Playing With Fire

Chapter 25 - Aamir Is here

A daughter should not be this nervous to bring her boyfriend home. Well, fake boyfriend in her case, but still. No one knew Shahru wasn't her real boyfriend but her.

Some of the reason her nerves were on end was because he was her pretend boyfriend. She had no idea how to act around him, how far she should take this little show they were putting on for her family.

Only one way to find out and that was to actually get this show on the road.

Kajol stepped down from Shahru's truck. In just a few seconds, he joined her,
except to her surprise he grabbed a hold of her hand. She peeked up at him, unsure, and he smiled and gave her a tight squeeze. That easily he reassured her.

She would never understand this man. Heck, she wondered if he understood him.
People who thought women were confusing, they'd never met Shahru. He had all the women she knew beat by a mile. However, she had a feeling that was because he didn't want to realize what a good person he was. He didn't want to see all the caring things he'd done, instead being bound and determined to warn her away from him.

When he did things like this, she knew there wasn't any way she would walk away willingly. Eventually he might push, but right now, she wanted to enjoy this. To enjoy him and the way he showed he cared without realizing what he did.

Her mother didn't walk toward them, didn't smile or wave but waited until they took the steps up to the front door for Kajol to talk to her first. "Hello, Mother." Neither woman made a move to embrace one another. It wasn't surprising, but for some reason it hurt a little more than usual today.

"Kajol. Shahrukh." She hissed Shahrukh's  name.

"Ma'am." He nodded his head toward her, his grasp on Kajol's hand tightening slightly. They walked into the house. An uneasy wave immediately washed over her. She shouldn't feel like this walking into the home she'd been raised in, the home she'd lived in until two weeks ago. "Where's Papa?" Kajol asked.

"He's in his office. He'll be out in a minute."

Her mother started walking toward the den, expecting them to follow. Of course they did. Everyone did what her mother said, especially her. Right as they rounded the corner her father stepped into view. Kajol struggled to slow the beat of her heart, fearing it might leap from its ribbed cage. She dreaded this the most. Her father would never approve of her pseudo boyfriend. She'd be lucky if he showed Shahru any respect at all. How could she have subjected Shahru to this? The look of utter disdain on her father's face was all she needed to know how this evening would go.

He cringed as he looked at the man holding her hand. Shahru was the epitome of comfort, of an everyday, hard-working, middle-class man—something her father would never approve of when it came to his daughter. This isn't real, Kaj. He doesn't have to approve. She'd be smart to remember that.

But it felt real. So much more real than she wanted to admit.

Shahru's confidence didn't falter when he stepped forward and held out his free hand. She had a feeling he didn't let her go, because he knew how difficult tonight would be for her. How had she lived like this for so long? She hadn't realized how bad it had been until she got away. Now coming back left her with a cold feeling in her chest.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Mukherjee. I'm Shahru." Her father grabbed Shahru's hand and shook it.

"So I've heard," was all he said in reply. No "Nice to meet you." No "Please call me Rish." All he offered was a brief "So I've heard."

Kajol broke free from Shahru. grasp. "Hi, papa." She reached out and embraced him in a quick hug, not because she always hugged her father and not even because she really wanted to at this point, but she did want to step between her father and Shahru for a moment. Not that she feared Shahru would ever do anything, but because she hoped to play buffer all night so her father wouldn't have the chance to insult him.