Priya in Heels (Entangled Embrace) (7 page)

Chapter Twelve

Priya

Vicki convinced me to join her poolside. “You need some fresh air, some relaxing, and for the love of God, you’re the palest Indian ever.”

“Don’t expect me to get in the water,” I warned. “Our people don’t swim well.”

“Yeah, yeah, irrational fear of the water.” Vicki twisted and turned in front of her full-length, closet mirror while I watched from the edge of her bed. She sported a one-piece, pink swimsuit with white dots, a stark contrast against her dark skin.

“Who are you trying to impress?” I eyed her suspiciously.

“My friend Raj is coming over.”

“I see. Is he bringing friends?”

“Do you want him to?”

“No, just asking.”

“Are you going to wear a swimsuit, or are you wearing gym shorts?”

“Don’t hate on the gym shorts. They’re awesome and versatile.”

Vicki gave me an annoyed look through the reflection in the mirror.

“Fine. I’ll go shave.”

The closest thing to a swimsuit in my dresser was a brown tank top with pink edges and a pair of brown and pink plaid board shorts.

A handsome, young Indian man greeted me in the living room when I emerged. Dark-skinned, dark-haired, dark-eyed, and decently built, he wore red trunks.

“This is Raj,” Vicki said. “And this is my roommate, Priya.”

“Nice to meet you,” we said simultaneously and laughed.

In one hand, Raj held up a six-pack of wine coolers and a six-pack of Dr Pepper in the other. I drooled when I saw the soda—clearly a bribe.

“My new best friend!” I said.

Vicki, being the gourmet chef, filled a picnic basket with rustic-bread sandwiches, pasta salad, and eating utensils. She brought the food, and I grabbed towels.

A dozen people were scattered around the large pool. A few kids splashed in the kiddy pool at the end. With a brilliant sun, a cloudless sky, and no breeze, soaking my feet in cool water sounded welcoming.

We claimed the first available table and lounge chairs we spotted. Raj and Vicki fell into a conversation about his new job. I looked over the neighbors, a few of whom I didn’t recognize and who probably didn’t even live here. My studious gaze stopped short when I saw the side of Ty’s half-immersed, totally ripped, and glistening body. Steve and Terrie splashed one another behind him. She squealed, wiped her face, and waved when she saw me. I waved back. Ty winked.

Holy Mother of God
.

He swam to the edge, planted his hands flat on the cement border, and hauled himself out of the pool. Water streamed down lick-worthy, flexed muscles from a corded neck to sculpted pecs, a six-pack, and thick thighs. Even his calves were sexy. His calves! And his soaked blue trunks clung to the best parts of him, leaving little to the imagination.

He walked toward me. I glanced at Vicki and Raj to see if they’d rescue me as my legs turned wobbly and my thoughts flailed. I expected to find them conversing, but instead they were watching me with stupid grins plastered across their faces. Everything felt like a setup, and the question to my sanity, to reality, faltered. Why was Vicki encouraging this?

“What?” I asked her.

Vicki greeted him first. “Hey, Tyler.”

“Hey, girl. How’s it going?”

“Great! This is my friend, Raj. Raj, this is our neighbor, Tyler.”

They shook hands. “Heard a lot about you, man.”

“Likewise.”

Likewise? Had a cluster of my friends drifted off and connected to Ty in some abnormal, covert mass?

“So how’s the job working out?” Ty spoke to Raj and ran a hand through soaked hair.

“A little shaky at first, much better now that I’m settled.”

Holy crap. They
did
know about one another!

“I remember starting at NASA and being completely lost. So many people and groups, and believe it or not, cliques. Have to just wiggle your butt into a groove and force everyone else to get used to you.” He laughed.

Was this NASA bit an ongoing joke or did he really work there?

“You going to get in the water, Pree?” he asked, taking a step toward me.

“No.”

“You have to get into the water.” He lunged for me.

I shrieked, perhaps startling everyone present and it was probably why the kid in the distance cried, as Ty grabbed me around my waist, picked me up, and swung me around. I tipped backward. My toes desperately clung to the rim of the pool. Ty edged closer to the water.

My nails sank deep into his back.

“Ow!”

“Don’t drop me!” I leaned backward at an angle. If I fell, I would take him with me, then straddle his back like a cat and claw him wide open until he swam back to safety.

He laughed so hard, his body rocked against mine. He was slick, and I kept losing my grip. I hugged him tight, his chest slippery and cold against the fabric of my tank. Ty encircled my waist with his arms and dragged me as he walked backward away from the pool. “You totally freaked out, babe.”

