Is This Love??? ✔

Chapter 3

They're at a party celebrating Director's 38th birthday. Only Shivi kind of thought it was only the movie crew attending this party. But there's a lot of people she doesn't recognize as being connected with the Kingdom movies, including a sleaze who has apparently decided he wants a slice of her. Shivi does not consider herself cake to give anyone a slice, and even if she did, there is no way in hell this rat would even be getting a bite.
"You know I used to watch your parents' films all the time," he mentions as his eyes drag over her. She tries not to vomit in her mouth. "Your mum was hot."
"My mum finished acting when she was 18. She chose social work over acting."
"Still hot."
She's tempted to kick him, but he might be a producer or studio head and that would make that a monumentally awful idea.
Still. Tempting.
She's looking for an out and somehow the only one she sees is standing by a water feature and scowling at nothing in particular.
"Excuse me," she says as she slinks away to join her costar, "I have something to discuss with Sanjay."

She rushes over to him, grabs a champagne flute off a passing waitress's tray on her way to give her an excuse to approach him. They haven't spoken since the tabletop incident, so she's not sure how she'll be received, but he's her only option at this point. The director is taking the stage to make a speech to thank them for attending. Shiviga isn't really listening, she just needs some place to be that isn't next to a guy that used to have awful thoughts on her underage mum.

"Aren't you going to toast?" Shiviga asks as an opening, passing him a glass of wine. Sanjay, without even looking at her, responds emotionlessly.
"I am."
Shivi sees the glass of what looks like Cola in his hand.
"I meant a proper toast. You know," she raises the extra champagne flute she grabbed as an excuse, "with wine."
"I don't drink."
"Bullshit." It comes out as a reflex. It takes him a moment to register.
"Excuse me?" The words are polite, the tone is not.
"I've seen you drink!" Shiviga remembers the unfortunate incident that led to the unfortunate commentary, "All those stupid parties! You're always drinking."
"It's called 'acting' darling," its said with a sneer, "you should look into it."

She gives him a swift elbow to the stomach which successfully shuts him up. And now they're awkwardly standing next to each other and she really wants to leave but she walked all the way over here and if she leaves now that sleazy will continue to try and worm his hand up her shirt. She really doesn't want that, and she knows (even though it angers her inner feminist monumentally) that if she continues to stand next to Sanjay at least he won't make a move (it's like dealing with wolves), so she lingers more than she should.
******
Shiviga has joined him and feels compelled to fill the perfectly respectable silence with her inane mutterings.
"You know, if you didn't want to accept a drink from me you can just say that," she says, hip jutted out like a grumpy toddler.
He'd grown tired of this conversation before it started. "I told you, I don't drink."
"Since when?"
"Always."
"Why?"
If he hadn't just had an incident with an old man who insisted he should shoot up a drink 'like his father always used to', then maybe he would have had some patience and Sanjay could have kept his mouth shut. But he had heard the unfortunate comment, and he was at the end of his patience and could no longer be polite, so instead he sighed angrily and muttered, "Because as you've pointed out before, historically the men in the Krishna family haven't been incredibly good at handling their alcohol."
There's a long awkward pause and Sanjay internally scolds himself for making such a ridiculous comment.
Now she's got a weapon to tear you apart. You don't open up to people, least of all Shiviga John. You should have just insulted her height and made her leave.

Her next words stun him.
"Well, do you wanna pour your coke into this wine glass so it looks a bit more fancy and toast-like."
There's no judgment in her tone, no condescension or sarcasm. Just a genuine offer to help him blend in.
He's not sure anyone's ever offered him that before.