10 Things I Hate About Pinky - Sandhya Menon Page 0,73

the most astute things and you say them so casually, like everyone should know them. It’s like you don’t even realize how insightful you are. And you care about everything so—so brazenly and so deeply. You’re incredibly brave in the way you live your life. And, somehow, I wanted to be part of that.”

She continued to look at him, her lips slightly parted. A flurry of emotions crossed her face, too quick and fleeting for Samir to hold on to and examine a single one. He moved in closer to her, inch by inch, giving her the space to say no, to turn away. She didn’t.

Samir pressed his lips to hers and felt her sigh as his hands tangled in her hair, as if she were relieved to be giving in to this feeling, giving in to him. Her hands pressed up against his chest as they fell deeper into their kiss, the night melting away like taffy. As he tasted her on his lips yet again, Samir marveled at the fact that he’d kissed her twice now, and this time there was no pretense of “practice.” This time it was all real. He’d laid himself bare to a girl for the very first time. This was him, real, raw, and it seemed like she liked what she saw.

Finally, Pinky pulled back, breathing just as hard as he was. He smiled down at her, tracing her lips with one finger.

“I’m… Thank you for telling me that,” she said, pulling back and adjusting her hair without looking at him.

He frowned at the sudden coolness in her voice, in her body language. “You’re… welcome.”

She smiled brightly at him and tagged his shoulder with her fist. “Another good practice kiss. Well done, us!”

Samir studied her expression. “Pinky… what—are you okay?”

“Fine!” she said, standing and walking down the deck to the railing.

He stood and followed her, coming to stand beside her but keeping his distance. “You’re not fine,” he said quietly. “I think that’s pretty clear. Did I misread…?”

There was a pause. “No,” she said, turning to him, her hip pressed against the railing. “You didn’t misread anything. I wanted you to kiss me.”

He nodded slowly, still lost. “Okay. Then what happened?”

“I don’t want us to lose sight of our goal, our transaction,” she said, and he didn’t miss the light emphasis on the words “goal” and “transaction.”

His face cleared. She was letting him down easy. She’d heard what he hadn’t said, what was hiding behind his words—that he was beginning to like her. That this was becoming more than just a “transaction” to him. She was letting him know she didn’t feel the same way.

Samir took another step back, hurt and rejection like a fine mist around his face. “Oh, okay.” He nodded once, looking over her head out at the lake beyond. Lights from the houses surrounding it glimmered on its black surface. “Gotcha.”

“Samir, I—”

“No, that’s totally fine. I get it.” He smiled a little to show he meant it; it wasn’t her fault she didn’t like him the way he liked her. That had never been their deal. Now he was just going to have to be a big boy and get past it. Had he thought he saw more in her reactions? Had he felt like her feelings for him matched his for her? Yes. But that was immaterial now. Whatever he’d thought, however he’d misunderstood, he heard her “no” loud and clear. “It’s for the best, you know? We wouldn’t want to cloud up our end goals here.”

Something like disappointment flashed across her face. But that was ridiculous, wishful thinking. What would she be disappointed for? He was giving her what she wanted.

“Yep,” Pinky said finally, turning back around to look out at the tastefully lit backyard. “Speaking of, I spoke to Gloria on the phone earlier. She said the big issue for them right now is pushback from the mayor. He says the papers have already been signed, the contract’s been inked, that there’s no way to put this all off.…”

Samir struggled for a moment to find his bearings. To let the sting of rejection recede into the background, to force his head back into logical mode. “Right,” he said finally. “That’s what the developer woman said too.”

“Yeah. But Gloria isn’t convinced. She thinks that might be just something he’s saying so people won’t bother him. So Gloria wants people to just keep making appointments to see the mayor, you know, see if we can wear him down