Life's Second Chances

Eight

"We didn't have sex,"

"Well, what did he do? Dry hump you and cum in his pants?" Vidya smirks twisting her head.

"No!" looking down into my cup of coffee I can feel the heat spread to my cheeks and ears turning me red. "We uh-used our hands," I stammer out biting my lips.

"You have it so bad, I'm so sorry," Gayatri reaches over hugging me. Unlike the rest of our friends she actually offers some comfort.

"I don't even feel dirty or ashamed, it felt great. But I need to let go. He isn't budging and I'm not chasing him anymore. I thought last night and this morning would change things but he's still hell-bent," conceding to some logic like I should have since Sid broke up with me, I finally make the decision I should've made a long time ago.

"Oh please! I might actually speak to my parents before you let go of Sidharth. He's the total package, Anuksha. There is literally nothing wrong with Sidharth except the fact that he doesn't want a relationship with you. And knowing you, that'll keep gnawing at your mind until it causes you to spiral and kill him," Riya says rolling her eyes with such dramatic vigor I hope they get stuck inside her skull.

"No, I'm not going to settle for nothing but the best, damn it. I waited my whole life and I'll be fucking damned if I'm going to let a man mess with me like that," that shuts every one of them up real fast.

"His friends are cute though, I had sex with the blonde one, A-name, I forgot," Vidya shrugs off. "Oh! Andrew, he plays soccer and is really great with numbers and shit. He made me count while he spanked me," sticking her tongue out she shakes her shoulders doing a little victory dance for her flavor of the night.

"Yeah his other friend, Ranbir talked to me last night. He's super funny and can flirt the panties off any girl. A bit arrogant but his confidence is sexy," Shreya adds to my misery.

"Please tell me you didn't fuck the man-whore, best friend of my ex-boyfriend," I groan pouring another cup of coffee.

"No, we just talked and exchanged numbers, we're going out tonight,"

"You were warned, he changes girls like he changes clothes,"

"He can change my clothes anytime!" Riya cheers, scrolling through pictures from Instagram and Twitter. I haven't been on social media since I was in Naples; I've literally excluded myself from society because of a fucking man. A man who happens to make you feel good in all the right, and even wrong places.

Most of Ranbir's posts are from parties with videos of him downing shots, chugging beer or doing something so utterly stupid it makes my brain hurt. There're several photos with Sidharth in them but those are formal and eloquent posts about supporting a charity or getting behind this cause or business venture.

Everything on the Internet of Sid is perfect and pristine. There is not one bad photo, no video from college of him chugging beer or senselessly destroying property, nothing. His life before we dated still remains vague and I never brought it up after I saw how uncomfortable the topic made him. All I know is that at age twenty-four he became the CEO of his family's company and has since turned it into a multibillion-dollar enterprise. His college years and the past three years since he's become chairman are all a mystery.

Just as I go out to the backyard shaking all thoughts Sidharth out of my mind my phone buzzes on the table. The zings are sporadic but come in frequent increments that it gets my attention. There are about twenty notifications that appear on the screen and more continue to pop up.

Arora Incorporated Intern-CEO Rahul Arora steps down.

Nikhil Rahul Arora vote appointed CEO by Arora Inc. board after his father's resignation.