Bade Sapne

◇ Part 2 ◇

Vira's POV

Ishan and I left the living room, allowing Shubman to sleep on the sofa. I felt a pang of guilt when I realised that he'd decided to sleep on the sofa because of me. He'd been the one to offer the stay at their hotel room.

These feelings of guilt were soon washed away, as Ishan gently grabbed my hand, wrapping it in his own warm fingers. My eyes drifted to his face, tracing the contours of his face. A few strands of his hair gently fell over his eyes, and I reached out to brush it to the side.

His gaze tore into mine, and our eyes met, passion flowing through them. Before long, I felt my back hit the wall, as one of Ishan's hands reached up to cup my cheek, the warmth of his palm spreading around my face, painting my cheeks a tinge of pink. The butterflies in my stomach were fluttering.

His breaths were low, and gentle, and our eyes locked, as he intertwined our fingers. A smile lit up his face, and I broke our eye contact, embarrassed, a small chuckle escaping my lips. Ishan, pushed away, smiling to himself, proud that he'd been able to make me blush.

We stepped into Ishan and Shubman's room, and I was met with the sight of two twin beds. The room was a mess. Duvets thrown haphazardly on the beds, pillows unfluffed, clothes all over the floor, and the wardrobe looked like it was about to spill all the secrets of Shubman and Ishan's dressing choices.

Ishan stopped me from going further into the room.

"Ek minute do mujhe. Thoda messy hai."

Thoda?

"Yaar, koi baat nahi. Mein aapko clean karne mein help karti hoon."

"Arey, tum toh guest ho, na? Aise kaise kar sakta hoon mein?"

"Aap khud ko bohot takleef dete ho. Fikar maat karo."

We got to work, I folded the clothes while Ishan put then away and did the beds. Teamwork makes the dream work. I noticed one corner of the room completely untouched, no clothes near it, not a single piece of paper, probably not even a speck of dust.

Stood there, were two sets of cricket kit bags, leant carefully on the wall, almost at a calculated angle, unlike the rest of the room, which looked like it'd been through a storm. I smiled at their extreme devotion to the sport, my heart touched by the love they expressed for the game.

This is what you call dedication. I felt like applauding Ishan and even Shubman for the effort they put in. I bet their bats were shined and smoothed down perfectly as well.

"Kya hua?"

I looked up to see Ishan with an expression of concern on his face. I gave him a blank look, confused.

"Kuch nahi hua. Kyun?"

"Nahi, tum ekdum rukhi, isliye bol raha tha."

"Nahi, aisi koi baat nahi thi, lekin, aap dono cricket ko bohot respect dete ho, na?"

"Ji haan. Mein utna zyada nahi, lekin tumko Shubman ko dekhna chahiye. Cricket matlab uski puri duniya hai."

Wow. I didn't think Shubman was this dedicated. Dekh kar toh definitely nahi lagta.

Ishan continued, "Neend nahi aati toh purane video dekh tha rehta hai, aur mujhe bhi nahi sohne deta bhai. 'Shot aise marna tha, ye, woh, sab kuch.' Usko cricket ka bohot bada craze hai."

"Sacch mein? Aise nahi lagta."

"Shayad thoda shanth rehta hai, bechara, lekin dil bohot zor se chila thi hai."

"Kya? Kabhi kabhi aap jo kehte ho, mein kuch samajh nahi paati."

"Yaar, sab log aise hi kehte rehte hai. Mera matlab ye hai, ki woh bada shanti hai lekin apno ke saath woh bohot masti karta hai."