'Something beguiling.'

Ranveer

2020

NEVER BE WITH HER IN THE SAME ROOM.

That was my first rule. That was what I promised myself to comply and then I had broken it.

I glared at the crackling flame of the candle that seated atop the dinner table. Everyone in the room thought they knew her—but not the way I did. I always knew better—knew Vaanya Mittal has always been famous for playing her parts well. The obedient daughter to her mother, a caring and protective sister, a pleasant and kind friend, a shining student with a pristine track record, and the innocent beauty of this community; everyone loved her—including me.

Dad clapped on my shoulder, breaking through my trance as he laughed at something Arijit had remarked. I waited to know what he had to say next. Spout bullshit again? Try to impress these hordes of superficial morons? I hated that I had to do these dinners and catch up with families, acting like I care a damn about these monthly community traditions.

But then, Arijit remained silent, looking at me and leaving the ball in my court. God, I was so fucking bored. I wish it were these dinners, the chatters, and the laughs that tensed me but it wasn't. I was twenty, single, and in the best shape, fulfilling my demands and living my life.

It wasn't the dinner—it was her. I could hardly think of anything else because she was here, seated right across me, looking nothing less than a fucking goddess.

I wondered if she loved me as much as I loved her if she wanted me as desperately as I longed for her. I bowed my head down and closed my eyes after I breathed hard. Goddamn. I was a lost cause.

She was a constant cock teaser. Her laughter vibrated through her, making her tits rise and fall, and it made me want to take one of her nipples between my teeth and make her scream my name until she begged for me to stop. Her golden skin glowed under the lights and looked like a feast. Her hair had waves that reminded me of summer afternoons, so soft I could barely resist touching the tendrils.

I'd done fine at ignoring these feelings before. She had always regarded me as her best friend since we played at the park together when we were kids and then, I ignored her after the fall and we decided to go in our separate ways. It was never about me—I always made sure of that.

I wanted a quick smoke and the buzz of the crowd was wearing me down. I pushed to my feet to take a quiet exit when Kunal caught my arm and shot up a brow in my direction.

"Dinner isn't over yet," he said, exchanging a smile with Maira's mother over a shared joke and I resisted rolling my eyes. I had to unwind and this fucker wasn't letting me. "We can visit my bachelor pad later at night, just sit through this." He began to pour me a drink instead and I snorted. Alcohol wasn't my jam—I hated throwing up later.

"Just leave me alone," I told him and Kunal's dark eyes—almost black drifted to me. I was sick of his antics.

"Dude, this isn't 2015. Stop acting like a kid," he shot and I shook my head. He set the glass on the table and I ran my fingers through my hair. "You gotta be patient."

"No. I have been patient enough," I retorted and drank from the glass. "I'm done sit—"

"Are you guys okay?" Vaanya asked and I nearly cursed under my breath. Her gaze traveled from Kunal's face and fixated on mine. "What's going on?"

I drank from the glass because I was hell-bent on ignoring her. Vaanya Mittal was a complication—tempting, sure but theatrical regardless. Kunal glanced in my direction and then averted his gaze back on Vaanya. "He's bored," he told her. "I guess." The dude couldn't have been more accurate.

Vaanya's eyes narrowed on me, still listening, and I hooded my eyes and looked away, drinking convulsively from the glass.

"Would you like to go outside for some fresh air?" she asked and something inside me coiled, twisted in my chest until it started to ache. Her eyes always had the glint that made her look all the more innocent. It made my chest tighten.

Fuck it. "I'm game if you are."

DAMN IT, WHAT WAS SHE DOING TO ME? Why was I always drawn to her? Why did she make me falter? Didn't she realize that every fucking guy in this community adored her?

I breathed harshly, pulling my open collar away from the heat of my neck. Hell, I caught another horde of men check her out as she sauntered to the lawn, she smiled at them politely as she lead the way and I bowed my head down, stifling a growl.

I was a losing a game. Vaanya made everything seem so trivial, nothing mattered; my focus blurred—I lost sight of my promise and followed her like a damned puppy.

"Are you doing okay?" she asked, pivoting to face me and continued to tread back. "I know these dinners can be a tad mundane."

I shoved my hands in the pockets of the hideous slacks that I donned for reasons that rather seemed mercurial to me. "A tad?"

