Chapter Six

One month Later,

Things were kind of normal and I was starting to adapt to my new lifestyle and food in Texas. I was now well aware of my route from the apartment to the university and also some near by shops and restaurants.

My classes were going fine and Trina was being such a good friend to me. She is helping me to understand a lot of things about the people and the culture over here whereas I tell her all about my Indian culture and my household which she seems to love for some weird reason. I haven't told her about my parents yet but I will eventually.

The funny thing is that, Eshika has become so jealous of her that everytime I mention her name, she gets pissed, assuming that I was replacing her already.

That girl can be so dramatic sometimes.

"Alright, woman. Enough about your new best friend. Tell me more about the hottie your are living with," she squealed in excitement through the phone. We were on video call and I had placed the phone in front of the stove as I was making some homemade parathas with the stuff I bought from the India super market. I rolled my eyes, already regretting the fact that I told her how hot Ray was.

"Ugh! Where do I even start? I thought it will be fine after a week once I settle in but he is annoying the crap out of me, Esh."

"But he is so hot, babe. What could he possibly do that annoys you so much?" she asked, making me laugh sarcastically.

"Okay, hear me out. He always brings these random girls to our apartment and ditches them in the morning."

"Okay, you sound like a jealous girlfriend. Are you having a crush on him, Ridhi?" she asked in a teasing tone which made me grimace in disgust.

"Ew, no! He is such a player and everything that I don't want in a guy. I mean, except for the looks of course," I mumbled, shaking my head lightly.

"A guy that hot can never be boyfriend material," she sighed and I nodded, agreeing with her.

"Exactly. So, every morning, I have to face these girls and they assume I'm his girlfriend and some even have the nerve to ask me to make breakfast for them."

"That's crazy."

"Yeah, it's such an awkward situation every fucking morning and it doesn't stop there," I added, pushing my hair away from my face.

"Well, go on. I'm all ears."

"He never does the dishes and never takes the garbage out. I have to clean the apartment every single time and he never gives a fuck no matter how many times I tell him to do so and he never lets me watch anything other than football. I never get my turn to watch the TV," I started to ramble and she began to laugh so hard.

"Wow, look at your face. All red and riled up in anger. He must have definitely did a number on you."

"It's not funny, Esh. I'm so tired of telling him to do stuff."

"You should definitely set some boundaries and sort it out, babe. He thinks he can sneak his way out from doing the chores but don't let him off the hook that easily,"

"I know. He is being so damn difficult," I sighed, flipping the parathas on the pan.

"Oh my! You weren't lying about that hot piece of ass, babe." she gasped, making me scrunch my eyebrows in confusion.

"What are you---" I stopped talking as I felt his presence behind me and looked at my phone to find Eshika, eyeing my roommate's ass.

Oh God!

"Are you guys talking about me?" I heard his deep husky voice from behind and immediately cut the call before turning around to face him.

"What? No!" I shrieked in a high pitch tone and coughed as I got a whiff of pungent smell coming off from my now burnt parathas.

Great!

I quickly turned off the stove and took a deep breath to calm myself.

"How long were you standing behind me?"

When did he even wake up? He always sleeps through the entire Sunday morning and usually wakes up around noon.

"Long enough to know that you have spoken a great deal about me to your friend,"

"Don't flatter yourself."

"Come on, you find me irresistible, sweetheart. Admit it," he came closer to my ears and spoke in that husky voice again, making me go weak in my knees.

"Shut up and go away," I mumbled, wiping my sweating forehead and he reached forward to grab a plate of my parathas. I smelled his addictive cologne and wanted nothing more than to stay in that position forever.

Okay, I was beginning to sound creepy now.

I need help.

"As you wish," he breathed out and started to walk away with my plate of food.

"I thought you hated Indian food," I grumbled with my hands on my hips and he turned around to look at me. He ran his eyes all over my body and I folded my arms in front of my chest, feeling self conscious under his burning gaze.

"Not anymore," he whispered with a small sexy smirk and walked away, leaving me dumbfounded.

