R&D

Chapter 3

Roshi was eating her homemade sandwich in the cafeteria as she and Peyton were watching Belle attempt to balance a straw on her nose. They were laughing hysterically as Dev approached their table. Hey Roshi, he said. Hi, she said awkwardly. How are you, he asked. Fine, she said. Accompanying Dev on this voyage across the pond was Cash and Warren. They were both state wrestlers and close friends of Mitch and Kaya.

Everyone, including Roshi, was baffled by the uncharacteristic interaction. Sensing the tension Dev ended the conversation. I'll see you in Calc, he said. Okay, Roshi said. After the boys were out of ear shot, Peyton spoke up. What was that, Peyton asked. Uh, I have something to tell you guys, Roshi started.

In Calc, Mr. Cook was in the middle of his lesson plan when his phone rang. Just a second, he said as he walked out of the room to take the call. What was that, Roshi asked. His mistress, Dev said jokingly. No, at lunch, why did you say hi to me, Roshi asked. We're friends, Dev said. I don't want anyone to know that, Roshi said nicely. Are you embarrassed of me, he asked. Of course not, I just don't want the attention, she said. Oh, yeah, sure, he said.

The dining room at Dev's house had the usual appearance it did after school. A scattering of books spread across the table. Papers, notebooks, calculators. But no Roshi or Dev. For on the family room sofa the two sat side by side, gently kissing. Dev had his hand on the back of her neck with the other on her low back. She had both her hands on the back of his head with her fingers interwined in his hair.

They broke apart. She leaned her head against the back of the sofa and he mirrored her body language and did the same. He put one hand on the side of her face and gently caressed her cheek. She tugged on his shirt wanting him to sit closer to her. He moved in and she put her crossed outer leg over his body to create the space.

Their foreheads now touched as they laid against the back of the sofa. He brought her mouth toward his and kissed her again. He put his hand on her upper thigh that was slung over his body. He gently squeezed it. She exhaled into his mouth. Is that okay, he asked. Yeah, she said breathless.

Roshi put her thumb on Dev's mouth and traced his lips. He took it and put it in his mouth and sucked on it. Roshi got nervous by the action and sat up. Sorry, sorry, he said. She sat back into the other end of the sofa away from him. Was that too much, he asked. This is all new for me, she said. This is new for me too, he said.

You've kissed 4 girls, she said. Yeah, I kissed them, I wasn't, he trailed off. What, she asked. I wasn't, close, with them, he said. She didn't get it. It wasn't like this, he said. Then what was it like, she asked. I kissed them, once, at the end of a date, that's it, he said.

Three of them, she said, one of them was a girlfriend. It was obvious to Roshi that Dev didn't want to talk about this, but she wasn't going to let him off that easy. Dev, she said. He looked at her. What was it like with her, she asked.

Why does that matter, he asked sighing. Because you just said this was new to you, I wanna know what exactly you're doing for the first time with me, she asked. We kissed, with tongue, went to second base, and third base, one time, he said. You haven't, she asked trailing off. Dev knew what she was asking; he shook his head. All this was with your clothes on, she asked. He nodded.

Roshi pondered this. What, he asked. She continued to ponder. What are you thinking, he asked. What have we done that's new for you, she asked. It wasn't like this with the others, he said. She waited for him to continue.

This sort of closeness is intense, I just wanna be near you all the time and, he trailed off. She saw him clench his fist in his lap. Kiss me, she continued. He nodded. And touch me, she added. He nodded again. It wasn't like that with her, she asked. He shook his head.