Starlite Affair

4. The Surprise

When Aadhya texted me, saying she urgently needed to meet, I could feel the anxiety crawling up my spine. A sense of unease settled in my stomach. Urgent was never a word I liked hearing from her, especially when it came out of nowhere. My mind, as it often does in these situations, began to spiral. What could it be? Was something wrong? Had something happened? I went through every possible scenario in my head, each one more ridiculous than the last.

I was so lost in making impossible scenarios in my head (keyword: impossible), that I didn’t even notice I had walked straight into the café where we were supposed to meet.

I shook my head, snapping myself out of my thoughts. As I stepped inside, I caught sight of her—Aadhya. And… someone else. A girl. They were standing close, laughing, and then, they hugged each other.

Wait. What?

My mind froze for a second as I stood at the entrance, frozen in place. Aadhya, my best friend, my fire brigade, was hugging some other girl. I felt a flare of jealousy shoot up my chest. Who is she? Why does she get a hug and not me? I mean, it’s not like I was really jealous. But hey, she’s my best friend. That’s a title I take seriously.

But then, my gaze shifted, and I noticed something. There was another person at the table. Someone I didn’t recognize at first.

Then it hit me. My heart skipped a beat.

Samara.

Samara!

I blinked twice, not believing my eyes. There she was—Samara, my childhood best friend. The one who moved to L.A. two years ago for that big job offer and was supposed to be living her dream in California while we stayed here, holding the fort. The one I’d missed so much.

She was sitting there, so casually, like it had only been a few days since I last saw her. But no, it had been a year.
My feet moved before my brain had the chance to process everything. In a split second, I was standing right in front of her. And without any warning, I jumped—straight into her arms. The force of the jump knocked her back a little, and we both toppled over onto the floor with a loud, dramatic thud.

For a brief second, we were both tangled up in a heap of limbs, and I heard her giggling. But the next thing I knew, she was laughing harder than I’d heard in ages. “Navya! What the hell?!” she shouted between laughs, her voice filled with the same familiar tone that I hadn’t heard in so long.

I scrambled to sit up, brushing myself off in embarrassment. “I… I missed you!” I stammered, looking around to make sure nobody saw how ridiculously we fell.

“I can see that,” Samara said with a teasing smile. “You could’ve just, you know, walked up to me like a normal person.”

I laughed, shrugging. “Normal is overrated, don’t you think?”

I caught sight of Aadhya watching us from the corner of my eye. She was grinning like an idiot, shaking her head. “You two are ridiculous,” she said, rolling her eyes. But there was love in her voice. The kind of love only old friends could share.

Before I could say anything back, I turned my attention back to Samara. It was so surreal seeing her here, after all this time. She didn’t look much different, though the life in L.A. had added a certain glow to her. She looked like she had a story for every wrinkle and smile, and I couldn’t wait to hear them all.

As I leaned in to give her a proper hug (this time, without the dramatic jump), Aadhya suddenly cleared her throat, her voice dropping to a whisper. “Guys,” she said, her eyes darting between me and Samara, as if trying to keep something huge under wraps.

We both turned to look at her. She was holding her hand up, and in the middle of her palm—was a ring.

A RING!!!

It took me a second to register what was happening. My heart skipped another beat.

“Wait…” I said, blinking rapidly. “Are you… are you engaged?!”

Aadhya nodded, the biggest grin plastered on her face. “Yes, I am! I’m getting married!”

Suddenly, everything else went silent. It felt like the world had paused, as if the café had disappeared, and it was just the three of us standing there, taking in the weight of the moment. Then, before I knew it, I was screaming. Actually, no, we were all screaming. Samara jumped up from her seat, and we both ran toward Aadhya at the same time. The three of us collided in a whirlwind of excitement and joy, all of us hugging Aadhya, jumping up and down like kids at a carnival.

“Oh my God! You’re really getting married!” I yelled, laughing through my tears.

“I can’t believe it!” Samara added, her eyes wide with disbelief. “This is crazy. We’re going to be bridesmaids!”

Aadhya was laughing so hard that she could barely breathe. She had her hand over her mouth, trying to contain her excitement, but the tears in her eyes were saying everything.

“I didn’t even think this day would come,” Aadhya said, still grinning. “But here we are. And it’s happening!”

We spent the next few minutes squealing, hugging, and doing everything we could to celebrate. We all realized we were making a scene in the middle of the café, but I didn’t care. Nothing could have ruined this moment.

As we pulled back from the group hug, I glanced at Samara. We shared a look—one of pure excitement. “Can you believe this?” I asked her.

She shook her head. “No. And the best part? It’s going to be the first wedding in our group. Like, who’s going to top this?” She pointed at Aadhya’s ring.

“Exactly!” I said. “We’re all going to be aunties soon.”

“I’m not ready for that,” Samara replied, feigning horror. “But honestly? I’m so freaking happy for you, Aadhya. I’ve been waiting for this for years.”

Aadhya blushed, her cheeks turning pink. “You guys are making me nervous now. I still can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“Believe it, girl. You’ve found the one,” I said, giving her a wink. “And now, we’re all going to help you plan the best wedding ever.”

Aadhya’s grin widened, and she placed a hand on her chest, looking at us as if we were the most precious people in her life.

And now? Well, now we had a wedding to look forward to.