Prem knew that Kareena had never gone away for a weekend with a man. With her friends, sure, but alone with another human being for an extended period of time?
She was going to put up walls.
Or at least he expected her to put up walls.
Instead, she’d relaxed in his passenger seat, trading in her sweater vest for a V-cut strappy ankle-length dress made out of gauzy cotton that had a row of buttons from the center of her breasts down to her knees. When she’d changed at his apartment, he almost dragged her back into his bedroom, but she had a wild, excited energy around her. Prem never thought a night away at the beach would make her so happy.
They’d spent almost two hours stuck in traffic with the windows down and a Taylor Swift playlist blasting through his speakers. They barely paid attention to the music, though. They were so busy talking. Podcasts, college, favorite restaurants, movies, bucket lists, travel plans.
And Kareena made Prem laugh. Really, truly laugh.
The first time they’d slept together, he knew that he’d wanted to keep her. To be with her. It was a gut reaction that didn’t go away.
But now, he didn’t know what would happen if she didn’t want to keep him right back. Because she still wanted something that he couldn’t give her.
“Come on,” he said after parking in the assigned spot for their rental condo. “Let’s dump the bags and get some food.”
“You read my mind.”
It felt like the easiest thing in the world to be with her in that moment. After putting their bags inside the master bedroom, he linked fingers with her and walked down to the boardwalk toward the small Mexican restaurant.
Unfortunately, there was a horde of people standing outside. Prem hadn’t gone down to the shore as much as she apparently had, because it took Kareena two seconds to pivot and submit a takeout order.
“Let’s go eat on the beach,” she said as they grabbed the white plastic takeout bag from the hostess up front. “It’s dark, but the weather is great.”
Prem didn’t argue and led the way down into the sand and toward the water. They found a quiet dune illuminated by the boardwalk lights behind them, but dark enough for privacy.
“I bet you get this kind of weather in California all the time,” Kareena said as she set up their takeout containers.
“Better sometimes. I used to go to the beach after school when I didn’t have any homework. I’d just sit on the sand and read.”
“Anatomy and biology books?”
“More like sci-fi fantasy. I didn’t trade those in for nonfiction until I hit college.”
Kareena passed him a foil-wrapped burrito. “That’s when my fiction reading habit kicked in. I would rather stay at home and read than go out.”
Prem watched as she unwrapped the foil from around her burrito, inspected the bulging contents, and took a quick bite. She let out a moan that went right through him.
“Wow,” Kareena said with her mouth full. “This has got to be the best burrito that I’ve ever eaten in forever.”
He shifted, drawing up his knees to hide the fact that Charlie wanted to come out and play. Clearing his throat, praying that his erection went away, he said, “Did you date the book nerd in college, too?”
She shook her head. “I started working on the Beamer my junior year and needed help fixing it by myself because I didn’t want to ask Dad for money for repairs. I began seeing this guy who worked at his dad’s garage. He had a motorcycle.”
“Wow, look at you,” Prem said, leaning back to eye her up and down. “Did you ever go for a ride?”
“Fuck no,” Kareena said with a snort. “I couldn’t stop thinking what would happen to me if my father, my grandmother, or my aunties ever found out. We broke up when we both realized we were too different. As sweet as he was, whenever I talked about my family, he didn’t understand why I still lived at home when it got so toxic.”
“Mm-hmm,” Prem said as he bit into his burrito. “It’s hard to communicate the immigrant experience with those who don’t understand. We want to support and be with our families, and sometimes we sacrifice our mental health and our emotional well-being to do it.”
“I can’t give them up, though,” Kareena said softly. “They make me happier than they make me sad. Even though lately, with Bindu’s wedding planning, it’s more sadness.”
“Now you can stay with me if they hurt you.”
Kareena smiled, burrito in hand. “I’ll hold you to that.”