Why? Why? Why does God always plan an obstruction in my peaceful ways of life?

I go out shopping with Rahul and Athiya: Rahul leaves

I plan on some casuals: I'm wearing this silly bodycon

I want to have a decent lunch: Salads are on my table

I want to sneak a burger: My crush decides to show up

I try a decent conversion with my crush: Hardik fucking Pandya ruins it

'Oh..Harry! Sorry man! I got the order but just spotted Eshaanvi at the same time. So..' Shreyas tried to explain.

I smiled awkwardly between the both.

'Yes, we were just having some talk.' I don't know why I added that.

But, Hardik was mum, like completely silent.

Has he seen a ghost?

'Harry!' Shreyas nudged him and Hardik winced. 'Oh..uh..okay. Got that.' he said beginning to talk again.

'But, who did you come with? I heard Rahul's got a meeting? Kavya?' Hardik asked, looking at me.

Great that he knows half my trauma, not full.

'Yeah, he's got a meeting. So, it's just me and Athiya.' I responded.

Hardik nodded with a smirk. 'Sister-in-law, huh?' he teased.

Shreyas, too chuckled. 'Rahul's smart, eh?' he asked.

'More than I expected.' Hardik said.

It's not smart, it's crazy to leave your orthodox Sister with your new girlfriend from the glamor world.

'So..it's the four of us. You and Athiya want to join us?' Shreyas offered.

OMG! Did he just ask me to...?

'You're crazy, Shre? It's a family time for her and Athiya. You don't want to get into the mess!' Hardik had to open his silly mouth.

'Uh..actually...'

'Eshaanvi!' I heard the voice that has been dominating me the whole day.

'Athiya!' I could only say, not being able to hide the burger in my hand.

'Hardik! Shreyas! What a pleasant surprise!  That's what was Eshaanvi so long!' Athiya assumed.

Phew!

Hardik chuckled. 'Don't know. I just came a minute ago and found these two chattering.' pointing to me and Shreyas.

Wtf!

'Owwwhh...' Athiya gave me a mischievous look and my face felt like burning in embarrassment.

'Actually, we too came just few minutes before Harry did. Our orders were coincidentally called at the same time.' Shreyas, being the gentleman said with a smile.

'I got that.' Athiya said, again looking at me and even though, I was thankful about Shreyas not picking on her teasing tone, I'm sure Hardik did as his eyes moved to check my expressions at the same time.

Thankfully, he didn't say anything.

'So, we can all sit together, right?' Athiya proposed.

'Sure! In fact, I was telling Eshaanvi the same thing.' Shreyas said. 'But, Hardik said it would be your family time and all.'

Athiya chuckled. 'Seriously, Harry! You went too far this time because Miss. Eshaanvi right here, seems to be too scared of my company.' she said.

Omg! How did she understand?

'You got to be kidding? Eshaanvi and scared?' Hardik chuckled, looking at me. 'So, your bhabi knows nothing about your alter-ego yet, huh?' He smirked.

My clutch on the bottle tightened.

'Alter-ego?' Shreyas asked, confused.

Do I have a knife anywhere near?

'He's crazy!' I said before anyone else could. 'Just ignore him guys.' I said to Athiya and Shreyas. 'He always keeps picking on me and Rahul.' I tried to normalize.

'Really!' Hardik said. 'Athiya, ask Rahul about it. This lady right here, tried to kill me with a TV remote once and a knife thr other time.' he said  pretending to be scared .

And I could have thought of forgiving him if it was only Athiya here.

'What?' Athiya said chuckling. Shreyas chuckled too.

Oh no! My impression is dusted.

'I must say, Eshaanvi doesn't look like a girl who could even hit a fly!' Athiya said.

'In that case, come stay with us fir 24 hours and you'd prefer to stay with flies instead of the siblings.' Hardik, again, tried to seem cool.

'Stop it Harry! Rahul's not like that.' Athiya defended.

'Right. You are always exaggerating. Don't mind him, Eshaanvi. He's crazy.' Shreyas said.

Aww!

I smiled. 'Sadly, me and Rahul are too acquainted with that.' I added with a sigh, throwing Hardik an angry look.

Shreyas smiled. 'I understand. By the way, the lunch is getting cold. Let's just get to the table. Natasha and Rishabh are there too.'

Natasha, as in Hardik's girlfriend! Dear Lord!

'Fine, I'll get the salads from the table. Hardik, you can assist me with that.' Athiya said. 'And, Shreyas, would you mind taking Eshaanvi to the you all's table?'

'Not a problem.' Shreyas said, looking at me with a smile. His contagious smile brought a smile to my face too.

Athiya left. Hardik threw one pong last look towards me and Shreyas, before following her.

