Soulmates ✓

13 | Walk Away

Ryan waits in his car outside her apartment building. Needless to say, he followed Shay as she left the party with her fiancé. Ryan had to rebel through every sane portion of his mind to stop himself from busting through her front door and throwing that sly-looking guy out of her place.

But he stopped. After all, Ryan has no reason to do that, and Arnab has every right to be inside her apartment. So, that left him with two options: either walk away from her life or wait outside. Why exactly did he choose the latter? Why on earth does that option exist? It is still a puzzle for him.

He's like a ticking bomb at the moment, his nerves already on edge. If the guy doesn't leave her apartment in the next few minutes, he might end up doing the reckless deed. The possibilities of what they were to do for the rest of the night while he waits outside have him going crazy.

After what feels like a lifetime of misery, there's movement, jolting him upright from where he was leaning against the seat. He watches as Shay and her fiancé step down the stairs. Ryan's hands tighten around the steering wheel when Arnab turns around to face her and then bends down for a kiss. Shay turns her head to the side in time for that kiss to land on her cheek. Thank god, she did that.

Before he can reason out, Ryan is already out of his car and walking towards her apartment. As soon as Arnab wheels off and Shay moves back inside, Ryan is there. She stops at the foot of the stairs with her back to him, and Ryan halts, too. She releases a sigh then walks up the echoing stairwell. Ryan follows and continues in silence. Ryan tries not to let the alcohol in his system mess with his mind and doesn't want to objectify his childhood best friend either, but he fails not to stare at her ass as they ascend the stairs. It's just the dress she's wearing. He can't stop admiring the teasing sway in her walk. When did she grow into such a fine woman?

She unlocks the door, steps inside, and leaves the door slightly ajar on her way, not minding as he follows her in. Good thing she didn't lock him outside. She heads straight to the living room, not inviting him. Ryan follows her uninvited, which she doesn't mind. He closes the door behind him, pulls out his suit jacket, and hangs it on the stand at the doorway. She doesn't bother to turn back and look whether Ryan followed her into the living room or not.

Ryan lets his eyes rake over her body as she opens the fridge and pulls out a bottle of water. Shay is wearing the same dress, her hair is in place, and there's no flush on her face except, of course, there's a little bit of it. And that's probably due to the open Jack on her kitchen counter. The cap is nowhere to see.

When he invites himself into the kitchen, her hip pushes against the side of the counter as she tosses the water bottle towards him. Ryan has to react in time to catch it before it hits his face.

"Geez! Don't go wild on me now, Shay," he says, tilting his lips into a lopsided grin and drinks from the bottle. All the while, Shay keeps glaring at him with her fists on her hips. She looks animated, just the way she used to back then.

"Why are you here?" She finally asks, taking hold of the open liquor bottle from the table and taking a long swig from it. She wipes her lips with the back of her hand and then speaks in a liquor-induced scratchy voice. "You shouldn't be here."

"Where? In your apartment?" Ryan takes a glance around her messy living room and finally looks into her eyes.

"In the city. In my apartment. In my kitchen. Do you think I didn't notice your car parked outside the building? Are you stalking me, Ryan?"

"Stalking you?" Ryan scoffs. "In case you didn't pay attention, I'm the new CEO of Tripathi Development, New York branch as of this month. Your precious fiancé works in my office. I'm in your apartment because we didn't finish our conversation back at the party. And I'm here in your kitchen because your alcoholic self doesn't even care if you meet your childhood best friend after years."