The six of us sat at the table. My father and Anushka's at the ends while our mothers sat opposite of me and Anushka. She kept glancing my way as we ate chicken dum biryani with malai ki kheer for dessert.  I focused on my food while the adults chatted in Hindi. Even if I was listening, I would have only been able to catch a little of what they were saying.

My father once called me a disgrace for an Indian because I couldn't speak Hindi fluently.

So, I blocked them out. The adults and Anushka. My mind was on one person.

Gabriel.

        Fuck. I couldn't believe I gave in. This wasn't supposed to happen because he was supposed to stay out of my life. I was over him, and he had no place in my life anymore. Then he gave me that look and knowing he had nowhere to go bothered me more than it should have. I shouldn't have cared, so I didn't know why I agreed to let him stay with me.

He listened to me by staying out of my way. We didn't talk much, and we kept our distance. That was what I wanted, so I didn't understand why I was discontent. I also didn't understand why I couldn't stop thinking about him.

"Beta," my father called out, and my gaze shifted to him. He smiled. "Isn't Anushka beautiful?"

I looked over at the girl, who had a closed-lip smile. She had brown highlights in her wavy hair, and her eyes were a rich dark brown. She was from the north, like my family. Then again, my father would have never allowed me to marry a girl from the south or anywhere else in India.

"Yes," I said with a forced smile. "She's very beautiful."

She was. If I wasn't mesmerized by dick, I would have been excited to fuck her every night.

My father released a hearty laugh. "Let's get this marriage over with, so we can have some grandchildren."

Anushka's parents laughed while my mother stayed silent. My parents already had grandchildren—Nila's children. I guess he meant grandchildren with the Gupta name.

The adults continued talking while I finished up my meal and moved onto my dessert. Anushka leaned over my way. "Are you as miserable as I am, right now?" she asked, and I stared at her. "Come on, you look like you want to be anywhere but here."

I wanted to be home. Reading a book. Going for a swim. Playing chess. Anything. I stopped my mind from wandering to a certain man.

"Am I that obvious?" I said.

Anushka leaned over to her side. "No. I just read people."

"Oh, yeah?" She nodded. "Well, I think you look like a nice girl."

She chuckled. "If you think I'm a nice girl, then you suck at reading people."

I sucked a lot of things.

Anushka stood up with her purse in her hand. "I have to go to the restroom." Her parents waved her off as they continued their conversation. I watched her walk away, and when she was out of sight, I stood up, too.

"I need to head out for a second." I followed Anushka's trail.

"Don't get frisky you two," my father said. "Wait for the wedding night."

More laughter ensued, but I was anything but amused. I didn't know why I was following this girl, but something about her exit seemed suspicious. When I made it to the hall with the bathroom, that was when I saw Anushka taking a swig from a flask. I moved forward and stopped in front of her. She brought the flask down from her lips with a smile.

"Still think I'm a nice girl?" she asked.

"Nice girls can drink."

She jutted her hand out with the flask in it. "Want some liquid courage?" Why not? I grabbed it and drank almost all of it. Then I sighed and handed it back to her. Her eyes were wide. "I guess you really were miserable back there." She put the flask away in her purse before focusing on me. "Are you a nice boy?"

I shrugged. "If you call fucking through life nice, then yeah."

She chuckled. "I guess me and you have more in common than I thought."

I stared at her in disbelief. Anushka didn't look innocent, but she definitely didn't look wild either. "Is that so?" I asked, and she nodded. "Do you like nice guys?"

She looked to the side for a second before returning her gaze to me. "No," she said, "I like them rough. They fuck better." We never broke eye contact. "What about you?"

"I like them submissive," I said. "They scream louder."

Anushka's eyes broadened. "Submissive?" she said. "We're not going to get along in the bedroom."

I moved closer. "Even the most dominant people tend to bend over for me."

She smirked. "Well, this girl wouldn't be bending over anytime soon." She pushed me back. "She prefers to ride."

She winked before walking away, leaving me in the hallway. I released a short breath. That was a pleasant surprise. I looked to the side, but she was gone. At least my future wife kept things exciting.

She didn't have a dick, but she had a backbone. I may have liked them submissive, but I didn't like them spineless.

When I returned, Anushka was back to sitting quietly as our parents talked. We kept sneaking glances at each other, holding back our urges to laugh. This was going to be interesting.

