seven A Fish Out of Water #2
After twenty minutes of indulging me, she asked if I’d be okay by myself while she went to look for the guy who’d invited her.
It took every ounce of willpower to keep from begging her not to leave me.
I tried braving it on my own for all of thirty seconds before making a run for the washroom.
On my way back from the first floor, I spotted a glass door leading out to a balcony and slipped through it.
Although ‘balcony’ was probably too modest a word for this spacious outdoor patio overlooking the swimming pool.
Below me, fairy lights shimmered in the reflection of the water as people in head-to-toe designer wear mingled in clusters.
I leaned against the glass railing and set the beer bottle beside me, relieved to be outside. It was easy to pretend that I was still watching these people on a screen from up here.
‘Kavya?’ A man’s voice from behind me made me jump. ‘Is that you?’
A flicker of comfort at hearing a familiar voice was replaced by immediate exasperation when I realized who it belonged to. Neil stood there squinting at me, a cigarette hanging halfway to his lips. Why couldn’t this man leave me the fuck alone?
‘What are you doing here?’ I demanded, crossing my arms, suddenly feeling exposed in my corset top. Neil, on the other hand, looked as effortlessly stylish as ever in a sand-coloured linen shirt and trousers.
‘Me?’ He took a drag. ‘What are you doing here? Didn’t know you were pals with Adi.’
I shuffled my feet as he walked over to join me. Even in the heels I’d borrowed from Nikita, he was at least a head taller than me. ‘I’m not. My flatmate is friends with one of his friends.’
He nodded, exhaling a puff of smoke. ‘That makes a lot more sense.’
I narrowed my eyes at him. ‘Why?’
‘You just didn’t strike me as the party animal type.’
‘And you didn’t strike me as the blackmailing type. Guess we never really know, do we?’ I shot back.
‘Ouch,’ he said, suppressing a half-chuckle. ‘The claws are out already.’
I turned to the party, hoping the view below would distract me from the urge to strangle this man. ‘What’d you expect? Gratitude?’
I figured he’d be ready with a retort, but he remained silent. He took a few more drags before stubbing the half-smoked cigarette in an ashtray by his side. Even with my eyes fixed ahead, I could feel his gaze on me. Lazy. Curious. Pondering.
When I couldn’t take it anymore, I faced him. ‘What?’
The intensity of his gaze caught me off guard. In the warm yellow light spilling from inside, his eyes looked softer, framed by those ridiculously long eyelashes that made it even harder to look away.
‘Why did you feel the need to lie about attending NYU in the first place? Why not just say where you actually went?’
I could tell he was genuinely confused and somehow that irked me more than it would if he’d been teasing me. ‘Trust a privileged man to be completely blind to how the real world works.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘You think I wanted to lie? I did it because I had to.’ I could feel my cheeks getting hot with indignation. ‘I knew I was tanking that interview. People like me can’t impress your Rajat uncle with our skillsets, you know? All he cares about is status.’
He opened his mouth like he was going to argue, then stopped. I willed him to challenge me, but he just shook his head in silence. When he looked at me again, his expression had softened.
‘You know what?’ he finally said. ‘Don’t worry about that website project. I’ll figure it out.’
‘Don’t do that …’ I rolled my eyes at him. ‘Don’t un-blackmail me out of pity.’
That made him laugh. A full, hearty sound that vibrated somewhere deep in my stomach. ‘Don’t worry. I’m not going soft on you. Our deal is still the same … I’ll just let you off the hook this one time.’ A cocky smile played on his lips, but it lacked its usual bite.
His elbow grazed my arm as he leaned over the railing, making my skin prickle. ‘And how will you get it done, then?’
He shrugged. ‘I’ll just … I’ll hire someone to do it.’
‘You’ll hire someone?’ I scoffed. ‘Why can’t you just tell Rajat you don’t know how to do it?’
‘And let him report back to my dad about how useless I am? Absolutely not,’ he said, his shoulders tensing. For once, he didn’t sound smug or self-assured, and that threw me off a little bit.
There were a hundred questions I wanted to ask him about his comment, but a flash of sequins below made me forget them all. Because Nikita was standing by the pool, waving both arms at me like she was hailing a cab.
‘Kavuuuuuuu,’ she shouted. Uh oh. How much had she had to drink?
‘Um … who is that?’ Neil asked just as she lost her balance and toppled into a waiter carrying an entire tray of champagne glasses.
‘My flatmate,’ I breathed, already backing away. He didn’t follow me as I darted out.
By the time I made it downstairs, Nikita was perched on a pool chair, drenched in champagne and giggling uncontrollably. Clutching an empty tray, the waiter was apologizing profusely, and standing beside them was the man of the hour—Aditya Jindal.
‘Give me those,’ he said, plucking tissues from the waiter’s tray and pressing them against her chest with exaggerated care. I couldn’t help but notice how his fingers lingered.
‘Uh … hi, sorry about that,’ I said, quickly slipping between them before he could dab any lower. ‘I’ve got it from here.’
He nodded, although I could tell he wasn’t pleased at the interruption. Then, in a gesture that might’ve been chivalrous if it hadn’t been so performative, he shrugged off his leather jacket and held it out. ‘You’re soaked, darling.’
Nikita giggled again, letting him drape it around her shoulders. ‘Such a gentleman,’ she slurred.
‘Right. Thanks,’ I muttered, tightening my grip on her arm. ‘We’ll get out of your way.’
As I led her out of the backyard, I looked up at the balcony. It was empty.