Page 152 of No Boss
“It became home.” His hand moved through her hair. “The way places do, if you stay long enough.”
She let that settle.
“Raghav and I…” a faint breath, almost a smile, “…we were trouble by the second year.”
She laughed. “What kind?”
“The kind that ended up in the principal’s office every week.” His thumb brushed her shoulder. “I once convinced him the fire exit from the science lab led to the cricket ground.”
She lifted her head. “It didn’t?”
“It did not.”
“Where did it lead?”
“The girls’ dormitory corridor.”
Her eyes widened.
He held her gaze, entirely unapologetic. “We were suspended for a week.”
“Was there a girl?” Her tone careful.
He didn’t hesitate. “Bharti. It lasted six weeks.”
“Why did it end?”
“She decided cricket mattered more to me than she did.”
“Did it?”
“At sixteen?” He glanced up. “Yes.”
She smiled.
“I regretted it at seventeen. She had moved on.”
She watched him. The line of his jaw. The calm in him. The softness the early light gave him.
“Were there others?”
His eyes returned to her. “None that mattered. Not like this.”
The air changed. She pressed her face back into his shoulder, her breath warmer now.
His arms tightened around her, drawing her closer. That was an answer enough.
Morning Four
"What do you want?" he asked.
They sat against the wall, her legs across his, his arm around her. The courtyard held the last of the night.
"What do you mean?"
“From our life. Not the Haveli. Not the business. What do you want?”
The question settled deep.
