Chapter 6: Regret, Rumours, and Fake Boyfriend Gigs

The next day, after sobering up, I remembered my drunken stunt and smacked my head in regret.

I rolled over in bed, groaning, clutching my pillow. What had I done? Kabir, tu pagal ho gaya kya?

My phone screen glowed in the darkness, her chat pinned to the top, as if I could will her reply into existence.

I typed out a long message, then deleted it. Typed again, deleted again. My thumb hovered over the send button, sweat forming on my forehead.

In the end, I chickened out. If she remembered, I’d apologise. If she forgot, I’d just play dumb.

I knew it wasn’t right, but sober me didn’t have the guts to confess.

I was on edge all morning, but Ananya never said a word to me. She probably blacked out and forgot.

I breathed a sigh of relief and forced myself to relax.

I put on an old cricket match to distract myself. Outside, I could hear someone in the building fighting over TV remote, a regular Sunday in our society.

Soon after, my cousin called.

She hissed, "If you don’t help, I’ll tell Ma you finished the kaju katli."

“Bhaiya, come to Blue Moon Bar and pretend to be my boyfriend. I’ll give you 500 if you pull it off.”

She sounded desperate, her voice low so her friends wouldn’t overhear.

I didn’t even hesitate:

“Done.”

“Dress cool.”

“That’s extra.”

She gritted her teeth. “Fine, add 300. Just hurry up!”

“On it.”

I slicked back my hair, put on my best shirt (the one with the fake brand logo), sprayed extra Axe deo, and took the 108 bus to the bar.

I did my hair, rushed to the address, played the loving boyfriend, and scared off her admirer.

Played the part so well, even the waiter winked at us. I kept my arm around her shoulder, called her ‘jaan’ with a straight face. Her friend’s face fell, and my cousin slipped the money under the table.

I went home 800 rupees richer.

Stopped for a plate of pani puri on the way, feeling like the hero of my own small movie.

But I couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss I stole from Ananya.

Her face haunted me every time I closed my eyes. I wondered if she’d tell Meera, if the whole school would find out.

For days, I was on edge, half expecting Ananya to confront me at any moment.

But half a month passed, and she never contacted me.

She really did forget.

I didn’t dare message her either, so the whole thing just faded away.

I spent the summer at my aunt’s house, sometimes pretending to be my cousin’s boyfriend, sometimes my older cousin’s boyfriend—busy, but making plenty of extra cash.

My family thought I was helping with chores. Little did they know I was moonlighting as a fake boyfriend all over the city. My phone buzzed every weekend with new requests.