The Wrong Indian Flag | LGBTQ+[ON HOLD]

|4.2| reconciliations

Shilpa opens the door. Her eyes first fall on me and then the giant standing next to me. Immediately, her mouth goes slack and her eyes widen to the size of Jupiter making her look like she has gone for electroshock therapy.

"Raj?" Shilpa chokes out as she blinks rapidly. He bends down, kissing her on the right cheek.

"Hey, Shils."

"I didn't know you were coming for a visit. I thought you had a lot of work in the summer."

"I took a break and decided to surprise you and your family. My family knows, but I thought it would be nice to see you. It's been a while."

He moves down as if to kiss her on the lips and she moves back. It isn't a large step, but it gets the message across clearly.

It doesn't go unnoticed by me. I wonder what's up.

Raj just clears his throat uncomfortably as he scratches the back of his head.

Shilpa's eyes dart between us as she licks her lips. Finally, realizing I look like a hot mess after the sun has practically burned me alive and Raj is shifting uncomfortably on his feet, she moves aside to let us pass.

As soon as I step in, I give my most puppy-eyed look to Raj and say, "Sorry, Raj. I know it has been a while since you saw your girlfriend, but I have to steal Shilpa away for a moment." Without thinking about it, I wrap my forefinger and thumb around Shilpa's wrist, yanking her to a nearby room. I shut the door behind us and let her go immediately.

Whenever I touch her, I feel like am burning and sizzling.

"Shilpa, you did not tell me Raj is a hottie. No wonder you are dating him." I give her a small, joking laugh. "He is also respectful. Mostly. But also, he tried to hit on me so I am not sure."

Shilpa still looks like someone has just told her dog died. I snap my fingers in front of her. "Darling, you there?"

She shakes her head and her bun slowly slides to the side. "I wasn't expecting him. We haven't seen each other in like two years, ever since he left for undergrad at MIT. We just text on rare occasions, asking how we are. I mean, he is just a boyfriend in name."

I cross my arms under my breasts, arching my eyebrows. What do you mean?

She looks down, wringing her hands together. "The truth is, we are just supposed to get married in the future. An arrangement between our families. I can't go around announcing he is my fiancé at this age. People would think I am crazy, so boyfriend works. When he was in India, in school, we went out for a few dates and kissed like a few times to get to know each other. Arranged marriages still exist in India, but at least I...we are allowed the liberty to know each other somewhat before that. I suppose that is a blessing of sorts."

"Oh." My voice is soft and meek, very unlike me.

"Yeah." She gives me a sad smile, her eyes filling with resignation. "And he was not that hot before, by the way. The last time I saw him...well."