Chapter Two #2
Nimita cringed as she realized she hadn’t even seen her niece, who would turn one in just over a month.
A proper masi would show up bearing gifts.
It was just one more thing she was failing at.
She’d grab some things before she left. Too bad a few baubles wouldn’t fix things between her and Reena.
She’d failed Reena and her father too deeply.
“I have to go.” Reena disconnected without a goodbye.
Nimita stared at her phone. She needed a minute before she went to San Diego, before she got into it with her sister. She glanced at the guys. They had said she could have the room as long as she needed this week…
She watched them for a moment, in intense debate over where to go and what to do first.
In the last three years, Nimita had been to Hawaii many times.
She knew it inside out. She could most definitely spend a few days taking them around.
Though Roshan might already be finding something wrong with her plan, in addition to being irritated by her presence.
She smirked to herself. That was just a bonus.
She wandered back to them, staying cool. “Surfing is not a bad way to start.”
Vishal looked up at her. “We’ve never surfed before.”
“In my experience, lessons really help.” She shrugged as if it made no difference to her what they did.
“We’re fine,” grumped Roshan.
She shrugged as if she had not a care in the world and turned to leave. “Okay.”
“Wait,” Vishal called out. “Do you know how to surf?”
“Well,” she said as she turned back to face them, “I’ve surfed around the world. But I learned here.” She glanced toward the ocean. It was true. Her colleagues had taught her. Well, one colleague in particular. She grinned at the memory. What a fun fling that had been.
“So you could teach us?” Karan asked. “We could pay you.”
“Listen, I may have to stay a bit longer than I expected. Cover the room for a few days, and not only will I teach you to surf, I will be your actual tour guide.” She side-eyed Roshan. “Make sure you know what you’re doing and all that.”
“No.” Roshan’s response was quick and curt.
Nimita pursed her lips. “I was wondering when you would come out and say you knew everything and didn’t need help.” She thought about how he’d been in high school. Although, he had been the one to request a tutor back then. She’d only found out why later.
“I just don’t really think we need a tour guide. We can manage on our own,” Roshan shot back. “You gave us quite the detailed itinerary.” It was clear he did not want her to join.
She shrugged. She really needed to stay, but no sense in appearing desperate about it. “Suit yourself.” She turned to go again.
“Wait,” Vishal called out. “Ro, she knows places. It might be fun. Plus teaching us to surf?”
“It’s a guys’ trip,” Roshan insisted.
“She can be one of the guys,” Vishal said. “Sorry.” He looked at her. “I mean of course you’re not a guy. But none of us is trying to date you, right?”
“Of course not.” Roshan was so quick to answer, it was nearly insulting.
“Right back at you,” Nimita said.
“So she can be our guide,” Karan added.
Roshan looked from one friend to the other, avoiding Nimita completely. “Fine. Whatever.” He shrugged.
Not an enthusiastic endorsement, but she wasn’t here to make friends. “So we have a deal?”
* * *
“Looks that way,” Roshan grumbled, and he couldn’t believe it.
Seriously? Nimita Chaudhary was going to be their tour guide?
His body still ached from where she had hit him.
He wasn’t about to admit it to her, but he was impressed with her ability to defend herself.
Maybe Malini should take some self-defense classes.
Then again, she needed to take care not to break any bones…
Nimita had tutored him in high school. He had graduated second to her. It was the first time he had worked for a goal and not reached it. He had been awful to her about it. Was her obvious dislike of him because of that, or because he mistakenly broke into her room last night?
He glanced at her. She had been cute back then, all gangly arms and legs. She had grown into a beautiful woman, beautiful eyes, wavy hair and curves everywhere. She likely had better things to do than worry about mean things a boy had said to her in high school.
To be fair, he hadn’t really considered dating her until Vishal mentioned that none of them was interested in her.
Now he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He realized he had been watching her longer than was considered appropriate and switched his gaze to his friends.
Vishal and Karan shared a quick glance they thought he didn’t see. “Great. We’re all in agreement,” Karan said. “Nimita’s going to guide us.”
