuring as he smiled back at her with his eyes still half closed. She brushed her lips along the Adam’s apple she now had permission to kiss, and whispered, “Good morning, Mine.”
Jaiman’s rumbly morning laughter was the sexiest thing Jia had ever heard. “That’s your nickname for me, huh?”
Jia sat up halfway, resting her head on her elbow. She used her other hand to caress his cheek. “It’s spot-on, isn’t it? You are mine.”
“And here’s the proof of that.” He took her hand and pressed it to the purple bruise on the side of his neck. “For a first-timer, you sure know how to mark your territory, babe.”
Giggling, Jia kissed him—morning breath be damned—then rolled over to check her phone. Seven-fifteen a.m. “I should head back before Papa realizes I’m not at Tanu’s. Drive me home?”
“Sure—”
“Wow,” she added, scrolling through her notifications, “looks like we weren’t the only couple that had their big love confession moment last night.”
Jaiman yawned, then asked from behind her, “Who else?”
She sat up, not caring that she was completely naked, and showed him the excited messages from the sweetest woman in the world. “Charu and Manoj, that’s who!”
It took Jaiman a second to focus on the phone and not on her bare body, but when he did, he gasped. “How? I thought he— Wait. Did—did you make this happen?” At Jia’s nod, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the forehead, the nose, the cheek, the mouth, his body shaking, presumably with joy.
“And I quit Mimosa,” she told him when they broke apart, his hands still cupping her face, “to start my matchmaking business!”
“Babe, that’s amazing.” Jaiman’s eyes held pride. “Tell me how I can help.”
She kissed him, then got up to find her clothes from last night that were still on the floor. As she got dressed, she said, “I put my real name on the blog, and I’ll use it as my official website, but I need a social media presence. And also an office space to host client meetings. I want to do this for real, and that means not working from home.”
Jaiman tugged on his jeans. “I can ask Mr. Jha if he has something available. He’s got a bunch of places all over the city.”
“I’d love that.” She studied him as he opened his closet, riffling through shirts. “How did you find my blog anyway?”
He pulled a light pink V-neck shirt from a hanger, and when she nodded her approval, he put it on. “I borrowed your laptop the day you bought the domain. The admin dashboard was open on an Incognito browser and, well, I decided to anonymously subscribe to the blog.”
Jia sat back down on the bed and put on her heels, noting that her phone had buzzed a couple times more. “Why ‘TheReMix’?”
“I was trying to be anonymous but smart.” He sat down beside her and cocked a grin. “It’s a reference to mixing cocktails, of course, but also…it’s like a remixed version of me?”
“I love it.” Jia smiled at him. “Now, drop me home. Tanu wants the tea about last night. And so do Charu and Damini.”
He headed to the living room, calling out behind him as he walked, “Wait, how do they already know we got together?”
“They’re my sister and best friends.” Jia rolled her eyes at him. “Obviously, I texted them about us when we were driving back to your place.”
Jaiman scratched the back of his neck, his face going red. “Are you, um, going to tell them everything about last night?”
Jia leaned against the front door and bit her lip to control her laughter. “Not everything. Just the highlight reel.”
He smirked, and in a move that surprised Jia, he pushed her flush against the door with one hand, the fingers of his other hand curling around her chin. “Every second of last night was in the highlight reel. Wouldn’t you agree, Jia Deshpande?”
She licked her lips, flicking her eyes to the hickey on his exposed neck. “And if I say I disagree?”
“Well, then,” he said, his breath hot against her ear, and Jia sighed as his fingers inched closer to the hemline of her dress, “we’ll have to redo last night from scratch.”
Twenty minutes later, once they were in the car, both grinning from ear to ear, Jia went through her WhatsApp chats and answered them one by one.
Tanu:
DID YOU DO IT??? I WANT EVERY DETAIL
I mean not *every* detail because it’s you and Jaiman
BUT I WANT ALL THE VAGUE DETAILS!!
Jia snuck a peek at Jaiman, who was smiling as he drove. It amazed her that he wasn’t self-conscious about that bruise, peeking out from his neckline. The old Jia would have chalked it up to his experience in the hookup department, but she knew the real reason was because she gave that hickey to him, and he didn’t want to hide their relationship from anyone.
Jia:
Lol okay here are the vague details: yes we did it (thrice!!), it was gentle at first and then NOT gentle anymore so I hope his apartment is soundproof, for the sake of his neighbors lol
Then she switched to her group chat with Damini and Charu, The Lesbian, the Witch the Matchmaker, which they’d created right after Jia quit Mimosa. Jia had sent the same Jaiman kissed me at midnight and I’m on my way to his place now!!! text to the group as well as Tanu. She now read through the replies again.
Damini:
*incoherent screaming*
excuse me??????? we need more information???
Charu:
Omg Jia I’m so happy for you, he’ll make you so happy
By the way, I also had a new year’s kiss…
Damini:
wtf??? with who????
Charu:
MANOJ!!!!!-!!!!!-!!
Damini:
SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP
Charu:
I still can’t believe it. It was a perfect first kiss, he asked me out again, and I said yes! I’m gonna spend all day reading our astrological love chart
Jia grinned to herself. Manoj would make Charu happy. She just knew it.
She turned to Jaiman, whose soft smile widened. “What are you thinking?” he asked, his eyes on the road.
