First Comes Like

by Alisha Rai

  The room was dim, but it couldn’t hide his ruddy cheeks. “Ah. I bought whatever you recommended online. It got to be a habit.”

  Jia rolled her lips in tight. It wouldn’t do for him to think she was laughing at him. “That’s adorable.”

  “It is?” His shoulders lowered. “Oh good. I just realized it might seem a little stalker like.”

  “Oh, if you weren’t so handsome and talented and married to me, it might be. Context really is everything.” She snuggled deeper in his arms, sleepily smiling when he kissed her forehead. “Hope you used my affiliate links.”

  He pulled her close, spooning her tight. They lay in silence for a little bit, and though Jia wasn’t a huge fan of silence, it felt rather right here.

  “Any regrets?” Dev asked.

  “About the sex?”

  “About anything.”

  “Nope.”

  He stroked her arm. “Can you stay the night?”

  She paused. Boy, they really hadn’t talked about important stuff. Here they were married, and he was asking if they could have a sleepover. But instead of delving into things like their future living situation, she kept it light. “I’d like that.”

  He rolled her over. “Good. We’ll order dinner in ten minutes.”

  It turned into an hour, but she didn’t mind.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  UNTIL HE’D lived with Luna and his uncle, Dev had never really been eager to get home. Home had just been a place to sleep. After only a couple of days married to Jia, though, Dev found himself counting the minutes until he could leave the set.

  While he waited for production to wrap he scrolled through the photos of the house his real estate agent had sent him. The flat was fine for now, but they needed more room. He was loath to touch his grandfather’s money, but he had enough saved on his own that he could manage a decent house.

  “Hey, man, congratulations.”

  Dev lowered his phone and smiled at Hudson. He’d been fielding congratulations all day. Paparazzi had been camped outside his building since the news of his wedding had “leaked,” but he and Jia had managed to dodge them.

  The surprise wedding had caused a small stir, but not nearly of the same magnitude as the engagement. Unless Jia’s waistline started expanding soon, the media would eventually lose interest. It would be nice to settle into marriage with some degree of normalcy.

  “Thank you.”

  Hudson dropped into the seat next to him. “You should have said something. Can’t believe we found out about your marriage from the gossip sites.”

  Chandu had released a statement, along with one of their wedding photos. In it, he’d been looking down at Jia while she gazed bashfully at the floor. He’d wanted to choose one of the photos where they’d been smiling and laughing, but his agent had assured him the one they’d run would get better press.

  Whatever. He was more concerned about the fact that Jia still hadn’t moved in. He’d brought up a potential living arrangement and she’d vaguely said something about not being in a hurry. He didn’t want her to think he was in a hurry! So he’d dropped the topic like a hot potato. She could keep ferrying clothes back and forth from her home, and they could decide at a later date what they’d do long-term. In the meantime, he’d keep looking for houses that would suit them. “Apologies, it was a sudden decision, and a private affair.”

  “I understand, totally. The engagement sounded sudden, too.” Hudson paused, like he thought Dev might give him some dirt. When he remained quiet, the other man tossed his blond hair. “I had no idea what a big deal you were until that story broke, by the way. I thought you were a big fish in a little pond, but there you were, on supermarket tabloids, no less.”

  Dev raised an eyebrow at the edge in his costar’s tone. “Are you saying India—the country—is a little pond?”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Not really. There’s literally billions of us.” He gestured at the set, and Kalpana the makeup artist, who wasn’t far away. “And that’s not counting the entire diaspora.” He downplayed his fame out of humility and to distance himself from his family, but this golden child’s condescension was annoying. “I was the lead of the top ranked serial for a decade. I am a big fish in a massive pond.”

  Hudson’s face went tight, though Dev had kept his tone mild. Hudson waved the script he was holding. “No offense, dude. I came over here to offer my congrats and make sure you saw the rewrites. Looks like you get some time off to swim, big fish.”

