“Color is symbolic in The Great Gatsby. I was an English major. I had to read The Great Gatsby. Hated the book. However, I loved that white meant shallow and pretentiousness.”
Rahul raised an eyebrow. His face lit up. “That’s so interesting how white means the same thing in the game. Okay, cool. Well, you chose black, and with black . . . well, it represents a life drain.”
“Like vampires? Into the dark of the night kind of thing? I read Dracula, too.”
He grinned. “Yes! Exactly like vampires.”
Kareena knew that when she’d first read about Rahul’s interest in gaming, she judged pretty hard. But hearing him talk about what he loved was relatable. She had interests she could go on and on about for hours. Like her car, or redoing kitchen cabinets.
Their server delivered their drinks, then left with a “Call me if you need me.”
“Tell me more about the gaming,” Kareena said after taking a sip of her drink.
His eyebrows nearly reached his hairline. “Yeah? Huh. That’s pretty cool of you.”
“It’s early yet,” she said with a laugh. “Why do you like it?”
“I was picked on in school, you know? But gaming gave me a place where I felt safe.”
She nodded. She could understand that. She found her people on the debate team. “Your color code thing was interesting. What game is that from?”
“Ah . . .” He ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s from Magic: The Gathering, which is usually a four-player game. I play Commander.”
“What do you do?”
“The cards and the colors that I mentioned? Each colored card has a purpose and a theme.”
“Wow, that’s a lot.”
“We haven’t even gotten into Dungeons and Dragons. I can go on and on about that. I’m one of the best dungeon masters on the East Coast.”
She could not stop smiling. “Wait, wait. Isn’t that the board game the hot actors in Hollywood started playing?”
“Kareena,” Rahul said with a sigh. “I never thought you’d be one of those people. They aren’t even that good!”
Kareena laughed at the dismayed expression on his face. “What? I’m just asking. The board game you’re talking about is like Harry Potter, right?”
“Oh my god, you poor child. You have no idea, do you?” Rahul asked. “Harry Potter is for children. It’s only a small portion of mythological possibilities. In Dungeons and Dragons, you can literally be any sort of creature.”
Kareena took another slurp from her drink as she tried to make sense of his game references. “I’d still be a witch because Practical Magic is one of my favorite movies. Or a vampire.”
“Please don’t say it,” Rahul said, covering his face with his hands.
“Because of Twilight!”
“You are a horrible human,” he said.
He looked so miserable, but there was also humor in his face. Kareena had to admit that this had to be one of the better dates she’d been on. She motioned to his open backpack at his side that was filled with gaming paraphernalia. “Do you bring that on every Indian marriage dot-com outing in case you meet someone who is as interested in gaming as you?”
“No, not really,” he said. His cheeks deepened in color. “I sort of assumed this date wasn’t going to go well, so I double-booked a Dungeons and Dragons game with a few people who came in from L.A. They’re at a friend’s house, and I was going to join them after drinks with you. My dice and cards are pretty valuable so I couldn’t leave them in the car, which is why . . . well, I’m sorry about that.”
Kareena knew exactly why he’d done it, but for the first time, she was sad to see a date end early. “Don’t apologize. Since gaming means that much to you, I’m totally okay with calling it an early night.”
There was a beat of silence. Rahul looked at his watch, and then back at her. “I don’t want to sound creepy, but I have an idea if you’re really interested in learning more about Dungeons and Dragons.”
Kareena cringed. Whenever someone started off a sentence like that, it was usually because they were about to say something creepy. “What is it?”
“Would you be interested in coming to play a game with us? There will be a few women there. The guy who is hosting the event is married, so it’s not like a bunch of dudes. You can be a witch character. I can drive you there and drop you home whenever you want. The only caveat is that the friends from L.A. are pretty high-profile, so you have to swear no social media or anything like that.”
Kareena was . . . intrigued. She weighed her options, then looked at the rest of her drink. What the hell? As long as she was safe, right? Social media wasn’t an issue for her anyway, since her viral video made it impossible to have an online presence right now.
She opened her text chat with her friends. “What is the address of where we are going? And I need your license so I can take a picture of it.”
Rahul lifted his hip to take out his back pocket wallet. “Absolutely.” She took a picture of the license and sent all the info to Bobbi and Veera.
That’s when she remembered that Bobbi was at an event so she wouldn’t have her phone on her, and Veera was out with her twin.
After running through her contacts, she forwarded the text to Bindu, and after waiting for a thumbs-up emoji, she finished her wine and put her empty glass on the table. “I’m ready to go play some dungeon masters! This is not like the Fifty Shades dungeon, is it?”
Rahul balked. “Please don’t say that in front of my friends.” He pulled out a credit card and paid the bill that was discreetly left at the edge of their table. “First, it’s Dungeons and Dragons, and the person who is the storyteller is the dungeon master. And if you’re going to be a witch, you have to pick your powers, like fire, ice, or both. And you have to pick your personality. For example, are you lawful, neutral, and chaotic? I’m sorry, there is a lot to learn.”
Kareena scooted out of the booth. “I’m a pretty quick study.”
Rahul grabbed his things and led her out of the restaurant. For the first time since she started dating, she was having a good time, in a comfortable, friendly kind of way. This wasn’t exactly the same as running through a museum or receiving corner-of-the-mouth kisses after food-eating competitions or having mind-blowing orgasms on the hood of her car. But it was a start.
Because as wonderful as her connection with Prem had been, he still couldn’t give her what she wanted. She’d have to accept second best.
Chapter Sixteen
Prem
Bindu: Hi! My sister is at a strange man’s house. She just met him tonight. I thought you should know.
Prem: WHAT??
Bindu: Here is what she texted me.
Prem: Kareena, where are you?
Prem: I just tried calling and you didn’t pick up. What the hell, Kareena?
Prem: Is everything okay??
Prem: That’s it, I’m coming to get you.
Prem came to a screeching stop in front of a town house on a hilly street in Hoboken. He didn’t even take a second to appreciate the fact that he was able to find parking. His only concern was Kareena. In seconds, he’d jumped out of his car and practically run up the walkway. He had his phone ready in case he had to call 911, since he had no idea what he was getting into. His nerves were frayed the entire drive over, even as he called Kareena a dozen more times.
With a deep breath, he pounded on the door, and then rang the doorbell three times.
A few short barks greeted him.
These were probably attack dogs. Dogs that were trained to kill intruders. Dogs that were going to tear him apart. He braced his feet. He’d worked out that morning and was a little sore, but he’d take on some dogs to bust Kareena out of there if he had to.
A woman’s voice followed. “Luke, stop! Luke, down.”
The front porch lights came on, and he had to squint under the glow. A Korean woman with bright blue hair opened the door a crack.
“Can I help you?”
That was unexpected.
“Hi, I’m looking for Kareena Mann? I’m her friend. Her ride. Her . . . I’m here to take her.”
She scanned his scrubs, squinting at the ID tag still attached to his breast pocket. “You’re a doctor?”
“Yes.”
“Which hospital?”
“Excuse me?”