“Absolutely.”
“And we really should pay you for your knowledge,” Vishal added.
“The room will suffice.” Nimita grinned. She raised an eyebrow. “Are we a go?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
Vishal and Karan exchanged meaningful glances at each other, then at Nimita and Roshan.
Roshan inhaled deeply, looking at his buddies.
They forgot sometimes that they’d all known each other since they were four.
Which meant Roshan could read them like a book.
They thought they were going to set him up with her.
They had no idea what a jerk he had been to her back in high school. It was never going to happen.
Not to mention, it took all of his energy to take care of his sister and his patients. He had no time or room for a relationship, regardless of how much his parents nagged.
Or used his friends to get to him.
“Yeah, okay.” He shrugged like it didn’t matter to him either way.
He thought he saw Nimita smirk from the corner of his eye. It was going to be a long few days. What he needed now was his laptop.
“Great.” Karan clapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s go to the beach.”
“I think I’m going to lie down for a bit. Recover from being abused last night.” He did his best to sound casual.
Vishal laughed. “That’s what the beach is for. You’re trying to go work.”
“Like you’re not itching to check in with work,” Roshan pointed out.
“True.” Vishal nodded. “But what’s the first rule of Guys’ Trip?”
“Don’t talk about Guys’ Trip,” Nimita offered innocently.
Roshan smiled at her in spite of himself.
“That’s actually the second rule,” Vishal said. “The first rule is no work.”
The third rule was no women. But they were apparently breaking that one.
Roshan sighed. This was why he always got his own room. Eight days of no work was not possible. He needed to check in with patients, needed to be there for them. It was irresponsible not to do so. He wouldn’t have expected any less from the doctors who had treated Malini over the years.
Nimita sat down and pulled out her phone, and Roshan let his gaze follow her. When he saw that she was browsing vehicle rentals, his jaw dropped. “You didn’t even book a car for us, Vishal?”
“You can stay and help Nimita—” started Karan.
“No. He can’t,” she quipped.
“No. Way,” Roshan retorted at the same time.
Well, at least they were on the same page. Roshan turned and followed Vishal and Karan out past the pool to the beach.
They headed straight for the water. It was early, but people were starting to swim in the beautiful water. Roshan put aside his concerns and gave himself over to his vacation. He was still sore, but the saltwater felt great.
“Time has been a friend to Nimita,” Vishal said, treading water beside him. “Don’t you think?” He was looking at Karan, but fooling no one.
“Absolutely. She was cute in high school, but now she’s gorgeous. Right?” Karan looked at Roshan.
Roshan shook his head. “Not gonna happen, guys. I do not have time for a relationship right now.”
“Who said anything about a relationship?”
“I’m not having a one-night stand with my former tutor, either,” Roshan said.
Vishal laughed. “Just making conversation that our friend from high school is very attractive.”
Roshan pursed his lips. “Yeah. Uh-huh. Was she your friend?”
He looked past the guys and saw Nimita coming toward the beach. She was wearing a flowy skirt and a tight top, the sun lighting up her deep brown skin as a breeze played with her hair. He couldn’t look away.
“Speak of the devil,” Karan whispered.
The guys waded out of the water together. Roshan knew when she saw him, because her expression tightened. “There you are.”
“Here we are,” said Vishal as he stood dripping in front of her.
“I got you a rental car. They’ll drop it off here this afternoon.
I left your itinerary pretty open today…
Better to get acclimated and get past the jet lag before anything too demanding.
So, you have free time at the beach today, dinner at Mama’s Fish House tonight, and tomorrow we’ll do surf lessons. ”
Was she coming to dinner with them?
“You’re coming to dinner, right?” Karan asked.
“I need to eat.” She raised one eyebrow. “I’ll drive.”
“Uh. No.” Roshan found his voice. “I always drive.”
“Not this week,” Nimita stated, leaving no room for further argument. “I’ll see you at 7:00 p.m. in the lobby.” She turned to go.
“Where are you going?”
“To my room for a nap. Didn’t sleep well last night.” She grinned and left.