What did he mean by that? And what the hell was that look?

I mentally groaned, feeling confused and embarrassed that he heard Eshika's comment. After making another plate of food, I went inside my room to eat in silence.

Later that day, I was getting ready for my first sleepover at Trina's house. She has been calling me now for days and I finally decided to spend the night with her and her friends as it might be good for me to come out of my comfortable zone and socialize. After packing an overnight bag, I locked my room and walked outside towards the living room only to find Ray making out with a girl on the couch.

I felt sick to my stomach and wanted to get out of the apartment as soon as possible. My eyes fell on the dirty dishes in the sink automatically and I didn't know what came over me but I was fuming with rage now.

"Ray! What the hell, dude?" I shouted, causing them to break apart and he gave me a bored look.

"What now?"

"The dishes! For the millionth time I'm asking you to do it. You have time to make out but not do the dishes?" I snapped in anger, not exactly sure about the reason behind my anger.

"Jesus Christ, I never cook around here. You are the one who does all the cooking." He started to give me some lame ass excuse and I opened my mouth wide in shock.

"You eat the food I cook. I can't believe you are using this as an excuse. I'm not your girlfriend to clean up after you, Ray." I responded through gritted teeth and he pushed the girl from his lap, running his fingers through his hair.

"Glad that I don't have a girlfriend like you who is always so frigid and uptight," he mumbled under his breath while that girl started to give me the stinking eye.

For some unknown reason, my eyes started to water at his hurtful words but I held back my tears and walked out of the apartment swiftly without giving him a second glance.

I took a cab to reach Trina's place and all the while I couldn't stop thinking about Ray's harsh words. The least he could do was try to be atleast friendly towards me but this guy was so fucking unpredictable and mean.

Was I that boring that he can't even imagine of having a girlfriend like me?

The fact that he was not even a least bit attracted towards me made me feel so bad and low. I mean, I've been drooling over this guy since day one and even if I like him which I do not, I don't think I have a chance because he was way out of my league.

Fuck! I wasn't even in a relationship with him but he still manages to hurt me.

I decided to mind my own business from now on so he can do whatever the hell he wants.

I am not going to give a fuck anymore.

Oh, how wrong was I?!

After reaching her apartment, I took a deep breath to calm myself and made up my mind to enjoy myself. I was not going to let that asshole ruin my evening. I knocked the door and waited patiently until the door flung open to reveal a really good looking guy. He was tall, dark and handsome with smoldering grey eyes.

Completely opposite to Ray!

Ugh! Don't even go there.

I shook my head and scrunched my eyebrows in confusion, looking at the stranger in front of me.

"Umm..this is Trina's apartment right?"

"Yes and you must be her Indian friend, Ridhi? I'm Simon." He extended his hand for me to shake with a warm smile and I instantly felt welcomed. I shook his hand and entered inside. The smell of garlic and pizza's hit my nostrils, making my mouth water immediately. I took a good look at the apartment which had a nice homey vibe to it. It was so bright and colourful and tidy unlike my place.

"Oh my God! There you are. I thought you were going to ditch me. Come here," Trina rushed towards me and pulled me in for a tight hug.

"So glad we are going to have a sleepover. This is Simon, my friend and my roomate. I assume you've already met him." She started to introduce us after pulling back and I gave him a small smile.

"Yeah, we just met."

"Cool. Let me introduce you to my girlfriend. Mia!" She squealed in excitement and called out for her to join us. A petite girl with mid-length blonde hair and soft blue eyes walked towards the living room from the kitchen. She looked so beautiful and had that 'girl next door' kinda vibe towards her which was totally opposite to Trina's.

"Hi, I'm Ridhi. I've heard so much about you." I waved at her and balanced my weight on the other feet, feeling a bit nervous around these new people.

"All good things I hope. I'm so happy that you are staying with us. We are going to have so much fun," she clapped her hands excitedly and I let out a soft sigh.

I can get used to this.

We all settled down on the couch and decided to watch a movie while Mia was making popcorn in the kitchen.

