Chapter 4

Chapter 3 – The Second ‘Toss’

Next Day – 8.00 PM – Cape Town

Khushi’s POV

I tied up my hair in a high ponytail, with a band, and then stepped into my little bath and splashed my face with cold water a couple of times, so that all that puffiness around my eyes would vanish, but then it didn’t completely, so I walked into my little kitchen and put some ice in a cloth and held it against my eyes.

Ice always helps with the puffiness around my eyes, when I need to get my face back to normal after crying it out for a while.

Today, was the first death anniversary of my parents and my brother, and Verma Uncle, aunty and Rahul had accompanied me, early this morning to the Radha Krishna Temple.Mom used to always visit it often and hold all her pooja’s there, when she was alive, so I had scheduled a small pooja and havan with the pandit there, this morning at 730am, in their memory. And even though Verma Uncle, aunty and Rahul stood rock solid behind me through the ceremony, almost making me want to breakdown, I did not cry, I did not cry in front of them and put up the strongest face that I could, and smiled through the tears in the memory of my family and then rushed straight to work post the pooja, and then I had jamm packed my schedule back to back, and after I had finished work at the company at 330pm, I had rushed straight here to the shop and worked my shift , and today I was not just handelling the till, I was also helping Jack and Varun and Stacey and Verma Uncle take and prep orders. It had all served as the exact distraction, my mind needed, and I was doing well, until I excused myself 30 minutes earlier and came up to my room, to freshen up, and it was only then , that I allowed the tears to flow.

And I had spent the last twenty five minutes crying, in order to let all that grief and its emotions just flow through,but because I had preponed by Uber Schedule by 30 minutes today, I knew I had to compose myself and fix my frame of my mind to get ready for the same.I held the ice closer into the inner circles of my eyes for a coupls of more minutes and then moved back into my bath to check on my reflection, in the mirror and I gave myself a small smile bravely.

I looked normal.

Thank God.

I quickly made my way into the other stockroom, which was also my study room in which I had also stored some of mum, dads and krish’s favourite stuff, and I opened the smaller suitcase, and my eyes fell on dad’s favourite round neck black tee, the one he wore almost every second night to bed, and I picked it up, and held it close into my arms, and then I picked up mums favourite pink stoll, and Krish’ favourite denim cap and just hugged it all close into my embrace, it still smelled of them.

I quickly wiped another tear that was threating to leave my eye and composed my emotions.I knew they were watching over me and were probably hating it to see me cry.I quickly took of my white tee that I had worn over my denim jeans for my shift at the coffeshop today and pulled dad’s favorite black round neck tee over myself,and then placed Mums pink stoll around my neck and then I put Krish’s favourite cap on and adjusted my pony tail through it and stepped in front of the mirror to look at my reflection.

Dad’s tee was obviously oversized, I was floating in it, but moms stoll was perfect around my neck and krishs cap wasn’t very tight around my head too.I smiled to myself ,and I picked up my phone, and looked at the time – 820PM.

I quickly made my way down.

And right as I stepped into backend off the coffee shop , I saw Verma Uncle step out of his office and he took one look at me and he pulled me into a hug as he spoke – “ starting your Uber shift early today?”

I nodded – “ yes uncle…”

He gave me a small smile – “ good…but be safe…ok?”

I nodded,and right then Varun stepped out through our little relaxing corner, with his eyes glued to the screen and uncle rolled his eyes at him – “ cmon your ten minutes break is up Varun, get back in the front…”

Varun groaned as he shut his phone – “ oh cmon Uncle, the games going so well, and im already upset that I couldn’t join Rahul bhaiya and its friends out there in the stadium, but India is so winning this one, im telling you…”

Verma uncle on reflex – “Well, don’t be so sure, our home boys have put up a competitive today -190/4..190 is a tuff score in t20 varun..”

Varun grinned – “ I know, I know, but not when you have the firing machine ASR on your side no, Indias batting has just begun at 8pm, and he is on fire tonight uncle,he also was exeptional in the field today, three out of the four wickets were taken because of his amazing catches…and its just 6 overs in and we are at 58 already, and from his shots looks like he will bat through to the end of the game today…and that’s why he is one of our openers, even the Cap trusts him with that responsibility, every match..”, and then he paused as he looked at me and then he spoke, his expression changing into sober – “oh sorry khushi, I..”

