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 abouthersleeping 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?”
Chapter Eight
Nimita had been prepared to ignore all three of them for the rest of the day and all of tomorrow. Then she’d be out of their hair. She’d given them a detailed itinerary, taken them to all the best spots. Surely now that she was injured and two of them were ill, they could call it square. It seemed like it should be easy to avoid them…except that now she was sharing a room with Roshan.
He’d made up the sofa bed and was currently in the bathroom. She glanced at the lumpy-looking thing. It couldn’t be comfortable, but she was not sharing a bed with him.
Had they had a moment out there in the warm ocean water? Possibly.
Were there things about him she might even like? Possibly again.
She might have overreacted about the minor accident. The reality was that being in the passenger seat was anxiety-inducing to above normal levels. She had never stayed in one place long enough to go to therapy. After her mom passed, she had simply left to travel the world. Which had seemed to work just fine as therapy…until now.
She was sure that Reena would push the subject when she got to San Diego. Reena had gone to therapy diligently. But then, Reena really liked following the rules. Maybe Nimita would find a therapist in San Diego when she got herself a place of her own. She had a hard time calling the city, or Reena’s house, home, even though there was a room that had been designated as hers when Reena had moved out there with her husband and their father.
Her phone buzzed. Reena, as if she’d been summoned. Nimita sighed and took the call.
“I need your flight info,” Reena said without preamble.
“I’m not coming home yet,” Nimita told her, surprising herself in the process.
“Why not?” There was no surprise in her sister’s voice or even annoyance. Instead there was a resigned acceptance, as if she had expected this from Nimita, which felt worse.
“I couldn’t get a flight out,” Nimita fibbed, already reaching for her laptop. She had indeed booked a flight. She was going to do this. Go home. Face Reena. Make things right… But she could still reschedule her flight. Reena would still be there in a few days. “Tourist season, you know how it is. I’ll let you know when I get a flight. It might be a few days.” She needed a few more days to collect herself before dealing with her sister.
“Yeah. Whatever.”
“And I’ll just Uber. You don’t have to pick me up,” Nimita offered quickly.
“Fine. Just let me know when you know.”
“Will do.” Reena hung up.
Nimita put down her phone to find Roshan watching her. He had on old shorts and a well-worn University of Maryland T-shirt. How did he manage to look amazing in ratty sleep clothes?
“Why did you lie to your sister?” he asked.
