“Hi there,” Jay said jovially. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Tani has such nice things to say about you.”
Vedika blushed and murmured, “It’s nice to meet you too.” She tucked her long hair behind her ear and glanced around nervously, not making eye contact with him.
“Veduuuuuu!” A ball of energy came barrelling past them all colliding with Vedika and spinning her in a hug. Kimaya, Kabir’s sister, had only two volumes at which she operated. Loud and extra loud. Vedika laughed and relaxed into the hug, two polar opposites somehow forming the tightest bond.
The girls hustled past her, already whispering secrets to each other. Tani smiled fondly. There was something to be said for coming home. New York may own her soul but so many fragments of her heart lived here, how could she not be happy to be reunited with them?
“Bit of a mouse huh?” Jay’s voice shattered the happy bubble encasing her.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“How did Aakash Thakkar manage to produce a scared rabbit?”
“That’s not funny, Jay,” she said tersely.
“I wasn’t being funny,” Jay said puzzled. “I was stating a fact. Did I upset you?”
“Yes, you did. Vedika is an introvert. She is sensitive. She is not a mouse or a scared rabbit.”
He frowned at her. “Kabir calls you a bug. That’s okay? But I can’t say anything, can I? Off late Tani, it feels like you’re upset by everything I say and do.”
Tani sat deep inside her fort, her arms wrapped around her knees as she huddled into herself. A soft knock sounded against the flap of fabric that was the door to her fort. Kabir pulled it aside a second later and peeped in.
“Hey Tan Tan.”
She glowered at him. He was going away. Again!
“Hey!” he exclaimed, looking delighted. “I like the new look.” He circled a finger in front of his eyes.
Tani groaned, snatching her new spectacles off and throwing them away. “I don’t. The kids at school think I look like an insect with it.”
“Do they?” Kabir picked up the glasses before crawling in and folding his large frame into her tiny fort. “Well, clearly, you’re the only one in that school with perfect eyesight, Tani.” He placed it gently on the bridge of her nose, one long finger pushing it up and into position. “If you’re an insect, then you’re the cutest damn bug that ever existed. You’re my little bug.”
“Tani!” Rehan’s shout had her jerking, her mind snapping back from the past. It had gotten quite dark by now, lights turning on all around them bringing a soft, romantic glow to the whole scene.
She watched as her friends and family gathered around Vedika, Kabir wrapping her in one of his bear hugs. He kissed the top of her head, his gaze as always seeking out and finding Tani’s. Advik said something to him and he replied, never looking away from her.
“Shall we join them then?” Jay asked, an unusual tightness to his voice.
Tani smiled and nodded. “I’ll be right back,” she murmured, rubbing her arms and pretending to be cold. “I need to grab a jacket.”
She made it to the room she was sharing with Kimi and Vedika, and sat down on the mattress on the far corner of the floor, the one she’d claimed before the others could. Why was she so restless, so out of sorts? This was what she wanted, wasn’t it?
This was the choice she’d made when her stupid brain had finally understood that there was no waiting for Kabir. No-
A single knock sounded on the door before it swung open. Kabir stepped in and shut it behind him. She watched disbelievingly as he locked the door, the soft snick of the lock engaging resounding in the quiet room.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Funny you should ask,” he drawled. “That’s exactly what I was going to ask you.”
Tani frowned. “This isn’t funny, Kabs. If Jay finds out that we’re locked in a room together, he’ll freak.”
“I don’t give a fuck what the dipshit would or wouldn’t do. I want to talk about you, Tani. What the fuck is going on?”
Confused, she stared up at him as he loomed over her. “What?” she asked, completely lost.
Kabir dropped to his knees before her, his gaze meeting hers. “You’re giving up on your dream job in your dream city and moving back to India? And apparently, you’ve acquired some kind of drinking problem too? What the actual fuck, Tani?”
