We should discuss when and how you plan to keep your promise
Chaos Doc (9:57 p.m.)
What promise?
Bugs Bunny (9:58 p.m.)
You said you’d TTDLAGG if I figured out what it meant.
And I did.
Her mouth dropped open. She couldn’t help it. She sat up immediately, her fingers flying furiously over her keyboard.
Chaos Doc (9:58 p.m.)
Did you? Or did you ask someone?
Because that’s cheating!
Bugs Bunny (9:58 p.m.)
And making me believe it was one word wasn’t?
Let’s talk tomorrow.
Unless you want me to come over to your room tonight?
Her stomach clenched at his offer and she glared at her body.Traitorous pussy!She scolded herself, shaking off the part of her that wanted to throw her door wide opento welcome him.
Bugs Bunny (10:00 p.m.)
Since I said yes to your situationship offer, would you really be a good girl for me?
Chaos Doc (10:00 p.m.)
I’m moving out! Or to China.
Wherever has cheaper rent.
All Aditi heard after that was a roar of laughter coming from the other side of the wall. Before she knew it, she was smiling too. Maybe her embarrassment was worth it after all. She’d made him laugh in a way she hadn’t heard from him yet, like it came from somewhere deep within.
She just wished she could see him too.
If any one of her cousins witnessed how she routinely embarrassed herself in front of Rian, they’d be hard pressed to believe it was her. She had always been the serious and reliable elder child of the house. Not that she hadn’t been carefree around them, but she’d always felt the need to exercise some restraint due to the expectations placed on her.
Being in Mumbai had freed her from that constraint. She’d been the most unfiltered version of herself and instead of judging her for it, Rian seemed to welcome it.
There was a sadness that lingered in his eyes sometimes that she wished she could drive away. He made her feel good and she wanted to return the favour. If that meant he had to laugh at her to find relief, then it seemed like a small price to pay. The sound of his laughter, she decided—warmth spreading through her at his happiness—was by far the best thing she’d heard in her entire life.
Her phone lit upagain.
Bugs Bunny (10:18 p.m.)
Good night, good girl. Don't go to China, okay?
Grinning, Rian lay back against his bed frame, trying to bring his focus back on the updates his project manager had sent him on The Singapore Map. He had a laundry list of to-dos that his PA had sent to him via voice note, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Aditi. He couldn’t remember when he had last laughed this consistently or this hard.
When was the last time he’d looked forward to seeing someone who wasn’t Nanamma or Kaya? Honestly, even that didn’t compare with the anticipation he felt when he returned home and saw Aditi on his couch.