Rent Free

3.Rent free memories

"Shubi, calm down," Shahneel said, looking at how excited her brother was getting.

"I am calm," Shubman answered as he checked the location of the restaurant with his phone, once again.

"Are you?" The one with the piercings asked, eyebrows slightly raised.

"Ishu, I haven't seen her in weeks," he defended himself.

"Ask him if he's excited to see Y/n or baby Shahneel," Ishan said simply as he parked the car. "My dear passengers, we've arrived at our destination. Thank you for driving with me."

Shahneel was the first to get down followed by the Sita-Gita of the Indian cricket team, one of them still fretting.

"Do I look okay?" Shubman asked for the nth time that morning. "Do you think these clothes are baby friendly?"

"What are you saying?" Ishan eyed him while pushing his shades down just a bit.

"The hell does that mean?" Shahneel joined in.

"I mean, they're not too rough or hazardous to carry a baby, right?" He tugged at the denim jacket worn over his white t-shirt. "Maybe I should just wear the t-shirt and remove the jacket. Yes, I should-"

The rest of his words were ignored as Ishan and Shahneel looked at each other.

"I shouldn't have dropped him when he was a baby," she told him.

With a sigh, she turned back to her brother.

"Shubi, you look fine," she assured, making him pause on his words. "Do you want to be late now?"

Only that stopped Shubman as he shook his head quickly as a no.

"Good," she said again. "Now start walking."

The trio walked inside the restaurant, past a few tables until Ishan caught sight of you.

His guy was about to go crazy, he knew.

"Shubi, over there," he nudged the younger one's arm and he looked in that direction.

You were sitting at one of the tables by the patio, with your daughter in the high chair provided by the restaurant.

Accompanying you was Anish and Ara, both of whom he recognized immediately.

"Don't panic," Ishan said after a wave to you. "Or don't get excited like you did while texting her about this brunch."

"I was asking her about Nini," the younger one replied. "That's the reason."

"Yeah, sweetie. Whatever helps you sleep at night," he mumbled, sending a smile and another wave to Anish who noticed their arrival too.

Just in time, you locked eyes with Shubman.

And Ishan's words flew out of the window.

He waved at you with the biggest grin on his face, his dimples on display.

The trio walked up to the table, exchanging amicable greetings.

Shubman in particular, was beaming as he faced you.

"Hey, Y/n," he smiled and your heart flipped, seeing the dimples of your longtime cricketer crush.

But he didn't have to know.

You don't have time for reckless things now.

Been there, done that.

Your job was exhausting enough. Not that you were being ungrateful, but frequently extended work shifts can really be cut down.

Else, you were another sleepless night away from being an insomniac.

"Hey, Shubman," you smiled back as he sat on the chair, opposite to you.

"Hello, Nini," he made this adorable face as he talked to your daughter. "Do you remember me?"

He held her hand, sitting across from her as she gave a gummy smile.

She hasn't spoken a single word yet.

You'd been worried that you might've not been spending enough time with her, to just talk and help her say a couple of words or so.

Her doctor assured that although it's not typical, it's not necessarily a cause for a lot of concern either, until the age is eighteen months.

"Y/n, my sister," Shubman introduced her to you.

He suddenly felt as though this was a wedding proposal and not a brunch to thank you guys who worked closely with the Titans, as he had texted you.

"Shubi has said a lot about you," his sister said as you both shook hands.

Ishan kicked her leg under the table, making sure no one else noticed as he talked with Anish and Ara.

"I mean, about baby Shahneel," she added quickly, turning towards your daughter.

She warmed up pretty quickly to Shubman's sister too. Seems like they share not only similar features, but the charm as well.

"We have the same name," she cooed, eyes filled with awe. "She even has my eyes."

"Well, I don't think she takes after me," you said, gently holding the tiny hand that reached out for you.

"How're you doing, Y/n?" Shubman asked, and your eyes went back to his.

"I'm good," you answered, the same smile on your face as you shrugged. "Had to go through all your ads along with the team's, so it was fun."

"And that 210-run partnership, man, what a comeback," Anish said to Shubman, in the middle of his conversation with Ishan.

"You should've seen the admin," Ara, who was sitting beside you, added. "He was going crazy with happiness."

"And you, Shub?" You faced him again.

Shahneel needed to understand why her brother looked like a lovesick teenager.

"I'm holding up," he answered, with a slight smile this time. "Lots of learning this IPL season. And leaving for New York in a couple of weeks."

You nodded while your daughter stretched her arms towards him.

Shubman grinned again before picking her up, letting her sit on his lap.

You watched as she played with him, smiling and laughing.

For a moment, you saw no difference between the duo as pure joy radiated off them.

All the while, you remained oblivious to the pair of eyes that glanced at you occasionally too.

Ishan and Shahneel gave each other a knowing look, a smile, and an eyebrow wiggle.

The subject of their internalized teasing leaned to the side, starting to speak in a low tone.

"I have a crush on Y/n," Shubman said carefully near his sister's ear.

For now, he didn't want to make her panic by saying anything that hinted at much serious things.

"Don't ask me how. I just know that I really like her," he mumbled, still careful not to let anyone else hear him. "I'd love getting to know about her and Nini."

"You can't do that, Shubi," Shahneel said back in a hushed tone. "It's only the third meeting and the third chapter."

True that, but the memories of even spending the least of minutes with you never left his mind.

"What can I say? She already lives in my head rent free."