Wednesday Work In Progress…
Today I thought I’d share with you an excerpt from A Sticky Wicket in Bollywood, the collaboration between Devon Rhodes and yours truly. My character is Ajay Singh, and he’s one of India’s top cricket players. He’s a pretty good guy, but he has a bit of a temper, and it’s been known to cause him trouble from time to time. Here you go….
A Sticky Wicket in Bollywood. (copyright c. 2013 Devon Rhodes & T.A. Chase)
Excerpt:
Ajay backed away from Neel, who had jumped to his feet and was uncharacteristically crowding in Ajay’s face. Neel had never reacted this way to Ajay talking to anyone before
“I didn’t think it was that important for you to know I talked to Raj. We’re just meeting for chai, Neel. It’s not like we’re going on a date or anything.” Ajay took a few steps back, trying to put space between them.
“Of course, you couldn’t date him. Rajan isn’t about to come out of the closet for a lover, not now when he’s at the top of the Bollywood world,” Neel commented.
“What’s your problem, Neel? I’ve never seen you act this way. If I’d known you’d do this, I wouldn’t have told you the truth about where I’m going. And what do you mean out of the closet? I never said that Rajan was gay.” Ajay shook his head. “I’ll see you tomorrow at the stadium for practise.”
He shoved his way through the crowd, not really paying attention to who he ran into or if anyone was snapping a picture of him being rude to the dancers. All he wanted was to get out of the club and away from Neel at that moment.
Once he was outside, he flagged down a cab, then climbed in. He told the driver to take him to Cafe Pringa. As the vehicle pulled from the kerb, he spotted Neel bursting out of the club. Ajay grimaced at Neel’s crazy actions. There was something going on with his friend, but Ajay didn’t have time to figure it out.
All he wanted to focus on was being able to see Raj in person for the first time since that unfortunate argument. Ajay rested his head against the cool glass of the window, and admitted to himself that he probably could’ve seen Raj a long time ago, if he’d returned any of the messages Raj had left on his phone. His stubborn pride and fiery temper made it impossible for him to say he was sorry.
With age came maturity and a certain amount of wisdom, and Ajay was finally ready to face the mistakes he’d made in the past. Maybe when he did that, he’d be able to move on and find something good in his future, though he doubted that whatever was waiting for him would be better than the perfect relationship he’d let slip away when he was young and foolish.
The cab stopped in front of Cafe Pringa, and Ajay sat, staring at the late night crowd. Did he have the courage to step out of the vehicle and go face the man he’d never forgotten? Could he find the strength to ask for forgiveness?
Raj had to have some kind of fondness for Ajay, if Ajay could use Raj’s actions of calling him back and agreeing to meet him as evidence.
“Are you getting out, sir?”
The driver’s question jolted Ajay, and he nodded. After paying the man, he shoved open the door, then climbed out. His phone beeped and he looked down to see a text.
‘are you here yet? Found a table outside in the corner.’
Ajay could lie and say he’d gotten caught in traffic, or something had come up and he wouldn’t be able to make it. He stared at the words as they shook slightly from the trembling of his hand. No. He wouldn’t do that. It was time to face his past, and hopefully regain a friend who had meant far more than anyone else ever had.
One Response “Wednesday Work In Progress…”
Loved it!!