I groaned loudly and rubbed my temples, wondering how my life got so complicated in the course of one miserable evening.
“Okay, I’ll stop torturing you now,” said Shivina hastily, reading the distress on my face. “But I do think it would be a good idea for the two of you to join forces.”
“Please…never say that out loud…ever again,” I begged, and she shrugged.
Isha and Diya stared at me uneasily as I stuffed three of those pineapple and cheese skewers into my mouth at once. But I couldn’t help it. If I didn’t have something to chew on, I was going to burst into tears. Fuck it, three weren’t enough. Isha held out the tray, and I grabbed a few more skewers and stuffed them into my mouth.
And if it wasn’t typical of my luck that just when I was looking like a squirrel with my mouth filled with bits of pineapple and cheese, Dheer, Veer, and Ranvijay walked out onto the terrace to join us. And following at their heels, looking extremely grumpy, was Samrat.
CHAPTER 9
SAMRAT
Just one hour into the party, and I was seriously considering begging Col. Bhagat for a desk job. During my training period, I had been deployed in 9 Para in Assam, and I’d had to trudge barefoot through leech-infested jungles for hours to avoid giving away signs of our presence, to hunt down militants. And that was still a breeze compared to the hour I’d just spent.
Here, I wasn’t the hunter. I was the one being hunted. By matchmaking mamas and their daughters. I’d been dodging dinner invitations as well as other, less savoury invitations.
“You assholes should have warned me that some of your guests have a strong kink for army men,” I grumbled as I stumbled onto the terrace. “Do you know how many women offered me a quick fuck or a handjob in the garden?”
There was a choking sound, and I turned around to see Meher staring at me in horror, her mouth bulging with something. Knowing her, it had to be something with cheese.I frowned as that thought popped into my head. I didn’t know Meher. Not anymore. I really had to stop connecting this woman to the girl I knew eight years ago.
She hastily swallowed whatever she was eating and coughed a little as some of it went the wrong way. Isha began to laugh at our distress, and soon everyone joined in. Everyone but Meher and me. We scowled at each other. I didn’t know why she looked so grumpy, but I had just been propositioned by far more women than I cared to know, and I’d just announced that to the woman I’d been trying to forget for the past eight years.
“So, I take it, your social debut has been as disastrous as Meher’s?” asked Shivina.
Debut? What did she mean? I’d have assumed Meher was ruling the roost as far as our social circle was concerned. At least that’s how it seemed eight years ago.
“Don’t tell me you’re not Jaipur’s little darling anymore,” I drawled sarcastically.
A hush fell over the little group, and I noticed the women watching Meher worriedly. She drew herself up with dignity, even though her eyes shot angry little icicles at me.
“No thanks to your family,” she shot back, and I frowned.
“What the hell did we do?”
“Between you and Nilanjana, you made sure my reputation was torn to shreds overnight,” she spat furiously.
“Babe, you did a number on your own reputation,” I pointed out just as furiously. “Don’t try to pin that on me.”
Meher let out a little scream of frustration before she straightened your spine.
“You know what? You can keep your stupid opinions to yourself, you pompous ass! Go fu…mmmppphhh,”
The rest of her words were muffled by Diya slamming her hand over Meher’s mouth and dragging her away to the other side of the terrace, with Isha hot on her heels. But I got thegist. There was really no point in continuing this ridiculous conversation.
“Shivina, thank you for inviting me. But I think it’s time I took my leave,” I began politely, but she let out a snort of derision.
“Not bloody likely, Major Sahab. Sit your ass down,” she ordered.
“I beg your pardon?” I asked frostily.
“The only person whose pardon you should be begging is that woman out there. But you’re too blind to realise that.”
“I’ll thank you to stay out of my personal life, Shivina,” I said, but instead of getting offended, she laughed.
“One day, you’ll thank me for not doing exactly that. Trust me, Samrat.”
Ranvijay groaned loudly.
