"I think you should stop being so mean to me, Zahed."
"Why would I ever do that?"
Aryan grins, a bright, wicked thing.
"Because I kiss you like this."
•
Mira Zahed and Aryan Shankar are at war.
When her best friend and his cousin decide to fall in...
hi here's your mild sexual content warning for this chapter like i said it's mild in this chapter but skip if you're a baby or uncomfortable ♥ ♥ ♥
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
♥ ♥ ♥
"YOU BEEN BETTING ON ME, CHARLES ROSS?" I demand upon finding him at the pool table.
He's mid-conversation and turns around, dark eyes dancing at the sound of my voice. I stop short, noticing the person whom he spoke with.
Before I could say a single word, Khadija, clad in black, hair in pretty, natural curls around her cheeks, reaches around Charlie and extends a hand. "I'm Dija," she says. "It's so nice to meet you."
I pause, looking over to Charles. His smile is easy, not the least bit perturbed by their little sham.
I accept her extended hand, mirroring his smile. "Nice to meet you too," I say, despite having already met her. "I'm Mira."
When we drop hands, Charles winks at me. "Of course," he says to my question. "My money's still on you, Mira Zahed."
Before I can decipher what the fuck he's on about, or threaten him in a similar fashion to Rafael, Kenna appears behind me. She grins between us and says, not so stealthily, "Mira! How funny that you're here. Tonight. You know who else is here? Aryan. You should go find him."
My eyes narrow at her. "Your bet's off," I tell her. Charlie chuckles like he might disagree with me. I would hate to beat up Charlie up in front of his secret girlfriend.
Kenna, on the other hand, deflates with a pout. "Damn it. I was counting on that bet to get a free Tesla."
"What bet?" Dima's question rings on the other side of the pool table. I straighten.
I twist my head his way, Kajal at his side, and before anyone else can say a word, I answer, "Nothing."
I wish I could say that lying to Dima is an entirely new thing for me. It isn't. But though I've lied to him a dozen times before concerning one older brother, this is the lie he doesn't believe at all, lifting a querying brow at me across the pool table, as if to say really, Mira?
It's so easy to wipe away Ivan come morning.
But Aryan?
He sticks like a stain. I can't even hide it. It was just a kiss. Yet, he won't leave me alone. He won't fuck off. He replays in my head like a torturous tape, only this time it doesn't cut off mid-film. And that's even more torture because I wake up, clutching sheets and cursing myself.
