We wake up on the couch to a flash as I realize Avan's taken a picture of us. He's lucky that a blanket is covering our nearly naked bodies. I raise my hand to flip him off before going back cuddling Sunny.
Avan laughs before saying, "Get up, losers! Lovebirds! Fuckers! Get up!"
Sunny finally wakes up and groans before pulling the blanket further up to cover us up more. I notice that Avan has placed my chai on the coffee table, so I sit up so I can start drinking it.
The blanket falls to reveal my bra, but I don't care. Sunny sits up too and is completely shirtless. He hands me the blanket, so I can cover up. I use it to cover up my legs before reaching to hand him his own cup.
"Uh... babe" he says motioning to his own torso as to remind me to cover up my torso. I shrug.
"It's nothing I haven't seen before" Avan laughs when he realizes what Sunny's saying. Sunny narrows his eyes at him as I roll my own.
"What are we doing today, buddies?" Avan asks his legs crossed on the armchair beside us.
Sunny and I look at each other, and I grab my phone to check the time. It's only 9:30. I glance through my texts and remember that I have brunch with my sisters today.
I jump up taking the knitted blanket with me to wrap around myself. "The question is, what are you two doing today? I have plans with my sisters."
The two boys make plans to hang out for the day while I get dressed to see my sisters. We usually meet for brunch at least once a month. My older sister has kids now, so it's not as easy for her to drop everything and hang out. I finish applying my mascara and walk back out to see both boys on their phones, not talking to each other.
"Are you sure you guys are gonna hang out today?" I question. While they used to be pretty good friends, they haven't really hung out since they were teenagers.
They look at each other, shrug, then nod. I guess I really don't know men as well as I like to think I do. I shrug and head out, leaving them alone together.
**Sunny's POV**
"...So... what's up, man?" I ask Avan who looks up from his phone at the sound of my voice.
He shrugs, "Not a lot, bro. Just been busy with work."
I nod, "Cool."
"Uh- how's the kid?"
"Arav? He's cool. Chillest little kid to exist."
Avan laughs at my description of my son, "Sorry, it didn't work out with his mom."
"I'm not," the air around me still smells like Jaanu's perfume, and I'm comforted by that. "How'd you and Jaanu end up living together?" I ask. I've been meaning to ask this for a while, but something always comes up.
He stares at me for a while before answering. "We ran into each other at a bar near Georgetown. I'd just started medical school after my gap year. She'd just dropped out of that very school, and her parents had practically disowned her. She was drinking away her sorrows when I met her. She needed a friend, a place to live, and a new start. So, I did what I had to do."
My heart lurches as I hear the details of Jaanu's past. I knew that it couldn't have been easy telling her parents that she no longer wanted to be a doctor, but I didn't realize just how bad it had been. I let Avan continue his story.
"Jaanu and I have a complicated past. From friends, lovers, friends again, fuck buddies for a bit,-" I cringe at that, "and then basically siblings. It's crazy, but one thing's for sure- I love that girl." He notices my body tense up and chuckles, "Calm down, Sunny. It's not like that anymore, but I'll protect her with everything in me, so please if you're the same shameless IDGAF guy you were ten years ago, leave Jaanu alone. It hurt her then, and it'll kill her now."
The plea in his voice causes me to look down in guilt from how I acted in the past- the numerous girls and the pushing down my feelings for Jaanu to pursue others.
"I love her" I admit.
"Do you?" he questions.
"Yes," I don't hesitate.
"Alright, cool. Do you wanna go play basketball?" he gets up from his seat to leave when I nod.
**Jaanu's POV**
"I can't believe you're not dating the guy that's always all over your Snapchat," my sister, Sara, complains, "he's so cute!"
"You've known him since we were young. It's just Avan," I laugh as she pouts.
Sara had been showing us pictures of her kids for the past half an hour when my younger sister, Payal, brought up my social media.
"I saw on Venmo that you've been talking to Sunny again," Payal starts.
"Are you guys stalking me?" I groan.
"No! I just noticed," she defends herself.
"Actually, Sunny and I are dating," I admit.
"Again?" Both sisters ask.
"What do you mean again? We never dated," I claim.
"That's not what we thought. That summer, he came by so often we thought you dumped him," Payal says. In a way, I did dump him.
"Doesn't he have a kid?" Sara asks.
I nod, and I'm ready for their judgment. No normal person wants to date someone with a kid in their twenties. Instead, I'm met by a squeal.
"I'm so excited. Laila and Rao will have a cousin!" she jumps up nearly spilling her mimosa.
I want to cry from relief, but I just grin as they hug me, "Relax, you guys! We just started dating!"
They give each other knowing looks, "This is your endgame. Don't ask how we know, we just do."
YOU ARE READING
Singles Club
Short StoryTwo friends, Sunny Patel and Jaanu Kaur, have been friends since high school. Jaanu was sure that she'd never love him, he wasn't really her type. But she does. High school ends, and she's sure she'll never see him again. She's often wrong about wh...