I gave him a genuine smile as I spoke – “ oh pls, don’t worry about me ok, just because I don’t watch the game, its not that I wont mind you all talking about it around me…I know you all are big buffs, and trust me im totally ok with it…”

Verma uncle put a hand on my shoulder as he asked – “ will you also end your shift early today??”

I gave him a small smile – “ I don’t plan too, lets see..dont worry uncle, ill take care…”,and he nodded at me and I have Varun a pat on his shoulder as he pulled me into a brief hug and I made my way through the doors and got into Rahuls car and kick started the engine, and took a deep breathe.

And it was right then that the memory of meeting him last night came back into my head.

I couldn’t really believe it was true though that by some weird coincidence of fate, I had actually discovered that ; ASR aka Arnav Singh Raizada, the Vice Captain of the Indian Cricket Team was anything but arrogant.

And I smiled to myself, as I remembered our interaction yesterday and the way he was so comfortable about being addressed  by the wired title of a -Hoodie Guy. I had also thought about him for a while before I slept last night, and our comfortable conversation, and about how amazingly handsome he was when he grinned like that, and about how that powerful enigma around him had the power to overwhelm the other. But then at the same time, there was this honesty and ease, about him, that it almost was unbelievable to beleive, that it had been so easy to talk to someone like him, and that was the last surprised thought that I had slept with on my mind.

And now hearing Varun mention about him, had made me revisit our coincidental encounter and my thoughts paused a little towards the last bit of it and how he’d called me his new friend and asked me to download the app of Cricbuzz, because he’d said that hed like it if he knew his new friend was keeping  a tap on it.

I hadn’t ofcourse.

I couldn’t get around to it.

And I also couldn’t really avoid hearing about the game  from the radio, or the people around me anyways.

Apparently from what Varun said – he seemed to be having a good game tonight.

I smiled at that thought – well, good for him and India then,and I started to drive, and shifted my focus back on the road.

And although Last evening had been an interesting encounter ; I was sure that I was not going to be meeting him again.

 We lived and belonged to two different worlds, afterall.

………………………………………..

Arnav’s POV

I grinned at my Captain – Dev, as he patted me on the back and gestured to me to go onto the presentation area and collect the Man of the Match trophy.

We had won the match, with still two overs to spare, and I had batted through the innings.And infact the last five overs of the match, me and Cap-D(that’s what i liked to call him) had, had an amazing partnership, I loved playing with him on the other side.And not just that, I looked up to this man greatly, he was the anchor of our team, and he had always been my captain.

I nodded at him , and walked over to collect the trophy and prize and then gave a little interview for that post match discussion, and soon after that I walked back into the locker room, and joined in the celebrations with my team.

And right then Cap came up and stood next to me as he grinned – “ it’s the same adrenaline rush, the same excitement , every win..and the reaction of the crowd…its..”

I grinned – “fascinating, as always, but really Cap, that was a huge score in front of us, if hadn’t been for your and Coaches guidance and pep talk, before the second innings..”

He smiled at me – “well we would have won anyway, because those shots from your bat today lit up the stadium ASR..”

I smiled – “and the bat is able to fire, because of your trust in me surely…”,and I saw him flex his lower back and I asked on reflex – “ you ok Cap?”

He smiled – “ I think I pulled a little muscle back in there with that rushed two runs in between the wickets..”,and he winked at me – “ im getting older now, aren’t i?”

I rolled my eyes at him – “oh pls, you are amongst the fittest in the team Cap…but see the physio tomorrow and maybe get some rest, we have a gap tomorrow and then another game…”

He nodded – “ yes I will…”,and right then Ravi and the rest of our team covered in around us, and the hooting and cheering began.

Ten minutes later, we got into the team bus and took my seat at the back end of the bus, and looked out the window as the bus started to move, and I looked at my teammates ahead in the front and smiled, we had a after-party planned for the night.

I closed my eyes and leaned back in my seat and took a deep breathe.

Last year, on this very day, I had played an exceptional innings at Johannesuberg too and won the man of the match for that game, and that game had been the final one of the series and we had clinched the title of the series with that win, last year. I was happy that we had won today as well and that I had played well and fired those shots off my bat today too, for the date today, had a very significant role in my life.

