Page 97 of Every Move You Make
“It’s like that, huh?” Vir asked, a knowing grin on his face.
“It is something, for sure.”
His mind immediately went to her. Her laughter, her smiles, the way she touched him so easily as if he were hers.
Fingers clicked in front of his face.
“That bad,da?” Armaan chuckled. “I like seeing you in love,moydrug.”
“It’s not?—”
“—don’t finish that sentence,” Vir said. “I don’t want to hear your protests again. Let’s talk about this a few weeks from now.”
Akash glared at him, but Vir simply rolled his eyes. His friends were wrong; he wasn’t in love with Shauna.
His heart lurched. No, he didn’t want to be in love with her. While things were getting better between them and they were both trying to make their relationship real, the fact remained that they had signed a contract, one which would expire in five years. He couldn’t afford to fall in love with her. His heart would never survive the heartbreak if she left him after five years.
The conversation, thankfully, shifted after that, drifting into lighter territory, on to shared stories, old memories, harmless teasing, and Akash found himself relaxing into it. They ordered two more rounds of drinks, and by the time they ordered dinner, he was feeling pleasantly buzzed.
His thoughts drifted again. To her.
Shauna.
He’d texted her before heading out. Just a quick message letting her know he was meeting his friends for dinner. She’d replied with happy emojis. He smiled. Perhaps they really were becoming a regular couple.
Almost without thinking, he picked up his phone again and sent her a quick text.
I need you tonight…
He hit send, leaning back in his chair, a quiet satisfaction filling his chest as he listened to the conversations unfolding around him. Just a few more hours and she’d be in his arms, where she belonged.
Vir flicked his nose. “You look like you’re yearning again.”
“Oh, fuck off,” Akash shot back.
The others were already watching him, varying degrees of amusement on their faces.
Vir grinned wider. He slammed his glass down on the table. “You know what? Let’s finish dinner and go to a nightclub.”
Dheer groaned instantly. “Absolutely not.”
Rohan looked mildly horrified. “I agree. I hate nightclubs”
Nirvaan leaned back, already suspicious. “Not tonight.”
“Oh, let’s go,da,” Armaan said. “It should be fun.”
Akash glanced between them. Dheer, Rohan, and Nirvaan were always so serious. The only time he’d seen Rohan and Nirvaan truly at ease was when they were around their women. Dheer had been like that once too, but after everything that had happened to him, that ease had disappeared, replaced by something quieter and heavier.
“Oh, come on,” Vir said. “You’ll enjoy it. I promise.”
“You will,” Armaan said. “I don’t come to India often. Let’s go scope out the party scene in Mumbai.”
“No,” Dheer muttered, looking unimpressed.
Akash leaned back, watching with quiet amusement as Rohan and Nirvaan exchanged apprehensive looks and subtly tried to dissuade Vir and Armaan, who weren’t budging an inch.
A quiet sense of peace settled over him as he watched his friends bicker. He exhaled, finally letting go of the tension that had been wrapped around him since his encounter with his father.
