Best Friends and Cousins? (An Indian Love Story)

Chapter 20

A/N: I know I'm a day late, but yesterday was my mom's birthday, plus PRIDE MONTH! Alright. I'm sorry. I'm updating both my books today as an apology. 

Nikhil has one hand around me and one on the cart, pushing my luggage, while I have both my hands on the cart.

As soon as we reach the car, a (kind of) short guy steps out, the tips of his spiked hair dyed a neon blue. "Hi, I'm Harley, Nikhil's old Uni roommate and your new flatmate," he flashes me a grin. I take his hand.

"We've met." I laugh, alluding to the times we spoke about the house on video calls. He moves towards my luggage, but I hold my hand out, easily picking up the biggest suitcase with the other hand. "I can carry my own luggage," I say, lifting the suitcase into the trunk of the car.

"Are you sure she isn't on some kind of steroids, bro?" Harley asks, fake whispering to Nikhil as Nikhil pushes the cart closer to the car. Nikhil shoots him a look as I laugh, flipping Harley off. Nikhil and Harly get in the car and get it started just as I close the trunk. I grab my backpack and get into the car after pushing the cart out of the way.

"How far exactly are we from the house?" I ask, already irritated by the fact that I was sitting again. Harley picks up speed as we get onto the Freeway, telling me to relax.

"We've got about thirty minutes to go. Sit back. Sleep, maybe. We'll wake you up when we get there."

"I've been doing the exact same thing for the past eight hours. I'm not doing it again. I've had enough sleep. Thank you."

"I got you something to read. I figured you'd do this and get bored in the car," Nikhil says, tossing me a book. I silently thank him with my eyes and he smiles back at me. I look down at the cover, blink twice, rub them and open them again.

"Tales of Beedle the Bard! What the hell?! I've been wanting to buy one since forever! How did you even know I wanted it? I never told anyone," I fangirl, breathing heavily.

"I just know," Nikhil winks at me. "You are such a sucker for books and anything related to your favourite franchises," He teases me. I roll my eyes, instantly sinking into the seat and starting reading the book.

"Its scary how he knows you so well. Remember when we showed you your room and it was exactly how you wanted it to be? He didn't even ask you what you wanted, he just went to Ikea, picked up stuff for himself, stuff for you, bought them, came back home and arranged everything. Even the arrangement was picture perfect," Harley muses.

"Yeah well, we've been around each other for practically ten years now. I'm not so daft as to not observe what my best-friend-turned-crush-turned-girlfriend likes, wants and loves," Nikhil says.

I meet his eyes in the rearview mirror, giving him an air kiss. He pretends to catch it. "Such a complete, utter dork," I mutter.

Before I know it, we're pulling into the underground parking lot of our apartment building, and I snap my book shut. Getting out of the car, I grab two suitcases and Nikhil grabs one, considering we don't have a cart right now. The elevator ride is silent and Harley open the door, revealing the cute little apartment I have only seen on video call until now.

"It is so much cuter in real life," I squeal, setting my suitcases down in the room meant for Nikhil and I. I set the backpack on the bay window, looking around the room.

"Glad you liked it," Nikhil says, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. I lean back, resting my head on his collarbone. He dips his head down, kissing a path from my neck down to my shoulder. I turn my neck, exposing more skin to him.

My grip on his arms tightens when Nikhil kisses a spot behind my ear. Nikhil turns us to face the full length mirror, and I see him grinning like a fool who won the grand prize. I keep my eyes open as he dips his head again, abusing the sweet spot behind my ear, observing as my face turns red from the blood rush. Nikhil's arms move under my shirt, slowly rubbing my sides from under my ribs to my hips, never crossing those boundaries. I catch my bottom lip between my teeth, biting it to stop myself from moaning.

"What do y-OH GODS! Can you guys please close the door when you want to do it?" Harley shouts, slamming the door shut. In a state of panic, I remove Nikhil's hands from under my shirt and jerk away. Nikhil lets out a laugh, pulling me into a hug.

"I'll go out. I'm sorry, but if you don't finish settling in today while I'm out, it is never going to happen. You're too irresistible," Nikhil smirks. I peck his cheek try to pull away, only to be turned back to face a pouting Nikhil. Giggling, I peck his lips, grabbing both his cheeks.

"You better go now, or I'm never going to get my things in," I say, pulling away. Nikhil nods, pecking my forehead and heading out the room. As I open my suitcases, I hear Nikhil shouting at Harley for disturbing us, Harley muttering sheepish sorries. Laughing to myself, I begin putting my clothes away into my part of the wardrobe.

Within half an hour, all my clothes are in the wardrobe and my books are in the half-empty bookshelf. Sitting at the bay window, I pull my laptop out, tucking my feet under me. Mailing my drafted job applications to the nearby shops, I shoot Ash a quick text, telling her I've settled in. Arranging everything from my backpack, I head out of the room to find Nikhil and Harley slumped on the couch, asleep. I turn off the TV and go into the kitchen, trying to find something to turn into dinner.

"Neha? Where are you?" I hear Nikhil's voice floating faintly from our room.

"In the kitchen!" I call out, pulling out some vegetables and a draining bowl to wash them.

"What are you doing? Its your first day here. You aren't cooking today! I'm taking you out to the best Indian Adda in town. It's literally got every kind of Indian food there," Nikhil says, taking the bowl from me and pushing me out of the kitchen. "Go get ready. My extra jacket and gloves are hung up on the door of my side of the wardrobe. Take that for now, even though it's a little big. We'll stop to buy one for you on our way there. I love you," Nikhil says, pushing me into our room.

He said it was an adda, which is extremely casual and heaps of fun, so I change into a pair of jeans and a soft pastel blue knitted top. Grabbing Nikhil's jacket and gloves, I pull them on, instantly feeling like I'm snuggling into a huge soft toy. I walk out to put on my boots, joining Nikhil at the door.

"Ready for your first day in Toronto?"

"As ready as I can ever be," I smile.

Nikhil takes my hand and we go down, getting into the car. We reach the place in about 45 minutes, stopping at a store for about thirty minutes to get me and Ash proper winter clothing, and the place smells amazing. It is an enclosed area, the roof decorated to reflect Indian skies. The street looks like a road right out of one of India's bazaars, peddlers pushing carts around, hawkers selling Indian street delicacies and small knickknacks, small chaat shops and coffee/tea stalls lining both sides of the enclosure. The only difference was how neat this place looked, compared to India, and the polished looks of all the shop owners and the vendors.

"This place looks amazing! It's almost like I'm back in India," I say, hooking my arm around Nikhil's, whose hands are tucked into his pockets. He smiles down at me, kissing my forehead.

"I knew you would like it."