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Shubman's POV
I lay back on my bed, staring at the ceiling, my mind in overdrive. Today was supposed to be an off day—well, a "chill day," they said—but honestly, with a match coming up in five days, the idea of doing nothing felt wrong. Like a cricket bat to the face wrong.
Also, how dare Shahneel not tell me about her pretty friend.
I pulled out my phone and saw a message from Abhay (aka Abhishek Sharma, the guy who always makes trouble sound like fun).
Abhay: Yo, bro, Wanna hang?
Me: Like as in suicide?
Abhay: No, Hang out, dumbass.
Me: Acha okay, Meet me in 10, Might bring a friend.
Abhay: Oooh!
I chuckled at his excitement. Before I plugged my phone in to charge, I thought, Why not ask Shobhana? She seemed pretty chill yesterday, and hanging out with her and Abhay? That could be interesting.
I typed out a quick message:
Me: Hey, this is Shubman. Would you like to hang out with me and my friend?
Shobhana: Of course! But I'm currently at the RCB practice session. I could meet you guys at 10 am. Is that okay?
Me: Yeah sure!! I'll text you the details.
I grinned like a Cheshire cat. This day was shaping up to be way more fun than I anticipated. After a quick shower (which I spent half of trying not to drop the shampoo bottle on my foot—classic me), I was ready.
My outfit for the day? A simple white Adidas jersey that I threw on with some faded jeans. Why dress up for a chill day? I thought. Plus, I was still in a pretty great mood.
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A quick glance at my phone confirmed my plan: meet up with Abhay, then wait for Shobhana.
I grabbed my keys and headed out, texting Shobhana the location. When I reached Abhay's car, I slid into the passenger seat, and he immediately started cracking jokes.
"10 minutes my ass?" He scoffed, half-smiling. "We're late, dude!"
I just shrugged. "Sorry."
"You okay?" he asked, eyes narrowing in concern.
"Yeah, why?"
"Just... you seem off," he said, glancing at me. I rolled my eyes and slapped his shoulder. "Shut up, Abhay. Shobhana will be joining us at 10 am."
"Who is Shobhana?" He raised an eyebrow. "Or is she your secret girlfriend?" he grinned.
"I swear, I will throw you out of this car," I muttered, shoving him back as he cackled like a madman.
Shobhana's POV
The day was an absolute whirlwind, but I wasn't complaining. After wrapping up the shoot with Virat and AB, I was trying to look all professional when Virat dropped the bomb:
"So, you're the one who did my wife's photoshoot?" Virat asked, looking at me like he was trying to figure out if I had just stolen his lunch or if I was indeed a highly skilled photographer.
"Yeah, that was me," I said, smiling as I tried to keep it cool, though I wanted to shout, YES, I PHOTOGRAPHED YOUR WIFE, BUT SHE'S A LEGEND, SO IT'S FINE.
"God, she wouldn't stop going on about it. Shobi this, Shobi that..." he chuckled, shaking his head.
I laughed along, totally embarrassed but secretly thrilled.
"Yo, what's up?" AB de Villiers chirped as he appeared behind us, tossing a hand casually around my shoulder.
"Nothing much. Just telling her how my wife was fangirling over her," Virat added, and we all burst into laughter.
As they left, I gave them both side hugs and waved them off. "Alright, I gotta go," I said, heading to my car. As I sat down, I pulled out my phone to check the message about where to meet Shubman and Abhay.
Shubman: Meet me at the café at 10. Here's the location.
I plugged it into the GPS. It was a 10-minute drive, so I sped off, wondering what this hangout was going to be like.
As I reached the café, I noticed Kriti and Ishan standing outside, obviously having the same brilliant idea of using their off day to do absolutely nothing productive. The usual suspects.
"I'm so sorry, I got caught up at work!" I ranted as I rushed inside, dropping my bag next to me. I slid into the booth between Shubman and Ishan, who both looked amused but also like they had been waiting forever.
Abhay raised his coffee cup in greeting, grinning. "It's fine. By the way, this is Abhishek. Abhishek, this is Shobhana."
"Hi," I smiled at Abhay as he returned it with a slow, almost too-cool-for-school smile.
He was dressed in a tight graphic T-shirt that showcased his toned arms—seriously, who lets this guy breathe? Seriously?
"Didn't take the day off?" Kriti asked, sipping her iced latte.
"RCB match is tonight," I answered with a shrug. "Can't go off-track now, can I?"
"So, what's the plan for today?" Ishan asked, kicking his feet up on the chair.
Abhay grinned. "So, here's the deal: We're gonna eat, we're gonna chill, we're gonna annoy the heck out of each other until someone cries. Sound good?"
I couldn't help but laugh. "Sounds absolutely perfect."
