***
When Raj unlocked the door to his apartment the following morning, Vijay and Lucky were already getting ready for school.
"Dude! Where were you whole night?" Lucky asked, not because he had been all that concerned, but because he was determined to tease and embarrass Raj into giving him all the juicy details.
"Nowhere" Raj responded.
"Usually you come very late, but you never were away for whole night," Lucky said.
"Yeah, Raj. We were extremely concerned about you," Vijay added, trying to hide his smirk.
Raj wasn't falling for it. "Where's the laundry bag?" he asked Vijay.
"You just did laundry two days ago," Vijay replied.
"Come on! He was away for whole night! His clothes must be very dirty. There must be lots of stains," Lucky said, laughing loudly.
Raj tried to hide his smile, but Vijay saw it. "Look, he smiles! That smile tells me he enjoyed his Valentine's Day. Or at least his Valentine's night!" Vijay grinned, handing him the bag.
"I'm smiling because you're being stupid!" Raj barked as he grabbed some clean clothes and went to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. When he came back out, he handed the laundry bag to Vijay.
Lucky walked over to Raj and whispered conspiratorially. "How many times?"
"What?" Raj pushed him away.
"Come on! Tell us! Now you are most experienced among us," Lucky said.
"He does have a point," Vijay said, as he patted Raj on the back.
Raj blushed in front of his friends. "You're both nuts," he said, grabbing the laundry bag out of Vijay's hands. He went to the kitchen and took a bottle of laundry soap out from under the sink and walked out of the apartment without another word. Vijay and Lucky looked at each other and broke out in laughter.
Namaste New York: A Novel Page 32