Chapter 3

'You must be Maanya, I'm Sophie'

A blond girl with hazel eyes said as she looked at me

'I am' I answered extending my hand out to shake hers.

'Oh please darling' she said dismissively, 'I'm your roommate! Over the next few months we might bond over our periods, our clothes, our hair but certainly not our courtesies... so tell me who was the hottie who escorted you here?'

'You saw him? But you were in the room' I said attempting to rationalize

'I didn't see him per se but his voice... he had one of those voices that automatically tags you hot. Don't you think?' she said dreamingly

She was right. It's like he was a group project of Aphrodite and Eros.

'I guess so' I replied nonchalantly as I started unpacking my stuff

'So which side of the room do you want?' she asked concluding the former topic of conversation there and then

I looked around the room. It was... spacious to say the least. The window was between the beds and poured sunlight. I walked over and peered down from the square framed opening in the wall. It looked over the football field and pretty much the whole of Boston. I took in a deep breath of fresh air before turning around to look at the rest of my room.

Towards the foot of each bed was one study table and on the left side of the room was the washroom. Right across on the right side was a cabinet with a mirror on it and a dressing table right next to it.

'The right side?' I declared hesitantly pointing towards the side with the cabinet

'Very well. I'll take the left... which really saves me a lot of commute towards the bathroom at night.'

'Yeah' I said hysterically, "You're a sunny side up kinda girl, aren't you?"

'Look at that! We are already getting to know each other' she said while waving her hands under her chin.

'Well, meet your complete opposite' I said as I took a bow

'Well, you know what they say "opposites attract". Now let's unpack' she said as she started unpacking.

As I started unpacking, there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get that" I declared as I walked towards the door

I opened the door to see Carter and another boy with perfectly styled hair and a definitely stunning sense of dressing. I looked at Carter as if to ask him the reason for which he knocked.

'Hey girls!' he started as he leaned towards the doorway and continued 'We gotta pair up and... you know? get to "know each other"' He stated making the double inverted with his fingers.

'Now?' I asked. I was genuinely flustered at this point. I hadn't unpacked and we were already "getting to know each other"

'Yes, bedhead! That's our first assignment in sociology to understand how traditions and culture have changed and stuff. Oh and this is Ben by the way' He told me as he gestured towards him.

'And that is Sophie' I pointed towards the blonde blur rushing about in our room.

'Wait a minute! I'm almost done!' She updated us as she put on a large quote on her bedside wall

'Carter? Ben? wanna come in?' I offered

'Yeah, sure. Nice dress by the way' Ben said as he entered the room.

'Thanks' I replied. Although it sounded more creepy than genuine

'Okay! I wanna partner with Ben' Sophie said as she hopped down from her bed

'Then I'll partner with sleepy over here' Carter declared

'You have nicknames for each other?' Sophie asked accusingly as she raised an eyebrow

'He does, I don't. And I don't approve of it' I clarified

'Yeah right' Sophie said with only about a bucketful of sarcasm as she sat on the bedside

'I really need help with my side of the room' I said abruptly

'So do I' Ben confessed as he looked at Sophie's side of the room

'I can help you.' Carter offered me 'It'll be like a bonding exercise'

'And I, you' Sophie offered Ben

So Carter will be going through my stuff. Yowzaaaa!

***

Carter opened my bags and then looked at me

'What IS this?' He asked with the same expression as he had this morning

'Clothes?' I answered unsurely

He started massaging his head again... It was a habit of his. He does that when he is... well when he is with me

'I know that, genius. I mean this is the stuff that will all go in that' He pointed towards the cabinet. 'Where is the stuff for that' He asked pointing towards my bed.

'I...don't...have it?' I answered being slightly ashamed

'Well, we gotta get it' He addressed me while emphasizing the sentence. He continued 'I decorated that B&B with my granny and I know how to decorate a room. You, on the other hand, need help.'

'Are you alright?'

'No! I made a bet with Sophie that I can decorate better than her'

'You did? Why?'

'It- I was trying to be friendly and she just challenged me'

'Oh! Well let's win this thing then'

***

Carter's POV

There was no bet. I just wanted to spend some time to actually get to know her and that is NOT possible in a room when we don't even know each other much. It will just end up in "give me the tape" and "pass me that" and "Where does this go?" and... well you get the idea.

"I'll talk to Sophie afterward" She said as she picked up her purse to go buy some decoratives

' Yeah, you do that'

Dammit! I have to talk to her before that!

