Page 68 - Half Girlfriend

‘You’ve known Riya a long time?’ Rachita asked Rohan.

‘Since she was a little girl,' Rohan said, ‘I used to be able to lift her
easily.'
‘Hah. I was two, you were eight, Rohan.’ Riya said.

‘Yes. Let me try that now,'

Rohan put his glass down. He bent forward and took hold of
Riya’s waist. Riya was too startled to protest. A surge of anger ran

through my entire body. My fists and face tightened up in a primal
response.

Leave her alone, you bastard, I said in my head.
Rohan lifted her off the ground. The girls giggled. He placed Riya

back down. It all lasted only two seconds. However, my insides
continued to burn long after it was over.

‘You are the quiet type, mate,’ Rohan said to me. ‘What’s up? Need
another drink?’

Yeah, I need to drink your blood.

Rohan beckoned to a waiter with drinks and passed me a beer
without me asking for it. I didn’t need a beer. I needed to whack this
NRI’s head like a slam-dunk shot. I needed alone time with Riya. I

needed another accent.

I chugged the beer down in one shot. I did it to assert my fast-
diminishing manliness in the group. Everyone watched me in surprise.

‘Mate, that’s rough. Go easy,’ Rohan said.
Riya understood I wasn’t being myseif. She looked at me as if to

hat the matter was. I turned the other way to avoid eye contact.
The girls gathered around Rohan. He told them stories about his

adventures at Indian airports.
'Madhav, can I talk to you for a second?’ Riya said.

We stepped away from the group.
*

We sat opposite each other on plush white sofas in Riya’s drawing
room. Two waiters hovered around us.

'Can’t we just...’ I said and fell quiet. A waiter brought us a tray of