“Roshan!” Vishal’s voice reached him. He looked over and found Vishal and Karan walking toward an outdoor table.
He made his way over to them. They were laughing as he approached.
“Don’t you think, Roshan?”
“Don’t I think what?”
Karan shook his head at him. “Text her already.”
He decided to play dumb. “Who?”
“Aishwayrya! Who do you think?” Vishal asked. “Nimita? The one you’re clearly still pining over.”
“I don’t pine.” He was firm in that.
“You do now,” Karan said.
“I’m not texting her. It was just a fling.”
“Was it, though?” asked Karan. “You keep saying that, but…”
“That’s what we said,” Roshan said.
“You’re both wrong in that case,” Vishal said.
“The signs were there…” Karan said.
“Enough already with thesigns.”Roshan shook his head at Karan.
Their beers came, and the waiter set them down. “Aren’t you short one person?” he asked. “Cute brunette, gorgeous skin?”
Vishal smirked at Roshan. “We most definitely are.”
“She went home,” Roshan explained.
“And where is that?”
Roshan looked at the waiter, then at his friends. “I have no idea.”
The waiter raised an eyebrow and walked away. His judgment hung in the air.
“You totally miss her. Text her,” Vishal said.
Roshan stared at his friends. They might have a point. But Nimita had made herself quite clear. “Nope. It’s over, guys.” He’d just have to deal with that.
Chapter Thirteen
Nimita fell into a routine where she would bring Finn to walk with Molly. She really enjoyed the woman’s company and couldn’t remember the last time she had made a connection like this that felt like a real friendship. Molly was funny and smart, and she could not stop moving. Nimita could not remember the last friend she had made. She certainly had not planned on making friends here in PB. She had been more focused on repairing her relationship with Reena. But Molly was light and fun, and it was nice to spend time with someone who didn’t know anything about what Nimita’s past looked like.
So yeah, Nimita was making friends and had reached out to her old boss. Baby steps, but maybe she was getting her life back together.
“You’ve never traveled?” Nimita asked Molly. It seemed so unlikely, the young woman was vibrant and so full of life. It was Saturday, and Molly did not have to rush off to school, so they lingered on the walk with Finn.
Molly shook her head. “I mean we moved here. But that was it.” They passed a small fair on the beach that had rides. Her face lit up, and she grabbed Nimita’s arm. “Come on. I’ve never been on these rides.”
“What?” Nimita allowed herself to be dragged, Finn running alongside. Molly approached the amusement park and stopped.
“I don’t know what to do first.” She looked like a child at a fair. It occurred to Nimita that Molly actually was a child at a fair.