I sat down and crossed my arms, half shaken from pure terror. “You’re a jerk.”

“No. A jerk would’ve shoved you into the pool. I did not. I’m a gentleman.”

Terrie and Steve approached us. Terrie was a freaking Swedish goddess in a tiny yellow bikini. The water in her blond hair caught the sunlight and sparkled. Her skin glowed with a hint of golden tinge. She had a perfect figure, proportioned with perky breasts and a slim build. She leaned down and hugged me. Steve, in matching yellow trunks, cocked his chin from a fair distance.

“Do you guys want sandwiches?” Vicki asked.

“Ooh, thanks!” Terrie bit into one. “
Mm
, what is this?”

“Goat cheese, portobello mushrooms, black forest ham, and avocado on rustic Italian bread.”

Vicki suspiciously had enough to feed everyone.

“Wow, it’s good.” Terrie held a hand out to Vicki, then Raj. “I’m Terrie, and he’s my man, Steve.”

“I’m Vicki, and this is Raj.”

The heat of the sun increased as the day went by, but everyone ate and drank, and I loosened up. Vicki’s picnic basket was like the proverbial basket of fish from the Bible. It was a bottomless pit filled with goodies.

Vicki peeled off her T-shirt, revealing the modest swimsuit. Raj checked her out with approval and scurried after her into the pool with the rest of them.

No one listened when I chided, “Wait thirty minutes!”

They played with a beach ball and dominated the pool. Others stepped out, and the children in the kiddy pool went home with their parents.

“Not getting in?” Ty asked.

“No.”

He shrugged and did a cannonball.

The group laughed and played. I lay on the lounge chair and watched. They were content to ignore me, and I was just as happy laying here. What a rare, relaxing day between grueling clinic and work.

Eventually, I sat at the opposite end and dipped my legs into the water. The liquid tickled as serene waves splashed against my upper calves. Terrie and Vicki waved me over. I shook my head.

Ty swam to me and I gave him a serious, don’t-mess-with-me look. He smirked and stopped in front of me anyway.

“Why don’t you like the water? Afraid of sharks? Piranhas?” He made the impending danger music from
Jaws
.

“Shut up.” I pushed him away with a foot against his chest.

He swam back to me. “You have a fear of being dragged into the water?”

The look in his mischievous eyes warned me to get up, but it was too late. He grabbed my foot and playfully tugged.

“Ty!” I slid.

“I don’t like being called that.”

I kicked and squirmed, but he grabbed both feet, then calves. He ended up between my legs, picked me up by the waist, and sank into the water.

I wrapped my arms around his neck as he swam to the deep end.

“It’s not that bad. You won’t drown. It’s not that deep.”

“My feet don’t touch the floor!” I kicked. Nope, they didn’t touch the bottom.

“I wouldn’t let you drown.”

“Just suffer, right?”

He laughed as he hugged my waist, my buoyant breasts against his throat.

“Take me back.”

He shook his head. The stubble on his chin scratched my chest, sending butterflies through my body.

Vicki swam by to get the ball, which someone had knocked over to the other end.

“Can I get a ride to the edge?” I asked her.

“No!” Vicki ignored me and returned to the game.

“Come on,” Ty muttered as he gracefully moved me onto his back where I straddled him. He swam toward the group and played with me on his back like a terrified monkey!

Part of the time, his cold hands held onto my thighs, and other times they splashed me in an attempt to dislodge my viselike grip around his neck. Toward the end of the match, Ty kicked back and reached high to hit the ball. He lost his balance and toppled backward and I went under. I panicked, kicked, thrashed, and gasped for air when he swooped me out of the water. I grabbed onto him for dear life.

“Ty! Don’t let me go!”

He wiped my face. “Babe, I’d never let you go.”

“Please take me back to the edge.” I buried my face in his neck and shivered. I would never come to the pool again, not if Tyler O’Connor was around.

He spoke into my shoulder, his lips brushing my skin, “First tell me why you’re so scared of the water. You’re a grown woman.”

“I almost drowned when I was five. My cousin decided to teach me how to swim by tossing me into the deep end of the pool. Now go!”

“I’m so sorry that happened to you, but nothing will happen to you here. I promise. The water’s nice.”

“You’re not moving.”

“One more thing.”

“What?”

“Just a kiss.”

“What?” I bit him where his clavicle met his shoulder.

He hissed and gripped me harder. In a rough voice, he muttered, “Now don’t be doing things to turn me on if you don’t plan to follow through, Pree.”

