Rediscover

7. reality awaits

My friends nudged me from my trance and I shook my head, turning to face them. Their faces were expectant as they glanced between me and the man seated a few tables away.

"So?" Mitali blurted, unable to hold onto the suspense any longer.

"I met him a few weeks ago when I got back. He was the one who hooked me up with the travel agent," I replied. Minimal information, that was what I was feeding them. Perhaps being a model had moulded me into a secretive persona and I couldn't divulge in the simple pleasure of telling people every detail of my life like I used to before.

"He's cute!" Rakhi whispered.

"Try super sexy." Mitali snorted. "How is it that only you get the super hot guys?"

"Uh.. just to clarify, we aren't really a thing," I said.

"Well, he's heading here so we'll know soon." She smirked and leaned back against the chair. My spine straightened just as I felt someone's presence behind me and I turned to face him slowly.

Our eyes met for the second time that night and for a moment I forgot how to breathe. He shot me a boyish grin that made him look younger than he seemed and I averted my eyes.

"You came." He breathed out . There was nothing in his voice that gave away his emotions. But his face was alight with a smile and for the first time since I'd left my hotel room in the morning, I felt happy about my decision to come here.

I smiled at him.

"Couldn't deny the offer." I teased, gesturing for him to take a seat.

He shook his head, chuckling slightly before saying, "Yeah well, I am known for my offers. And I can't stay. I promised a friend of mine that I'd go to this place. See you tomorrow?"

I hid my disappointment behind a smile and replied, "Yeah, of course."

He nodded before turning to face my friends who were busy ogling him. With a wave, he retreated back to his table.

I spent the rest of the evening trying not to turn back and look at him. Rakhi and Mitali had caught on to my lack of attention and threw me knowing looks whilst conversing, to which I just glared. I could enjoy an evening out with my friends without thinking about him. Besides, we barely even knew each other. He had no commitment towards me just because he asked me to come on this trip.

It would be totally okay if he went out with his friends to a party and got drunk enough to pick up a girl and do whatever he wanted. Why should I care? We didn't know each other and he owed me nothing.

With that final thought, I pushed away all thoughts of Akash from my mind and tuned in on my friends' conversations.

"I met Naira the other day. She looks happy. Have you been in contact with her?" Rakhi glanced at me.

"Not really. I've kind of been AWOL for the past few years if you hadn't noticed."

They laughed.

"I'm just surprised you didn't contact her. I mean, the three of us are tight-knit. But let's face it, we wouldn't have been this close if Naira hadn't started dating Rahul," Mitali said. "I really am grateful to Rahul for showing up when he did though. College would have been crap without you guys."

"That is kind of true." I shrugged. "Doesn't matter now, though. I'm just happy they found each other."

They hummed in agreement.

"Let's go to the beach," Mitali said after a moment of silence.

"But the tides are so high!" Rakhi exclaimed.

"Shut up, and come. It'll do the world a favour if you drown anyway." Mitali retorted.

I chuckled under my breath. I knew I missed them for a reason.

~

It was well past midnight by the time we reached the hotel. On silent agreement, the three of us headed straight to my room and collapsed on the large bed, letting the mattress engulf us.

I sighed as I let my body rest, exhaustion hitting me hard. We had spent the most part of the night goofing around near the shore and had decided not to kill each other by inducing hypothermia. Beside me, Mitali snored softly and pulled me away from my thoughts.

Deciding to take my friends' cue, I leaned over to switch off the bedside lamp when my phone vibrated. Frowning, I picked it up only to see a missed call from Jake.

Biting the inside of my cheek, I tried to suppress my guilt. I was here in Goa because of another man. And here I was, stringing him along. But it was highly platonic between us except for the fact that we spent most of our time together doing... other things.

My phone lit up again with an incoming call and I debated for a moment before ignoring it and putting my phone on silent.

Reality could wait till morning.