There's Something About Sweetie(32)

“Well, yeah, it is kind of silly. And you could definitely marry a non-Indian girl. One of the happiest couples I know is my cousin Anjali and her husband, who’s a white American guy.” Sweetie glanced at him. “But, um … why are they so worried you’d get that reputation of not being compatible with Indian girls?”

He rubbed a hand along his jawline and cleared his throat. “Probably because I’ve, uh, never dated one.”

“Never?” It didn’t take a relationship genius to see that someone like Ashish had probably had a ton of girlfriends. And not one of them had been Indian? “Why not?”

He stuck his hands in his pockets as he and Sweetie wound toward a pond in the center of the garden. The sunlight sparkled on its surface. “I don’t know. … I guess I just didn’t like the idea of Ma and Pappa following me around, wondering if it was something serious. And I knew if I dated non-Indian girls, they’d just pretend like I was single, because to them, I could never be serious about someone who didn’t share my culture. Anyway, I just want to have fun, you know? I’m not like my brother, Rishi. He already has this girlfriend he knows he’s going to marry, and he’s still in college. So it suited me just fine that my parents never bothered with any of my non-Indian girlfriends. Even when I was serious with them.”

His eyes got this distant, guarded look, the honey hardening to stone. “Who were you … serious with?” She was immediately embarrassed, sure she was turning bright pink. Sweetie had no idea why she’d asked that, and not just asked, but asked with a jealous edge to her voice. Urrggh. Way to be chill, Nair.

Ashish looked away, as if he was looking at the pond. But Sweetie had a feeling he was trying to collect his thoughts. Whoever the girl was, she must’ve been really important to him. She tried not to let herself be bothered by the thought. She barely knew Ashish Patel, even if they had shared that little spark at their first meeting earlier today.

“No one,” Ashish said, his voice quiet. “No one at all.”

They looped around the pond, Sweetie’s tennis shoes squishing in the mud a bit.

“If you don’t want to date, I’ll totally understand,” Ashish said finally. A bird warbled above their heads, perched in the big oak tree. “I know it’s a lot. My parents’ list and the agreement, my reputation …”

Sweetie thought about it. Dating Ashish didn’t have to be a big thing. It wasn’t like Sweetie was looking for a future groom—she was under no illusion that every boy you dated had to be your true love or anything. This was about proving to herself that boys like Ashish Patel could and did find girls like her datable. That was all. Which meant that his parents and that ridiculous memorandum changed nothing. She looked at him. “You know, I think it’ll be fine. We should do it.” Oh no. That totally sounded like she was saying they should have sex. Feeling her cheeks glow incandescent, Sweetie added quickly, “Uh, their four-date thing, I mean.”

Ashish didn’t seem to think anything was amiss; he just looked genuinely surprised. “Really?”

Sweetie smiled. “Really. Besides, I think your dad would take me to court if I broke the agreement.”

“Wow.” Grinning, he stuck a hand through his hair, leaving it all mussed. He would very easily look at home on the cover of Esquire or something. Sweetie tried not to let the thought intimidate her. “That’s impressive, not gonna lie. I thought we’d freaked you out.”

“Well, you did, a little.” Sweetie laughed, pulling her mind back into the conversation. “But I don’t scare that easily.”

Ashish smiled at her, big and bright, and her heart went thud. “I’m really glad.”

Sweetie pulled out her cell phone. “Um, I should go before my mom starts calling.”

“Okay. I’ll walk you to your car.”

Their hands brushed lightly as they walked, and Sweetie found her breath quickening. Seriously? She’d thought she was less shallow than that. But she couldn’t deny it; she found Ashish Patel incredibly, incredibly attractive. It occurred to her that now that they were going to be dating, there would be a real first kiss. And … maybe even more. She gulped a little. Ashish Patel might have dated thousands of girls. But the truth was, Sweetie Nair had never dated a single boy. The only time she’d been kissed was when she was seven, and Toby Stinton said he wanted to give her “boy cooties” so her face would “fall off.”

“By the way,” Ashish said, turning to her in the middle of the drive. She looked up at him, trying to quell her insecure flurry of thoughts. He stepped closer, his eyes smoldering in the setting sun. “I, uh, had a good time this morning. Hanging out with you, I mean.”

“Oh.” She gulped, her pulse quickening. “Me too.” Her eyelids fluttered almost without conscious thought. Flirting! She was flirting! At least … she thought she was.

Ashish took her hand, a half smile on his face. Sweetie tried to keep her breathing nice and easy and normal. Passing out was not an option. NOT AN OPTION. “Good. You know, contractual mandates aside, I’m really looking forward to getting to know you better.”

She gulped again. She’d be full of air if she didn’t watch out. “M-me too.” Acckkk. Couldn’t she think of anything else to say?

Smiling, Ashish let her hand go as they walked over to her car. He held the door open for her. As she got in and smiled up at him, she thought, I am so astonishingly unprepared for this.