I clawed his back to show him how much he pissed me off.

He hissed again. “Damn, Pree.”

“If I bite you again, it’ll be so hard you’ll wonder if I turned zombie.”

He swam to the edge and released me. He reached back to examine the bite wound. “Zombies could happen.”

The bite was red and puffy. “Sorry, but that’s your own fault.”

“Worth it.” He sank into the water and smiled as he swam backward and returned to the game.

I hugged my belly, engrossed in the paralysis he left inside me. What a wonderful, dizzying, and terrifying vibration. The sensation abated as I lounged and read. I hadn’t read for entertainment in months and hadn’t finished a recreational book in two years. All the while, my thoughts returned to the feelings Ty invoked.

Steve pulled Terrie out of the pool. They dried off next to me.

“We should hang out,” Terrie said in her usual, chipper tone.

“That sounds like fun. What do you want to do?” I asked.

“We should watch a Bollywood movie.”

Steve groaned.

“They’re awesome!” She ribbed him. “I have a few rented but haven’t watched them yet.”

“Ooh, yeah, we can do pizza and watch it at my place. I’m actually free tomorrow, otherwise it will have to wait until next Sunday,” I suggested.

“Yes! Tomorrow! These guys need to watch Bollywood.”

“Musicals aren’t my thing,” Steve said. “Foreign films, no offense, take too much effort to understand. I don’t like to read at a movie.”

“Maybe just us girls, then? Unless Tyler is interested.”

“I heard my name,” Ty said as he approached.

“Walk away, man,” Steve warned.

Terrie pulled Ty over. “Don’t you want to watch a Bollywood movie with us at Priya’s place?”

He glanced at me. “There’s only one part of that sentence that appeals to me.”

“Enough to make you say yes?”

“It’s up to Pree if she wants me over.”

Put on the spot, I felt obliged to reply, “Of course you’re invited. You said you wanted to learn more about Indian culture… Well, you can learn about Indian cinema. It is a little sappy, though.”

“It’s romantic!” Terrie batted her eyelashes.

Steve slapped Ty’s chest with the back of his hand. “Have fun.”

Ty watched me. “I’m sure I will.”

Chapter Thirteen

Priya

“Are you cooking?” Vicki sniffed.

“Yes,” I answered.

“From scratch?”

“Yes.”

“What are you making?”

“Pizza. We have to break in the bread maker. Can you cut some onions and peppers, please?”

Vicki sat on the bar stool and chopped while I rolled out two pizzas and shoved them into the oven. We cleaned off the floury counter and stuffed the dishes into the dishwasher.

“Trying to impress Tyler?” Vicki asked.

“Think homemade pizza is impressive? Especially after he’s had your cooking? So, is Mr. Raj coming over?”

“Yes.”

“So you
like
him?”

“Yes.”

“
Seriously
like him?”

She blushed.

“Vickiben! Are you…are you in love?”

The grin on my roommate’s face couldn’t have possibly gotten bigger.

I clutched Vicki’s arms and jumped up and down. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“How long have you guys been dating?”

“We’ve been talking for a couple of months.”

“And you never told me!” That hurt.

“I didn’t want it to be a big deal.”

“How’d you meet?”

“At work. He dropped by to talk to a coworker about apartments, and we got to talking. He’s Rajeev Shah.”

“The guy your parents wanted you to meet last year and you skipped out on?”

“Yes! What are the odds?”

“I thought he lived in Dallas with his parents.”

“He actually lived with a roommate in Dallas, but when he got laid off, he found work here. Hence the apartment search. My coworker recommended the place he’s living in now, which is where my coworker lives.”

“Huh! Funny. You tried so hard to weasel out of that one and turns out you fell for him, anyway. That’s like a fairy tale, or a Bollywood romance. Two people about to be arranged by their elders fight against meeting but meet in their own way, on their own terms, and fall in love. Maybe they stress over how to tell their parents. Little do they know their lover was the one chosen for them in the first place.”

Vicki giggled.

“All those late-night phone calls, those times you ditched me to go out, was with Raj? Have you kissed?”

“Yep.”

“Was it fireworks?”

“Yep.”

“Tell me, tell me, tell me!”

“We were walking around the lake, and he pulled me away from the trail and kissed me as the sun set.”

I looked off into a corner and sighed. “So romantic.”

“What about you? How was your first kiss with Tyler?”

“Say what?”

“Oh, please. He’s all over you. I’m surprised you guys didn’t go at it in the pool.”

