“Huh.” Nimita tried to sound dismissive, but she was touched that he shared books with his sister. She had no idea if Reena even read anymore. “How far are you?”
“Three hundred pages. You?” he asked.
“Two seventy-five,” she answered, glancing at his book. “Don’t say anything.”
His eyes widened as if insulted. “Of course not. I’m not a monster.”
“Good to know,” Nimita said softly, making eye contact. “Although I notice that you don’t use a bookmark.”
“I dog-ear the pages,” he confessed.
She narrowed her eyes at him as she turned to her book and settled into her chair. “So you are a little bit of a monster.”
“No more than you, apparently.” He chuckled as he nodded at her dog-eared book.
She smiled and chuckled in spite of herself. “Read your book.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
They read in comfortable silence for a while. Then Roshan gasped.
“Stop that!” she chided, laughing.
“Sorry.”
They kept reading.
“Oh my god,” Nimita exclaimed.
He turned to her, a knowing smile on his face. “Iknow,right?” He put his book down and stood.
“What are you doing?” Nimita was aghast as he started walking to the water.
“I’m going to practice surfing while you catch up,” he called out. “Then we can talk theories.”
Nimita wanted to not like that idea—because it came from Roshan. But the truth was, she loved it. She hadn’t been in a book club before, and she’d never had anyone to talk to about the books she read.
She rolled her eyes for effect. “Fine.” But she could feel herself smiling. What was more surprising was the look of happiness on Roshan’s face.
By the time Roshan returned from trying to surf, they were at the same spot, and she’d stopped reading. Now, he stood dripping ocean water in front of her while she gushed about the latest twist. She could not complain.
They ordered lunch and talked theories while they ate. Nimita unwrapped her foot and waded into the ocean every so often to cool off. Roshan practiced surfing. They read.
All in all, kind of a perfect day. Especially since they’d both finished the book by the time they finished dinner. Roshan had checked on his friends a few times, and they were still down.
“How’s that ankle treating you?”
“Feels a bit better. Could be the painkillers. Could be the saltwater.” She shrugged. The sun was setting, and the air was still warm. She unwrapped her ankle and stood. “Want to walk in the waves a bit?”
His grin could not have taken up more of his face. “Thought you would never ask.”
“Don’t get excited.” She tried to hide her smile behind a smirk. “I just don’t want to fall again. And the crutches aren’t great on the sand.” Besides, she kind of liked leaning on him.
He laughed as he stood. A warm ocean breeze caught his T-shirt. He offered her his arm and she wrapped her hand around his bicep as he led the way to the water’s edge. “Of course. Why else would you ask me to walk with you?”
“As long as we understand each other.”
Nimita leaned into his arm as they wandered along the beach, small waves cooling their feet as they walked. The sunset colored the sky in hues of pink, orange and purple, and Nimita was reminded of why Hawaii was her happy place.
