𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 ( 𝐘𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐯𝐢 𝐉𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐥 )

15

Yashasvi Jaiswal slumped into the backseat of the car, trying to ignore the rising dread in his chest as the vehicle navigated the bustling streets. He stared blankly out of the window, attempting to distract himself with the passing cityscape, but his mind kept returning to the same thought: *Why did I agree to this?*

It had been nearly a month since he had last seen Jemimah Rodrigues. Yashasvi had been caught up in a whirlwind of cricket, first in New York for the T20 World Cup, then Zimbabwe for a series. Meanwhile, Jemimah had been busy with India's tour of South Africa. Their paths hadn't crossed, and if Yashasvi was being honest, he was quite happy with that. Not that he disliked Jemimah—well, not completely. But the chaos she brought into his life was something he could definitely live without.

A small voice in the back of his mind whispered that he missed that chaos, though he'd never admit it. He brushed the thought aside, his fingers drumming against his knee in an attempt to shake off his nerves.

He glanced at the two women in the front seats, his managers, Shreya and Rhea, who had insisted on accompanying him today. They were a large part of why he hadn't bailed on this plan yet. Yashasvi knew if it were up to him, he'd be anywhere but heading to Jemimah's practice session. The thought of stepping into her world of cricket, surrounded by her teammates, filled him with dread.

*What if I mess up?*

"What are we doing this again?" Yashasvi finally spoke up, unable to keep the frustration from creeping into his voice. He looked up and met Rhea's gaze in the rearview mirror.

She turned in her seat, raising an eyebrow. "Because, Yash, you and Jemimah are public figures, and this fake dating thing is still very much in play. People are going to expect to see you two together, and it's been almost a month since anyone has seen that. You can't go off the radar forever."

Shreya, sitting in the passenger seat, chimed in, "It's about managing the media, too. It keeps them from poking around too much. Plus, you agreed to this. You don't get to back out now just because you don't feel like it."

Yashasvi sighed, slumping further into his seat. "Yeah, yeah. I know I agreed, but why do I have to go to her practice session? Couldn't we have done something less... public?"

Rhea smirked, her eyes gleaming with amusement. "Quiet isn't Jemimah's brand, is it? You know she's not exactly the 'low-key' type."

Yashasvi had to admit she had a point. The image of Jemimah darting across the cricket field with boundless energy popped into his mind, her trademark smile never far from her face. "No, she's not," he muttered. "She brings chaos wherever she goes."

Shreya turned to glance at him, a teasing glint in her eyes. "And you secretly love it."

Yashasvi shot her a look through the rearview mirror, his expression darkening slightly, but he didn't bother responding. She wasn't entirely wrong, but that wasn't a conversation he was willing to have. Not now. Not ever, if he could help it.

"Speaking of which," Rhea interrupted his thoughts, her gaze flicking to the brown paper bag beside her, "why didn't you just bring her flowers? That would've been the romantic thing to do, right? Instead, you've bought enough food to feed her entire team."

Yashasvi shrugged, trying to keep his face impassive. "Flowers? She doesn't care about that kind of stuff. But food? Especially her favorite snacks? That's how you keep her quiet."

Rhea raised her eyebrows, her lips twitching as though she were trying not to laugh. "You think you can keep Jemimah quiet? Are you sure about that?"

Yashasvi groaned inwardly, realizing how that sounded. "You know what I mean. If I showed up with a bouquet, she'd roll her eyes and probably throw each flower at me, one by one, just to be annoying. But food? She'll be too busy eating to get on my nerves. And, more importantly, she won't steal mine."

Shreya chuckled from the front seat. "Smart move. Less teasing, more eating. But you know, if you'd gone with the flowers, the media would've eaten that up. 'Boyfriend brings flowers to girlfriend's practice' would've been all over the headlines."

Yashasvi grimaced at the thought. "Yeah, but then I'd never hear the end of it from her. She'd bring it up every time we met for the next year. At least with snacks, I can keep her distracted."

Rhea shot him an amused look. "So, you've got this all figured out, huh?"

"Not really," Yashasvi admitted, the knot of anxiety in his stomach tightening as they neared the stadium. The familiar walls of the cricket ground loomed in the distance, and his confidence began to fade. "I'm just trying to survive this mess."

As the car pulled up to the stadium, Yashasvi could already see a small crowd gathered by the entrance—some press, a few fans, and security personnel. His stomach churned. The last thing he wanted was to deal with all of this right now. He glanced out the window, hearing the satisfying noise of the bat hitting the ball.

His managers were already bustling, giving some last minute instructions , but Yashasvi remained still for a moment, his hand gripping the door handle tightly. "I can still bail,"he thought, only half-joking. "I could disappear before anyone even sees me."

But then Rhea's voice broke through his thoughts. "Yashasvi, you ready? The sooner we do this, the sooner it's over."

He exhaled, slowly letting go of the door handle. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just get this over with."

The door opened, and the sound of the outside world rushed in—the distant thwack of a cricket bat connecting with a ball, the chatter of people, the occasional shout of instruction from the field. Yashasvi stepped out of the car, squinting in the sunlight as his eyes adjusted. He grabbed the bags of food and snacks, holding it tightly as though it were a shield, saying goodbye to the managers as the car left, he walked towards the stadium.

As he walked closer to the practice ground, he could already feel the stares—staff glancing curiously in his direction, probably wondering why he was there. Few press people who he knew too, standing by the entrance, raised their cameras, but they were kept at a respectful distance by security. Yashasvi swallowed, trying to ignore the knot in his throat.

And then, as he stepped into the stadium, only one thing ran across his mind, "Here we go,"he thought.

"Let the chaos begin."

. . . . . .

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. . . .

Word count 1160

ᴛʜᴀɴᴋs ғᴏʀ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ
ʜᴏᴘᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪᴛ

~ 𝒲𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓁ℴ𝓋ℯ,
𝒫𝒽ℴℯ𝓃𝒾𝓍𝓁ℴ𝓋ℯ

This Love | 2024 | 𝙿𝚑𝚘𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚡𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎08