Chapter 6
Max and I started meeting each other frequently during the week and some weekends at either his apartment or mine where we would immediately proceed to fucking each other till one of us passed out from exhaustion. I was amazed at how much my libido had shot up since the time I met Max. We never went out and we rarely got the time to talk except at breakfast. He always insisted on making me breakfast, which I was thankful for as he ended up making unusual but delicious things with whatever he'd find in the kitchen. But breakfast was only possible on those occasions where one of us had spent the night and I didn't need to rush to work in the morning. So even though close to a month had passed, I felt like I still hadn't learnt much more about Max than I did after the first time he made me breakfast.
Work had gotten a little hectic for me which didn't leave me time for much of a social life. I was due for a promotion and facing a lot of stress. The only respite I seemed to get was during my visits with Max.
Kylie had been away and had therefore missed the recent developments in my life. Her office had sent her away to France for six weeks related to a merger they were going through. She was due back that week and we'd made plans to hangout and catch up that weekend.
Max was already aware of my long standing plan with Kylie so I didn't need to call him and ask him not to come over that night. I wondered what he might be doing. In fact on more than one occasion I had wondered about what it was that Max did on the nights, especially the weekends that we didn't hook up. But, I never asked. I guess, in many ways I didn't want to know.
When the weekend came so did Kylie, as planned. It wasn't till I saw her that I recognised how much I had missed her during her time away. We sat and spoke while she popped open a bottle of fancy French bubbly that she had specially smuggled back for me.
We started talking about work and all the upheavals we had faced- Kylie and I have similar roles in our respective offices, which is another reason why I find it easier to talk to her than the rest of my friends- but eventually our talks turned to more delicate matters.
"So whatever happened between you and that young 'un from that club we'd gone to?"
"What do you mean?" I asked feigning ignorance.
"Is the sex still great or have you moved on?"
I sighed, "No. The sex is still great."
"So, what's the problem?"
I thought about her question but once more couldn't pinpoint the exact issue.
"There's no problem, except that I feel like something is amiss and I can't quite put my finger on it."
"Uh-oh!"
"What?"
"Are you dating anyone else?"
"No."
"Haven't you gone out with anyone else since this guy?"
"Ummm... No, but that's only because I've been so busy with work."
"But you have managed to go out with this guy, during this busy time, right?"
"Not going out, no, but I think I see the point you're trying to make."
"Do you? Okay answer me this. Has he gone out with anyone else?"
I would've personally liked to know the answer to this question myself, but, "I don't know."
"So, you're exclusive."
"No, I said that I don't know if he's seeing anyone else."
"Yeah, I heard you and I said that you, as in you, Nayana, are exclusively seeing this guy. You're making this more complicated than it ought to be."
"What is it that it
ought to be
?" I asked bitingly.
"Less involved."
"What's that s'posed to mean?"
"It means that you don't get involved with the person beyond getting your needs met."
"Oh, well, that it exactly how it is."
"Really?" She sounded surprised.
"Yes; really." I confirmed.
"Then why are you so conflicted about your situation? Do you want more?"
I hadn't considered this before; could it be possible that while I didn't expect more from my arrangement with Max that a part of me would have liked it to turn into something more.
"I suppose it's one of those urban fairy tales, isn't it? The booty call that turned into a happily-ever-after."
Kylie laughed.
"I'm glad to see that you still have your wits about you."
"And I'm glad that we spoke. It helped put some of this into perspective."
"We need to fix you up with a nice Indian guy."
"I hope this is not the part where you ask me to give Sid another try."
"You could do worse."
"Or a whole lot better." I waggled my eyebrows at her.
"You couldn't find any boy better than the match I got you girly," Kylie said while doing her best Yenta impersonation.
"Well actually Saira got you beat in that department. She fixed me up with a brilliant guy from my company."
"So,
tell me more, tell me more, tell me more, like does he have a car
," Kylie sang the lines from the Grease musical.
"Nothing for now. I've just been too busy to go out with him again."
"Nayana! Pick up the phone right now and fix a date with that man." She said bossily.
It felt like everyone had taken to ordering me around those days or had I always been such a doormat, I wondered.
"Okay woman, no need to shout."