'Hey, Maanya?'

'Yeah?'

'Why don't you reach the bike and I'll get the keys.'

'OK' she said innocently

I watched her as she went down the hallway and then I entered my room

'Sophie?' she was talking to Ben and decorating the room perfectly. I hate perfect.

'Something Wrong?' she asked as she came to the door

'Sorta'

'I hate guys when they do shit like this. What did you say?'

'How-'

'I have a boyfriend too. And he always used to put my best friend's name when he wanted to take me out'

'uhh... yeah right. I told her that I made a bet with you that I can decorate better and now I am taking her shopping to buy decoratives'

'The room wasn't good enough for you?'

'Not really. Just play along, will you?'

'Fine, but you owe me loverboy'

'I don't love her. I just want to know her.'

'Keep telling that to yourself. Now get out'

'Yeah okay. Bye'

***

Maanya's POV

Ok... now I know five minutes is not that much of a time period but waiting for five minutes is an ETERNITY! Where IS he? Usually, he's so prompt.

'Just come on already!' I yelled at the wind as I checked my watch

As if the gods could hear me, I saw him running down the stairs... and then running back upstairs.

'Oh, come on! Pick on someone your own size!' I yelled towards the sky.

Finally, Carter reached the bike. I couldn't keep it in any longer.

'What took you so long?'

'Nothing'

'And they say girls take longer' I said as I examined my nails

'Quit whining and let's go!'

'Yeah, fine'

I hopped on and we zoomed out of the campus.

***

'Hold on to me' Carter yelled over the wind

Don't do it, Maanya. Say that you're fine, say that you're not comfortable. Just don't hold on to him

Except you're not fine. Admit what you feel Maanya! You want him...and you don't want to turn down this offer.

Yes, you do

No, you don't!

'Oh shut up both of you!' I thought out loud but thankfully not too loud.

I slid my fingers up to his back and curved them up around his waist as I felt the heat radiating off him. I kept extending my arms until I could feel his abs and had loosely crossed my arms in front of his body. I was almost glued to him right now. Never in my life had a moment felt so perfect, so perfect that I wanted it to never end.

'Now, we ride' Carter declared as he went full speed on the roads.

I held on to him tighter with my eyes closed and my head resting on his back.

***

Carter's POV

I felt her hands tighten around my waist as I sped up. I swear I would have gone faster if I could... just to make that happen again. But unfortunately speeding up also makes us reach fast. I slowed down to tell her what I had never told anyone, well, of course, people knew but no one knew the whole story... of how my parents died.

'Car accident' I said

'What?' Her grip on me loosened.

'That's how my parents died. That's what everyone knows'

'Except that's not the whole story, is it?'

'No, how did you know?'

'Everyone has secrets, I do and so do you. When someone crosses the line, you get triggered. I scream at the person and run away. You end the topic abruptly. But why are you mentioning it now?'

'Because I want you to know the whole story...Because I trust you', I confessed.

Those three words have never left my lips, ever. Sure, I had friends but only granny knew the whole thing. I continued 'I was seven and had won my first football match. Granny was there but my parents weren't. They never were. When I came back home I called mom and dad and asked them to come. I missed them. They told me that they were coming back that week so I should wait but I said all the awful stuff about them being the worst parents and that they were never there for me and god knows whatnot. I must've really hurt them because they promised me that they would be home by night. They took a flight and were on their way home from the airport. My dad was driving and... speeding and... then the tire burst and the car skid and hit a tree. Both were DOA. If I could bear missing them till the end of the week, maybe I won't have to miss them for the rest of my life.'

I could hear the silence drowning all the noises around me.

'Say something' I said

She hugged me from behind and laid her head on my back.

'You're not guilty' She whispered

I had heard my granny say those words to me for weeks, months, years, but hearing her say it as sure as the day, made me believe it for the first time in my life.

'Thank you' I said

***

Maanya's POV

I was in near tears, not because what Carter just told me was a "sad story" but because I thought the worst of him and he just told me something only two people in the universe knew. He trusted me enough to share that.

As he parked his bike, I let go of him. He looked at me with those beautiful green eyes except this time, I knew he was holding back tears. I slid my hand into his and dragged him around the block

'Where are you taking me?' He asked me, the pain in his voice evidently clear

'Somewhere where we can cheer up' I answered as I continued pulling him along

'You don't know the city at all, how do you know where we are going'

'Lucky for you, google is a thing'

'But where?'

'To an Indian restaurant'