Chapter 10: chapter 10

Chapter Ten“This is weird.” Aayushi shifted in her chair, looking miserable and uncomfortable. Yash had to agree. Their mothers had really gone all out in trying to stuff every romantic cliché into this lunch. He stared down at the broccoli and cream soup in front of him. They’d kind of misfired on the menu though. He hated broccoli. “Yash!” Aayushi sounded exasperated.He spooned in a mouthful of the vile soup and said, “Gmmpph?” Aayushi put her own spoon down and folded her arms. “Do you want to marry me?” Yash choked, soup sputtering out of his mouth and landing on the pristine, white tablecloth. The two of them stared at the green blots in silence. “I’ll take that to be a no,” Aayushi said, evenly. Yash flushed. This was just not his day. “Aayushi, it’s not that.” He straightened in his chair and faced her. “It’s-““You’re going to give me the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech?” she grinned, although her smile didn’t reach her eyes. He shut his gaping mouth, reevaluating the sweet, cheerful girl he’d known only as his friend’s sister until now. “Are you in love with someone else?” she asked. He shook his head. “I don’t believe in love.”Aayushi scoffed. “Try not to be that much of a cliché, Yash.” “I’m not,” he insisted, even as a rose fell off its perch and landed on his head. They both stared at it for a second before bursting into laughter. He was still chuckling when she said, “I’ve seen the way you look at Maya.”He stopped laughing. “Mama told me the two of you were engaged once.”Yash looked past her towards the acres of grapevines stretching out behind her. “We were,” he said, finally. “It was an arranged match not some great love story or something. It didn’t work out and we called it off.” “Whatever it was, I’m sure it still hurt,” she said, gently taking his hand in hers. Yash stared down at her slender fingers in his. It had hurt. But not for any of the reasons Aayushi suspected. It had hurt because –A short burst of laughter had them both looking up. Maya stood there with her friends and a whole bunch of other people. Her gaze went from their linked hands to the roses and the other elaborate decorations in the gazebo. Her face stayed impassive but he saw her fists clench at her side.“Don’t mind us,” Yash’s mother trilled. “We’re just going on that vineyard tour. You two continue with whatever you were doing.”“We’re not doing anything,” Yash gritted out, getting to his feet. He wanted to snatch his hand back from Aayushi but restrained himself from acting on the juvenile impulse. “No, we’re not,” Aayushi agreed, sunnily. She gave his hand a tiny squeeze and then let go. “In fact, we’ll join you guys. It’s grape picking time. My favourite activity.” She stepped away from Yash and started walking to the front of the group. “It was Vikram’s favourite too. That’s why we thought we would organize this before we went home for the pooja in his memory that happens this evening.”With that subtle reminder to everyone for why they were really here, she marched off, head held high. Yash smiled, admiration for her poise swimming through him.“Smooth,” Maya murmured from next to him. “In this installment of how to land an heiress, we have-““Shut up,” he snarled, the smile disappearing from his face. “I thought your leg supposedly hurt too much for you to be a part of this.” “Supposedly? Meaning I’m faking my limp?” she asked, her face still showing no expression but her eyes blazing with anger. “No,” he snapped back. “Just faking the so-called severity of it.”“You want to rethink that man?” A soft, lethal voice cut through their conversation. Yash turned to see her friend, Karam looking at him. With his worn leather jacket and frayed jeans, he looked like a typical so-called rebel or bad boy and then you looked into his eyes and you realized there was nothing so-called about him. Those flat, dead eyes told you more than any of his ratty clothes could.“Want to call off your bodyguard?” Yash asked Maya, irritated with the implied threat from her gangster friend.“No, I don’t,” she replied coolly. She turned from him, looping an arm through Karam’s and followed the group down the slight slope. Something reckless and foolish swept through Yash and he called out to Karam, “Just for the record man, if I was interested, I would always be the top.” Karam turned slowly and stared at him blankly. “What the fuck are you talking about?” One of the older aunties walking past him glared at him for his language but he didn’t bother looking at her. Maya doubled up with laughter beside him. Karam looked from her to Yash and a slow smile spread over his face. The guy was a fucking walking talking romance novel cover hero.“What the hell did you do, Maya Papaya?” Karam asked her, amusement coating his voice. His eyes didn’t look so flat or dead anymore. Embarrassment surged through Yash as he realized that more people were turning to look at them, including his mother who had decided to stomp back towards him. He groaned internally and moved to head her off before she and Maya got into another showdown. He swept past the laughing idiots, grabbed his mother by her arm and said, “Let’s go join Aayushi.” As he’d expected the thought of spending time with her supposed future daughter-in-law made it easier to drag his mother away from her archenemy. It didn’t help that Maya waggled her fingers in a mocking goodbye as they walked away. Nothing Maya ever did was helpful. It was good to remember that. It would be even better if he could tattoo it on his forehead so he didn’t forget. Maybe, he could pencil that in as soon as this weekend from hell was over.