Shape of the Sun

Lies men tell

The next morning

"Goodness gracious! What the hell was that all about?!"

As soon as Rajkumar stepped into the locker room, he was flanked by other members of the team.

"Can we all chill for a second?" he laughed as he made his way over to the bench, "Where is my fucking water bottle?" He was so thirsty after that intense match.

Farouk, a tall, Middle-eastern man with hair tinted yellow threw him an unopened water bottle, which he caught with both hands.

"You can have mine, bro. Hell, you can have everyone's if you want!"

Everyone in the locker room laughed at that, including the recipient of the praise. And they didn't stop there. More kept coming from them.

"Raj, the man of the match!"

"Leggoooo!!!"

"Damn, you lifted the fucking game!"

Rajkumar laughed at their praise, continuously waving them off to signal it wasn't a big deal. But it didn't mean he actually felt the same inside, he thought, taking a sip of water from the bottle. Rajkumar actually felt pretty good about his performance in the cricket match. Damn, he was a beast on the pitch today.

"You guys are just too much, you know? It was nothing."

"Hahaha. This cunning guy!"  Ben, a white Briton, couldn't help himself and voice out what everybody else was thinking. Raj somehow managed to crowd out other amateurs. Damn. Just a mention that he was in and other country club teams were scared out of even playing.

What a cunning guy.

Rajkumar chuckled and shook hands with all of them. Playing cricket on weekends with these guys at the country club was fun, and he really appreciated each and every one of them. They made the game fun for everyone, and he especially needed that, since he was pissed, having to stay up all night while James thoroughly cleaned his apartment. In addition, he had to pay him a whole lot more for the irregular service hours and the job nature itself.

Damn that Anisha. She was his enemy.

Farouk directed a question at him as he reached for his duffel bag.

"Raj, we are heading over to the new Mediterranean restaurant over at Abbey. My wife told me their food is lit. Wanna come? Don't want to disturb the latest chief of Pediatrics at Royal." he joked.

The other men laughed at his last phrase, pretty much true since Rajkumar now had a busier position. But that didn't mean they didn't want him to come. He was just a vibe, way too cool. And Rajkumar felt the same way; he wanted to go and relax a bit before work tomorrow. He was just about to voice his agreement when Hudson, the locker room attendant strode in with a message. And it was for him.

"Umm Raj, your girlfriend is outside and she wants to see you."

Ben was the first to hoot, followed by the others. Farouk even sent a sly wink his way.

"You lucky bastard! It seems you are eating something else."

"Oh shut up, Ben."

He rolled his eyes at the man's antics, earning laughs from others. But even though his face was all smiles, Rajkumar felt deeply irritated in his heart. This Anisha was only getting worse and worse. It seemed that enough was enough now.

"Shall I call her in?" Hudson asked.

"Yes. Thank you."

"Hold up." Farouk raised a hand in the air, the other holding his duffel, "I think we should all leave and give the couple some alone time. What do you all think?"