"Have you seen this movie?" Simon asked from beside me and I shook my head with a small smile.

"It's real good. So, is this your first visit to Texas?" he asked and I understood that he was trying to have some small talk to break the ice. I was trying to stay cool and not make a fool out of myself. I mean, he is just a guy after all.

A good-looking one at it.

"Uhh...yeah. My dad used to go to the same University and he has told me so much about studying abroad. I guess it inspired me."

"That's so cool. I just completed my masters in literature and now I work for a publishing house," he added with a smile and I raised my eyebrows in appreciation.

"Wow, that's impressive."

"I'm gonna check on Mia in the kitchen," Trina announced, leaving us both alone. Now that our mutual friend had disappeared, I was starting to feel a bit awkward.

"How are you liking Texas so far?"

"It's pretty good. To be honest, I was finding it difficult with the food and adapting to the culture in the beginning but now I think I'm quite comfortable." I explained and for a second I thought about my pain in the ass roommate.

Yup, super comfortable!

Just then, we both heard a notification sound from my phone and I looked down at my phone to see a new message from Ray. I stopped breathing for a second and my mind went blank. We don't text often and I was surprised to see a message from him, especially after our argument before I left the apartment.

"Please don't tell me you got yourself an American boyfriend already," Simon commented with a small chuckle, bringing me back to the present.

"Wha--No, ummm...it's just my roommate. It's nothing important." I shrugged it off and he gave me a small nod.

"So if not an American boyfriend, then Indian boyfriend?" he asked with a hopeful look in his eyes and that's when I realised he was trying to hit on me.

Holy Shit!

Was this guy actually interested in me? Because he was totally hot and I couldn't believe it.

"No, I was not allowed to have a boyfriend in my household. My family was pretty strict and orthodox," I rolled my eyes and he let out a small chuckle.

"That's just crazy."

"Tell me about it,"

"Hey guys, are we ready to watch the movie?" Trina and Mia joined us on the couch and we both nodded in unison.

Halfway through the movie, my phone went off again and I could hear continuous notification sounds.

"Babe, do you need to get that?" Trina asked and I looked down at my phone.

All four messages from Ray.

"Umm...yeah. I'll be righ back. You guys continue," I excused myself and walked away from the living room towards the balcony. I clicked on the messages, eager to read his messages.

'Where are you?' - Ray

'Are you coming home or what?' - Ray

'I'm thinking of order in some Chinese. Should I order some for you?' - Ray

'Whatever. Forgot it.' - Ray

Well, if that was his attempt at apologizing, he really sucked at it. I put my phone back in my pocket without replying and took a deep breath, running my fingers through my hair.

"All okay?" I turned around at the sound of Simon's voice and gave him a light smile.

"Yeah, it's just my roommate. He wanted to know if I was coming home or not."

"He seems really concerned about you."

"Hardly. He is just an asshole," I blurted out without thinking and he raised his eyebrows at my foul language.

"Wow, what did he even do for you to call him an asshole?" he asked with a small chuckle and I let out a loud groan.

"We would probably miss the movie if I start complaining about him,"

"I've seen it a lot of times and this is way more interesting," he added with a small wink and I didn't know if it was the pent up rage and anger. I started to ramble about him to Simon from the beginning and by the time I was done, I was feeling angry and pissed at Ray even more than before.

"Damn, he does sound like an asshole."

"I know, right?"

"Listen, why don't you move out if he is being difficult?" he asked, throwing me completely off guard. That thought has never actually occurred to me. I mean, I could but I had no idea why I didn't think of it before.

"I don't know. I just thought it would get better if I give it some time and the commute to the uni is also easy from his apartment," I started to list down the points which almost felt like I was giving some lame excuses to not move out.

"Well, I can help you find a new place if you ever decide to move out." He replied, giving me a warm smile. That was really sweet of him and I was glad that not every guy was an asshole around here.

"Thanks Simon. I really appreciate that," I smiled back at him and to be honest, I actually felt better after talking with him and after hanging out for a while in the balcony, we both decided to head inside and watch the movie before it ends.