The upcoming days at the office went smoothly. Way too smoothly in fact. I was currently getting trained under Irfan. Now I didn't want to sound like a born genius, but I already knew half of the designing engineering concepts he was discussing.

“Fuck this shit! When will we start on the main project? I'm booored.” I whined, closing the Auto CAD software on the office computer and leaning my head on the table.

“Why did you close that? I was coming to the exciting part,” Irfan intervened, switching on the software again. Besides us, Paul laughed and mirrored my actions. Irfan lowered his voice. “Aur tumhe gaali dene ki kya zaroorat thi sabke saamne?” (Do you really need to cuss in public).

“Heh, and who was the twat who said- Just be yourself? Consider this as your second family. I'm being myself.” I continued to answer in English.

“You are impossible!” He groaned in annoyance.

At evening.

“Let's go to a pub next week...” Irfan announced and our faces lit up. “provided if you two do your work diligently.” And our faces lit down.

“Quite a tactical senior,” Paul whispered beside me and I nodded in response. He added. “But you better keep your word, sir Irfan. We'll keep ours.”

*

“Girls, you won't believe who I saw this week,” Chanel announced slowly at the table while the rest of us listened to her with interest. She had an orator-like quality that pulled people to listen. We absorbed her encounter story with a celebrity.

It was hilarious how I managed to meet them three times in ten days. Not sure if I was vibing with them, but hey, atleast it was better than staying alone in the guesthouse.

Today was a Slumber party day. The four of us chicks were having a sleepover at Kylie's place. Her place wasn't just a place. It was a mansion inside an apartment. Apparently Kylie's parents were both business people in the education industry. Her mother was an English professor while her father and uncles were Directors, running two private Universities in California and Colorado. Kylie, on the other hand was a content writer, who worked for a column magazine.

“You know so much about the education world and business. Why are you working for a women's magazine?” I asked out of curiosity as Kylie went on about how the current generation of the Walker family inherited their grandfather's college and evolved it into a University.

“I've been in Uni all my life. I've seen my parents work hard for it. I've studied in one. In fact, I've been in this line for seven years, working in three different Universities. I loved it, of course, but...” She paused, making a face. “It got too repetitive at one point. I wanted to be in a different world for once. A place that doesn't consist of professors, students and administrators. I might return to the education industry after a few years though. For now, I'm happy where I am.”

“I see. Your life sounds so exciting though. Not many are fortunate to be rich like this...”

“Yeah, I'm privileged and grateful but life isn't as shiny as it looks.” Kylie said, her expression darkening as she gazed at the sky from the balcony. She was quick to snap out of it. “Sorry, I must have bored you with my details. What about you, Natasha? What inspired you to be an engineer and designer?”

Thereafter, I bored her with my career story and how I fucked my brain with numbers. Honestly I wasn't bored by her story. I continued to fish for details from her, thinking about taking away some of her business advice to Rithik. Perhaps through a call or something.

“By the way, which Uni did you study in again?”

“Yale,” Kylie replied with disappointment. “I studied writing and classical literature. It was amazing but I wanted to study at Harvard or Oxford.”

“Yale?! That's an Ivy League school, too,” I blinked in shock. She was indeed a genius.

“Did anyone say Ivy?” Sandra strutted from behind and hugged Kylie. When I clarified, she kissed Kylie on the cheek. “Ain't she the biggest nerd here? And miss Richie rich, too.”

“Shut up! Besides, I'm not the only the nerdy one here.” Kylie said suggestively and we shared a smile.

It was an eventful evening after that. We had drinks with snacks first. And with drinks came games and confessions.

“Never have I ever, accidentally peed in a pool...” Sandra said on her turn, followed by a collective ‘ew's’ from the rest of us. All of us were looking at each other like criminals, waiting for other to be proven guilty. None of us picked up our vodka shot.

Until thirty seconds later.

“Holy. Fucking. Shit!” Chanel said, her eyes nearly out of her sockets as she watched Kylie downing her vodka shot. She squeezed her eyes shut as the hot drink passed her throat.

“Hear me out, okay! I was just a small kid back then. I... I...” Kylie tried to raise her voice amidst the mockery from her friends, including me. “That big wave took me by surprise. I was so guilty. I never did it again, I promise.”

“Okay, enough with these 3rd grade questions. My turn, hoes!” Chanel intervened, trying to silence us with a finger on her lips. She was already starting to get tipsy. Once we were silent, she scratched her head thinking until a smile escaped her lips. “Never have I ever hooked up with two people or more within twenty-four hours.”