Fatefully, today was the birth-date and also the death anniversary of my grandfather, the man I never knew, the man who founded it all for my family, who had been so supportive and encouraging to my father and his love for the game, and I know that it was that guidance and love and support, that shaped my father to be the man that he was today, which has had such a profound impact on my Life too.

So if I ever had the opportunity to play on this day, I really put my heart and soul into it, and gave it beyond all.

It was like paying a homage to my grandfather, in my own little way.

I opened my eyes, and looked out the window, and my thoughts drifted back to the one I couldn’t stop thinking about ever since I had met her yesterday.

I couldn’t stop thinking about Khushi and her mesmerising smile and eyes and her words, and the encounter I had, had with her yesterday.

It had all been on my mind, before I slept last night too, and her thoughts were creeping their way back into my head everytime I was alone or had some free time and break from the game.

And now, after this win, all I really wanted was to just head down to Chai and Coffee and find her.

I looked at my phone for the time -it was 10.15PM.

The game had ended at 930Pm, and it would still take us another 20 minutes to reach the hotel and I still had to freshen up and then make an appearance at the after party for 15 minutes before heading out, and according to this plan, I would only reach the shop by 1130ish…the café would be closed, but maybe I could knock on that back enterance door and get Khushi to step out for a little talk.

Yes, that seemed like a good plan.

I smiled to myself, as I wondered whether she had downloaded that application or not??

Had she kept a tap on the game?? Or had she maybe seen the match?

I was curious to know.

And for that I had to go look for her.

……….

11.50 PM

I shrugged helplessly, as I knocked on the back enterance door of Chai and Coffee, for what seemed like a millionth time.

Ok, so I had gone according to my plan and reached here at bang on, 1130PM and I had spent the last twenty minutes waiting in this back alley on the back end of the enterance into the building, in the same hoodie disguise as yesterday and I had knocked on this door so many times already, but it was all in vain, because no one had come to open this door, and there was absolutely no sign of Khushi, much to my disappointment.

Maybe, she was asleep already.

I booked an Uber for myself and my brains started to go into an overdrive,I had to get her contact details somehow surely, maybe I just had to find the contact details of this café online and ring up here and request to be connected to khushi ; yes that seemed like a good idea.

I should have thought about this earlier.

I don’t know why I was so disappointed at missing out on seeing her tonight though.

And I looked at my phone and tried to wile away time as I waited for my Uber pick up.

Five minutes later, a car pulled in front off me and I adjusted my hoodie properly so that It covered the sides and half of my face and walked towards the car, and it was right when I almost opened the back door, I heard a voice call out to me – “ is it you hoodie guy??”

I looked up instantly because I recognised this voice and it was Khushi’s and instantly pulled off my hoodie as I looked at her and I grinned – “ khushi, is that you??”

She gave me a small smile from the driving seat as she spoke – “ yup, its me,your uber pick up, now cmon in are you getting or not…”

I nodded and I asked – “ is it ok if I sit up in the front seat??”

She nodded, and I walked around and I got in and sat next to her in the front seat,and she gave me a small smile as she started to drive, but she just remained silent,and she had her full focus on the road.

And I took that moment to just study her, from the corner of my eyes.

I was now both mesmerised and intrigued.

And I asked – “ is it ok if I change the location of my destination, in the middle of the ride?”

She turned to look at me for a brief second and she nodded with a polite smile – “ sure, you can do that, where do you want to go??”

And I couldn’t hep but wonder why she had that denim cap on in the car as well??It was kind off an obstacle in between my line of view towards her eyes.

I looked at her – “ I just want some place nice and quiet and with a nice view…you tell me , this is your city, where can I find such a spot?”

She looked at me and finally gave me a smile that now reached her eyes, and I felt at ease, there had been something very solemn in her expression and also in the smile uptil now and she asked – “do you want to see this amazing viewpoint I know off, it’s a little far though…”

I smiled – “I think id like that…”. I was going to get to go with Khushi on a drive, and for the first time I didn’t have to worry about having my eyes on the road because I wasn’t the one driving.

……………….

