"Your son is so handsome!"
My mother gave them a smile.
"Yes, and he's in finance too. He has an MBA. He's my very smart boy." she said, pinching my cheeks.
I gave them all a slight smile.
"Oh wow. My daughter is a doctor. Maybe they should both get married."
They laughed. I chuckled nervously.
"This boy is very unromantic, huh, just work, work, work with him."
"Ah…I wish my son was like that! I told him to become an engineer, instead he wants to be a graphic designer."
"Oh my gosh."
Okay, I had to find a way to leave.
"Hey, Priti! Come here!"
They waved to a girl with bright red lipstick on and pale skin. She ran up, clutching her purse to her black lenga*.
"Hi…"
"We'll let you two talk together."
Thank god the aunties are leaving, but now I was stuck with her.
"Uhm…hi…what's your name?" she asked.
"Kavya."
"Oh."
Awkward silence.
"Hey, my mum likes to gossip a lot, so don't mind her."
"They all do." I laughed.
She chuckled.
"So, marriage, huh? These ones are way more fun than the Christian marriages."
"You've been to one? Your parents let you?"
"Ah, yeah…Can't let them dictate everything I do, right?"
"Yeah, haha…."
"Well, you seem like an amma's** boy."
"I am yeah…just don't like how she wants me to be married and date is all."
"Why?"
"Well…I'm not really a romantic."
Say that to your boyfriend, dumbass!
"Oh wow. Honestly, relatable. I'm fine with dating, but marriage is a leap. Especially when you don't know what men are like nowadays. No offence."
"None taken, I get you!"
"Pft…"
We cackled.
"Uhm, are you…"
She flipped her hand. My eyes widened.
"If I'm?!-"
"Don't get me wrong! I'm only asking because I'm bi too."
I sighed in relief. Thank god.
"Uhm…yeah."
"Ah…I get it. We're in this together, alright!"
I chuckled.
"Are you open about it?"
"Yeah…but nobody takes it really seriously since I used to have a boyfriend. But I used to have a girlfriend too, so I don't know what they're talking about."
"Ah…"
So, she could be open about it.
"I'm assuming you're not with the way you act around everyone."
"Pft…yeah. You're right. Well, it's nice to see another south Asian queer."
"Haha! Same here!"
She sipped her falooda*** and exhaled.
"So…who's the lucky guy?"
"What…why would I show him?"
"Oh right, weird for me to ask."
"Well…he's a French guy."
She blew out her drink. I flinched while she laughed hysterically. I stood there, crossing my arms.
"What?…"
"Nothing…"
*
He pulled me onto the bed and rolled the other side. Huh? I thought we were going to do something else…
"Good night." he breathed.
Was he just…teasing me?
I turned away. He pulled me towards him, my back pressing against his chest while his legs wrapped around me.
"Let's just…stay like this."
It's weird, we never hugged like this in a while. Mostly because I never wanted to, and I wanted to keep my distance from him. Even if we would be extremely intimate sometimes.
God…I really deserved to suffer.
Even if we were in another universe, he was acting stranger than usual. When he was impulsive, it was usually when he had something to hide.
"Antoine…is there something you're not telling me?"
He huffed.
"No…"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, now go to sleep."
You idiot, you made me like this now I have to sleep?…
Ah, better to discuss things when his mind is clear.
*
My feet treaded the hallway towards my cubicle. The scents around me overhwhelmed my senses. My head throbbed and I sighed.
"Fucking hell…"
"Bad day?"
I screamed and his eyes widened.
"Jacob. Seriously."
"Man, each time I talk to you, I get some kind of crazy reaction from you."
"Sorry…things have been weird lately."
"Finally something happening in our boring lives, huh!" he laughed.
"Not cool. I'm being stalked."
His jaw dropped.
"Uh…sorry…didn't know that."
"Yeah…they stole my phone."
*
"And that's how this product will bring forth an estimate of 1 million dollars of profit if we release it."
They all clapped and I bowed my head. One of the product managers squinted her eyes, forming more wrinkles on her aged face and gave an eery smile. I turned away quickly.
Jacob knocked on the glass door. I glanced towards him and he signaled with his hand for me to come to him.
*
"Dude, I think I got a lead on your stalker!"
"Shush! Don't announce it to the whole world!"
"I'm serious," he whisper-yelled, "I think it might be one of the supervisors or managers, but it's definitely one of the woman."
"Why would it be a woman?"
"Because I found long hair strands on your desk. I have a lot of sisters and I can definitely tell."
"Huh…"
"This is abuse of authority and I should ask HR to investigate it!"
"You know HR doesn't actually do anything." I sighed.
"Yeah…"
Well, I guess not even in this universe.
"Sorry man, but I don't want to get involved in anything too dangerous. Maybe you should try to test the dna of the hair. Even then, they don't really think woman could be stalkers, especially omegas."
"Alright. I appreciate it man."
He walked away and I approached my desk. What the hell?! There was not a single piece of hair! Was he messing with me?
His silhouette disappeared into the elevator. I sighed. No…it can't be that. I'll have to look into it further.
*Lenga: Indian dress separated in two pieces.
**Amma: Mother in Tamil.
***Falooda: Sweet drink.