it's okay if it's you | ishman ✓

CH: 10

surya snickers and pats his back, getting up to join hardik and rohit in their heated conversation about vada pav or whatever.

shubman's fleeting gaze finally lands on ishan. he shoots him a smile.

“the fuck you smiling for? wanna fight?” ishan says, grabbing a sausage from shubman's plate.

“can't you be normal for a minute?”

“shut up. i woke up in a weird position and my shoulders may be aching.”

shubman wiggles his fingers. “do you want a special massage?”

ishan gives him a flat look. “i'll pass. your massage make me feel violated.”

“ugh, don't make it sound creepy.”

their conversation flows like always, with ishan bringing up the most random topics and shubman finding nothing odd about it.

“it was fun, man. rachin matches my vibe so it's all good,” ishan says after relating to shubman about last night.

shubman nods, fidgeting with his food. “it's the indian in him probably.”

“what'd you do last night? apart from rotting in your bed,” ishan asks.

“i, uh…right, we had this pool party. me, hardik bhai, shreyas bhai and siraj bhai.”

“so, you were their waiter.”

“yep.”

ishan yawns, stretching his arms. “man, i didn't even drink a lot. but it feels like im missing out something.”

shubman gulps. “okay, i've heard enough about your outing. rachin this, rachin that,” he blurts in an effort to cover up.

“why? jealous?” ishan chuckles.

shubman sighs. “yeah, someone took my bitch.”

that gains him another smack.

shubman doesn't know how to feel about ishan being so nonchalant. well, it's not like he expected him to remember whatever happened between them. it would have been eating him up inside if ishan really did. but for some reason, this isn't it either. he wants to see ishan's reaction. he wants to know if it felt  good for him like it did for shubman.

slight disappointment settles on his chest but he shakes it off as they head for practice.

“oh, by the way,” ishan speaks before parting ways, turning to shubman.

“don't leave a hickey next time. it's too sunny out to wear high-collar.”

if shubman gets out early, ishan is to blame.

why would you drop a bomb like that without any warning?

does ishan have no regard for shubman's sanity?

moreover, he just walked off to talk with virat right after that. shubman didn't even get to respond. not like his brain would have functioned but still.

and most importantly. hickey? does it mean he checked in the mirror? he probably remembered everything then? he wasn’t drunk enough to start with.

also, what does “next time” mean?

is it a threat? a promise?

he just wants to pull ishan to a corner and ask him endless questions. also maybe kiss him a little. okay, a lot.

“shubman yaar, focus,” bumrah says. “practice mein hagega tu?”

shubman scratches his head, giving an apologetic half-smile. “sorry bhaiya!”