by P. G. Van
He smiled under the influence of all the alcohol he drank. “What do you want to know?”
She knew where she wanted to start. “What happened to your parents?”
He hesitated for a moment before throwing his head back on the backrest of the couch. “They left me. They could not handle the betrayal.”
Naina scooted closer to him when he closed his eyes and let out a groan. “Samraat, don’t do this to me. Tell me what happened?”
“Those bastards killed them… both of them.” His voice wavered, and Naina felt a shiver pass through her.
“Samraat.” She placed both her hands on his cheek, shaking his head so that he didn’t fall asleep. Cindy had given him too much too quickly to drink. “Can you open your eyes and look at me? You said I looked hot.”
His eyes drifted open to look at her, and at that moment, she picked up a glass of water and splashed some water on his face. “I am not doing this again to get you to talk. I need you to tell me what happened to your parents.”
“They killed themselves. Both of them, together. Like I didn’t exist, they left me,” he growled, startling her.
“Why?”
“Because those business partners of theirs set them up, and they killed themselves instead of going to jail. They left me to fend for myself.”
Naina did not expect him to speak about his parents in such a blunt manner, but she realized how much anger he held within. “Just because they left you, it doesn’t mean you should be miserable. You have your own life to live.”
He snickered. “Who said I am miserable? I am happy. So happy that I sent all those bastards to jail. I made them pay for what they did to my mom and dad.”
“What?” She looked shocked.
“Great. I told you the truth, and now you are going to brand me as the bad guy.”
She went silent for a moment, her eyes sparkling at him. “Tell me everything. I want to hear every detail of what you did to avenge your parents’ death.”
“Details? Really?”
“Yes, every little detail,” she whispered, scooting even closer to him.
Even in his state of daze, the smile and sparkle in her eyes registered with him making him smile as well. “No one has been so interested in hearing about my somewhat criminal revenge story.”
“Don’t make me wait.”
The way she said those words, a shudder passed through him. “Why do you want to know?”
“I want to know.”
“Fine. I felt extremely happy to see those bastards taken to jail for what they did to my parents, but I am not proud of how I did it. As time passed, I realized my parents could have fought for justice instead of… instead of giving up their lives, which is not entirely those bastards’ fault.”
She looked at him in awe. “I am happy you avenged your parents’ death. Did those people know it was you who made them go to jail?”
He let out a victorious chuckle. “I made sure of it. I made sure they knew even if the world didn’t know. I was there looking right at them when they were all taken away. The shock on their faces when they saw me standing with the reporters, when they recognized me… they knew—”
His words were lost when she crashed her lips to his as the uncontrollable urge to worship him grew inside her. She could imagine the look on those people’s faces, and then she envisioned the look on the man’s face who took everything away from her. She suddenly wanted the vengeance, but she knew it was not possible.
She gripped his hair between her fingers as she moved her lips to kiss him all over his face like he had made her proud he was her hero. When her lips trailed back to his after planting kisses all over his face, his lips were softer, not firm like earlier. She paused for a moment as if to take in the moment as adrenaline coursed through her entirety.
She was shaken out of the rush of her emotions and state of extreme satiation when she felt his lips move over hers, reciprocating what she had started, and his lips were nothing but demanding. She let out a gasp when she felt him taking charge of what she initiated in an uncontrollable state—a state of sheer joy hearing him talk about how he took revenge.
Naina was going down a path of no return when she kissed him back, letting out a moan, and he groaned deeply in response, making her shudder. The sudden wave of electricity that passed through her was like a jolt of energy. She pulled away knowing she would not be able to salvage the professional relationship, but she could at least save face.
She turned away, unable to look at him as her chest heaved, unable to comprehend the consequences of her actions. She should be fired from her job for what she did, but she needed to appreciate what he had done. She wanted to commend what he did for his parents’ sake, but there was no justifying her action in her own eyes.
Blood was rushing through her veins, deafening her as she sat next to Samraat, her back to him, catching her breath.
“Cindy… why did you kiss me?” he slurred, making her look up, relief sweeping over her.
He continued to groan as she fought back tears of relief when she realized he was wasted enough not to know who kissed him. She turned slowly to look at him from the corner of her eye and saw him slumped on the wide, circular couch, his head fallen back on the backrest.
She took in a deep breath in an attempt to steady her thudding heart and stood up to look at him. A thrill passed through her when she saw streaks of her lipstick on his lips and face. She cleared her throat and leaned closer to him, placing her trembling hand on his shoulder to give him a shake.
“Samraat, wake up.”
“Cindy… where have you been?”
“Samraat, Cindy is done for the day. She just left.”
His eyes blinked open looking around the room before smiling at Naina. “Naina, I had fun. Cindy is awesome. She is an amazing kisser. Can we come back tomorrow?”
She felt a slight burn within that he was relishing on the kiss thinking that Cindy had kissed him, but she fought that pang of what seemed like jealousy.
