Page 50 of Not Your Basic Love Story

Dev and me.

After all the dishes were washed and put away, Dev took me on a tour of the house while Shawan got to work preparing chai and setting out dessert.

The main floor had the expansive kitchen and attached great room with the giant windows overlooking the blueberry fields. His cousins were lounging on the couches, watching TV and staring at their phones. The dining room was down the hall, across from the office, beside the entryway with a curved staircase to the second floor.

Down another hallway was the garage and a door that went to a separate wing where his cousins lived.

“Have your cousins always lived with you?” I asked, curious about his family.

Dev shook his head. “No. The new wing is an addition we built about six or seven years ago now. It’s closer for them to get to work. Sometimes less people live with us, sometimes more. Our family’s quite close. My cousins are more like siblings.”

I couldn’t comprehend living with so many people. After being around so many people for this one evening, I definitely felt the need to escape back to my introvert lair with my sweatpants, comfort food, and junk TV.

I took Dev’s hand as he led me around. A door near the garage led down to the basement suite, if you could call it that. It was a walk-out with a view of the fields, and paired with the high ceilings it didn’t feel like a basement at all. There were two main bedrooms, another room currently set up as a gym, as well as a gourmet kitchen. The living room alone was bigger than my whole apartment.

I whistled. “Holy shit, this is so nice!”

Dev’s grandmother appeared at the doorway of a bedroom and eyed us. Dev dropped my hand. His grandmother shook her head subtly and then went back in her room, shutting the door.

“Oops,” I said, cringing and turning to Dev.

Dev’s expression was hard to read, making me nervous. “Come on, I’ll show you upstairs.”

The landing at the top of the stairs had two closed double doors, which belonged to his parents’ main suite. Down the hall was a spare room, occupied by one of his female cousins.

Priya’s door was obvious, decorated in fantastic comic book style artwork.

“Did Priya draw these?” I asked, pausing to admire it.

Dev nodded, a proud look on his face. “You should get her to show you her graphic novel sometime. She’s a little shy about it, but it’s really good!”

I was impressed.

We continued down the hall to Dev’s room, the last one. His king-size bed matched his dresser in dark wood, which was opposite the giant window overlooking the front driveway where his car, and several others, were parked. Opposite his bed was a walk-in closet and ensuite bathroom. Each bedroom in this house had its own bathroom, apparently. Like his car, everything was spotless. His bed was made, his clothes were hung, and not a speck of dust was to be seen on any surface.

The door clicked shut, and Dev came up to stand beside me as I looked out the window. We both exhaled in relief, glad to have a moment alone.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, feeling insecure after what could only be described as a less than perfect first impression with his family.

He smiled. “Of course. Why?”

“You’ve felt really cold and distant ever since we got here. I try to hold your hand, you let me go. Did I do something wrong?”

“Ah. Right. Indian families are generally uncomfortable with public displays of affection. We’re lucky they didn’t have us sitting on opposite ends of the table,” he explained.

I slapped his arm. “This is the sort of thing that would have been helpful to knowbeforeI got here. I thought I’d done something to piss you off!”

He laughed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I should have warned you.”

“You also should have warned me Moe was going to be here,” I said, crossing my arms.

He frowned. “I didn’t think he’d bring up Mexico. He’s still sore you turned him down. Don’t worry. I’ll talk to him.”

“Your mom probably thinks I’m a hussy, partying in Mexico, hooking up with a stranger, and getting tattoos.” I thought about bringing up the conversation I’d had with Neetu but refrained. If they were going to gossip, there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

Dev hugged me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder. “She’s not judgmental like that. And she’s used to Moe’s big mouth.”

I sighed and turned in his arms, pressing my ear against his chest. It was so nice to have him alone for a moment. He held me in his arms and kissed the top of my head, embracing me in a hug. I breathed in his scent. My hands found their way to his beard, fingernails running along the long stubble.

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