  “What?” Dev accepted the sheaf of papers and thumbed through it, his alarm growing with every page. He’d essentially been cut out of the next episode, his role reduced to a few lines.

  Hudson made a sympathetic noise. “I know, man, bummer. It happens to the best of us. Don’t complain next time, or they get kinda cranky.”

  But Hudson had told him to . . . Dev nearly slapped himself. Of course Hudson had sabotaged him. The man’s role had expanded to fill Dev’s space, and he was chasing that shiny Emmy. “Thanks,” he said, through gritted teeth, and came to his feet.

  Hudson’s smile was sweet. “No problem.”

  Dev texted Jia as he walked away from the asshole. Where are you?

  Home.

  On my way.

  How do you feel about Chinese? she asked.

  Sounds good. He hesitated, but put his phone away. Talking about his feelings instead of shoving them down in a box was hard enough in person. He didn’t need to do it over text.

  Jia was already unpacking the Chinese food when he got there. She gave him a bright smile when he walked in, and he responded. She was dressed in dark skinny jeans and a loose hot pink blouse. Her feet were bare, her toes painted a matching pink. She’d taken her hijab off but hadn’t combed her hair, and a clump of it stuck out on top of her head. Beautiful.

  “Hey there, handsome.”

  He smiled, some of the emotional weight leaving him. “Hello.” He pressed a kiss on her cheek, though she turned her face so it would land on her lips. She was so sweet. Simply being in her presence eased him. “Smells good,” he remarked, and went to the sink to wash his hands.

  “Thank you, I’ve been toiling away all day to make it.” She dumped lo mein in a bowl and handed him a pair of chopsticks.

  They ate at the small breakfast table. “How was your day?” he asked.

  “Great.” She swung her legs, and that was when he noticed the vibrating energy running through her.

  He stopped with a piece of broccoli halfway to his mouth. “Did something happen?”

  “Yeah. I mean, it may not be a big deal. I got a call from this woman at MakeOut. She wants to have a meeting with me to discuss a makeup line.”

  The barely suppressed glee in her voice told him this was a potentially very big thing. “Congratulations!”

  “Thank you.” She nibbled on a snow pea. “I don’t want to get too excited. I’ve been in talks for stuff like this before, and it’s fallen through.”

  “If you get the line, will you move away from social media?”

  “Not totally. But it would be a good stepping-stone to my eventual goal.” Her eyes darkened. “Of course, it could bomb, and that could make my goal even harder to get to.”

  “Or it could do well.” He thought of what his niece had said about his job, and how right she’d been. “I don’t believe you’re happy, doing what you’re doing now.”

  “I’m not.” She wrinkled her nose, and gave a startled laugh. “I haven’t admitted that out loud yet, but I really don’t think I can do it anymore. I’m burned out. I was burned out before I got sick, but now I really feel like I’m frantically chasing likes. I want to do something different for a change.”

  “So do it. If this MakeOut deal falls through, find something else. Don’t be stuck in something you hate.”

  “It’s not bad advice.” She swallowed a bite of food. “What about you, how was your day?”

  “Ah . . .” Since she’d just delivered
good news, he hated to bring down the mood, but he needed to share this with her. “Actually, not great. They seem to have reduced my role a little.”

  Her brow creased. “What? Why?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well, how do you feel?”

  He thought about that for a second, pushed past his bruised pride. “I’m annoyed but not devastated. Luna is right, this show isn’t for me.”

  “Do you miss your old job?”

  “I do,” he confessed. “I thought a drama here would offer me the same things.” It didn’t. Hope Street had no passion, no excitement. If he was bored, how would viewers feel? He longed for his old show, missed the wild storylines, the over-the-top characters, the dramatic close-ups.

  “Oh no, Desi soaps are their own breed. There’s nothing quite comparable to them here.”

  “I needed the move, though. I like it here. So it’s not like I’ll be able to return to my old job, even if the show hadn’t ended.”

