“As if I was doing that for the past eight months, right? Do I look like a sex addict?” 
I shot an apologetic look. “No, of course not. I know you didn't seek other men in these months. It makes me happy. But remember, how you hooked up with that ponytail guy behind my back?” 
“Oh, Kunal. Yeah, I remember,” She smirked to herself. 
“Don't remember!” I hit her head lightly. “Will you still meet him? You guys seem to have some hi온라인카지노게임.” 
Natasha stopped walking, looking slightly grim. “Hmm, we do. Wow, I've never been in this situation before. Kunal and I have always hooked up regardless of whoever we were with or not with. We even had this alternative setup where we would settle down if we didn't have anyone in our late thirties. Possibly be in an open relationship.” 
“What? Bu- but you have me now. Doesn't that count for anything?” 
Natasha trained her eyes on me until she burst out laughing. “Chillax! I'm not going to Kunal if you don't want me to. There's no need.” 
“If I don't want to... Does that mean you might have?” When Natasha replied in an affirmative, I continued. “Why?! You love him?” 
“No, not like that.” Natasha waved a dismissive hand. “I had a huge crush on him though. Uh, how do I explain? It's more like a habit we developed over the years. It's no big deal. It's not like I'm devastated. We both knew this couldn't go on forever. I did talk about you on our last call...” 
I hated it. Hated how her eyes lit up whenever she talked about that mughead. I wished she would stop contacting him altogether but I knew I couldn't tell her that. I had to play it cool, “So you won't be meeting him anymore, right?” 
Natasha gave me a look. So much for playing cool. “Seems like someone's pants are on fire. No, we won't be fucking if that's what you're concerned about. We weren't anyway. Although if Kunal ever drops by, then I might meet him at the airport or something. Do you need more clarification, jealous boyfriend?” 
“No, it's fine, Miss hothead.” 
We walked the rest of the way towards our classes in silence.
* * * 
Not much changed after Natasha and I started dating. And yet, it felt like it did. An upgrade would be a better word for it. 
For starters, dates. Before this, most of our time was spent indoors, University and the road between them. Exceptions were few and far in between. However, that changed. Going to movies, dinners, beaches or anywhere in Mumbai became the new norm. We would make a point to go somewhere within the city each week. Although it would mostly be me planning out these dates while Natasha went along with it. ‘I'm not good at these things. Your department, you deal with it’ She would say. 
There was a change in Natasha's behavior, too. One of the things that made her cool was she never judged or minded about frivolous things before. However, this time she chose to voice out. 
“So, what are your plans after MBA?” Natasha said one day when we were taking a walk in a park. “If you say gambling, I'll kick your balls.” 
My hands momentarily went southward to protect myself. I stopped eating my ice cream. “Woah, hold up, Nutcracker! Where's this coming from? I thought you never had a problem with what I did.” 
“I still don't. It's great that you're able to make some extra bucks. But a career out of gambling? That's a hard pass even from me.” When I agreed, she added. “Do you look for jobs? Sorry, full-time office jobs.”