Rishi ran a hand along her cheek. "It's going to be okay. Even if we don't win, we'll have tried our hearts out. That's all we can do."
She put a hand over his. "I know. But I want it so much. We have to win this, you know? Not just this talent show, but Insomnia Con. We have to."
He shook his head, a little bewildered. "But why? You're so talented, Dimple. Even if you don't win this one contest, you're going to go on to do amazing things. This app is going to change lives."
"I know. That's why I want it to get the best possible chance it can." She looked deep into his eyes, trying to get him to see what she saw. "This app can help people like Papa-I have no doubt in my mind. That's not me being arrogant; that's just what living with someone with diabetes has taught me. I've seen it encroach on his life. I've seen what it did to him. He tries to hide it, but the anxiety is real. And winning Insomnia Con is going to help me get to Jenny Lindt, the one person I know can help me get it out to a wider audience. She's amazing, Rishi. You guys are probably tired of hearing me say it, but she is. I feel like just being in her presence will help me make my app better, let alone if she decides to help us build and market it." Dimple laughed, realizing how intense she'd gotten, like she always did when she talked about coding or Jenny Lindt. She was even clutching Rishi's arm in a death grip. "Sorry," she said, loosening her stiff fingers.
"That's okay, it's my left arm," he deadpanned. "Don't need it anyway." He began to dance around to the steps of "Dance Pe Chance," his left arm stiff against his body. "See? It works either way."
Dimple laughed and threw a pillow at him. "Stop it." She took a breath. "Let's practice."
"Finally," Ashish said from behind the camera, "I thought you two were never going to get serious."
CHAPTER 46
About an hour and a half later they'd been through the dance once, watched the video once, and then done the dance again. Dimple stretched out her sore muscles. There was a light coating of sweat all over her. "I'm going take a shower. I think we're well rehearsed, don't you?" she asked Ashish.
"Yes," he said confidently. "You don't want to overdo it. I think now you guys just need to relax."
"Thank gods," Rishi groaned, falling backward on the bed.
Dimple laughed and poked him on the knee with a toe. "Gross. You're all sweaty and now your sheets are going to smell like sweat."
He sat up and grabbed her wrist, pulling her down on top of him. "You know you love it," he said, nuzzling her neck. Goose bumps sprouted all over her body as the conversation they'd had last weekend after Rios floated into memory.
"All right, I'm out," Ashish said, behind them. "You guys need to get a room."
Dimple looked over her shoulder at him, one eyebrow raised. Rishi laughed in her ear, his breath tickling.
"Oh, right," Ashish said, looking around, running a hand through his rumpled hair. "This is your room. Whatever. I'm hungry. I'm going to get lunch at that taco food truck. You guys want anything?"
They shook their heads at him, and he left, shutting the door behind him.
Dimple turned back to Rishi in the silence. She was still lying on top of him, her soft lines molded to his hard ones. She could smell him, warm and soapy, with just a hint of musk. She shifted a little, and he made a noise in the back of his throat. Dimple was acutely aware that she could feel . . . something. Against her thigh. The realization made her joints feel warm and loose, liquid. She leaned up and kissed Rishi, her tongue falling against his with a fervor that surprised her.
After a minute of his hands on her back and bottom, and hers wherever she could find space-on his face, in his hair, on his amazing shoulders-Rishi pulled her back a little. "Wait, wait, wait," he said, breathing hard. His eyes were deep and dark, nearly all pupil.
She put her mouth on his again. "Why?" she said against it.
He turned his head and groaned. "We haven't finished our discussion from Rios. And you're driving me insane. It's going to be hard to stop if we keep going. I mean, it's already hard." Rishi turned to her suddenly, studying her smile. "That's not what I meant."
She laughed and stroked his jaw with a finger, reveling in how his eyelids fluttered close. "We don't need to talk. I've thought about what you said that night."
He looked at her again, serious. "And?"