“Where were you?” Rudra’s voice cut through the noise as they approached, his brow furrowed in mock annoyance.

“I was waiting for you guys in the parking lot,” I said, folding my arms and giving them a pointed look.

Sasha tilted her head, her expression immediately suspicious. “What happened? You look… worked up. Did something happen?”

“Nothing,” I replied quickly, maybe too quickly. “Worked up? Me? Not at all.”

Her eyes narrowed, a smug grin spreading across her face. Sasha could smell a secret a mile away, and I knew she wouldn’t let this go. The look she gave me promised questions—many, many questions—and knowing Sasha, they’d come first thing tomorrow.

God, give me strength to deal with her interrogation, I thought, forcing a neutral expression.

“Can we go inside now?” Aakar said, his voice flat as he glanced at his watch.

“Why are you like this?” Sasha snapped, clearly annoyed. “Why can’t you just look happy for once, you grump?”

We all exchanged knowing glances. Sasha’s crush on Aakar wasn’t exactly a state secret, and this whole stress relief party was clearly her way of getting more time with him.

“Maybe he’d be happier if you didn’t attract so much male attention,” Nikhil teased, smirking.

All four of us turned to Aakar, curious. For once, he looked genuinely irritated. “I don’t mix work with pleasure,” he muttered, striding toward the club without another glance.

“Oh, come on!” Rudra groaned, throwing up his hands.

“Man, just admit it already!” Nikhil called after him, clearly enjoying the moment.

Even Sasha shouted, “At least smile once in a while, you killjoy!”

But Aakar kept walking, completely unfazed by the chaos trailing behind him.

Amid the commotion, I found my thoughts drifting back to the stranger from the parking lot. His steady arms, that voice, the way he’d walked away before I could even thank him—it all played on a loop in my head, unsettling and strangely magnetic.

As we finally stepped inside the club, the music engulfed us in its heavy rhythm, and the flashing lights made it hard to focus. My friends were laughing, nudging one another as they headed toward the bar, but my mind was elsewhere.

The stranger. The feeling. The club. My friends.

Not exactly a winning combination, is it?