“Everyone thought I was a delinquent. Shelina, Zayan, Mom, my parents’ friends…but not Dad, of course. But that summer I thought Rohan saw more of me, too.” She chuckled. “Plus, he was so hot back then. He was way out of my league.”

“He’s still hot, and not out of your league. When did you kiss?”

“My parents weren’t home, and Shelina and Zayan were in her bedroom, of course, and I thanked Rohan for actually, you know, not treating me like I was a worthless kid. I don’t know—there was something in his look after I said that…so I jumped him.”

“And he let you.”

“I think he froze a second—but then he most definitely kissed me back. Hard…” Kamila blushed, the memory of that night warming her core. It was so vivid…that moment. The way he kissed her. It was nowhere near her first kiss, but it had felt so electric. It had felt like it meant something. “We kissed for a long time.”

“Second base?”

She shuddered. “No. Thank god, no. Mom and Dad walked in on us.”

“Shit.”

Kamila nodded. “We separated quickly, and Rohan went home. My parents didn’t say anything that night. But the next day we were in the car—Mom, Dad, and I—and Mom started yelling at me. That wasn’t new—she was always laying into me about something, but she was extra vicious that day. She said I couldn’t ruin Rohan—he was good. Smart. Going to be a big success. I was a slut. A seductress tempting him.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “Rohan was a lawyer…The last thing he needed was a run-in with a girl like me. I told them it didn’t mean anything, that we were fooling around, but she kept calling me names.”

“And your dad?”

“Dad stood up for me. He always stood up for me. He told Mom that maybe if she’d treated me better, I wouldn’t rebel like this. He told her she’d ruined me. They had a huge argument.”

“You were in the car for this?”

“Yes. Mom was driving. Yelling at me and Dad. Then we got into a car accident.”

Asha sat up straight. “Holy shit—was that when…”

Asha knew that Mom’s heart attack had been a week after they had been in a serious car accident. Mom’s side of the car was hit head-on. The car was completely wrecked, and airbags and seat belts had saved their lives. Mom walked away without a scratch but died of an unrelated heart attack a week later. Dad told the story many times as a cautionary “you never know what life will bring you” tale. Kamila herself rarely spoke about it though.