Chapter Seven #3
“Why didn’t you say anything?” They reached the shallow water, and Roshan stopped and faced away from her. “Why didn’t you tell me how much time had passed?”
“Hop on.”
She hesitated but only for a second. But it was long enough for Roshan to turn his side grin to her. “If you can handle it.”
She groaned. “I can handle it.” She paused as she climbed onto his back. Her mouth right next to his ear. “The question is, can you?”
She heard him grunt and chuckle as he carried her all the way to the car.
“You should have told me it was time,” she chided him.
“You were having such a great time swimming.” He shrugged. “The guys wouldn’t let me disturb you.”
She bugged her eyes out at the back of his head. “This is your vacation.”
They reached the car, where Vishal and Karan had started packing up. “Is it true?” she asked, looking at them, still on Roshan’s back.
They looked at her, blank expressions on their faces.
“Is it true that you wouldn’t let Roshan get me out of the water to leave?”
Vishal’s gaze flicked to Roshan’s, then he nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. That’s true. Roshan was eager to leave, but we couldn’t do that to you. Right, Karan?”
“Um yes. Correct. So-taka!” Karan said, avoiding her eyes and with an enthusiasm she hadn’t yet seen.
She raised her eyebrows at him. “We’re using Gujarati now?”
“Duh. One hundred percent sounds better in Gujarati, don’t you think?” he insisted. “It’s faster, in any case.”
She gently smacked Roshan’s shoulder. “Let me down.”
He gently set her down, being careful to let her put her weight on her right leg first, before turning to face her. She studied his face for an answer.
She eyed all three men with suspicion. It was obvious that letting her swim longer was Roshan’s idea, but she couldn’t imagine why he would do that. Her stomach gave a loud growl. She put her hand over it. “I may need a snack.”
Vishal grinned. “Get in the car. We have my mom’s tepla.”
“Seriously?” Nimita asked as a smile spread across her face. “And you’re just now telling me? I’m wounded.” She shook her head. “Well. We’ll need to head back to the hotel now, since the winding roads become that much more difficult in the dark,” she said.
Roshan shrugged. “How hard could it be?”
* * *
Famous last words. He shook his head as the tow truck they were all crammed into arrived at the car rental. Honestly, he knew what everyone—including Nimita—had told him, but he hadn’t quite understood until the sun had set and darkness had fallen upon them.
To be fair, watching the sunset was incredible, and they had made good time, going back the way they’d come. They were about an hour away from the resort when it happened.
They’d been sideswiped and had ended up in a ditch. Luckily they weren’t going that fast, so it was more of a slide into the ditch, but the car wasn’t going anywhere on its own. The other driver had stopped, and they exchanged information before calling for a tow.
At least they’d had a whole stack of the spicy tepla that Auntie had made to hold their hunger while they waited for the tow truck. No self-respecting Indian went traveling without the flatbread staple.
He and Nimi had devoured a few each. Vishal and Karan had refused, claiming they weren’t hungry. Karan not being hungry seemed like a problem, but maybe they were shook up from the accident.
Nimita had been a trouper. She had to have been in extra pain from all the swerving.
She hadn’t complained once, though she was currently glaring at him as he helped her out of the cab of the tow truck.
As soon as her feet touched the ground, she reached for Karan’s arm so he could help her into the Uber that Vishal had called.
Karan looked at him and shrugged.
Her body and her actions screamed I told you so, even if she hadn’t said a word. The Uber back to the hotel was just as silent as the tow truck drive. And when they pulled into the hotel’s driveway and Roshan reached for her, she ignored him and grabbed Vishal’s arm.
The four of them made their way back to their rooms.
“I’m really sorry I let this happen,” Roshan said for the fiftieth time as he fumbled for his key card.
Vishal and Karan mumbled something, but Nimita let out a “hmph.” It was the most she’d said all evening.
“What does that mean?” Roshan asked. “Besides ‘I told you so’?”
She stopped abruptly in front of her door and turned to him, eyes blazing.
“Is that what you think I’m saying? ‘I told you so,’ like I’m some teenager who needs to be right?
No. I am pissed off because you could not be bothered to think that someone else might know a little something more than you.
We planned the whole day around returning before dark.
And yet, somehow, you didn’t think it really meant anything to return before dark. To drive more carefully in the dark.”
“It was an accident,” he said, firing up.
“Because you were being reckless,” she snapped at him.
“I was driving slowly.”
“Not slow enough.”
“If I drove any slower, we’d still be on the road.”
“Maybe, but we wouldn’t have ended up in a ditch,” she countered.
“They hit us!”
“Exactly.”
Roshan was very confused. Should they have been out there in the dark? No. But the accident had been the other driver’s fault. That much was clear. Nimita’s reaction was disproportionate.
She waved the key card in front of her door lock and threw the door open. She winced as she took a few steps into the room.
Roshan immediately went to her side to help.
“I’m fine,” she bit out, leaving no room for discussion. She blocked the entrance to the room with her body.