Khushi’s POV

I had been very surprised when I had got a notification of a pick up from the backside of my the shop and my home, and I was wondering who was it that wanted a pick up from that point at this time in the night, and that was the thought that was on my mind, as I drove for the pick up.I was tired too, and so I had planned that this would be the last pick up for the day and then I would stop for the day.

It had been a busy night, because India had won the match and  I had made a lot of pick ups from the stadium too, and been doing to and fro around it a lot, there were a lot of celebrations going on.

And I was totally shocked, when I saw Arnav in front of me, standing at the back enterance of my building.

And the first thoughts that came in my head – What was he doing here right now??

India had won the match, it was all over the radio, and he was also the man of the match, clearly there would be an afterparty for the celebration, and why was he missing that and standing here, in front of my back door in that hoodie disguise?

I wasn’t in a very great mood today and I was exhausted too, and that’s why I just chose to remain silent for a while, until he asked me to suggest him about somewhere peace and quiet and with a lovely view.

I had wanted to go to our family viewpoint for such a long time, but wasn’t getting the time too.The family viewpoint where me , mom and dad and krish would often stop at for Sunday picnics, and it was an amazing point, and now that Arnav had asked for a space, I couldn’t help but think about taking it to this one.

It was a little away from the city center though, half way through to the drive to the Table Mountain, which was a prominent landmark of our city, and now that he was ok with it, I had to first take care of the formality.

I quickly pulled the car near the enterance of his hotel and I looked at him.

Did I just catch him looking at me?

He asked – “ hey, I thought you were taking me to a nice viewpoint?”

I gave him a small smile – “ I am, but before I do that, I need to punch ina complete trip in my uber no, and anyway this was to be my last pick up for the day…”,and I just quickly picked up my phone and dealt with the formalilites and then logged out, and I could feel his gaze on me all this while.

Jeez.

I finally finished as I asked – “ you ready??”

He smiled – “ yes…”

And I started to drive as I asked, now curious, happy for the distraction actually, because otherwise I’d probably just be crying myself to sleep tonight – “ just by the way, what were you doing at the back enterance of my building at this time, I mean don’t you have an after party going on???India won the match no…”and I paused as I spoke – “ congratulations on that man of the match..”

I saw him grin at me before I retuned my attention to the road and he asked excitedly – “ you know…so did you watch? Or cricbuzz then??”

I gave him a small smile as I shook my head – “ well, no, I didn’t watch , I know because its all over the radio, and iv done so many pick ups from the stadiums today, that I know everything because of the enthusiastic fans of both the game and you…they couldn’t stop talking about how good a game it was..so yeah…”

He gave me a nod – “ ohkk then…thanksss”,and then he paused for a minute as he spoke – “ well to answer you, I was there because I was hoping to find you, I did forget to take your cintact details afterall…”

Ok.Now I was surprised.

He wanted to see.

He had forgotten to take my contact details?

Wait..he was thinking about me??

Me?????

He had come to my backdoor, leaving all his party and celebration mid- way in the hope of finding me??

How was this even possible?

And I asked on reflex – “ really??but why?? Why would you walk out of your celebrations and afterparty and come to see me?”

He looked out through the window for a second and then turned a little slightly towards me.It was a good thing that I was driving right now, and I heard him say softly – “well , to be honest, I don’t know, it felt really good to meet you yesterday and I never really connected with anyone so easily, it feels like I can talk to you, I don’t know why though…”

I pulled to halt at the red light, and I turned to look at him, there was so much honesty on his face, that I couldn’t help but respond instantly and I spoke softly – “ thank you for that..”and before I could say anything further I heard him ask – “ but khushi, I was so surprised when I saw you pull over, you never mentioned about this yesterday…”

I smiled as the signal turned green and I started to drive again – “Well it didn’t come up, this is Rahuls car and I do this in between of 9pm on 1am on three to four nights in a week..”

“And is it safe?? ”, he asked almost instantly.

I shook my head – “ ofcourse it is, im very careful about the areas I choose my pick ups from…and rahul has also installed a gps tracker on my phone…”

“Rahul is your best friend, the one you mentioned yesterday, he was supposed to be at the game today??”, he questioned.

I nodded – “ yes, the very same Rahul and he and his friends had a blast, thanks to you and the team..”,i finished with a grin.

He smiled as he spoke – “ it was a good game…”

I nodded – “ im sure it was…”

And he asked an instant later – “ so this Rahul , is he only your friend, or something more??”

