Hearts In Harmony

25 | Jersey No 25.

| AUTHOR |

The Phoenix, Vikram’s team, won the game and were up on the podium receiving their trophy. Vikram snagged the MVP and Player of the Game awards, while Angad took the Best Defensive Player.

After snagging their awards, Vikram and Angad hit the floor, dancing with the cheerleaders to celebrate their win in style. Soon, the whole team joined in, showing off their wild moves. Vikram stopped, catching sight of Reshmi sitting quietly on a bench while Kiara was grooving near her.

He squeezed through the crowd and plopped down next to Reshmi. “Got anything to drink?” he asked, their shoulders brushing slightly. Reshmi nodded and showed him a can of lemon soda. “But… I’ve already taken a sip from this,” she whispered.

She started to move the can away, but Vikram quickly grabbed it. “No worries, we’re friends now. Friends share everything,” he said with a grin before taking a slow sip from the can. Reshmi’s cheeks flushed as she bit her lower lip, trying to hide her growing blush.

‘That… that was an indirect kiss,’ she thought, her eyes tightly shut with a mix of shyness and embarrassment.

Vikram knew exactly what had just happened—this was their first unofficial indirect kiss. After savoring the last drop from the can, he bit his lower lip and whispered, “It’s pretty sweet,” before handing the soda back to her.

Neither of them met each other’s gaze, both blushing furiously. Reshmi stood up slowly, stammering, “I… I’m going to the restroom,” before making a hasty exit from the court. Vikram watched her go, a grin spreading across his face as he whispered to himself, “I hope she didn’t catch onto what I was thinking.”

Reshmi hurried out of the basketball court, her heart racing as she tried to calm her flushed cheeks. She spotted a student near the hallway and approached her. “Excuse me, could you tell me where the restroom is?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

The student pointed down the hall and gave her directions. “It’s down this corridor and to the left. You’ll see the sign.”

Reshmi thanked her and quickly made her way to the restroom, feeling her face grow even warmer with each step. When she finally reached it, she pushed the door open and stepped inside, locking it behind her. She leaned against the sink, taking a few deep breaths to steady herself, still tingling from the unexpected moment with Vikram.

As she looked at her reflection in the mirror, she couldn’t help but smile shyly. “Get a grip, Reshmi,” she muttered to herself, trying to cool down her blush. “It was just a sip of soda.”

Despite her attempts to calm her emotions, she found herself replaying the moment in her head, feeling her cheeks heat up all over again.

Reshmi was splashing cold water on her face, trying to cool down the heat that seemed to have settled in her cheeks. Just as she was starting to feel a bit more composed, a knock on the restroom door startled her.

“Who?” she called as she approached to open the door. Before she could open it fully, a splash of liquid hit her shirt. She looked up, drenched and confused, to see Aanya standing there with a gasp.

Aanya held up a soda can, the same kind Reshmi had earlier. “Oops, sorry about that,” she said, her tone sarcastic and unapologetic. “I didn’t mean to splash you… You just opened the door so suddenly when I was about to knock again.”

Reshmi stared at her, trying to process what had just happened. “Aanya, what the…?”

Aanya's grin widened as she stepped into the restroom. “Oops, really sorry about that,” she said, glancing at Reshmi. “Looks like your shirt’s a bit see-through now.”