“Oh yeah? And how did you know that?”
“Because you promised to shut the fuck up and take that dick like a good girl.”
With a loud gasp, Aditi spun around, forgetting that the upper cabinet door next to her was still open. A loud thunk sounded as her head smacked against the wood. She teetered from the impact, an involuntary cry escaping her as pain shot across her skull. Before she could do anything else, she was swept off her feet.
“Rian! Put me down,” she hissed, worriedly glancing about for Nanamma.
“You almost fell backwards,” he muttered, beelining for the couches.
“I’m too big to be carried!”
“If you mean too old, that’s a no,” he replied, his strides even. “If you mean too heavy, that’s a fuck no. You could double in size and it wouldn’t be an issue.”
Silenced, she tried to maintain her dignity, only to squeak and grab him out of self-preservation when he bounced her once, adjusting her against his firm chest. He sat her down and kneeled beside her to inspect her bruise. A small red bump was the only evidence of her accident. Aditi irritatedly tried to slap his hands away, proving yet again that doctors made the worst patients.
“You don’t need to hover,” she grumbled.
Once he was certain that she was not seriously hurt, his worry receded and the devil on his shoulder came out to play. “I can’t let a good girl like you get hurt on my watch, can I?” He winked, his grin widening when she skewered him with a deathly glare.
Nanamma walked to the living room to find Rian blowing cool air on Aditi’s wound while she sulked.
“Rian? What happened?”
“Aditi ran into the open cabinet door. Could you stay with her, Nanamma? I’ll get the ice pack.”
When Rian returned, it was to a worried Chitra scolding Aditi for being careless.
“You should pay more attention, Adi. What will I tell your family if I send you back home with bruises all over?”
Rian nodded vigorously in agreement. “Exactly. She's so distracted all the time.” He was just adding fuel to the fire. “What could have been so important that you couldn’t watch where you were going, hmm?” He caught Aditi’s eye, lifting one shoulder unapologetically for getting her in trouble and pretending like it wasn’t his fault.
He held the ice pack to her reddened forehead, pressing back a smile when she swiped it from his hands in obvious ire.
Muttering about silly children and the dangers of being on the phone while walking, Nanamma ordered Aditi to stay put while she made warmed milk for her. No matter what the ailment, every Indian grandmother believed that warm turmeric milk would cure it all.
Left alone with Rian standing just behind, Aditi squirmed, feeling his gaze burning a hole into the back of her skull. She glanced at Nanamma puttering about in the large kitchen and attempted to follow her, shocked when he unceremoniously pulled her back down on the couch. His hands remained on her shoulders, holding her still and warning her from trying to escape.
“You should listen to Nanamma, Doc. Rest here. Be a double G. You know, good girl?”
His voice was low enough that Nanamma wouldn’t hear them. Despite this, Aditi felt the tips of her ears burn in embarrassment. When she glanced at their reflection in the blank black screen of the TV across from her, their gazes locked.
“You’re never going to let me live this down, are you?” she asked, watching as he bent down slowly, firm fingers kneading her tense muscles.
“Where would the fun in that be?” he whispered, bringing his mouth dangerously close to her ear.
She bit down a whimper when his breath warmed her neck. His thumb pressing into her nape caused a troublesome quiver within her core. She startled when he blew a puff of air into her ear before he retreated, walking off with the most devilish smirk she'd seen on him yet.
When Rian settled down in his massive bed a short while later, it was with no little satisfaction at having won their game. Kaya's revelation of what T-T-D-L-A-G-G meant had momentarily stunned him. Since then, he had alternated between wanting to laugh at Aditi’s mischievousness and planning retribution.
Seeing her face when she’d gotten caught, her usual confidence swept under sudden embarrassment, had only made him want to tease her more. He could grow to adore this unexpectedly shy side of her, he realised. With Aditi around, he felt like being a little silly also. A sudden thought struck him, and he picked up his phone, talking into it, watching his words transform into texts.
Aditi lay herself down in bed, staring at the ceiling. She was unable to believe what had happened, mortification very much at the top of what she was feeling. She'd been confident that Rian would never figure out what that acronym meant. He disliked books. He didn’t read at all, much less romance. She’d even cheated and made it sound like it was one word!
She had flirted outrageously with him, finding sadistic enjoyment in seeing him blush and get tongue-tied. Karma had really wasted no time to come knocking today because the only one who had turned beet red had been her. And the only one who had been rendered speechless had also been, to her lasting shame, her.
She looked beside her when her phone lit up, swiping open to see a new message from Rian.
Bugs Bunny (9:57 p.m.)