  She made a sympathetic noise. “You wrote for the show. It’s clear you had a passion for it.” She reached across the table and put her hand over his. “Maybe you should restart the soap here.”

  He chuckled. “They killed me off in the finale.”

  “How many identical twins did you have over its run? There’s no such thing as dead in a soap opera.”

  “This is true.” Dev turned his hand over and held hers. “Don’t worry, I’ll find a place for myself here.”

  “I have no doubt of it.” She cocked her head. “Isn’t it interesting that we both kind of hate our jobs? Like we’re at a crossroads at the exact same time.”

  “I imagine we’ll face many more crossroads over the years.” He liked this part, talking them through with her. His problems seemed less intense when he had someone to share the burden with.

  He wanted to accelerate this domesticity. A house. Once he had a proper home for them, and once Adil Uncle and Luna came back, he’d have more of that family feel. He didn’t know yet how he’d balance that with the whole not rushing her thing, but he would. He’d vowed things would proceed at her pace, and he’d stick to it.

  Her eyes smiled. “I imagine we will.”

  They may have only enjoyed a couple of days of wedded bliss, but he recognized the tone in her voice. Dev came to his feet and walked around the table to tug Jia up.

  “Excuse me, I’m not done eating,” she teased.

  “We’ll eat later.” He kissed her, and she responded instantly, rising on her tiptoes. With their height difference, the logistics of intimacy were a little difficult, but not impossible. He hoisted her up and deposited her on the table, unsnapping the button on her jeans.

  “Here?” She breathed.

  “Unless you have an objection.” He kissed her again.

  Her head was shaking, but she gave him a verbal confirmation as soon as their mouths separated. “Nope, zero objections.”

  They were getting good at taking their clothes off fast, though they only stripped off the bare minimum now. He actually liked this, when they were in too much of a rush to take everything off.

  The best part of sex was her, and he paid attention to her cues. She liked his hands and his mouth, so he gave her both generously. It didn’t take long for her, with his fingertips slicking over her clit and his lips on hers.

  She gasped when she climaxed, her head tipping back. He pressed hot, open-mouthed kisses all over her neck and fell into her arms when he shuddered out his own release.

  “I like this,” she whispered into the silence of the room.

  He let out a laugh. “Me too.”

  “It’s going well so far, right?”

  There was an odd note in her voice and he straightened up, pulling away from her. “Yes, I think so. Don’t you?”

  “Yup.” Her smile was bright. “I like how we’re going really slow, you know? Getting to know each other. Not rushing.”

  He feared his smile was too tight. It was good he hadn’t demanded she move in properly, then. She needed time.

  However, it wouldn’t do for Luna to return next week and see Jia coming back and forth to the apartment, married or not, so he’d have to figure something out soon to give her the independence she wanted while still giving this marriage and them a chance.

  It was a problem, but he’d always been good at solving those.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “WHERE ARE you?”

  Jia glanced up from her computer and refocused on her phone, where Ayesha’s face was displayed. “What?”

  “It’s not home and it’s not your studio.” Ayesha gasped, and she leaned forward, delighted scandal on her face. “Jia! Are you living with Dev?”

  “Be mature. He’s my husband.” She paused. Besides, she wasn’t sure she could call the past week living together. She’d fetched a suitcase of clothes, and he’d only gotten around to clearing out a drawer for her yesterday. The most presence she had in this place was in the office, where he’d carved out a corner for her, and the bathroom, where they used the same skin products. “How is it going talking everyone out of a huge wedding reception?”

  “Only Daddy is firmly on your side.” Ayesha lowered her voice to mimic their father. “‘We can’t allow the groom’s side to pay for everything, but five daughters isn’t cheap, I should get a break on one of them by now.’”

  Jia chuckled. “Sadia saved him money!” The first time because she eloped, and the second because her husband was wealthy and insisted on paying for everything.

  “The elders didn’t.”