I tried not to smile as the staring session started. For a second, I thought Chanel would drink but she didn't. I sucked in a breath and downed my drink in one go, shocking everyone.

“I knew there was something wild about you.” Chanel said, sliding next to me and placing her arm around my shoulder. Before long, she drank her own while my mouth fell open. “Does a threesome count?”

“Well, aren't you a wild thing, too?” I said, raising a brow and we shared a smirk. Thus, Chanel told her story of her short-lived menage relationship between her and two boys in college. She was mostly telling me since the other girls knew.

“What about yours, madam? You need to answer as well.” Sandra said. Kylie chimed in as well. I sighed and recited the time when I happened to hook up with Rithik and Kunal on the same day, citing them as Hottie one and Hottie two. It made me wonder how Kunal was doing now? I hadn't contacted him for a while.

“Is any one of them available?” Sandra asked, followed by a head slap from Kylie. Sandra frowned in defence. “Gosh, I was just kidding, Kay- kay! Obviously I won't cheat on my Bunny.”

“You have a boyfriend? Actually, who's in the single club?” I asked suddenly.

“All except Sandra. She's unfortunately been committed for three years to this jerk.” Chanel answered showing a picture of Sandra with a dashing Korean man.

“Damn fuck, you won a lottery!” I said, looking at the photo. He nearly looked like a K-pop idol.

“I know, babe. He's the best!”

“Eh, I really don't think you should count yourself single, Chanel. Something is always going on with you.” Kylie pointed out.

“Yeah, hooking up every week doesn't qualify as a single. What about that chef guy you were seeing since the past two months?”

“Eh, he's old news now. Besides-” Chanel said, smirking. “Sex is too good of an activity to be missed out.” 

“I agree 1000%. I appreciate girls who don't shy away from talking about sex. Why should boys have all the fun? Sex is a two way street.”

“Exactly! I like you more and more now, Natasha.” Chanel looked at me, her eyes glazed.

“Same here.” I looked at her.

“Now kiss.” Kylie teased and all of us started laughing.

For the next few minutes, Chanel and I engaged in a steamy conversation that involved sexual escapades, kinks and dissing men.

I slid the glass on the table and slumped my head down, groaning in annoyance. “Ugh, all this sex talk makes me wanna get laid right now. I haven't had a good fuck for a while.”

“Damn right, it's been three days for me.”

“A week”

“Eight months.”

“Eight months?!” Both Sandra and I gasped at Kylie's answer. I couldn't even feel bad for myself anymore. Suddenly Sandra stood up, clapping loud. “Stop this! We aren't here to whine about our sex lives... or lack thereof. Let's dance!”

“I know! We should make Natasha dance to an Indian song.” Chanel suggested.

“What? No! I suck.” I defended.

“That's upto us to decide, darling.”

Somehow, after twenty minutes of buttering and a duet Jarabe (Mexican dance) between Sandra and Chanel, they convinced someone like Natasha Patil to  dance to her feet. That too, in front of foreigners. Perhaps it was the alcohol talking. I danced to Sheela ki Jawani, not missing a chance to shake my hips or boobs for that matter. I was officially high now.

I didn't remember exactly what was happening at midnight. Music was blasting from the speakers. All of us were prancing and dancing around the house like deranged women who escaped a mental hospital. In the midst, Chanel, Sandra and I took a break by standing at the balcony to light our respective cigarettes. By that, I meant throwing smoke to each other's faces and cracking. All we were missing was a good old pot. Guess I was having the time of my life.

Everything was sexy until someone suggested drinking- dial our respective exes.

It started with Chanel who gladly video called her ex-chef boyfriend (or whatever he was). She told him to fuck off and to fuck her ass as per his choice. Hilarious! Sandra's call to her boyfriend was short and boringly sweet. Kylie's call to her mysterious ex didn't go through. Inevitably so, as it was one at night.

Which left me on the radar.

Obviously my feeble attempts to back off were ignored. It was 10 AM in India. I video called Rithik, internally praying he would be having breakfast with his family. I smiled victoriously when the phone kept ringing but then, it got picked at the last minute. My breath hitched as the familiar face of Rithik appeared on the screen. Even more so when I heard his sexy voice. For a few seconds, he squinted his eyes at me until he shook his head dismay.

“Should have realized earlier. Only a drunk Natasha has the guts to call me first,” Rithik said, making me roll my eyes, despite my insides churning at his voice. Damn him!

