Page 31 of The Rules of Playing with Fire

“Like?” She jeered with a solid scoff. “You’ve got it bad, beta. But she’s not one to toy with. You’ve always loved playing with matches, but this isn’t the time to test the daredevil in you. For one, she’s Tara’s friend. If you mess this up, and you will, it’s going to put a dent in your relationship with Sameer and Tara.”

“And?”

“And if Sona ends up hurt, I’ll really, really not like that.”

“Is that a threat, Mom?”

She looked up at me and patted the arm she held. “I’m advising you as a friend, Mihir, not your mother. Be very careful, very cautious this time. Don’t start anything you don’t want to see through to the end.”

“And that would be you dancing at my wedding?”

She smiled. “Yes, that would make me very happy indeed. But this isn’t about my happiness. It’s about yours. And hers.”

Mom’s words of caution notwithstanding, I was counting down to midnight. It seemed interminable. When Riya suggested we play poker after dinner, I quickly shot down the idea. But the sneaky girl that she was, she produced a pack of Uno. I begrudgingly participated, but to my relief, around half-past eleven, our parents were already climbing the staircase to their rooms.

The plan was to leave the lake house bright and early the next morning to reach home in time for Juhi’s return from her in-laws’. But Sameer and Tara were settled comfortably on the couch, his arm around her, sipping beer as she nursed her scotch. The contented smile resting on his face screamed how much he loved her, and suddenly, I felt envy, an unfamiliar emotion for me.

My eyes darted to Sona, who looked at her phone and raised her brows at me. I responded with a slight shrug and focused on my phone.

“Alright, I’m off,” Sona announced. “I think being on the water wore me out. Come, Riya, I’ll tuck you in.”

I smiled internally. Smart woman, the kind I liked.

Riya jumped with glee, and I heard their chatter as they climbed the stairs.

“I’ll go up too,” I said. “Need to send some emails.”

“Goodnight.” Sameer and Tara gave me happy, buzzed smiles but didn’t budge from their spot. I resisted the urge to pull them off the couch and shove them into their room.

By 12:45 a.m., though, when I began changing into my swim shorts, the house was enveloped in sweet silence. I waited a few precautionary minutes, then tiptoed downstairs.

I had just entered the pool when I saw Sona slip into the backyard in her robe, her hair tied up in a high bun. A few curls had worked free from the top knot and now danced around her pretty face.

“Are you ready?” I held out a hand as she tossed the robe on a recliner and stood in knee-length shorts and a rash guard.

“Almost.”

With a gentle wiggle of her hips, she dropped the shorts, then proceeded to strip off the shirt. Beneath it was a modest bikini bottom and an alluringly skimpy top that showed off her shapely breasts.

“You’re leering, Mr. Seth,” she said with her hands on her hips. “Haven’t you seen a woman in a bikini before?”

I swallowed hard. “Not this woman, Dr. Thomas.”

She threw her head back in a laugh, then placed her hand in mine and stepped into the water at the shallow end.

“You’re not afraid of water, are you?” I asked.

“I don’t think so,” she said, clinging to my arms. “So, what are we really doing here?”

“Swimming. That was quite a show, by the way. You could’ve just walked up in your bikini under that robe.”

“I could’ve, but then I would’ve missed that look on your face. You underestimate me, don’t you?”

I had to smile. “Never. Not after the first night, anyway.”

“The night you thought I would fall into your arms.”

“You almost did.”

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