WICKETS AND WIDGETS

EXTRA (2)

"I say you call him right now and let us all hear his voice," he suggested.

I shook my head firmly, "Absolutely not."

"Absolutely yes," Hardik chimed in from beside me. "Okay, I'll tell you what. You call him right now, and we promise not to call him the fanfiction guy for a month."

"And after that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We'll see," he shrugged, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

They all looked at me with pleading expressions, "Come on, dude, please? Just this once?"

I sighed, "Not a single word out of you guys, okay?" I warned, and they mimed locking their lips shut. With that, I dialed Aryan's number, and he picked up on the second ring.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked casually.

"Just checking in," I replied softly.

"You're the younger one, remember?" He teased, "I should be the one looking after you."

"Well, what's stopping you?" I retorted, unintentionally playful. Ishan raised an eyebrow at me, smirking.

Aryan chuckled, "Oh? Want to be my baby?"

"Sure," I replied, a hint of embarrassment in my tone. Siraj was struggling to contain his laughter.

"Such a big baby," Aryan teased, "Hang up the call. You know what the traffic police says, right? Don't call and drive."

"Isn't it 'don't drink and drive'?" I countered, trying to keep the banter light.

"Nope," he countered playfully, "Take care, and hit all those balls like you want to hit my..." He trailed off, as he hung up.

Siraj couldn't contain his laughter any longer. "Dude, this guy is something else, I swear."

Hardik, wiping tears of laughter, chimed in, "Consider my blessing for your marriage, my boy. He's a perfect match for you."

"Like a stormy wave in a calm sea," Rahul mused.

Shubman added, "He's definitely a keeper."

Ishan, with a playful glint in his eyes, asked, "And me?"

Siraj rolled his eyes, anticipating some playful banter. "Here we go, lover's banter."

"We're just kidding," Shubman interjected, trying to keep the conversation light.

"But are we?" Ishan teased, nudging Shubman playfully.

Hardik shifted to a more serious tone. "Kabir, if you need any romantic advice, I'm your guy. I have a feeling you might need it."

I objected, "That's not true."

"Forgive us for assuming," Yashasvi said with a shrug. "We used to think you were aromantic. It's good to see we were wrong. Kudos to you."

Siraj, ever curious, remarked, "Aryan seems like the dominant one in your relationship, huh?"

"Why the fascination with who's dominant?" I raised an eyebrow, teasing.

"Just curiosity," Siraj shrugged.

"He's probably the top, or maybe a power bottom," Ishan joked with a smirk.

"Much like yourself?" I teased Ishan, glancing at Shubman.

"Why look at me for confirmation?" Shubman laughed back.

"I'm observant too, you know," I said with a shrug.

Virat and Rohit joined our group, whispering to each other with raised eyebrows. "What's the gossip, guys?"

Hardik nodded towards me dramatically. "Guess what? He's got a date!"

Their eyes widened comically. "With a human?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, a human. Unless you know any aliens in disguise?" Siraj quipped.

Virat looked surprised. "Wow, that's actually unexpected! Who's the lucky lady?"

Before I could answer, Ishan cut in, "Actually, it's a guy."

"Hey, no judgment there," Virat replied coolly. "Anyone we know?"

I felt my face flush under their curious stares.

Siraj grinned mischievously. "Remember that pretty boy from the IPL match a while back?"

"Oh, that guy! Well, well, Kabir's got game huh!" Rohit chuckled.

"I'm off for a swim, folks. Catch you later!" I grabbed my coffee cup and bolted out of there, knowing that the longer I stayed, the more they'd tease me.

Siraj's voice echoed from afar, "The swimming pool's on the other side!" Their laughter followed.

Once I was at a safe distance, I sighed with a small smile. Life was good.