Roshan froze, and his heart plummeted. She was definitely angry, but there seemed to be something more. One look at her hard eyes, the set of her mouth and the way she stood rigid in the door told him he would never find out.
The thought saddened him.
Vishal made a motion with his head to Roshan to follow him into their room, to leave Nimita be.
“Well…good night then,” Roshan said. Every part of him wanted to make sure she got into bed safely, but she clearly would not allow it.
He moved into the hall, out of her line of sight, and made eye contact with Vishal. He pointed to the door and then his foot, then nodded toward Nimita.
“Uh. Maybe you want to keep that door between our rooms unlocked, you know, in case you need anything…” Vishal asked softly.
“I’ll be fine,” she insisted, and Roshan could hear the wince in her voice. Her door shut before Roshan could say anything more.
He followed Vishal and Karan into their room. His friends stared at him.
“What?”
Vishal and Karan looked at each other. They shook their heads.
“What?” Roshan insisted. He was missing an important puzzle piece, and he suddenly cared very much to find out what it was.
“No.” Vishal shook his head at Karan. “It’s not ours to tell.”
“Tell me,” Roshan said.
Karan shook his head. “No can do.”
“You’re supposed to be my brothers.”
Karan nodded. “We are. That’s why we can’t tell you. How would she feel if she knew you were talking about her pain?”
“So there is something you know that I don’t?”
Karan laughed. “You could not get enough of her today. Mad or not.”
“I was helping an injured person. I am a doctor,” Roshan defended himself. No point in telling them they were right. He really hadn’t been able to get enough of her today. Pissed off, injured, it didn’t seem to matter.
“We know you have an MD. Do you have to keep telling us?” snarked Vishal.
“Whatever, Harvard Law.”
“You. Like. Her,” Karan stated.
“I can be nice to a beautiful woman and not have a thing for her, you know. I’m not Vishal.” Roshan smirked at his friend.
“Hey!” Vishal said. “I take offense to that.”
“But it’s true,” Roshan said. “Remember Nadia?”
“I try to forget her. But you just admitted Nimita was beautiful.” Vishal stretched out on the sofa.
“She is beautiful. That is a fact,” Roshan said. “Deny it.”
“Okay, fine. She is beautiful,” Vishal admitted. “But something is going on with you and her.”
“That’s a fact.” Karan suddenly went pale. “Actually the fact is that I don’t feel so—” He ran to the bathroom and sounds of retching reached Roshan.
He looked at Vishal. “No way.”
No sooner did Karan come out of the bathroom than Vishal paled and ran in, followed by the same retching sounds.
Roshan looked at the both of them, lifting his T-shirt to cover his mouth and nose. “What the hell…?”
Vishal shook his head. “I don’t know. But I definitely feel like crap.”
“Me, too,” said Karan.
“Oh…” Vishal pushed past them and went back to the bathroom again.
Roshan turned to Karan, who was getting under the covers. “Do you have a fever?”
Karan nodded miserably. “I’m burning up.”
“Fluids,” Roshan said, grabbing water bottles from the small fridge. “Electrolytes. I hope whatever you snacked on on the beach is taking you down, as opposed to a virus.”
“How do you feel?” Vishal asked, emerging from the bathroom.
“Fine.” Roshan shrugged.
“Then you should stay with Nimita,” Karan said.
“Are you kidding me? She wants to kill me. She’s not about to share her bed with me,” Roshan said.
“There’s a sofa bed.”
“I can take care of you—”
“I’m a doctor,” Karan and Vishal chorused before he could say it.
Karan groaned. “What are you going to do? Watch us sleep?”
“I’ll bring you water and food.”
“You can do that from her room,” Vishal insisted. “Now go.” He pointed at the door between the rooms.
Roshan sighed and turned to the door. He knocked.
After a moment, it swung open. “I told you I was—” She scrunched up her face—which was adorable—and covered her nose and mouth with her hand. “What is that smell?”
“These two have a stomach bug. Or food poisoning.” He glanced at them. “Can I share your room?”
She glared at him a moment, clearly debating her answer. “Fine.” She hobbled away from the door. “I don’t want to be responsible for you getting sick. Just don’t let that stench in.”
Roshan grabbed his things and left his friends, closing the door behind him.
“House rules. No sleeping naked.”
Now he was thinking about her sleeping naked. Unbidden, a visual of him and Nimita sharing the bed… Nope. Not going there.
She continued, “No bringing girls back here—”
“What girls? Why would I bring girls here while you were in the room?”
“Hey. I don’t really know you. I’m just laying down the rules,” she said. “Knock before entering the room. Lock the bathroom door.” She was still angry.
Roshan sighed. He glanced at the door. Maybe a couple days of having the stomach flu wasn’t so bad.
He recalled the smell. No. Besides, he wasn’t upset about sharing space with her. It didn’t even really matter to him if she was mad. He just wanted to be in her presence.
“Fine.” He crossed his arms. “Want to use the bathroom first?”