Love Li(f)e

16.Last laugh

"Are you calling her?" Sebastian asked for the nth time.

"I am calling her," Shubman repeated but your phone was turned off. Has been for the past three hours.

"Couldn't you have done this earlier?" The former said, though it was to himself.

He'd taken care of the video clip that leaked the previous month, along with your and Shubman's PR teams, and without Koel or you. Even the cricketer himself.

A lot of people have come forward, condemning the breach of privacy in certain terms like posting the video online, showing their support and saying that it's not wrong to love.

What if the insight was too late?

It's been four weeks of no contact and he wasn't even sure if you'd reply to him.

But he couldn't just let you go.

He'd regret it for the rest of his life if he did.

They say when you're missing someone, they probably feel the same.

Were you?

His hope is at the point where he believes you'll answer a call to your phone that is turned off.

"Are you crying?" Sebastian asked again and he shook his head with tears in his eyes, but then answered.

"Yes," he whispered and tried calling you again.

His manager dropped everything and ran to his house when he said he thought he was going to break down without you.

"I'll meet her in person," Shubman finally said. "She can't avoid me that way. Book flight tickets to-"

The door slammed open and there stood his sister, determined to resolve everything because being an unpaid therapist didn't work.

"Seb," she looked at her brother's manager. "I'm going to respectfully need you to get out."

He looked back and forth at the siblings, wanting to say something but surrendered.

"Okay," he said and with a look at the cricketer, he left.

Shubman heard his manager swear, something he did only when he was surprised, before his sister walked away.

Then he knew why.

Because you walked inside the room, just as disheveled as him, and in your... pajamas?

Was he dreaming? Maybe.

But he still took the opportunity to calm down at the sight of you.

"Aditi, I-"

"Stop talking," you said and walked inside, climbing on the bed.

Still in your silver satin pajamas, you knelt on the mattress, holding Shubman's face in your hands.

"Listen to me, okay?" You looked deep into his eyes and he nodded. "It matters to me, Shubi."

He blinked his teary eyes once and you continued.

"It matters a lot to me whether you're in my life or not," you looked down since kneeling down, you were a bit taller than him. "Things were happening too fast on that day for me to react, and I didn't mean anything I said back then."

As you spoke, the curve of his eyes brought tears within your own.

"I'm really sorry for saying there's no us and making you think that you're anything less," you wiped the tears off the corner of his eyes. "So can we start new and date for real this time?"

Shubman didn't say anything for a while, focusing on the feel of your palms against his cheeks.

And you thought that was the answer you'll be getting.

"It's okay," you mumbled and looked down. "It's okay if you don't want to. Just be happy with someone you love-"

"Shut up and kiss me," he cut your words off, giving you flashbacks of RWRB.

This time, you didn't seem to react for a while, but did when you felt his lips on yours.

Your eyes closed, savoring the touch of Shubman's kiss before he fell back with you on top of mind.

Never mind the door that was open.

He kissed you like a person lost in the sea getting washed ashore and kissing the sand.

"Can I open my eyes?" You both heard his sister and pulled away.

She had her eyes covered with her palm, just a precaution she thought was necessary, as her free arm was stretched out, trying to feel where she was.

Getting hold of the door, she waited for an answer.

Shubman looked back at you, smiling before he pecked your lips before sitting up.

You got off his lap slowly, sitting in front of him on the bed.

"We aren't doing anything, di," he said and she uncovered her eyes.

"You 'are' not," she said back. "But were you not doing anything?"

He got hold of a pillow and threw it at her.

"Ma's calling you both for lunch," she dodged the pillow attack by taking one step to the side. "And please close the door. Not everyone thinks about all the probabilities and circumstances like I do."

She told him, waved at you and asked you both to be quick for lunch, blew you a kiss, which Shubman shielded you from, before leaving.

"I'm sorry too," he said, making you look at him. "I shouldn't have burst out like that. I should've given you time to calm down as well before asking."

Leaning forward, you placed a small kiss on his cheek.

"When did you get here?" He asked and you thought back to the conversation with your mother in the morning.

"Just a while back," you answered. "I'm really hungry though. All I ate was chocolate chip cookies during the flight."

"As always," Shubman smiled but then it fell. "Did you wake up and decide you needed to talk to me right then? Does that mean you didn't have your breakfast?"

You shrugged with a sheepish smile, knowing how he would lecture you when you skip meals.

"Don't reprimand me now," you held his hand as you both got off the bed. "I had to get to the love of my life sooner."

Oh, his dimples. What you wouldn't do to see them on his face all the time. To see him smiling all the time.

You liked making him blush.

"So did you just start missing me after the whole month?" You asked and Shubman stood near the door with you, holding your hands in his.

"I was in self-denial," he confessed. "Until this morning."

"And what changed that?" You asked again as his arms moved to wrap around your waist.

"So when I woke up this morning," he started. "I decided randomly to record myself singing and heard it."

"Seriously?" You looked at him, unimpressed.

"Okay, I decided to watch Titanic," Shubman replied and you hit his chest slightly. "Do you really need the reason right now? We're in for a long run after all."

You nodded, letting your body fall against his chest.

He got himself ready like he was going to reveal some nuclear codes, and you waited as he leaned towards your ear.

"You know why?" He asked and you waited for him to continue. "Because I love you."

Then he kissed your cheek, running away before you could react.

You blinked once and your eyes followed the path he took.

"I love you too," you said before chasing after him to the dining room. "But you only half-answered my question."

Now that's some way to arrive for the first meal in your future in-laws' house.