“No, I was blackmailed by these chicks to call you. I had no choice but to abide by the girl, girl code,” I answered, air quoting ‘girl code’ with my fingers.

“Yeah, she's right. How you doing, hotshot?” Chanel interrupted, nearly pushing me aside to take a good look at him. From then on, the girls took over talking gibberish to him. Rithik surprisingly entertained all of them, though he didn't miss to bitch about me.

“Shame on you, Nat. How can you dump this fine specimen? I mean, look at him.” Sandra said.

“I am looking,” I said, smiling sheepishly. I blew off a loud flying kiss. Even he couldn't help throwing one back. “Sahi hai apne pyara sa topada dikake sabko mere khilaaf kardo.”

“I can make it even worse by coming there.”

Please come, I miss you! I couldn't say that so I simply twisted my face and crossed my arms. Before long, my eyes got glistened with fat tears, making the girls second guess their decision of calling my ex.

“Ah, don't worry. She behaves like that once she's drunk.” Rithik clarified. I took that chance to grab my phone. He stared at me longingly before adding softly. “I miss you, too.”

“Rithik...” I called, melting into a puddle. I dropped my head to the table while still holding onto my phone. My voice of reason was fading while my heart felt it could burst out any second. “Don't take advantage of me like this? I'll end up saying things...”

“Like?”

“Like wanting to see you, smell you, hug you, kiss you, fuck you and hug you all over again...” I mumbled on.

I raised my head when I heard no response. He was covering the upper part of his face, smiling shyly. Rithik and shy? I must be seeing angels. “You're quite a romantic when you're drunk. I swear if you had been in India, I'd have caught the next flight by now. Why do you have to be so goddamn far, Natasha?”

“I don't knowww...!” I whined. “Just come out of that screen, you asshole! I wanna pull your cheeks.”

Rithik then said something I couldn't interpret through my clouded senses. Kylie interrupted, smiling. “You two hardly look like a former couple at all.”

“That's because we aren't.”

I nearly forgot I was in the middle of a girls party. I blinked my eyes, shaking my head slowly. “No, we are a former couple.”

“No, we aren't.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yess!”

“I hate you. Bye!” Rithik finally said, followed by a long beep at the other side of the phone. I let out a huge sigh and threw my mobile aside.

“Oh no, I'm so—”

“Cut it out with your apologies, you worrywart! You didn't do shit. We keep cutting our calls like this. No big deal,” I said first before slumping back to the table.

“Um, if you say so...”

The rest of the sleepover was a blurry affair. I didn't think much went on anyway. Before long, most of us passed out. How could I tell? Because I woke up with Sandra and Chanel body parts hitting mine in haphazard fashion. How did I end up in a king size bed? And why did Sandra snore so loud? I should start controlling my intake now. I detached their limbs away from me and got out of bed quietly.

By this time, I was getting all the second hand embarrassment from the flashes of my shameless night. Especially showing off my tear glands in front of everyone and that pathetic phone call with Rithik. I checked my phone. Indeed there were missed calls from my beloved ex. After refreshing myself, I stood at the balcony and called him.

“Must say I didn't expect you to call me back.”

“I guess I owe you one from that weird ass call yesterday.. Or is it today for you?”

“Yes, you do. I left my aloo parantha in front of my parents to attend to you—”

“Sorry for—”

“And I'll gladly do it all over, just to see you again.”

For a split moment, I melted. But then, I sighed. He sighed, too. For different reasons. “No, you don't have to. You shouldn't...”

It was the same old argument of ‘why couldn't we be together?’ all over again. The same reasoning, the same answers. This happened on every fourth day for two weeks now. At this point, it was soul sucking. Instead of enjoying a pleasant morning with a bunch of chicks I befriended in a foreign country, I was forced to do a repeat telecast with my ex. All because I felt guilty of dumping him over a letter. Guilty of dumping him altogether. Rithik's lack of understanding wasn't helping. He refused to accept my reasoning, forget acknowledge it.

“Then block me na. Your threats are empty, Natasha. You say you'll cut me off but you don't.”

“Because I can't! You are not a nobody that I place at the back of the burner. I can't do that to you, Rithik.”

“Then just come back together! It's not that hard.” He responded. I drew out a long breath. One that of frustration. He caught my reaction as he sighed, too. “I'm tired, Nat. I've been holding onto you, holding onto us for far too long and you just want to throw it all away.”

“Then throw!”

