Shubman's POV
"Shubman ji!"
I turned my head to look towards the voice. Vira was standing , a red lehenga, adorned with jewelry that complimented her beautiful features. She was smiling, her hands painted with dark henna, eyes wide with excitement.
Humari shaadi ki din aise kaise aa gayi?
A red veil covered her hair, but single strands of her gentle waves peeked out of the hairstyle, framing her face. She was looking at me expectantly, almost as if she wanted something.
Almost on cue with my thoughts, she beckoned me towards her, mouthing the words aa jao. I felt myself being drawn to her.
"Haan ji. Kuch toh chahiye tha?"
"Meine aaj aap keliye khana nahi khaaya. Toh aap mujhe khila sakte ho?"
I looked at her slightly confused. She held her hands up, gesturing towards her mehendi. I did a slight 'O' with my mouth, telling her I understood.
She giggled, pecking me on the cheek.
"Thank you, baby."
Baby? Kab se?
Once again, confusion filled my face, when she started to walk towards me. I took a step back each time she stepped towards me. Until my back hit the wall. I was trapped between her and the wall.
Not that I minded, of course.
She kept coming closer. A pair of silver, hand-crafted ghungroos were jingling with each step she took, leaving an echo in the room. As she closed the distance between us, I began to hear the tiniest of sounds and notice the smallest of things. Her jhumkas were clinking gently, and her bangles tinkling. I looked up at her forehead and saw a bright red line of sindoor in her parting. A single strand had come out of place, and I moved my hand to gently tuck it behind her ear.
I let her take a couple more steps to fill the gap between us, as she gazed into my eyes, her passionate chestnut eyes burning into mine. Once again, I lifted my hand, cupping her cheek with it, moving towards her slowly, tilting my head, ready to feel her lips on mine.
"Shubman!"
Mein yahan hi hoon, baby, fikar maat karo.
"Shubman!"
"Hmmm...."
"SHUBMAN!"
"Kya?"
Suddenly, I was overcome by an ice-cold sensation on my face, stinging my cheeks, and my T-shirt was completely soaked. Standing in front of me with a hand on the hip, and a glass of water in hand, was an annoyed-looking Ishan, a look of disapproval on his face.
"Yaar, tu pagal hai kya? Khana oven mein rakh kar soh gaya tu. Ghar jalaa deta tu, bhai! Tumko khana karne ka kabhi zimedaari nahi deni chahiye. Pura hotel hi jal jayegi!"
"Kya hua?"
"Kya hua? Suna nahi? Sab nachos jal chuke hai. Ab tu hi kha lo."
"Arey, sorry, yaar. Mujhe bohot neend aa rahi thi, mein kya karun?"
"Toh mujhe baatana tha, na? Mein dekh le tha."
"Sorry, phir nahi hoga."
"Hmm, woh dekhenge." He said, slightly grumpily, but I noticed a tinge of a smile on his face.
"Ba- Ishan, mein chai rakhun kya?"
I turned to the voice, seeing Vira. She'd spoken for the first time in this conversation. She didn't look towards me, her eyes were fixated on Ishan, and I could see the chemistry burning between them. They were exchanging something with their eyes, leaving me in suspense. Did something happen when I was asleep?
My eyes flitted between the two of them. What the fuck is going on?
"Yes please."
He looked at her grinning slightly, and she began to blush slightly, then turned away, presumably to hide her pink cheeks, before swiftly walking away to the kitchen.
Once she'd left, I signaled to Ishan, asking what had happened. He just shook his head, assuring me he'd tell me later. I just looked back at him and shrugged, wanting to go back to sleep.
As soon as I had begun to doze off, I was once again interrupted by Ishan turning the TV on, blasting it at full volume. He was watching a replay of the match we'd played today, with Vira in his arms.
Wait, in his arms?
I did a double-take and realised they were sitting really close. In fact, her head was resting against his chest, her eyes not on the screen, but rather on Ishan. Ishan, on the other hand, had his eyes fixed on the TV, watching himself in all his glory and began to cheer at every boundary.
She let out a sweet chuckle when Ishan began to shout at the TV when his wicket fell- and I'd been the one to take it. Yaar, Ishan bhi na. They still hadn't realised I was awake yet.
Once the commentators' notes came on, Ishan and Vira looked at each other, as Ishan pulled her closer to him, gently wrapping his arms around her. Their eyes met gracefully, a burning passion evident. Ye kab se hua? I was asleep for two minutes!
