[Steel]

It had been a long time since Sharath had seen her, but even years later, after they were both married, Sharath found himself reverting to that same speechless young boy, captivated by the sharp-witted, fiery girl he had first encountered back in his first year of college.

Motherhood had changed her body a little of course. He probably shouldn't have, but Sharath realized instantly that Laila's hips and butt looked a bit wider and fuller now... her tits just the slightest bit bigger. It was easy to make the comparison when he had spent so many nights fantasizing about her body back in college. But her beautiful feather cut hairstyle, her trademark, was the same, and so was her smile, toothy and genuine, with always just a hint of mean-spirited teasing in it, no matter the context.

And her eyes were the same, too. Sharp and Lively.

"Hey, Sherry," said Laila, her arm threaded through Rakesh's. "Long time no see."

Kusha had opened her mouth to angrily address Rakesh, who was quickly becoming a sort of nemesis to her, but she halted in confusion, glancing over at her husband's stunned face, then up to Laila with a frown.

"Wait," she said, her brows wrinkling, "aren't you..."

"Nice to see you again, Kusha," said Laila flippantly. "I'm not surprised you don't remember me that well. I was pretty busy on the only day we met."

Grace looked over to Sharath for help, and he flushed red, murmuring, "Ummm, it's Laila, sweetie. We went to her wedding."

Kusha's mouth fell open as she turned back to Laila, noting the glittering gold mangalsutra still proudly displayed under her robe as she cuddled up to a man who definitely wasn't her husband.

G0d. How low could this man possibly sink? Well, Kusha would give him one thing, he had a talent for sniffing out sluts, apparently even if those sluts were married. She turned deliberately away from Laila, already mentally writing her off, and back to Rakesh.

"Mr. Kumar," she said coldly, "I don't appreciate you following me around outside of work."

Rakesh chuckled, his hand slipping down to rest on Laila's round butt and idly squeezing. Next to Kusha, Sharath, for some reason cleared his throat and fidgeted in his seat, but Kusha didn't have time to babysit her husband right now.

"Awwww, come on, dear Kusha wusha," said Rakesh jovially, "It’s Hyderabad! You aren't the only one who likes a spa day every now and then. It's just a coincidence. Besides, is it so wrong for us to hang out as friends? We practically have a little college reunion going on here."