Page 40 of Driven By Desire
Everyone? Refocusing on Max’s stiff figure, Krish grabbed her by the arm and yanked her closer.
“What are you doing?” The angry yelp didn’t deter him from his purpose.
Tugging the rubber band out of her hair, he combed his fingers through it looking for evidence. Finding it, he yanked at one of the green highlights subtly worked into the previously flawless waterfall of hair.
“What was the look you were going for? Fungus?”
Stiffening, Max untangled her hair from his grip and stepped back. Wrapping her tattered dignity around her, she replied, “Pooja’s highlights are temporary and can be washed out so I don’t think it would be a problem with her school or anyone else. Adi’s are permanent but as he is not a minor under your care, I’m assuming he gets to take a call on whether he wants them or not. As for me,” A deep breath punctuated the even speech, “I do believe that what I do with my hair or any other part of my body is none of your business.”
“So there’s really no need for you to be a bitch.” The snide remark halted all other conversation and had four pairs of adult eyes swiveling to Pooja.
“What did you just call me?” The shock and fury in his voice had Pooja gulping. Suddenly aware she might have pushed her eldest brother too far, she mumbled, “Sorry. Max told me not to repeat that word to anyone but I was angry.”
“Did she?”
Now it was Max’s turn to gulp. “Oh God! Pooja and I were talking about something and the word just slipped out. I apologized and told her not to ever repeat it again but-“
One hand, palm out silenced her. The other raised to point a finger at Pooja. “In the bathroom. Now! Wash your mouth out with soap. Chirag will supervise it. And when you’re done, get your butt back in here and write ‘I won’t use foul language.’ five hundred times and hand it in to me. Tonight.”
“Krish-“
“Not now, Max.”
“But-“
“I said, not now!”
On that note, he strode from the room with his homemade Justin Timberlake trailing glumly behind him.
CHAPTER 15
He’d heard her leave in an angry squeal of tires that still echoed in the emptiness of his room. Grimly swigging his beer, he dragged his mind back to work. When he realized he’d been looking at the same proposal for more than half an hour, he shut the laptop with a decisive snap. Tossing his empty beer bottle into the trash, he walked down to grab another one from the fridge. One pink head bent industriously over a sheet of paper at the dining table he crossed on his way to the kitchen.
Popping the beer open, he kept going through the kitchen door and out into the backyard. Walking over to where the cars where garaged, he left the beer on the wrought iron table to the side and yanked the car cover off the MG. She’d been busy. Not that he could make sense of the technical aspect of it but he knew progress when he saw it.
Cherry red. He should tell her to paint it cherry red when it was ready. It was the color his father had chosen all those years ago. Memories settled in a heavy cloud around him. Throattightening painfully, he blinked back the tears that burned his eyes.
“I miss you, Dad,” he whispered, reaching across to stroke the faded upholstery. “I’m screwing it up. All of it. I wish you were here to show me how to do this right. Do all of it right.”
“If he were here, you wouldn’t have to do most of it.” Chirag’s quiet voice had him stiffening. Keeping his back to the house, he took his time resettling the car cover. When he had both himself and the car under control, he turned and picked up his bottle. Taking a slow, deliberate sip, he kept his eyes trained on the house framing his brother’s silhouette.
“You shouldn’t have to either.” Shrugging when his brother finally looked at him, Chirag said, “It’s not fair.”
“What’s fair got to do with anything?” Exhaustion seeped into his bones making him feel ninety years old. Leaning against the table, he asked, “Do you think I was wrong?”
“No.” Chirag walked over and turned to stand shoulder to shoulder with his brother. “Adi’s an adult. If he wants to look like an idiot, that’s his choice but Pooja should have asked permission.”
“Max gave her permission.” Even saying her name started a slow burn in his gut.
“She played Max.” The dry response had Krish swiveling to look at his brother. “You know Pooj. She’s probably been planning this for weeks and her day out with Max must have presented her with the perfect opportunity.”
“Max should have called one of us.” Stubbornly refusing to let go of his anger, Krish emptied his second bottle. Aiming for thetrash can in the corner, he chucked it in with one perfectly aimed shot.
“Yes, she should have.”
The easy agreement deflated his rising temper like a pricked balloon. Irritated but not entirely sure by what, he muttered, “It was irresponsible.”
Chirag just made a non-committal noise in his throat and kept looking towards the house. Framed in the kitchen window, Pooja continued to work on her lines. After a moment, Krish said, “Can’t really blame her, I suppose.”