“Fuck you!” He said, letting out a grunt. “God, I hate this. One day you'll regret it, N. You'll regret leaving me but I won't be around to take you back. Remember that.”

I slumped back against the wall with those heavy words, stinging my heart after he ended the call. I hated facing this bitter side of Rithik but I probably deserved it. I didn't realize how long I lamented until Kylie stood next to me, offering a cup of coffee. I wordlessly took it while turning to the other side to wipe my slightly weepy face.

“Boy trouble?”

“Yeah, well, nothing a girl hasn't faced before.”

“Touchè.”

We both toasted to that and brought our coffee mugs to our mouths. Kylie apologized for the drunk call episode (even though it was Sandra's idea) when I stopped her right there. I was immensely glad when she didn't delve into it further and instead, talked about the madness last night. We ended up laughing on a few occasions. Chanel joined us a bit later.

“I'm envious, Kylie,” I commented while overlooking the cityscape from the balcony. One could spot a river at the furthest end with a few steamers floating by. “This location- it's beautiful. You can view the Charles river. Not to forget my office which is like, twenty minutes from here. My company should have provided me with a room here instead.”

“Then why don't you shift and live with me? It would be more convenient for you.”

“Sure, it would be more— wait, WHAT?! Live here?” I pointed my finger to the floor.

“Uh-huh!”

“With you?”

“That's right.”

“Kylie darling. A minute?” Chanel interrupted with a tight-lipped smile, ushering Kylie to join for a quick private talk. She shot an apologetic look at me. I simply nodded, suppressing a smile. “Please excuse us.”

And so, I stood on the balcony, waiting as Chanel and Kylie chatted amongst themselves. Kylie seemed surprisingly cool about this while Chanel seemed... concerned. However Chanel's expression changed completely after a few minutes as she draped an arm around me, smiling brightly.

“Welcome to your new home, Kylie's roommate!”

“I'm honored, but before you bestow this prestigious title upon me, I have a few things to discuss with Kylie.” I pointed out. Chanel nodded, leading the way. I came straight to the point. “First of all, how much rent will I have to pay? I can't give much but—”

“Are you paying any rent for your guest room?” Kylie asked instead.

“Not really. Not until I demand something extra.”

“Then you can live here for free as well.”

My mouth fell open. “Look Kylie. I know you're drenched in gold, but I can't walk all over you like this. You have to let me contribute to something. Anything.”

Kylie tapped her chin in thought with her lips twisted. “Fine. You can help me out in some of the household chores. Like washing dishes, cooking or giving the clothes out for laundry.”

“You don't have a maid?”

“I do. She comes once every ten days to clean the house. Bathroom included. And another maid for cooking. Though I only call her when I'm too busy.” Kylie placed her hands on my shoulders when I didn't answer. “Don't fret too much, Natasha. I had a roommate back in Uni. I don't mind having one again. It will be a nice change. I have a good feeling about us.”

“Um, I have one more question actually. Come closer,” I lowered my voice while shoving Chanel and Sandra away. “This is just a what if, okay. What if I bring a man home? Would that be a problem? Ever.”

“As long as he doesn't dirty my house or steal things,” She whispered back mischievously.

“Goddamn, you are way cooler than I thought. And cute, too. You might turn out to be a better roommate than Khushboo,” I said, grinning and shook her hand. “Done deal. I'll gladly be your roommate.”

The four of us clapped in unison, though Sandra was still unsure of what took place since she only joined us a minute ago.

*

The next couple of days were immersed in settling into Kylie's king size apartment. Kylie hired the transport services for the move, the very next day. Of course I kept my Indian manager on the loop about my breaking news. He expressed how grateful my company was to be exempted from paying my rent anymore. It was a happy ending for all.

Kylie and I celebrated our first night as roommates by doing Netflix & chill. The chill part being sleeping next to each other at the couch. We laughed when we woke up and went to our respective rooms to sleep.

It was certainly chilling going to the office twenty minutes before, instead of an hour. One could directly catch the subway nearby and reach the office. It was even more welcoming to return to a beautifully designed apartment that came along with a cute blonde roommate.

Kylie had two loves in her life. One being the color of peach. Pink, too. Her whole bedroom was a sick palette of peach-- Pillows, curtains, mat, handbag, lamp you name it.  Her second love was books. Obviously! Her shelves were filled with books of literature, history, humanities, culture and philosophy. Even after doing a masters in Philosophy, she wasn't satisfied. She was currently pursuing doctoral part-time and would often work on her thesis at night. She was a true study fanatic.

