The Six Types of Love

AYUSH

Si comes out looking adorable in my oversized clothes. I hand him the letter and he doesn't believe it's real.

"What's wrong?" I question.

"Why didn't you throw it away?" He asks.

"Even I needed something to remember you by," I smirk then proceed to lie down on the left side of my bed where I always sleep. Si, still sitting on the foot of the mattress, analyzes the picture on the letter and opens it to see what he wrote inside. I haven't seen the inside of its years. He reads the contents out loud.

"Happy Belated Birthday to real one. Keep loving others and being you, it will bring you great things. Here's to a great year ahead (or like 4 months until the next one). Love ya dude.

-Si

That was so painfully high school," he grimaces after he's done. I laugh.

Si carefully slips the letter back into the orange envelope, slowly putting the envelope back in the box on my desk. He then gets into bed next to me. I think about how much I'm going to regret what I'm about to do, then realize I won't regret it at all.

I lean over, planting a kiss on Si's lips. He kisses me back and puts his hand on my neck. Flipping us over so that he's on top, he uses his other hand to stroke my hair. His body is finally mine and I'm glad we waited this long. I don't want this to be fast like the first time I did it with someone else. I want it to be long and slow and it is. We were made for this, for each other, for the very purpose of giving each other pleasure, even if it's only temporary. I want to feel more than I do. I want to feel in love. I want the desire to tell Si I need him with me for the rest of my life, but I don't have it. I always wondered whether we were compatible, what would happen if he actually gave it a chance. I know the answer now.

When I wake up the next morning, I detangle myself from Si and take a sip of the water on my nightstand. Looking at my phone through squinted eyes, the home screen says it's 11:00 am. I get out of bed and open the door to the hall slowly, careful not to make any noise that could wake Si. I smile at his sleeping body before closing the door to my room behind me.

"Good morning," I smile as I walk down the stairs and see everyone is already awake. As soon as they hear me, their conversation stops.

"Good morning," Anvi greets me in the same way she would the day after we had an argument. I feel a pit forming in my stomach.

I wonder where Armaan and his friends are, but I remember that they all wanted to watch some sports game in Tennessee so they must have left early, while my parents are probably upstairs in their room. Every Saturday they have coffee and pastries in bed.

"What's wrong?" I ask in front of everyone. They're looking at me with a mix of disappointment, restraint, and slight anger. I don't understand why.

"Nothing. We were all just talking and felt like we wanted to talk to you about some things," Shreya steps in, already dressed in a purple top and ready for the day.

"Did something happen last night?" I run through the events of the evening, not believing I had done anything that warranted this, a group-wide intervention.

"We asked Veer to make some coffee for you so that we could do this before Si wakes up," Gauri replies, still in pajamas and a t-shirt, "Come. Sit."

She gets up and takes me to one of the seats on the couch in between her and Saya.

"Guys there is nothing serious going on," I try to explain, immediately knowing what everyone wants to talk about.