Why did she care? She was glad she got away without him or anyone, for that matter, knowing what happened.
She reached for a tissue from her clutch and discretely ran it over his face to wipe off the lipstick stain. Just as she was about to run it over his lips, he held her wrist, his eyes boring into hers. “What are you doing?”
“Wiping the lipstick off your face.”
His grip around her wrist loosened, and he took the tissue from her hand. “Thank you.”
She watched him wipe the tissue over his face before tossing it away and started walking ahead of her. “Let’s go.”
Naina watched him as he walked ahead of her like he had not chugged down the bottle of vodka she had ordered for him. She was thankful for his drunken state for several reasons but mostly for the fact that he didn’t know who kissed him. Her core hummed at the memory of his lips over hers, and she shook away the impending emotion.
Naina, stop thinking about that kiss.
Naina gave the valet card to the attendant who approached her while she stood next to Samraat without looking at him. Moments passed with no words, and he finally spoke, startling her slightly.
“Are you going to judge me for what I did?” His eyes bore into hers.
She shook her head. “Who am I to judge? I only care about what made you and what motivated your actions.”
“I shouldn’t have drunk so much… I didn’t realize.”
“It’s okay.” She looked away when the attendant brought her car. “Let’s go.”
He slid into the passenger seat and clipped on his seat belt without saying another word. She put her long cape over her cocktail dress and looked at him for a moment before driving away from the casino. She kept to herself as they headed back to the healing facility.
Thirty minutes later, she stopped at the guard gate of the facility and showed her ID to enter. She was glad they made it back before midnight. She pulled into the parking lot and realized that he had fallen as
leep in the car.
A smile formed on her lips just at the sight of the tall, handsome man sleeping like a baby. She slowly leaned forward on the steering wheel to look at him while he slept. The man had gone through a rough patch as a child, but what surprised her most was that his girlfriend leaving him affected him so much. She wondered how much of his distress was really about the woman. He seemed to be lost even after what he had accomplished in his life, including his revenge.
Just like he took revenge, the thought of avenging the loss of her loved ones, it gave her an adrenaline rush. She wondered if she could ever do that even if she convinced herself it was worth it. She took a deep breath and remembered the calming words of her master who taught her to give up the anger and need to get back at the person who was responsible for her mother’s death.
When she ran away from her home, she had no plans to go back, ever, but, at that moment, she began to fantasize about the shocked expression on the man’s face when justice was served.
“Cindy…” Samraat’s murmurs brought her out of her hazy state.
She rolled her eyes. “Samraat, we are here. Let’s go.”
He threw his head back on the car seat and tilted his face away from her. “I like Cindy. She is so good. She kissed me.”
Her breath stuck in her throat in response to his words, but she shook away the excitement that started at the memory of what triggered the need to kiss him. “Cindy is not here, and she didn’t kiss you. You are imagining things.”
Naina got out of the driver’s seat to walk around to his side and held the door open, looking at him as he struggled to get out of the car in his drunken state. She held her hand out, and he took her small hand in his and stood up tall. He stood closer to her than she had expected him to, making her crane her neck to look into his eyes as he held her hand.
He looked at her for a long moment. “You weren’t there when she kissed me. It was amazing. Her lips were so soft, her heat on my skin…” he let out a groan and added, “… and if only you hadn’t shown up, she would have kept kissing me. She left in a hurry.”
Naina’s skin tingled all over. She was glad he could not tell it was her who had kissed him, hero-worshipped him. “Let’s go. It’s late.”
“Thank you, Naina. I think I am in love with Cindy.”
“What?” she almost yelled.
“I want to see her tomorrow. Will you please take me?”
Naina rolled her eyes. “Samraat, stop it and walk carefully.”
“The way she hugged me, I can still feel and smell her. I cannot let a woman who kissed me like that go.”
Naina let out a growl. “Samraat, it’s part of the act. All the dancers kiss their clients before they wrap up.”
“I have been to a lot of strip clubs. I know how it is. They don’t kiss anyone but my Cindy, she kissed me.”
“Your Cindy?” She snickered and added, “Cindy has a boyfriend, and he’ll come after you if you say things like that.”
“Your boyfriend?” he slurred as she helped him into his living space.
“Cindy’s boyfriend, not mine,” she said, helping him sit on the couch.
“Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked, surprising her.
“What?”
“Just tell me, do you have a boyfriend?” His eyes bore into hers.
She crossed her arms in front of her. “No.”
“Have you ever had one?”
“A while back. Why are you asking me all this?” She shook her head.
“Even if you had a boyfriend, you were never in love. That’s why you don’t understand what I feel for Cindy now. She changed my life with that one kiss.”
“Samraat,” Naina growled and said, “Stop talking about how you were kissed. Just go to bed.”
With those words, she left him sitting in the living room, staring after her through the window as she walked away wearing the loose-fitting cape over her dress. He stood up and walked to the window, his eyes trained on her back as she walked away.