My body tingled just remembering his wet hard body flush against mine. “We haven’t kissed.”

Although the memory of his glorious body made me want to smother him in kisses.

Someone knocked on the door and I swung it open to find Raj holding up a bag of two-liter sodas.

“Dr Pepper?”

“Of course.” He smiled as I let him in. I really liked this guy.

I placed the sodas on the counter and pulled down glasses. “How many people?”

“The four of us plus Terrie. Steve’s not coming, right? So five,” Vicki answered.

I set out five glasses and five plates as the oven timer went off. The pizzas cooled on top of the stove and filled the entire apartment with a spicy, cheesy aroma.

“That looks good. My mouth’s watering.” Raj eyed the bubbling pizza.

Terrie arrived with chips and dip. Her lively, infectious personality shook everyone awake.

“Too bad Steve couldn’t make it,” I said.

“He will another time, promise. Pizzas look great! Priya, did you make these?” Terrie asked.

“Yeah, was nothing.”

Vicki filled two large bowls with chips and placed the dip next to them. Everyone helped themselves. I had just put in Terrie’s DVD when Ty knocked.

“Hey.” He placed a hand on my hip and kissed my cheek before I could respond. The way he said hello and good-bye to me, with hugs and kisses, were effortless on his part, as if things were supposed to be this way.

“I brought chocolate cake. I didn’t know what else to bring,” he said, placing the dessert beside the rest of the food.

“Thanks. You didn’t have to bring anything. Help yourself to some pizza and anything else.”

I ended up sitting beside Ty on the loveseat, Raj and Vicki were on the couch, and Terrie sat on the chair.

“It’s a little chilly all of a sudden,” Terrie noted.

“That’s weird.” Vicki jumped up and turned on the heater, something we rarely did in Houston. She peeked outside. “Sheesh! Another flipping storm coming. I wasn’t cold before, but looking at that rain and wind…
brrr
!” She rubbed her arms up and down.

“I’ll keep you warm,” Raj said.

Before she sank into the snug spot beside him, she grabbed a throw and handed it to Terrie. Raj put his arm around Vicki, and everyone returned their focus to the movie.

Now I shivered.

“You cold, too, babe?” Ty asked. Maybe he’d spoken in a low voice or everyone chose to ignore him. Maybe they didn’t think anything of it. Or maybe they were fixated by the movie during a popular dance number.

“Oh! I love this song!” Terrie bobbed her head.

“This song won a ton of awards,” Raj added.

While they spoke, Ty pulled down the throw blanket that hung over the loveseat, and pulled me at the same time so that I leaned against him. The blanket covered us both. He held me, his arms thick and warm. I crossed my arms in defense, although I really didn’t know how defensive that posture was. My skin exploded into pockets of goose pimples and I shivered even more.

Ty rubbed my upper arm with his thumb and asked in my ear, “Is that better?”

Nodding was all I could manage. Eventually, I melted against him. Yes, I secretly relished the warmth but tried to concentrate on the movie and willed my traitorous heart to slow down. More than that, I had to keep myself from snuggling against Ty. When two more songs went by and my neck cramped, I kept myself from turning onto my side and hugging him.

“Okay,” Ty said after the second dance/song combo. “I don’t get it. These are all musicals?” By now, he held me with only one arm, with his hand resting on my hip. Every time I tried to readjust my position, my shirt rode up and his fingers touched skin, sending an electric jolt sizzling through me.

“Yes,” Terrie answered, assuming the role of Bollywood trivia queen.

“And everyone in India likes this?”

“Yes. This is how movies are.”

“All of them?”

“Majority.”

“I just don’t get how men like this. Women, kids maybe, and that’s stretching it. No offense, Raj.”

“None taken,” Raj shot back without skipping a beat.

I elbowed Ty.

“What? I don’t do musicals.”

“It’s the trademark of Bollywood movies: extravagant, beautiful, cultural dances and songs,” Terrie replied.

“Because it would be boring without them?” He slumped behind me, and now I was practically laying on top of him.

“You are so white bread.”

“Too many subtitles. If I wanted to read, I’d read a book.”

“You won’t offend us if you want to leave,” I said.

He tightened his hold and muttered, “We can watch TV in your room.”

I elbowed him again.

“I don’t get the music part. Some of it applies, but most just takes you out of the story.”

“Then pay attention to the plot,” I said. “This is one of the most famous Bollywood movies:
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
, a.k.a.
K3G
. This happens to be one of my mom’s favorite movies. All about forbidden love, and opposing sides, and defying tradition.”