  “Well, I will.” Jia had felt obligated to post a couple wedding shots on her socials, but she still wanted glamorous photos of her and Dev, big Bollywood sweeping pictures. She even had locations in mind.

  But social media and reality were two different things, and she wasn’t about to waste oodles of money and time on a fancy reception, even if her new grandmother-in-law was going to pay for it. She had more important stuff to focus on, like the contracts MakeOut had sent over this morning. They were only nondisclosure agreements so they could talk further, but she’d enjoyed speaking with the executives there so far. She had all her fingers crossed.

  “Jia?” Dev’s voice came from the hallway.

  “You sound busy,” Ayesha said, again in a singsong voice.

  Jia rolled her eyes. “We’re not going to have a sex romp, Ayesha. It’s the middle of the day.”

  “Oh. I can’t believe I have to tell you this, old married lady, but I’m pretty sure sex isn’t limited to after the sun goes down.”

  Jia ended the call on Ayesha’s laughter and glanced up when Dev appeared in the doorway. Her heart melted a little, just as it did whenever she saw him. His face was bright.

  He rarely looked stern anymore, and when he did, it was easy to tease him into a smile. She rose to her feet. “What’s up?”

  “Are you busy?”

  “Not too busy.”

  “I have a surprise for you. Can you come with me?”

  “Sure.” Jia eyed Dev as she neared him. He was practically jumping in eagerness. “What’s up with you?”

  “Come. Hurry.”

  He refused to tell her what was up, even as they left his apartment building and went to the garage. She got in his car when he held her door open for her, moving her skirt when it might otherwise get caught in the door.

  “Where are we going?” she asked as they left the garage.

  He casually picked up her hand. This one-handed driving had made her nervous in the beginning, but now she liked the self-assured way he drove, and the way he couldn’t seem to keep his hands away from her. “You’ll see.”

  How strange. She could tell she wasn’t going to get any more information out of him, so she relaxed back into the seat. They drove through a couple of neighborhoods, then up through the twisting hills, through residential neighborhoods.

  “I was thinking, the flat might get too small for us, once Luna and Adil Uncle are back.”
/>
  “Oh?” Her heart picked up speed. Okay, good. They were going to discuss what their lives were going to look like, long-term. It would be nice to not live out of a suitcase any longer.

  “I’d like for us to have our own place. A proper fresh start, a more permanent one.”

  Her smile was slow. “I’d like that.”

  “Good. Because I’ve put an offer in on a place.”

  Her smile stopped. “You . . . bought a place? Already?”

  “I know, it’s not like me. Your impulsivity is rubbing off.” He glanced at her. “I wanted to surprise you.”

  “Surprise,” she said weakly. He’d bought their home without even showing it to her?

  It’s okay. Don’t rain on his parade. He’s clearly superexcited and proud of this. “I’d like to see it.” That was the understatement of the century. “Is that where we’re going?”

  “Yes.”

  Anticipation replaced some of her unease when they pulled up in front of an unassuming white house. It was no mansion, and it also wasn’t small. The home was well-kept, the lawn green and the flowers beautiful. Jia stopped outside the gate to the walkway and waited for Dev to open it for her. “It’s cute,” she enthused. Okay, so he should have consulted her first, but this was nice so far.

  Her optimism grew when they got inside the vacant house and he showed her each room. There was a large master bedroom with a bathroom attached and two other en suite rooms. Plenty of space for Adil Uncle and Luna, and a guest room to boot for his or her family. The kitchen was charming instead of state of the art, and that suited her fine. In her mind, she began redecorating each room as she walked through, imagining it on social media. She could even document the renovations as they went! Talk about content. “Oh, it’s adorable.”

  “You think so? Good.” He cocked his head. “And I haven’t shown you the best part. Come outside.”

  Jia followed Dev to the back and breathed in deep at the view. Perched as they were on the hill, they had a clear view of the valley. “Gorgeous.”