Since Kylie and I possessed expertise in different fields so we couldn't exactly discuss it. Although one time, we discussed Islamic culture in detail which also included their architectural design consisting of abstract design and geometrical shapes, inspired by the Greeks & Romans. In short, I loved having this cute bookworm as my roommate.

A week later, after the end of my mandatory training, Project Natick officially welcomed the rest of its team. There were a total of thirty people working on this project. While our Design & Engineering department consisted of nine people. A joint meeting was held with all members of the project, discussing goals, planning, deadlines, amongst other things. I felt important just by standing amongst these experienced people. I should give a pat on my back for making it till here.

The members were then segregated into different teams who held their own respective meetings. Richard introduced himself as the manager first and lightened the atmosphere around him with humor, thus encouraging others to introduce themselves.

All eyes were on me when I introduced myself. There were only three women in our department after all. It easily made us the center of attention. Though it couldn't compare to the red-haired man known as Dave from the Financial department who eye- fucked me the most. Even waved his hand at me. Shithead!

There were a few good looking men around. And then, there was the Indian Irfan informed me about. Dressed in formals, he had thick spikey hair, a youthful face and a slightly lean build. Seemed to be around my age. He met my gaze across the room and gave a firm nod, perhaps out of courtesy. I nodded back. Cute.

I headed straight to the canteen after a tedious meeting. There were two canteens in this office building and this just happened to be the less crowded one. I ordered an Italian veg sandwich and settled down on the front table that hosted single seated chairs. A few minutes later, a familiar man appeared in a frenzy. He quickly darted his eyes across the menu that probably seemed too foreign for him right now.

“Any special sandwich around here?” He finally voiced out to the waiter.

“Every sandwich is special, sir,” The waiter answered. “See the menu. There's Carrozza, Bacon egg, Monte Cristo... Try anyone you like.”

I stifled back a laugh. Perhaps I should help him out of his misery.

“Bacon, Egg and cheese,” I spoke while chewing down my sandwich in between. “Its popular around here. However if you are a vegetarian like me, then there's cheese and corn. Oh, and there's roti wrap too, with vegetables and spices. Quite favorable for us desi lovers.”

The corners of his mouth lifted a bit. “Thanks. Which one are you currently having?”

“Italian sandwich. Thought I would try something different for a change but...” I inched closer to his direction. “Bakwaas hai ye. Mai isse recommend nahi karungi.” I deliberately spoke in Hindi while smiling at the waiter.

“Samjha (Understood).” He chuckled before turning to the waiter. “Fine, I'll go with one Bacon, egg and cheese sandwich.”

The waiter wrote down his order while I requested tea. The Indian guy dragged his chair, shortening the wide distance between us. “Thanks for the recommendation. I swear the menu looked like it was from another world.”

“Yeah, I couldn't recognize it either earlier, but no worries, you'll get used to it.” 

“You are also new here?” He asked with a raised brow. I nodded as my mouth was full. “When did you arrive in Boston?”

“In March.” I answered. “You?”

“Day before yesterday,” He sighed. “I'm still getting used to it.”

The conversation continued as both of us ranted about our difficulties. We could relate to arriving in the US for the first time- the cultural differences, the cost of living and sleep timings. Of course we also complimented Boston's infrastructure, standards and neat traffic. The more we talked, the less nervous he seemed. We often slipped talking in Hindi. He originally hailed from Chandigarh, but was working in an architectural firm in Delhi for a while. By the time we were done talking, our snacks were devoured as well.

I faced him after dumping the napkin in the bin. “Well, it was nice talking to you, Vansh. See ya.”

“Likewise, err... sorry, I forgot your name,” He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Really?” I squinted my eyes. I reminisced back to the meeting. “I thought for sure that every man remembered my name.” 

His frown deepened. “Excuse me?”

“Ah, never mind! Bye,” I said almost turning on my heels to leave when he cleared his throat. I stopped to see him extend his hand towards me.

“Let's start this over. Hi, I'm Vansh Baweja, and you?”

I let out a laugh before shaking his hand. “Natasha Patil.”

“I'll remember for sure this time.”

“As well as the names of your other teammates,” I added. We left shortly after. I resigned from the busy day, returning to my apartment for a well-deserved sleep.

Any Serious in Love readers? You might recognise the last part,  especially Vansh. He's the main protagonist of that story. Anyway, overall thoughts about this chapter. Her new friends, roommate,  corporate life and her call with Rithik. Do comment.