“Okay,” he replied, sounding a little more interested.

“Maybe Saturday we can try out that Latin club downtown,” Vicki suggested.

I said, “No,” at the same time everyone else said, “Yes.”

I twisted around to glare at Ty.

He winked. “Now there’s music I can dance to.”

…

Saturday came around faster than I had anticipated. I combed my fingers through my hair as I spoke to Mummie on the phone. “I’m going out with Vicki.”

“That’s nice to have such a good friend. Does she know Manuk?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Her parents know him.”

“Her parents know everyone.”

“They think he’s a good boy, too.”

“
Mmhmm
.”

“Have you thought about him?”

“Mummie, you ask me this twice a week. I haven’t had time.”

“He won’t wait forever. Talk to Vicki. Maybe she can help you make a decision faster.”

“You mean make me agree faster.”

“Of course. Why would you turn him down? Successful, prominent in the community, good family, nice, and he’s a good-looking boy.”

“I’ll keep thinking.”

“And I’ll keep asking.”

I smirked and hung up. That was Mummie’s way when she was adamant about something I dragged my feet on—almost nagging, but not quite.

I walked right into Vicki in the hallway. She had that mischievous look. I had hoped, perhaps not hard enough, it seemed, that Vicki had forgotten about tonight’s expedition.

“You don’t look ready to dance,” Vicki said, almost singing.

I moaned, “Noooo, Vicki. I don’t feel like going to a club. I’ve been working all day.”

Vicki tapped her foot, fully decked out in a miniskirt and a plunging blouse. Interesting how her wardrobe had evolved these days.

“Why are you looking so sexy? Has Tulsi finally taken you to the dark side?”

She shrugged. “It’s nice feeling sexy. Even better to know I look sexy, so thanks. Why don’t you try some of my clothes?”

“For what? Get some drunk losers to buy me drinks or fight off pushy guys who try to cop a feel?”

Vicki pulled me along. Acting like dead weight didn’t help because Vicki was a strong beast.

“Okay, okay.”

“Working and studying and doing laundry will drive you mad! Try this.” She shoved a plaid miniskirt at me, knowing what I liked.

“I’ll wear anything plaid.”

“I know you will.”

“This is brand-new. The tag’s still on.”

“It’s for you.”

I shimmied out of my sweats and into the skirt. “Perfect fit.”

“And this.”

I peeled off my shirt and pulled on the low-cut, snug, green shirt.

“Crap, girl. You look hot. Don’t stand near me. You might make me look like the ugly one, and I won’t get any free drinks.”

“Shut up.”

I watched our reflections in the bathroom mirror as Vicki worked my hair into sexy, loose, bouncy curls. She turned me one way, then another, as we both checked out the new hottie in the mirror, almost a complete stranger.

“Boobs, butt, and thighs—lucky.”

“Never seen so much of my own cleavage.” I pushed up the bra beneath the shirt, smoothed down the fabric over my stomach, and flicked away the skirt that ended at mid-thigh.

“Heels!”

“No, no. I stop at that.” I ran after Vicki into her bedroom.

“You can’t wear flip flops or sneakers.”

“I work on my feet all freaking day. No way I’m wearing heels.”

“You won’t be on your feet the entire time.” She handed me a pair of Italian leather strapped sandals with a moderate two-inch heel. “And for God’s sake, put on some makeup.”

I groaned but obeyed, and five minutes later sought Vicki’s approval.

“Lipstick?” Vicki suggested.

“Tastes like fish. Chapstick is fine.”

“You’re hopeless.”

I smirked.

Naturally, we met Tulsi at the club. In a rare instance, the three of us looked like sisters: hot, sexy, borderline pimped-out sisters.

“Where’s Jeeta?” Vicki inquired.

“She won’t come here,” Tulsi replied with a roll of her big, brown eyes outlined in black liner and dusted with heavy shadow. “Let’s dance!”

“I don’t dance.” I pulled away.

Tulsi and Vicki hooked one arm each and forced me onto the dance floor. “Copy us!”

I felt silly doing that, and even sillier dancing with two provocative girls. I downed a drink, okay, maybe a couple, and loosened up, not caring as much. I bought my own drinks, though Tulsi drank everything that came her way. Vicki, on the other hand, tied herself to Raj, who had popped up beside her.

If Tulsi was good about one thing, it was not leaving me to dance alone, despite all the guys who crept up behind her or asked her to dance. She waved them off until someone behind me caught her eye.