“Why did you kiss me?” his words were a whisper.
The bigger question he needed to answer to himself was why he told her the truth—his real story he had not shared with anyone, not even his uncle who raised him.
Chapter 9
The next morning, Naina went to check in on Monica at her art class before going to see Samraat. She stepped into the private art session Monica was attending with her new advisor, and the teenager looked up immediately.
“Hey, where were you last night?” Monica’s question made Naina’s cheeks heat up.
“I was out… on a session with another one of the residents.”
“Samraat?” Monica asked, and Naina nodded, smiling at the other advisor who didn’t seem thrilled with the interruption.
“You should finish your session, and I will see you at the basketball court at eleven.” Naina smiled.
“Are you bringing Samraat again? Did you get permission?” Monica was excited.
Naina nodded. “Yes, I was able to get permission to work with both of you together.”
“Awesome!”
Naina left Monica to get back to her artwork and walked toward Samraat’s cabin, somewhat dreading seeing him. She chastised herself to sleep last night for her irrational behavior with someone she was supposed to help, not kiss them when they were drunk. She knew she had to come clean with Samraat even if it meant risking her job, but she decided against telling him anything until he was ready to leave. Not because she feared losing her job but because she did not want to talk to him about what made her so emotional with how he avenged his parents’ death.
She stopped in the middle of the pathway, intense agony rippling through her as her mother’s face flashed before her. She had trained her brain not to think about her past and the man she hated most. There was something about what she heard from Samraat last night that set off new thoughts, ideas she could not act upon and impossible for her to follow through on. She felt conflicted about having such thoughts.
She batted away angry tears, looking up at the blue sky as she took a deep breath. “Don’t, it’s not worth it. I have a better life now.”
She repeated the words her master had told her during meditation training and tried to subside the raging thoughts to seek revenge for her loved ones. She continued to walk toward Samraat’s cabin.
She stopped for a few minutes outside his door and waited for a moment before knocking. She heard a muffled groan, followed by footsteps, and the door opened slowly.
A smile formed on her lips when she saw he was still in his clothes from the night before and looked extremely hungover. His hair was a mess, and he looked vulnerable as he squinted, running his fingers through his hair—not the man who roused the urge to go after the impossible the night before.
“Naina?”
“Did you sleep well?” she asked, stepping into the studio-like space and closed the door behind her.
“I have no idea what happened last night, but I feel awesome.” He chuckled.
“Oh… that bad, huh?”
“I haven’t had such a bad hangover in I don’t know how long.” He stopped at the entrance of the bedroom and turned to look at her, “I badly need a shower. I will be right out.”
Naina nodded. “Take your time. I will be here.”
She took out her notebook and made notes on his behavior and her observations. He looked relaxed and calm despite how hungover he was. She made a note that she needed to take him out one more time and see if it would help him further.
Naina was standing by the window looking out into the greenery lost in thought when she heard the door open. She turned in his direction, and he stood there looking at her. He was wearing casual clothes, and he looked extremely rested.
“How are you feeling now?” She smiled, walking toward him.
“Relieved. I don’t know why I… I just can’t remember what happened after we went to the club.” He walked to the small kitchenette and asked, “Coffee?
”
She shook her head. “No, thank you, and I don’t think you should be drinking coffee.”
“I need the hammering inside my head to stop.”
“You will be fine.” She smiled, walking to the dining table and sitting on one of the chairs.
Samraat didn’t say anything as he mixed the sugar in his coffee. He felt fine and was faking the hangover. He had tossed away most of the drinks Cindy had offered to him and was very much sober when the woman sitting a few feet from him kissed him, and he kissed her back.
He shook his head to steer off the thrills threatening to ripple through him. She was off-limits, although he could not stop thinking about how she had eagerly and passionately kissed him like he had won a battle and returned home victoriously.
“Samraat?”
He looked at her. “Yeah?”
She smiled. “What are you thinking about?”
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
“Then why are you smiling?” She smiled, her eyes twinkling at him.
The sparkle in her eyes made his lips widen further. “Because you are smiling.”
She chuckled, patting the table on the opposite side. “Come sit with me.”
Samraat slowly took a sip of his coffee, placed the mug on the table, and sat across from her. “What are we talking about?”
“Nothing.” She shrugged.
“Nothing?”
“Yes. I know now why you needed to get away, and I have a few recommendations.”
“I am not ready to go back.” He leaned on the backrest of the chair, his arms folded in front of him.
“Not yet. But you will need to move out of here. Maybe to a hotel so you can have the kind of fun you had last night.”
“What kind of fun did I have last night?” He raised a curious eyebrow.
“You hung out with Cindy. She gave you the girlfriend experience.”
“I don’t care for that… and who the heck is Cindy?” He scrunched his nose.
“Wow, you remember nothing.” She was relieved.
“What did I do?”
She shrugged. “You got drunk and had a private dance at the club and talked.”
