Page 46 of The Ex Factor

Aarti allowed herself a quick, girly giggle, then turned to meet my smiling eyes. That was the reason I’d chosen Cards Against Humanity. I knew Aarti’s greatest strength was her ability to read people, and that evening, during the small talk before the game, she’d quickly learned everyone’s personality traits and tells. Even I didn’t know Chris’ tell was that he rolled his tongue around in his mouth— as Aarti divulged later that night—and I’d known him for years.

When Adil declared he’d had enough humiliation for one night, I retreated to the kitchen to grab the sandwiches. We’d have eaten them out of the box they were packed in, but Aarti had matter-of-factly pulled out a serving platter and plates as if any of us rubes cared.

I laid out the platter on the dining table and went to the kitchen to grab the plates and napkins. When I returned, I saw Aarti and Manoj out on the covered balcony with the glass door closed behind them. Installed with heat and lighting, it was perfectly comfortable during the colder months.

Aarti knew Manoj was divorced, and he knew she was single. I hadn’t realized their innocuous banter was the start of something devastating for me. Seeing them talking so closely tripped me down a dark hole in my past.

It was the second time Manoj had made moves on a woman I liked.

AARTI

It had been a long time since I had enjoyed myself this brashly. I think the last time I was this uninhibited was in college with my friend Isha. Even when I was with Sameer and my other friends in Dallas, the performative elements in keeping with my social status always haunted me.

I was always Aarti Bhatia, daughter of Satish Bhatia, heir to the Bhatia empire, a socialite—a term I really hated for myself. I could never be just Aarti, the introvert who could be playful under the right circumstances. I had to project my social class and perfection in everything I did. I could never be caught underdressed or overexcited. I could never laugh loudly outside the house. I could never flop around while walking. Such was the burden of being in the public gaze at all times.

And yet, as I barked a rowdy laugh in the safety of Sujit’s presence and the security of his apartment, I felt completely at ease. His friends were wonderful. Perhaps because they didn’t know who I was, I didn’t feel the pressure of being under a microscopic gaze as I always did. But even the feeling of liberation didn’t dim my hyper-perceptive senses that I had honed over the years. I noted the intensity with which Manojwas studying me. Little did he know, I was also studying him, only I was smarter than to let it on.

Manoj seemed an anomaly for this nerdy group. Sujit, Adil, and Chris seemed like they could be friends. They were slightly nerdy but very gullible and straightforward. Manoj, on the other hand, was a player and wanted to be seen as one. He was good-looking and a charmer. But there was something about him that bothered me, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It wasn’t anything he said or did. He wanted to appear funny and charming and a consummate gentleman, and he had certainly succeeded in that. But the tiny hairs on my neck, standing on edge, said there was something off about him. And now, he became a challenge I just couldn’t resist. I had to figure out what it was.

Playing on my wily charms, the sly smiles, and thoseoh-that-was-totally-an-accidenttouches as he sat next to me during the game were all ways to disarm him. And sure enough, when Sujit excused himself to get the refreshments, Manoj asked if he could speak to me privately on the balcony. That was the moment I was waiting for.

“You are a sneaky little player,” he said as I pulled the door to the balcony closed behind me.

“Hmm, did you underestimate me because of my looks or on account of my gender?” I asked with a crooked smile. “Or did you overestimate yourself, as I suspect you often do?”

He laughed and put his hands up in surrender. “I did, but never again. Not with you, anyway.”

I slipped him another sly grin. “Good. A lesson learned, then?”

“Indeed,” he said and pulled out a vape pen. “Would you like a pull?”

I raised my palm to refuse the offer. “Thanks.”

“This is my only vice,” he explained, and I highly doubted that statement.

“What did you want to talk about?” I asked, eager to know what was transpiring in his head.

“No chit-chat, huh?” He tried to endear himself with another smile.

In response, I crossed my arms in impatience. He gathered I wasn’t interested in playing his games.

“Since you are in realty, I thought you would be the right person to advise me about this,” he said as he pulled in a drag from his device and blew out a cloud of vapor.

I merely nodded in response.

“I have been tinkering with a new idea, and no one knows about it yet.” He repeated his motions with the stick in his hand.

I waited in silence.

“That’s why I asked you out here,” he said and cast a quick glance at his friends, who were gathering around the food at the dining table.

I followed his gaze and found Sujit laying out the spread on the platter as I had suggested. My heart warmed at the sight. I longed to be inside with him, beside him. My unconscious mind had already memorized his scent. I pulled in a deep breath and felt another surge of warmth course through me.

I returned my eyes to Manoj. “Sure, what are you looking for?”

“I can trust your discretion, right?”

“My discretion is conditional,” I warned. “I need to trust you first to assure you of it.”

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