I was surprised at that, I mean why was he interested to know about that but I answered honestly,keeping my eyes on the road – “ he is definetly just a friend, my best friend…”

He asked – “ ok, so im sure theres someone else you are dating right??”

I shrugged but answered honestly – “no, not really, I don’t have the time or the patience for it….”

He looked at me surprised – “really?? No boyfriends?? Ever??”

And I spoke – “Well, I did date one of Rahuls friends for two months, but that was all, it wasn’t my cup of tea, so I just ended it…”and I could feel his gaze on me which was making me nervous so I diverted the topic and I asked – “ is it ok for you, if I put on the radio??”

He nodded at me in silence, and I put it on, and the music flowed through the car and I watched him look out the window.

…………………………………………………

Arnav’s POV

I looked out the window and I continued to steal glances at her as she drove.

I don’t know why, but I couldn’t stop looking at her.

She intrigued me a lot and I was trying to understand and comprehend her – she was clearly very hardworking – morning job at the management company, shift with her uncles coffee shop in the afternoons, driving uber till 1am at three-four nights in a week.And then she was also studying.

So obviously amongst all of this -she had no time for dating or seeing someone.

I don’t know why, but that information made me happy.

I was still on that chain of thought when she pulled into a side path, and parked the car and she smiled at me as she spoke – “ we are here…”

On the way here, I had read the signs, we were half way through towards Table Mountain, a popular spot I had visited with my teammates the first time I was in Cape Town, and I quickly stepped out and watched her walk towards those little benches towards the U shaped cut out – viewpoint and she sat on the bench, and I sat next to her and once I finally soaked into the view of the beautiful city below from this viewpoint above at this altitude, I was clean bowled.

It was gorgeous, and I watched Khushi stand up and she walked further up and she turned to look at me as she asked – “ beautiful isn’t it??”

It was beautiful, undoubtedly but it was her, that was more beautiful in that moment, as the glow from the side lamp fell on the side of her face.

There was something very simple and breath-taking about this moment in front of me.

She stood in front of me dressed so casually in a oversized black round neck tee, and a pink scarf around her neck and the denim cap around her head, and the wind played with her hair that were in a ponytail through the cap and the light fell on her already glowing face and the smile, and those honest and earnest eyes, and I swear to god, I was AWESTRUCKLY CLEANBOWLED in that moment , and continued to look at her and I realised she was waiting for me to say something, so I spoke – “ its gorgeous Khushi, once again, thank you for getting me here…”

And I walked up to stand next to her, and we both gazed out to the skyline and the view and she asked – “wont they miss you at the afterparty??”

I smiled – “ maybe not, everyone will be too engrossed they wont even know im missing, except for the Cap ofcourse, I did go for 15 minutes , and I told him I was leaving…he understands me…and I respect him a lot”

She asked – “ you sound like you really look up to him…”

I nodded, see this was what I meant, how did she read in between my lines so easily and I smiled – “ yes I do..i love playing in partnership with him too…”,and I spoke – “ the last five overs of the match we played together..”

She smiled – “that’s good y aim sure the crowd had a good time, Rahul did message me that it was one of the best matches hed ever seen…”

I smiled, and because it felt like I could share this with her, I spoke – “ you know what, the date today has a special significance in my life..”

She looked me, and she leaned against the lamp-post and sat down against it and I sat in front of her on the little pavement and she asked – “really?????why?if you don’t mind me asking ofcourse, and is it ok for you to be sitting down here, I mean are you comfortable??”

I rolled my eyes – “ cmon Khushi…you know I am…and I don’t mind answering, why do you think I brought it up ”and she gave me a smile smile, and I continued – “ you know today is the birthday and the deathanniversary of my grandfather, the man I have never known, but he was the one who started it all out for my family, encouraged my dad to explore his love for the game and then built the raizada business empire,and everything that he was has flown down the generations,it shaped my father into the man he is today which has had such a great impact on my life too,  so if given the opportunity to play on this day, I like to give it beyond my all, you know last year also on this day in Johannesuburg, I felt I played one of the best games of my career…I feel like its my way of giving homage to the family member, I never knew…”

I saw her expression change slightly at that but she covered it up in an instant as she gave me a small smile – “ I understand…”

And I spoke – “ can I slip you on a little secret?? No one apart from my family knows this, not even my team-mates..”