She looked at me and bit on her lip. "Okay, maybe a lot," she told me and chuckled.

I hated her—I didn't want to touch her. I didn't want her to laugh again. I didn't want her around me. I had to force myself to believe that because I was afraid the alternate was an option that didn't fit well with our dynamics.

"Then why be a part of it?" The nonchalance in my tone caught her off guard because her gaze flicked on me. "It's a waste for people who might have real plans." I jerked my chin towards the bartender in the open bar on the lawn. He nodded and left, knowing exactly what to fetch.

"Real plans that involve drugs?" she asked, setting her hand on the bar table and peered at me. I'm such a stupid kid. The bartender returned with scotch and a glass of rocks. She waited for an answer patiently and I was in no mood to retreat.

I poured a double shot and tipped it back to take the whole damned thing. "Ranveer?" Her gaze swept from the bottle to my face. I made another drink and took the whole thing down again. "Hey, are you okay?" She stepped closer, seemingly more worried and I tensed. I set the glass down and blinked hard silently.

"I'm fine." I downed another shot, feeling the buzz blanket my veins, and my fingers hummed. Goddamn it. Out of everyone who pissed me—my father, my friends, and the dealers—it wound up being Vaanya who drove me to drink. I pushed my fingers through my hair and got my head straight.

She heaved a sigh. "Do you often enjoy doing this to yourself?"

My brows pinched to a scowl. "Why do you care?" I asked through my gritted teeth.

"Why wouldn't I?" she demanded and I immediately straightened, setting the glass and the bottle away. I darted my hand out and caught her wrist. She gasped and then laughed, grabbing my wrist with her free hand. "I owe that much to you after..."

I closed my eyes and breathed hard before I stared at her. "What the fuck is the matter with you?"

She looked away and crossed her arms over her chest. "Can you at least tell me what changed?" she asked and I was starting to realize that she never wanted fresh air. I fell for her bait.

I leaned away from the bar and began to march outside. "Nothing," I muttered and fetched the keys to my car. She slid in front of me and pressed her hand against my chest. "Thanks for the company but there's somewhere else I need to be."

"This is exactly where you're supposed to be," she bit out and I knew she was riled up. Vaanya had a ferocity that would make any man fall on his knees—that was her dark side. "With your family and friends."

I sneered and hooded my gaze before I averted my gaze around the parking lot. "Guess we don't see eye to eye on this one."

She peered at me with a challenge that often lurked in there somewhere and I loathed that more than anything; nothing managed to turn me on as much. "Yeah, okay," she told me and backed away. I began to stride to my car silently and pressed my finger on the key fob. "But I'm going with you."

Vaanya

Ranveer tensed and halted in his tracks. "Not hap—" His rest of the words were lost when I slid into the vehicle and locked the door with a thud. I watched him past the windscreen as he shrugged out of his suit jacket and unlocked the door to the backseat before he tossed it on the seat and locked it.

I unpinned my hair and let the loose strands brush against my face and shoulders as they cascaded down. He slipped behind the wheels and keyed in. "Do you have a death wish?" His brows creased to a scowl and I chuckled.

"Look, both of us were bored out of our minds," I said and looked at his handsome face—he didn't even have to try; he was always so effortless. "It seems only fair to me."

His gaze narrowed after the engine roared to life. "Is that right? You didn't seem very bored to me."

"Well you saw it wrong," I muttered and he smirked, running his fingers through his rich hair as he began to pedal through the wrought iron gates, leaving behind Ahuja's Residence. I leaned closer to him and heard the low growl that betrayed him; that made me smile.

Ranveer was special—always had been. There wasn't a day I didn't miss the bond we used to share but ever since the fall in 2015, he had been ignoring me like the plague. I often wondered if he had ever forgiven me for that.

My gaze wandered around his sharp features, his light stubble was rough and his hair was disheveled around the edges. "So where are we headed?" I asked as to strike a conversation and he shifted gears, his fingers flexing against the steering wheel as he glanced at the rear mirror in an attempt to avoid meeting my gaze. It burned a hole through me. I wanted him to look at me—to be with me at least as a friend if not a lover.

"Not to the boathouse, that's for certain," he told me and I leaned back to my seat. "You should call Jia. Tell her you're not gonna be around for a while."