“I wish we had gotten together years ago,” she said. “We wasted so many years—”
“You were worth the wait,” he replied, catching her eye in the rearview mirror. “We’ll just have to find creative ways to make up for lost time. I can think of a few already.”
Goosebumps sprouted up her arms. She broke the eye contact and shifted in her seat. “How you turn me on with just your words, I’ll never know. I thought I was the writer.” She closed her eyes, rested her head against the seat, and soaked in the perfect morning sunshine, the citrusy scent in the air, and the melodious sound of her boyfriend’s laugh.
Two blissful weeks had passed since the best night of Jaiman’s life, during which he’d renewed his lease with Mr. Jha with the money his mom sent him, and started rehiring bartenders, chefs, and servers in preparation for the soft launch of J’s Cocktails next weekend. There was still a lot of work to do, a lot of fears to grapple with, but in this moment, there was only one person Jaiman was truly scared of.
Jaiman cleared his throat and rang the doorbell. He held a bouquet of roses in one trembling hand, while the other was in the pocket of his formal trousers. Jia said she’d told her father about their relationship earlier today, after multiple pep talks from Tanu and Anshuman, but she hadn’t mentioned how he reacted.
Footsteps sounded from inside the house, and Jaiman winced. “Please be Jia, please be Jia, please be J—”
Devdutt Uncle opened the door, looking grim. “So. Jaiman Patil. You’re in love with my daughter.”
Jaiman made to step inside, but Uncle stopped him, one hand around the door hinge. “Uh, yeah,” Jaiman said. “I love her.”
Devdutt Uncle’s lips twitched, and then he broke into a wide smile and embraced Jaiman. He clapped him on the back and pulled away to say, “This is the best news I’ve heard in a long time, beta. Come in.”
Jaiman tugged his tie down and heaved out a sigh. “Thank goodness. I thought you might be mad.”
“Mad?” Devdutt Uncle led him to the sofa and sat down with a groan, his knees cracking. “I’ve wanted you to meet someone wonderful for so long. And who could be more wonderful for you than our Jia?”
“I have to agree,” Jaiman said, smiling, as his eyes started to water. He blinked back his tears. “Uncle, you’ve done so much for me all these years. If it weren’t for you, Jia and I would have never happened. I just want to promise you that I’m never going to hurt her. Never.”
“Don’t make that promise,” Uncle said, laughing. “Everyone hurts a little sometimes in love. But promise me this”—he leaned forward—“whether you’re the one to make her cry or not, always be the one to wipe her tears.”
Jaiman grinned. “I promise.”
“Hey.”
He looked up at the sound of his girlfriend’s voice. Jia walked down the staircase, her hair down in soft curls, and she wore an elegant pink cocktail dress that was tight around her chest and flowy and frilly below her waist. She looked—
“Gorgeous, right?” Jia reached the foot of the stairs and did a little twirl. As Jaiman got up from the sofa, she reached for his hands and took the bouquet of roses, inhaling deeply. “You know, I haven’t stopped smiling since New Year’s.”
Jaiman was about to kiss her when he remembered Devdutt Uncle was still sitting there, staring at them. So he pecked her on the forehead and turned to her father. “Good night, Uncle.”
Jia put the flowers in a vase, and they had just started for the front door when Uncle spoke up. “Are you coming back home, or are you staying over at Jaiman’s?”
Jaiman hesitated, locking eyes with Jia. Up until now, she’d always made up excuses to her father about staying over at Tanu’s place when she visited Jaiman’s apartment. Was she okay with him knowing the truth? Jaiman was about to tell Devdutt Uncle that he’d bring her home by midnight when she spoke up.
“I’ll see you in the morning, Papa.” Then she stood on her tiptoes and whispered in Jaiman’s ear, “That’s okay, right?”
He smiled at her, noticing every sparkle in her glitter eyeshadow, every crease in the crinkle of her eyes. “Of course it is. I love you.”
She giggled, and they walked to his car. Just as he was about to open the passenger door for her, Jia pulled him in by the collar and kissed him. She ran her hands up his shirt, her fists balling in his hair, and he bathed in the sheer perfection of this moment, of the warmth of her chest against his, of the way he had to duck his head low to kiss her back.
Jia broke the kiss abruptly, her breaths coming out in short bursts, and she touched her forehead to his chin. “You ready for our first real date, Jaiman Patil?”
“I’ve been ready for years,” he replied, tilting her face up for a quick kiss, then paused. “Do you want to skip the fancy gourmet dinner I planned and instead go to J’s Cocktails to try out some new recipes?”
“And a Whipped Rose for me?”
“Always.”
“Then let’s go.” She opened the car door and slid in, and they drove to J’s Cocktails, singing along to the radio and dancing in their seats, stopping to exchange kisses at every traffic signal.
Jaiman knew what Devdutt Uncle had said was right—it was exactly what Jia spoke about on her blog. Every relationship needed work and effort, and hurting and getting hurt was inevitable. But nothing healed a wound better than love.
He looked at Jia shimmying in her seat, singing the wrong lyrics off-key to a pop number, and grinned to himself. The #JiamanProject had finally happened, after fifteen long years of him hoping for it.
And all it took was an anonymous relationship blog and a whole lot of mis-matchmaking.
Who would have thought?