Wrong Side Of The Bed

35 | american suits or italian suits?

JANNAT'S P.O.V

“OH, BEFORE I FORGET,”  Dad said at the dinner table. "I was thinking… Why don't we invite the Sinclairs sometime this month? I have no prior appointments either, so I can help with their reception too."

Baba nodded. "That's a fantastic idea, dear. Let's give Agatha a call tomorrow morning and set up a date."

I blinked. Sinclair? Over at our house? I let out a quiet sigh. Would I be able to control myself around him? I wondered, and for a second, a very strange but delectable image of me pulling Sinclair in for a kiss in the dark corner of our hallway flooded my mind - because oh, my hands barely knew how to control themselves whenever he even looked at me with that heat and desire in his eyes. Before I started feeling hot because of the unorthodox images in my head, I cleared my throat.

"Do we absolutely have to invite them over?" I questioned.

"Well, of course," Baba answered. "And I thought that the Christian boy was your friend, right? Do you not want them over or something, shona?"

"Yes, Jannat darling," Dad said as he cut off a piece from his steak and put it in his mouth with such elegance that one could have easily missed the mirth in his eyes. "Christian's your friend, right? Do you not want them over?"

I swallowed the food in my mouth, my heart hammering against my chest. Breathe, Jannat. I consoled myself. Dormeuil Vanquish. Loro Piana. Brioni. I cleared my throat before speaking. "Of course, I want them over," I said, picking at the food on my plate quietly. "It's only fair that we return their hospitality."

"There we go," Baba said, looking back at his food as he scooped up some rice in his hand and scarfed it down in a blink. "One would think that he is your sworn enemy, judging by your reaction!"

"Sworn enemy? What?" I spluttered, the fork slipping from the loose grip I had on it and clinking against the ceramic plate without a lot of noise. "Baba! You say funny things sometimes."

"I know," Dad said, hiding a smile behind another piece of steak. "Sworn enemy? Christian? That's just funny. That boy did come so far to meet her when she was sick with hay fever. That's not something enemies do."

I picked up my fork again, stabbing through a piece of cauliflower not too kindly before nibbling on it. I could feel Dad's gaze on me, and without even looking — I knew it was one of amusement. This whole situation was insanely funny to him. Ha. Ha. Ha.

"Absolutely," Baba agreed with Dad before directing his voice at me, and my mouth twitched. "Jannat, how's that boy doing nowadays?"

I sucked in a breath. Keep calm. Keep quiet. "He is doing pretty good, I'd say."

"So, did he finally get a girlfriend or something?" 

I coughed. "Not really."

"Why?" Dad prodded further. "He is a pretty nice catch, I'm sure there is at least one girl interested in him."
"Maybe the girl interested in him might be a bit… afraid of things going awry."

"I am sure that the said girl knows just what to do but is just too nervous to do so — which might be completely out of character for her, but then again, having feelings for someone is a daunting thing."

"This is an oddly specific conversation," Baba commented.

I could hardly hear him over the blood rushing and pounding in my ears. "The girl doesn't know what to do! She can't decide if her feelings are fickle or not! For so many years, she believed that she liked his best friend! But lately, she has been noticing that she has no feelings whatsoever for the aforementioned best friend anymore — but she has far, far more intense feelings for Christian! How will that make the girl feel, huh? She thinks that her feelings are fickle and fleeting now, and she is scared that these feelings aren't real! She is scared because, at this moment, the feelings seem huge and intense but she is scared that if she rushes into a relationship with the guy she likes, everything will fall apart. So, rightly so, she is taking some time to decide what the next step should be."