I loved the way he always took care of everything—always so focused and always doing the right thing. "What about your parents?"

His gaze averted on me briefly and then back at the busy street. "What about them?"

"Aren't they supposed to know about your bearings?" I looked out of the window and spotted the markets and joints shut, people making their way back to their families after a long day.

"They know enough," he said placidly and I nodded silently. "Do you have a place in mind?"

"Nada." I looked at him. "Surprise me," I told him and his lips twitched as he pedaled through the night city.

*

I leaned against the baluster and gazed at the night city under my feet, the crisp night air whipped my hair and I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. The lights and the energy lit up South Mumbai, making it seem like a sea of stars floating ahead of me. Mumbai was inspiring and a city that had its element of allure that always drew people from all across the country. We were on the terrace of a trade tower that stood tall with nineteen storey overlooking the Mumbai skyline.

I heard the tick of the lighter and the flame engulfed the tip of the joint and Ranveer took a drag. "This place is beautiful," I asserted and he caught my gaze. "Do you come here often?"

"Not very," he said and exhaled the fumes of smoke into the air. "The doormen happen to know me so they let me."

"I get the appeal," I told him and gazed at the somber skyline. "It must make you fall in love with the city all over again."

He inhaled sharply and averted his gaze towards the skyline. "That's a way to put it," he muttered and took another drag. "Standing here doesn't remind me how fucked up this place is. It's only beautiful from the distance," he said and looked at me. "Most of the things are, I'd realized."

It broke my heart that he felt that way but I decided to rally anyway. "You say that because you get used to the beauty. Hence, it seems less beautiful over time."

He deliberated silently and I watched the tip of the joint burn dark orange and he tapped on the butt of the joint. A few particles of the ashes swirled through the air and he hissed. "The closer you get to something beguiling, the less alluring it becomes."

"I'm so sorry," I whispered and he looked at me. "I'm sorry it fell apart Ranveer. I never meant it to pan out like that. I—"

"I know," he said somberly and gazed back at the skyline silently before he exhaled the dense fumes. I didn't know what to say, didn't realize how far things had come. He had been suffering silently, shutting the world and drowning in drugs was how he coped. "Your mother's boyfriend seemed alright."

"Sure he did," I drawled and he nodded his head slowly. "But yeah, he makes my mother happy so in some twisted way, he isn't as insufferable as he used to be." He remained silent and continued to smoke and I was glad because I wasn't up for any conversation about my father's shiny new replacement. I sighed heavily and licked my lips before I began, "Ranveer..." He exhaled harshly and glowered, making me queasy and I faltered on my feet. "Can we please get back to normal?"

"This is the new normal." His tone was clipped as he looked away and I winced to myself.

"Our normal, Ranveer," I clarified but he remained impassive. "I know things have changed but you have been so distant and I miss you so much..." My tone betrayed me, demonstrating a longing that never seemed to budge for so many years. I tried to approach him several times before but he never retreated.

He leaned his head down and closed his eyes, exhaling hard. "I have missed you too," he told me lowly and his fingers flexed against the baluster. "More than you know but this isn't the right course of action Vaanya." He looked at me then and I saw something sift behind his dark irises. "This is how it's supposed to be."

"No." I shook my head and denial and circled my fingers around his wrist gently. "This is our secret and it is over. I won't breathe a word about it—I never did." I stepped closer to him. His beautiful face was marred with so many unspoken emotions that he usually hid from the world. "The least we can do is get back to being the friends that we were."

He searched my face for a beat and rumbled a throaty laugh. "I don't want to be friends with you Vaanya Mittal." His admission was a blow that hit me hard and I lost my grip around his wrist. After everything he had been through, it didn't come out as a total surprise that he didn't want me around him anymore but he didn't have to be so crude about it.

His gaze faltered after realizing the impact of his words and he backtracked, "This is how it's gonna be Vaanya, take it or fucking leave it." He turned to gaze back at the skyline and my visions blurred with dense hot tears.

Perhaps I didn't deserve his friendship—deserve him at all. Maybe he had forgiven me but he hadn't forgotten. He didn't want me to be a part of his life. I was just stupid enough to even think that he was interested in being friends with me. He never really cared.  

~~~~

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