When the dinner was over, I got into my Sequoia and began my drive home. I was listening to my favorite rap station, rapping along to it. I was impartial to all music genres until Darian got me into rap. It was homophobic to the bone, but it was a guilty pleasure. When my phone rang, I lowered the volume to grab my iPhone. When I saw the caller, I groaned.

Nila.

With a sigh, I answered. "Hello?"

"Gyan," she said, her voice sounding neutral. "Congratulations. Papa is making you into the perfect son."

What now?

Me and my sister's conversations never ended well. "What are you talking about?"

"First, he makes you the heir to Appeto," she said. "Now, he's marrying you off to the daughter of one of the most prestigious Indian families in Shirley Heights. Everything is perfect for you, isn't it?"

"Nila, I know this isn't fair."

"Don't talk to me about fair," she said. "You get all of the advantages. For what? Just because you have a penis?"

I couldn't argue with that one. Nila was my older sister by three years, but I was the heir to Appeto, our family's gas servicing company. In all honesty, I was perfectly content managing my family's gas station. But my father wasn't, wanting to give the company to his only son instead of his eldest child, even though said eldest child wanted it more than me.

"I'm sorry," I said. "That's all I can say."

"Just continue being the perfect son."

"Nila—" She hung up, and I threw my phone to the passenger's seat.

If I was the perfect son, I wouldn't have loved sucking dick or fucking men up the ass. All I could do was find a gay lover or two to make this arrangement more manageable. I'd slowed down on the hookup scene in my pursuit to find a wife. When my father mentioned Anushka and how we would be a power couple, that was when I agreed to this arranged marriage.

Like I said, I wasn't going to fall in love, so there was no point in waiting.

When I arrived home, I got out my chess board and began playing. I played chess by myself often. It may have seemed ridiculous because I would always know what I was thinking, but it was therapeutic—outsmarting myself.

When the door opened, I kept my attention on my game, even when Gabriel passed by me. My grip tightened on the pawn in my hand, but I loosened it and continued playing. Then the footsteps stopped. I kept my gaze down even as the steps began to head my way. Then he stopped next to me.

"Hey," he said, and it took me a while to look up. He smiled. "You still do that? Playing chess by yourself?"

I'd been playing chess by myself since high school. When I met Gabriel, he would play with me a couple times when were together. When I was alone, I was back to playing by myself.

"Yeah," I answered. "Never stopped."

I was playing in the kitchen with one chair for me and the small living room table that I moved in front of me to play. That was when Gabriel pulled out a chair and sat opposite me.

"I haven't played chess in a while."

Of course not. He only played because of me. I stayed silent as I felt his eyes on me.

"How are you?" he asked. "Something seems up with you. Is it your dad? Things with him always brought you down."

I put the piece down and looked at him. "Why do you care?"

He stopped caring the moment he left.

"I'll always care," he said. "I don't understand why you think I don't."

"There's a lot going on right now," I said. "My dad. The business." Anushka. "I can't fuck it up, and then there's Nila, who's pissed at me."

He nodded, listening intently. "You guys still don't get along?"

We never did. Not even when we were younger. A part of me couldn't blame her because she thought our father preferred me over my sisters. I was the one he put in sports. I was the heir to the company. I was the one he found Anushka for. He did more for me than he ever did for my sisters. 

"It's frustrating," I said. "Being given something you don't want and being hated for getting it."

Owning a company was a lot of work. It seemed like my father barely had time to eat and sleep. I didn't want to give up the pleasures of life to run some company.

"She'll understand eventually," Gabriel said. "You guys will get along one day. You're a wonderful bloke. Who could be mad at you for long?"

We stared at each other. It was his eyes. That was what did it for me. That was what made me take him in. That was what brought back all those emotions. One look into them, and I was done for.

"Wanna play?" I asked, and he nodded. "Let's start."

"Okay," he said, and he continued to look at me, so I looked away. "Gyan?"

"Hmm?" I moved the pieces for a do-over.

"I give a damn," he said, and I stopped. "Always have. Regardless of how far away I am."

I reminded myself to breath as I took in his words. When I looked into those eyes, I knew. He was being sincere.

There was so much I wanted to say, but I couldn't find my voice. So I opted for, "Let's get started."

Gabriel didn't say anything, so I restarted the game, and we began to play.

We didn't say anything, but we would occasionally look up at each other. I would look away just as quickly, not trusting myself to meet his gaze.

It was one of the best games I'd played in years.

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* What do you guys think about Gyan and Anushka? What's in store for Gyan and Gabriel?