Don’t let him get to you. Don’t let him get to you.
I repeat these words in my mind as an affirmation because his small actions affect me so much. More than they should.
Before I can say another word, he tucks thesaree palluin my waist, and my cheeks heat up.
God damn it, can he not embarrass me in front of our mothers? They look away, and I just want to dig a hole and bury myself in it, and he seems completely unfazed by that. Instead the jerk smirks.
“Let’s go,” he says after he is satisfied with his handiwork, taking my hand in his grasp, and I just pray to God that this plan doesn’t backfire on me.
Because I can picture it to.
Reyansh Carter
Aisha’s hand quivers in my hold, and before she can pull it away from me, I tighten my hold on it. I stifle the smile threatening to break on my face. I can see through every single one of her attempts to break me out of my gentleman act.
She took what happened in the gym as an attempt of me teasing her. Too bad it was a natural response to her being so close to me, looking so goddamn beautiful. Like a goddess that I would worship every day and night. On my knees and in between the sheets.
So, she probably decided to wear thissaree, the one that accentuates her beauty and matches the color of her eyes. Good for her; it is working. She doesn’t have to put in extra efforts to tease me. Her existing within my vicinity is enough to tease me and make me lose my mind.
Thesareejust makes her look so divine.
“You look beautiful,” I say, not being able to help myself anymore. A red tint coats her cheeks, which I can’t tell is from her blush or my compliment. “Thesareesuits you.”
“What doesn’t suit me?” she says, getting in the passenger seat, and I chuckle because it’s true.
She slays in every single look, every single outfit. She could be wearing a potato sack, and I would be down bad.
“I can name a few things,” I tease, and she glares at me.
“Like?”
“Being nonchalant, not talking to me, and frowning are a few strong things that don’t suit you at all.”
She rolls her eyes, but there’s a smile on her face that builds my confidence that things may be getting better between us. But I don’t want to get my hopes up. Aisha has a way of surprising me and knocking the shit out of me at the same time. I would need words from her to believe that things are getting better between us.
There’s silence for more than five minutes, and I have always been so bad with filling it that I reach out to play some music. Not just any music, I play her favorite Bollywood song—Ishq Wala Love—from her favorite actor Sidharth Malhotra’s debut movie.
Her obsession with him is strong, and that has always filled my heart with stupid jealousy. I know she doesn’t have a crush that way—the way she had on me. But I can’t stand her adoring another man. Especially in front of my own eyes. It pisses me off. It drives me crazy.
Call me stupid or possessive, I don’t care. All I care about is being the only man who is important to her.
As the song fills the awkward silence, I steal a glance at her, and the smile reaching her eyes makes my heart so happy. Her smile resurrects my heart back to life. She doesn’t even realize it, but her smile is so healing. One look at it and you will feel all your pain melt away.
“I love this song,” she says, reaching forward to increase the volume.
Her excitement makes my cheeks hurt with the way a smile stretches onto my face, and it instantly fills my heart with guilt about how many moments like this I missed with her—too busy chasing a life that meant nothing without her.
“I know,” I reply, and she gives me a curious look.
“You still remember?”
“Of course, I do. I remember everything about you.”
She gives me a sharp look, one filled with accusation that makes me squirm in my seat. I don’t know if I should feel grateful or disappointed that she doesn’t say a word about it, though.
I feel like I would have a much better time dealing with the hurt I caused her if she were more open about how I made her feel. I know it must not be easy, and me asking for her to go over past wounds would be an incredibly selfish thing to do.
“I didn’t forget about you, you know,” I say over the loud music. “I know I made you feel like that for the longest time.”