A strange feeling settled in me, wanting more than anything, to pull them apart, to sit right between them. I kept watching as they began to smile at each other, and Ishan whispered something in her ear, to which she responded with a pout and puppy eyes.
Urgh, why can't I be good with women like Ishan? Finally, Vira did a double take, realising that I was awake, and gently tapped Ishan's shoulder, lightly pushing herself away from the position, looking slightly embarrassed that I'd been watching.
I stood up, seeing red. To save myself from being a bad friend, I stepped outside, but not before offering a tip.
"Keep doing what you were doing. I don't really care."
The two of them looked at me, confused, but I shrugged, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. A bubble grew in my throat, as I struggled to hold in a growing emotion of... anger.
I quickly stepped out of the room, wanting to get away, brisk walking into the kitchen. I opened the fridge, pulled out the milk, and poured it into a cup, before putting it into the microwave, anger boiling within me, just like how the milk was boiling in the microwave.
Quickly gulping it down, trying to drown myself in my rage, I leant against the counter, trying to formulate my thoughts. Why was I angry in the first place?
I pondered on the thought for some time, before leaving it up to the wet T-shirt. Yaar, ye mera birthday wala shirt tha. At least, sirf paani gira uss par. I decided to change out of the shirt, not wanting to be wet for the rest of the night.
I quickly got changed into pajamas, hoping that sleep would help me understand my feelings- or forget them. Hopefully, like the rest of my life, cricket trailed behind me, like my shadow, constantly pushing me back up after a bad day.
My mind flashed back to the BCCI awards ceremony from last year. I could still clearly recall Ravi sir mentioning how Rishabh bhai had taken us past the finishing line at the Gabba.
And, in all fairness, he had. But he wasn't the only one who'd played well in that match. I'd played a pretty decent knock that day as well. Sirf 9 runs baache the, yaar, aur meri aur ek century hoti aaj. Kaash woh mili hoti.
I remembered how much it had hurt to have my efforts disregarded, washed away to the side. I remembered how my father embraced me afterwards, telling me that I had contributed as well. Comforting me, making me feel worth something.
He'd always been there for me. He was my inspiration. And after the ceremony, he took me straight to the grounds, allowing me to take it all out with the bat and ball. When I was playing cricket, everything else in the world would be forgotten. Chahiye jo bhi ho.
Cricket was my world, and it was all I needed. I don't know where this anger was coming from, but I knew how to calm myself down. Taking out my phone, I watched back old videos of me playing when I was much younger. Back in my under 15, under 19, days.
Watching them, I began to notice changes which I'd never realised I had made. I would harshly criticise each shot, knowing that I'd improved on it by now. If I played a comparison of my match today, and one of my older matches, the technique was the same, the shot selection was the same.
But I'd matured. I'd learnt from my previous experiences. Implemented small changes, one at a time, allowing myself to grow over time. Gosh, cricket teaches you many things. Cricket mere liye pehla pehla pyaar hai. Usko chod kar mein nahi jaa sakta.
Once again, I went into the hall, finding Ishan and Vira cuddled up on the sofa. Urgh, I'm going to throw up. Gosh. I diverted my eyes, before opening my mouth to speak to them.
"Ishan, tum dono undar sojao. Mein yahan sofe par sohta hoon."
"Tumko abhi soh na hai? Kyunki hum under abhi jaa sakte chahiye to."
"Haan, abhi soh na hai mujhe."
The two of them got up, and Ishan motioned to the blanket, asking me whether I needed it or not. I gave him a curt nod and proceeded to jump on the sofa. Oh wow, they warmed it up. I pulled the blanket around me, and drifted off into a dreamlike state, without a care in the world.
Time to see sapne...
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A/N:
Hiiii!!!!
How are y'all? I have so much planned for you, stay tuned for it all 🤭🤭
Gosh, Shubm- I mean, SOMEONE, is starting to get a little jealoussss.....
I know it's been a LONGGGG time since the last update and I'm realllyyy sorry (don't come at me 😭😭) but yeah. I loved writing the first part of this- poor Shubman 🤣
He's been playing well, though in the IPL :D
ANYWAYS.
LOVE YOU GUYS SMMMM :)))
Stay tuned :)
Yours Truly <33