Love Li(f)e

3.Play pretend

Aditi Sharma and Shubman Gill spotted together amid dating rumors

You looked at your phone again and then back at your manager for nearly a minute.

"Just tell me," Koel mumbled as she sat on the couch across from you on the terrace.

"No, you tell me," you said, crossing your arms and keeping your eyes on her expectantly. "What was that little stunt you and his manager pulled this morning?"

"Aditi, we're friends but I'm also your manager," she started.

"Fortunately and unfortunately," you mumbled, glancing at the night sky.

"So it's my job to manage your talent as well as develop, implement and execute strategic marketing plans for your career," she said, looking into your eyes.

"Are you trying to hypnotize me?" You grabbed the bowl of ice cream from the table in front of you, pushing Koel's bowl towards her.

"No, I'm bribing you," she gestured to the ice cream she brought for you. "Just imagine the PR you both would receive. Yeah, there is enough already. But if news goes out that showbiz has met cricket again, all the brand endorsements, contracts and shares you'd both get from them will go through the roof."

"You want me to do a publicity stunt?" You raised an eyebrow before continuing to eat the ice cream.

"Or look at it as just hanging out each time," she said, getting your spoon from your hand and feeding you the ice cream. "Paparazzi will take care of the rest."

You stayed silent and she knew that she was close.

"Plus, you told me the day after the ad shoot that Shubman was very hot," she fed you another spoon of the ice cream.

"Well," you mumbled again. "Facts."

"That's it," Koel smiled. "It's a win-win situation."

You stared at her for a few seconds, contemplating. "Shubman and I need to have a talk before deciding."

"Of course," she leaned back on the couch, returning to her own bowl of ice cream.

Staring at her for a bit longer, you sighed. "You manipulative bish."

"Love you too."

-

"Lunch first," you reminded Koel as you both got down from your car.

"Sure, milady," she held your hand as you both walked inside the sea facing restaurant.

"Is he here yet?" You asked as she led you through the barley occupied tables to the patio that faced the beach.

"There," she pointed to the direction with her eyes.

You spotted Shubman and his manager as the latter waved at Koel.

"Well, hello again," you smiled once you both were at the table.

Sebastian greeted you with a polite smile, getting up from his chair that was opposite to Shubman.

"We'll let you both talk for a while," Koel said after a small wave at the cricketer, looking at his manager and you before they left.

You didn't notice when Shubman stood up too, but when you looked at him, he gestured to the chair facing him.

And you took your seat, neither of you speaking for the first few seconds.

"Seb talked to me about it," he started, and you let go of your sling bag, placing it on the chair beside you. "So he was saying that it's his job as a manager to manage my talent as well as-"

The rest of his words felt like déjà vu.

You listened to the exact words of Koel's 'showbiz meets cricket again' monologue from last night.

"And he added that paparazzi will take care of the rest?" You asked and Shubman nodded. "Also that it's a win-win situation," you tried and he nodded yet again.

You sighed mentally and glanced at Koel and Sebastian who were sitting a couple of tables away to your side.

"I think they discussed and wrote it down," you told him once you everted your eyes.

"Your manager told you the same thing?" Shubman asked and you mumbled a 'yes' as the waiter arrived to take your order.

He ordered himself a burrito bowl, his lunch always included loads of carbs, along with grilled chicken and a natural fruit juice with no sugar.

You opted for a Turkish Pide and a cold glass of blueberry mojito, and then returned to your conversation.

"So how's cricket?" You broke the ice.

"It's beautiful," Shubman said and you looked at him like 'seriously.'

"Dude," you replied and he chuckled. "It is beautiful though."

"As always," he added, noticing Koel and Sebastian place their order too through the corner of his eye. "This IPL season, lots of learning, great memories."

You listened to him speak about his experience and GT's this season, with him being the captain. You met him before it commenced.

"And I'll be leaving for the States next week," Shubman said as the waiter returned with the plates.

"T20 World Cup, right?" You asked and he nodded while the plates were being set on the table.

"How's music?" He flipped open the ketchup bottle absentmindedly.

"When I'm in front of the mic or recording, an overwhelming wave of emotion in a good way," you stopped him from accidentally squeezing out the ketchup, fingers brushing against his for a second.

He did seem a little shy. Maybe he was doing it out of nervousness.

"And when I'm not, I practice for recordings, rehearse when there are stage performances coming up, promotions, collaborations," you spoke until the food was at the table. "Other than that, I annoy my mom or do grocery shopping. It's fun."

You love grocery shopping because seventy percent of what you buy will be different brands and flavors of noodles.

Also you'd want to buy every useless thing you looked at, to the point that your mother or Koel always had to drag your sulking self out of the store.

Yeah, you didn't need the pom pom balls but they were too cute to stay on the shelves forever.

Lunch went by in a blink, with you and Shubman discussing cricket, music, your love for MCU, but never about what your managers said.

That was the whole point of this meeting.

And you both did bring it up while stepping out of the restaurant after paying for the meal, the bill and tip shared equally.

"So about the PR stunt we're suggested to do," Shubman said as you stood in front of your car. "I think it's like playing pretend."

"It is," you agreed as Koel and Sebastian waited at a distance, giving you and both some space.

"I told Seb that I wanted to talk with you too," he said again. "You know, before deciding."

The two of you faced each other, not really saying anything more, just staring at each other like two idiots.

"What do you think?" He asked, looking into your eyes.

Shubman had the most beautiful eyes you'd ever seen after your mother's.

"You know what I think?" You asked back and he hummed in response. "I think it'll be fun."