“Yes, I do. You helped when I pushed you away. You did a lot for someone you don’t even like.”
“I don’t not like you.”
I smiled and he grinned. As in a full, all-out grin. The kind that reached his eyes and made little wrinkles at the corners. He had a multitude of faces, from stern and unyielding to irritating and cocky. But for once, he turned his true face to me, the kind and happy one—the face I’d seen him wear at mandir with his family. I wondered what other faces he had, and if the rest of them were as easy to look at as this one.
“Maybe we can be friends,” he suggested.
“Friendly?”
“That works, too.”
Once I was inside my apartment, I kicked off my shoes, untucked and unbuttoned my blouse, and slid my pants right off.
A soft tune escaped my lips as I poured a glass of wine in my undergarments and drew a hot bubble bath. I stripped down to nothing, stepped in, sank down, and sighed as the stress and exhaustion of the workday melted away. After today, I didn’t mind having nothing else to entertain myself with than a good book.
And an onslaught of text messages.
Preeti: I’m home. Tell me everything! Why were you driving around with Jay? I thought you hated him! Did HE give you those gorgeous flowers?
Sana: How’d you get home? Sorry it would’ve taken me so long to get you.
Reema: Okay, seriously. Jay. What is up with that? And yes, Preeti and I are tag-teaming you!
Unknown Number: Hi, Liya! I hope this is the right number. And I hope you don’t mind that I got it from Jay, but this is Shilpa. I didn’t get a chance to give you an invitation to my baby shower. It’s on the fifteenth. Hope you can make it. I’m sending it with Jay.
I took my time replying to everyone over the following hour, with Preeti, Reema, and Sana all in group text to save myself. All the details sent them into an emoticon-and-upper-case frenzy. No matter how many times I told them to calm down, that Jay and I were nothing more than slightly friendlier than what they’d seen at mandir, they wouldn’t stop.
I then added Shilpa’s contact information and replied that I would be happy to attend her shower.
As water drained out of the tub, and I stepped out and dried off, my phone screen lit up with a text message from Jay.
I wrinkled my nose. He did realize we weren’t friends, right?
Curiosity got the better of me, and it took a great deal of effort to wait until I had changed into pajamas and started dinner before checking the message.
Jay: I gave Shilpa your number. Hope that’s okay. She wanted to invite you to her baby shower.
Me: Did you have something to do with that?
Jay: No. It’s not MY baby shower. She’d wanted to invite you since she met you.
There was nothing more to say. Still, I was tempted to give his contact info a picture. Apparently, I had plenty to choose from among Momma’s many pictures sent via WhatsApp. Although only my friends had rummaged through his excellently selected pictures, I scrolled through them and admired Jay for all his irritating beauty. Finally, I assigned a picture to his name. Not the professional one, no matter how nice his suit. Not the one of him in a sherwani playing garba. But one of him walking down a street in plain jeans and an ordinary shirt. A formfitting shirt. The laid-back style, easygoing smile, and sparkling eyes in that photo were something that would make me pause every time his name popped up on my phone screen.
I sat down to my meal when my phone lit up again.
Jay: Are you going?
Okay, so maybe he was confused as to the difference between “friendly” and “friends.”
Jay: You should go.
Me: Why?
Jay: Because Shilpa is nice and it would mean a lot to her. You know, if you’re not busy that day.
I couldn’t help it, and once I recalled his venomous words, a familiar pang in my chest sprouted to life.
Me: I thought I wasn’t good enough to be her friend.
Calling someone out like that would’ve made any other guy leave me alone, but in a matter of seconds, he replied.
Jay: I’m sorry I said that.
Me: Don’t be sorry for saying what you mean.
Jay: We both misjudged each other. Can we leave it at that?
I chewed on the inside of my lip.
Me: I guess.
Jay: Is this you admitting that you misjudged me and I’m not so bad after all?
Me: Um, no. This is me saying I accept you admitting that you misjudged me.
Jay: Well, maybe one day you’ll tell me why you bailed.
Me: Are we about to get into a texting argument?
Jay: Only if you’re bored and want to spend the evening arguing with me.
Damn it. Why was I smiling?
My fingers twitched over the touch screen.
Well…I was kind of bored…and I didn’t have anything better to do…and arguing was in my nature.
Me: Let me explain something to you, Jayesh Shah.
Jay: Hit me with your best excuse, Liya Thakkar.
“Ha!” I said aloud, my laughter filling the quiet.
Me: I was absolutely ambushed. My father is trying his hardest to marry me off, despite telling him I’m not interested. That dinner was supposed to be just me and my parents. I was vexed when you showed up, all ready to propose.
Jay: Propose! I hardly knew you. What type of man did you think I was?
Me: Honestly?
Jay: Do I expect anything less than honesty from you?
I shook my head and smiled. Or maybe I hadn’t stopped grinning this entire time. What was this guy doing to me?
Me: I thought you were some jackass.
Jay: Because of traditionally approaching you…or…?
Me: That and smiling at me.
Jay: I sort of figured. And noted. Never smile at Liya Thakkar.
I chewed on the inside of my cheek, trying to conjure up some witty remark. But nothing came to me. All I knew was that I never wanted Jay to hide his smile from me.
Chapter Thirteen
Jay
The sound of steel clanking against steel echoed through the weights section of the gym, and drowned out the swish of the cardio equipment on the floor above us. The only thing I concentrated on were the breaths that huffed out of my chest with each thrust of the bar, pushing my limits so I could feel the burn sear through my arms.
Jahn popped up behind me to spot so that the massive amount of weight wouldn’t sever my head with an accidental slip. After my set, I sat up, heaved out a breath, and wiped sweat off my face with a towel. We moved on to machine weights.
“Missed you yesterday. I don’t know anyone here to ask to spot, so I ended up doing cardio,” Jahn commented, our eyes locked on our images on the wall-to-wall, ceiling-to-floor mirrors.
“Liya had me up all night.”
His head swerved in my direction and he froze. “Say what?”
“I mean she had me up all night arguing.”