She nodded and spoke softly – “ you surely can, itll be safe with me, my friends say that I am a very good friend…”and I smiled as I spoke – “ you know it’s a pact iv had with my mother, im going to give up playing cricket officially three years from now, when im 30 and step into help day with the family businesss….”

Her eyes widened at that as she asked – “ whatttttt????? No way???? Reallyyyyy???whyyyy??”

I nodded, and I started to tell about the pact I had with my grandmom and mom and their concern about my fathers health, and I finished a while later – “ you know I feel its only fair, both business and cricket are equally an important part of my dna..and I totally understand where they are coming from so…yes it is what it is…”

And she looked at me for a second as she spoke – “ I understand the practicality of it all and the reasons, like you said, it makes logical sense, but how do you exactly feel about it? I mean doesn’t it hurt you to know that you will be stepping away from something that has been so close to you all your life, or has basically been your life itself???”

There she did it again, saw right through me and caught onto that unsaid in between the lines context, and I looked at her honestly and answered – “ I will be lieing if I say its not going to hurt, it will be difficult to step away from it, but..”, I paused for a second as I spoke – “but I am also equally aware of the business responsibilities that are awaiting to lean on my shoulders, and I cannot just turn away from it, so I just have to suck it up, like you said, its easier to accept the things one cant change no…”

She nodded, and then she looked at me for a couple of minutes and our eyes locked, and my world started flipping and I swear I felt my insides flutter as she finally took that cap off her hair and pulled her hair open and brushed her hand through them casually and then fixed her medium length hair and tucked it behind her ear and she looked at cap in her hands as she spoke – “ the match you mentioned, this day last year Johanneushburg..”

I nodded – “ yes, it was one of the best games of my life…what about it..”

And she looked away from my face and picked up the cap in her hand as touched it lovingly, almost longingly and she spoke – “ my younger brother krish, he was so excited about it too, eight years younger to me, you know how cricket is for young teenage Indian boys right…”

And I nodded silently and she continued – “he literally worshipped you…you know”

I asked , surprised and intrigued – “ really??? Why don’t you make me meet him then..?“

She looked away again and then she continued speaking softly – “ krish was so excited and he finally convinced mom and dad to take him to Johannesburg to watch the live match between South Africa and India…”, and she paused, and I asked on reflex – “ really?? You didn’t accompany them??oh wait, you don’t like to watch the games..”

She looked at me as she spoke – “ yes but I also didn’t accompany them because I had some last minute assignments to take care off, third year had just begun..”and she paused and she then spoke softly – “and if I would have, I wouldn’t be sitting here in front of you right now..”

I looked at her confused – “ huh??”

She looked at me as she spoke softly – “the date today, also has a great significance in my life, this very day, last year, my life changed forever…the plane that was carrying my family enroute to Johanneusburg crashed shortly after take off due to the failure of both the engines mid air, and it had burst into flames before it finally sank into the water, no one survived, everybody on board was killed, passengers and crew…”

Whattttttt????? I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

What did she just say????

And right then the memory of  reading about this plane crash in the news popped into my head and I looked at her and the anguish in her eyes and on her face and I just sat there shocked and shaken, not knowing how to react and she spoke softly, wiping a tear outta the corner of her eye – “ its their first death anniversary today Arnav..and I cant get myself to watch a game at all after their death, it just feels like maybe if it hadn’t been for krish’s love for it and the excitement to see the live match for the first time in his life, maybe they would have never gotten on the plane and would still be alive…”

I was completely shocked and shaken and my heart went out to her and I spoke – “ gosh..khushi…im so sorry….i don’t know what to say…im…”,and she looked at me and gave me a small smile – “ its ok…im coping up much better now…”, and on instant I held her hand, and I pressed it gently  and she didn’t pull her hand away, and I asked – “ are you ok??”

She nodded as she spoke, wiping another tear from the corner of her eye, trying to be brave in front of me – “ yes I am…its just that it’s the same day today..so..little shaken…but ok…I cant cry, I wont cry , dad hated to see me cry…”,and she paused as she spoke touching that cap in her hand – “ this is krish’s favourite cap…”,and she paused as she spoke touching the pink stoll – “this is moms, and this oversized tee im floating in, is dad’s favourite…wearing it today just makes me feel closer to them…I mean they are watching over me now aren’t they? I want them to be proud off me..”

