“I reported his profile as suspicious and got it suspended.” Aditi bared her teeth in a gremlin-esque smile. Who said revenge didn't feel good? Liars. All of them.
“Did you ever look up the underwear model on social media?” Nina asked, leaning in when Aditi flashed her phone to show her a feed full of a half-naked man.
Nikhil Pillai, age thirty, had strode into the restaurant she’d been waiting in with all the confidence of a man who knew how good he looked. Despite being late, he had neither offered an explanation, nor an apology, ordering the staff about for fast service like he was owed their complete attention.
Aditi had grinned and borne it, trying to be polite, but after the third time he’d insulted their server, she’d cut in, unable to curb her irritation.
“You’re being unnecessarily rude.”
Nikhil had cast her a critical glance, his smug half-smile not faltering one bit.
“This is the most basic job there is. If he can’t bring me my order fast enough, he’s an idiot.”
“You’ve changed your mind three times. That’s not his fault.”
“I’m trying to be careful of what I put in my body,” he had reasoned, his smirk taking on a superior look when he nodded at the cream-covered pasta she’d been about to eat. “You could be careful too.”
Aditi had stilled at the insinuation.
“Meaning?” she’d asked, a dare more than a question, something that Nikhil had been too obtuse to pick up on.
“You're healthier than your profile picture on the matrimonial website.”
Healthy. The polite word for fat in India.
“That's disappointing to you?”
“A little.”
“I understand.” She’d nodded, seeminglysympathetic to his plight. “I'm disappointed, too.”
This had confused him.
“What about? I have a six pack.”
With a careless wave of her fork, she swirled her pasta carbonara and slurped it, making him wait for an answer.
“You might have abs,” she told him between bites, “but not enough brain cells. I was expecting someone a bit smarter so I guess a photo only tells you so much.”
Not used to having women treat him with derision, he’d stared at her. “Are you insulting me?”
“If I have to confirm what is obvious, then you are proving my point.”
With a long-suffering sigh, she’d shaken her head at him, tutting like he was a silly child. His reaction was worsened by the fact that the server he’d insulted had overheard her, and had snorted out loud. She’d winked at him deliberately, grinning. At that, Nikhil’s colour changed to an alarming crimson.
“Oh look, you can turn red.” She’d pointed with the tines of her fork, delivering the final blow. “Another thing the picture didn't tell me.”
Nina hid her snorts behind her coffee cup when Aditi finished re-telling her story.
“But what happened to your date last night?” she inquired, coming back to the reason why she’d started this discussion in the first place.
“It was worse than Nikhil Underpants.”
“Why?”
“He asked me if I was a virgin. I didn’t even have the energy to say anything after that. I got up and left,” Aditi lamented, tossing her cup in a trashcan.
“And still, you’re planning another date tonight?” Nina asked, catching up to her as they began to walk towards the elevators.