Page 72 of Reckless Dare

Was it all an act?

Before she could say anything, Neeraj’s phone began ringing.

Neeraj frowned. “It is my father. Excuse me.”

As Ava stood waiting for Neeraj, his friends, who were mostly from the Eagles team, looked equally pissed.

“Those bastard Simhas are going to rub it in by holding races tonight as celebration. We should boycott them.”

“But they’ll claim we were scared of losing to them again so we didn’t show up to the races.”

“Let’s go and take some chicks along to make it a backward facing races. The Simhas don’t like having chicks at the back. So, they’ll come off as losers.”

“Good idea! Let’s go arrange for some chicks.”

They all left.

Ava wondered what the Eagles team guys were discussing. She understood the part where they discussed attending motorbike races. But what did they mean by taking chicks and backward facing?

Before she could think further, she heard Neeraj’s upset voice.

“Yes, dad. I lost,” he said.

Her heart sank, feeling bad for him. She expected Neeraj’s father to console him, but she was surprised when a man's voice blared through the phone. It was loud enough that she could hear those words even though the call was not on speaker.

“What the hell were you thinking, Neeraj! You stood against a Simha!” His father sounded livid.

“Dad, these are college elections. What is the big deal?”

“Neeraj, they are the Simhas. They are the kingmakers. They literally pick and choose who gets to be on the top seat across the country. Because of your silly college elections, you could easily risk my chances at grabbing the top seat in our state. Focus on your damn studies and stop meddling in things you don’t belong in.”

There was a pissed off look on Neeraj’s face. “Fine,” he gritted.

He ended the call and looked at her. Ava tried to put a neutral face, so he wouldn’t know and be embarrassed by the fact that she had heard the conversation.

“Are you okay, Neeraj?” she asked.

Neeraj gritted his teeth as he nodded. “I’m disappointed, but I’m fine.”

She felt bad and was thinking of something to say to cheer him up when he suddenly held her hands. Surprised, she looked at him.

“Let’s go out for dinner, Ava,” he said. “I could badly use some cheering.”

Her immediate instinct was to find an excuse to refuse him. But knowing he was quite disappointed and hoping to cheer him, she nodded. “Yes. Let’s celebrate your hard work during campaigning.”

She was disappointed that Neeraj had lost despite the extensive campaigning. And she was also pissed that not only her tormentor won, but Neeraj got into trouble with his father for daring to stand against a Simha.

Who do they think they are?

Neeraj nodded and there was a happy smile on his face. “That’s great, Ava! Let’s go to a sports bar. I know you’ll enjoy the place.”

She smiled. “Sure.”

Somehow she felt guilty and it added to her accepting the date. She wanted to cheer up Neeraj after he suffered a humiliating loss at the hands of her tormentor.

*****

When Ava got back to the housing unit, her anger and disappointment grew.

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