My heart broke for her, literally it did, and I instantly pulled her into a hug, and I spoke softly – “ they will be very proud off you Khushi, im sure about that…”,and she pulled back a couple of minutes later as she whispered – “ thanks…”and then I asked softly because I wanted to know, I wanted to know everything, about how she coped with a loss as big as this and I asked – “ your uncles family and Rahul have been a big support emotionally,obviously..”

She nodded – “ yes ofcourse, they helped me so much…everything changed after their death obviously…I kind off  lost everything overnight..”, and I asked on reflex, there was more to this trauma, just how was she able to even smile and go on – “ what do you mean??” and she started to fill me in about everything that had followed, how she had found out about her parents loan for her education and mortage on the house and how she had to sell off everything her house, and the family restaurant because she didn’t want any debt in her dead parents name, and then how she had planned to pause her education for a year and earn and save money, and now it all started to fall in place, the reason behind her crazy working hours and shifts and jobs, and she finished – “ im going to finish studying, get both my degrees, get a good job, and save and buy that restaurant back and then fulfil dad’s unfulfilled dream…”

And I asked – “ which is…”

She gave me a small smile – “ which is to have atleast five outlets of our resturants all over different cities of SA..”

I smiled and I held her hand and pressed it gently – “ and I am sure, that you will be able to acheive your dream Khushi….”

………………………

Khushi’s POV

I hadn’t planned on talking to him about this, but then when he let me in on that secret of his life, it felt like I could let it out in front off him too, and that is why, I had talked about it.

And his support had almost been very comforting in the moment and the minute I heard him say that he believed that I could achieve my fathers dream so surely, I asked – “ you really think so?? Or are you only saying this to make me feel better??”

He smiled – “ I totally mean it Khushi…and im sure bcause iv never met anyone as earnest and honest and dedicated and focussed as you, im sure,that you will get there…”

I smiled at him – “ thank you….”and I quickly wiped out another tear outta the corner of my eye and I spoke – “ sorry about all the seriousness ya..i didn’t mean too..”

He held my hand – “ don’t worry about it…im glad you talked about it…”

And I smiled at him – “and im glad you let me in on your secrets too…”and because I wanted to divert the topic and change the vibes of the mood I asked – “ will you tell me something??”

He nodded , and I asked – “ just who on this planet gave a hint to the media that you are an arrogant and a high headed entitled brat?? You are anything but that..i mean there has to be a limit in judgements also no, the picture that is perceived off you is so so different from the real you…”

He laughed at that , and then he shrugged – “ yeah…I know what you mean..and honestly I have no clue why they write what they do anyway..”

And I smiled as I asked – “ and how does your family take it, all these tags and then ofcourse they also call you an arrogant playboy…”, and Ipaused as I spoke – “oops, wasn’t supposed to let that one out…”

He looked at me and shrugged and answered honestly – “ they are ok with it, I mean they know me for who I am right..and so do my friends and team-mates, so its ok…and iv heard about that last tag you just mentioned, so not true…I mean not to the complete extent the media wants to potray it to be, amongst living upto all those great expectations of business cricket, I don’t really have much time and patience for it too…to answer you, I have never been in a relationship or dated anyone for real”

I was sure My eyes widened at that and I asked – “ really????no girlfriends ever???”

He looked at me – “ yup, never, I felt I couldn’t be fair to something like that and the oother person with my time schedule and my hectic life, so no point in getting into something that I cant be fair towards right…”

I nodded and I spoke – “ fair enough, that makes perfect sense…”,and I asked on reflex – “so only casual one night stands then??or is the media wrong about that too??”

He looked at me sheepishly, almost embarrassed as he spoke – “well, to be honest, its been that way for me , but definetly not to the extend that’s been reflected or written about surely…to cut it short Khushi, im not a playboy Khushi.…”

I nodded and I asked , looking at my phone, it was more than 1am and right then my phone rang and it was Rahul and I gestured to him that I had to take the call and I did, and just as I did , I was blasted off by a sudden questions by my best friend asking me what was I doing at this table mountain viewpoint at this point in the night.

I handled him and assured him that I was ok , letting him know that I had been wanting to visit the family spot for a while but didn’t have the time too and just felt like it tonight, and he finally calmed down and hung up, asking me to message him once I was home safely and all this while I could feel Arnav’s intent gaze on me, and it made me nervous and I hung up and I spokee – “id forgotten about that gps tracker on my phone..”

He gave me a small smile as he asked – “ you used to come here with your family??”

I nodded – “ yes, it was one of our favourite picnic spots..”, and I looked at him – “cmon now , it’s getting really late, I will drive you back now…”,and he nodded and got up and stretched out his hand to me to help me get up , and to my surprise he took Krishs cap from my hand and placed it over my head, and I swear to god, I felt my insides shiver as his intent gaze locked with mine and he spoke softly, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear, into my cap – “ thank you khushi for bringning me here, truly…I don’t know why and how, but time flies when im with you…”

I smiled – “ thank you to you too for your support and everything…”,and I paused as I spoke – “ I know what you mean though, I think we can be great friends, so easy to talk to you too, you know…”

He gave me a small smile – “hmmm…yes…your right about that…”,and he paused as he asked – “ on that note, can I have my new friends contact details, so that I don’t have to wait at your backdoor tomorrow night too?? I only have four more days here , before I leave, id like to catch up tomorrow as well if that’s ok with you…”

I gave him a small smile – “ oops sorry about that waiting at my door…”and I paused as I spoke – “or wait, maybe im not, lets do a toss, if I win, you don’t get my contact details yet and you just work your way around finding them, and if you win, ill give them to you straight away…”

He looked at me confused and I spoke, grinnning – “ just for fun no, you do all this toss and all so often na, why are you scared now..”

He grinned at that – “ ok, fine…shotgun heads than, Im very lucky when it comes to tosses, .just so you know…”

I grinned as I took a coin from my pocket – “ ok im tails then…”and I winked at him – “ aree you wait no, iv never lost a toss too hoodie guy…”and I flipped the coin in the air and waited for it to land back in my hand and just when I saw what had come up, I spoke with glee evident in my voice – “ I win hoodie guy…so now you have to figure out a way of getting hold of my number..and I cant believe you want it anyway…im sure you meet so many people all the time..”

And right then he looked into my eyes and gave me a small smile as he spoke softly – “ I like the challenge Khushi, lets say, that I will find my way around it and text you tomorrow evening by 5pm surely…”and I grinned – “ haha…we will see…”and he spoke softly after – “and know that I truly haven’t met anyone like you Khushi..”

I gave him a small smile – “ohooo..theres nothing extraordinary and special about me anyway ok , im just a normal person, from the other end of the world, that is completely different from your’s, maybe that’s why you feel that…”

He looked at me for a brief second and our eyes locked, as he said – “hmmmm…”and I asked – “shall I drive you back now??”

He nodded and I gave him a small smile and we walked back to the car and just as I got into the driving seat and he got into the front seat, he spoke – “just so you know, that’s the first toss iv ever lost in my life, Khushi…”

I looked at him – “really???”

He nodded – “ yup. Really.Iv never lost one,never in the games iv captained too, when the Cap is out on a break..”

I grinned at him as I reversed the car – “well theres first times for everything now isn’t there, hoodie guy???”

He nodded at that and our eyes locked briefly as he spoke giving me a small smile – “ there sure is Khushi…there sure is a first time for everything…”

I gave him a small smile and started to drive, and he asked – “ is it ok with you, if I play my playlist..”

I nodded – “ofcourse it is ok…”,and he smiled and started the music and the rhythym and beats and a comfortable silence was what followed on the drive back, and as I watched him look out the window as I drove, I couldn’t help but smile to myself.

People had so many misconceptions and funny perceptions and judgements about this man, surely.

And What a pity that truly was!

And I was glad that – I hadn’t Judged this book in front of me by its cover.

……………………………

Tada!!!!! Let me know what you think guys..!!

That was a super long update, I know , I know. Couldn’t stop the flow of words until it finally felt right too.

Pls ignore editing errors as I haven’t proofread.

Happy New Year to all of you and thank you for all the love and support that you shower on my work.

Much love Guys.

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