^^^^

'Come here..' Shreyas guided me to the round table.

Rishabh and a lady, presumably Natasha were sitting across with a tray of starters in front of them.

Shreyas put the new plates on the table, earning the attention of Rishabh and Natasha.

'Oh hey! Eshaanvi, isn't it?' Rishabh smiled at me.

Wow! It was really so sweet of him to remember me after a brief encounter. Natasha just looked at me confused.

I smiled. 'Yes, it's me..How are you?' I asked.

'I'm good and it's definitely good to see you again.' Rishabh said.

Meanwhile, Shreyas pulled a chair for me and motioned me to sit.

'Thank you!' I mouthed him, not wanting to overdo the gratitude and ruin the impression.

'You're welcome.' he smiled. 'Athiya's coming too. I'll just go fetch a seat for her.' Shreyas said, definitely sounding like the gentleman in the group.

'Athiya! She's here!' Natasha spoke now.

'Yes, she'll be coming.' I responded indifferently before looking away and sneakily placing the burger on the tray.

Phew!

What I didn't realize first was the eyes of this lady across the table examining me intently.

'So, it's a date with your future sister-in-law!' Rishabh teased.

I chuckled. 'A shopping date, if you say so.' I added.

'Have you met before?' the lady across me asked suddenly.

Huh?

I looked at her and saw that weird frown on her face. She was definitely a pretty white lady, but the way she looked at me gave me some unwanted vibes.

'I guess not.' I said with a small smile.

'Oh..yes, you weren't there that day. She came to in the Pre-tournament ceremony.' Rishabh intervened. 'She's Eshaanvi, KL's younger sister and Eshaanvi, that's Natasha, Hardik's girlfriend.' he did the formal introduction.

'Hello!' I nodded with a smile.

'Hello!' Natasha greeted. 'Oh....so..' she paused. 'You were the girl in the car.' she said more to herself.

Car? Which car? Guess, Hardik's girlfriend is as weird as him.

'There..' Shreyas came back at the appropriate moment with a new chair and accommodated that beside me. He walked over and took the seat on my other side himself.

The sudden close vicinity made me more conscious and I didn't realize when I started fidgeting my fingers in nervousness.

^^^^

15 minutes had passed and thankfully, Athiya sat on my other side, slightly taking the nervousness away.

Yeah, I can't believe I felt so.

Hardik, too, came back and took the seat across me, near his girlfriend.

But, the best part was I was now, enjoying Chhole Bhature with full pleasure. Thank you God!

'So, you're starting tomorrow as well?' Shreyas asked, as the topic about the IPL kicking off continued.

'Yes. Guess so. I don't need to fly until a week though. MI is going to have two of its first matches at home this year.' I said.

'But, staying and traveling with the team isn't less of a headache either. You're glad it's Mumbai Indians. Rohit bhai is so chilled out. He's definitely gonna help you out.' Rishabh said.

'Hope so.' I said nervously.

'Wrong, Rishabh! I hope Rohit bhai himself doesn't need help after he sees her.' Hardik cracked one of those awful jokes again.

Rishabh and Athiya chuckled. 'Harry! Stop pulling her legs.' Athiya said controlling her laugh.

'Yes, Harry! You've been a little too mean to her today just because she isn't saying anything.' Shreyas said.

Aww! He took my side and fought with my enemy!

'Leave it, after knoeing him, I really respect Rohit Sharma more.' I responded, throwing a sassy look at Hardik. 'It's not so easy to manage people with brain hidden under the knees.'

Hardik frowned in disbelief.

'Woahhh! Savage..' Rishabh laughed.

Athiya and Shreyas too cracked up.

'I agree with her, Harry.' Athiya said, side-hugging me and I threw a proud look at Hardik.

'Can you all please be a little more sensible in here?' the least-speaking person spoke suddenly, with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

'Oops..sorry Nattie! I was just too consumed in their arguments.' Athiya said, still chuckling.

'True. You shouldn't insult Harry in front of his girlfriend, Eshaanvi.' Rishabh said, laughing as well.

'Continue guys! I'm keeping the count...shall return with interest when time comes.' Hardik said giving a look to Rishabh, who stopped laughing immediately.

What's the matter?

Shreyas cleared his voice, diverting the topic. 'But, hey! You could have considered the Delhi Capitals too.' he said turning to face me.

Well...just say it was my luck!

'Right, Eshaanvi, you, me and Shreyas would have so much fun!' Rishabh said.

I chuckled softly. 'Guess, that's got to wait fir some time.' I said.

Because, right now it's my brother who decides my team.

Natasha gave me another weird look fir no good reason before concentrating on the salads. Thankfully, Athiya changed the topic to some filmy gossip, that took  Natasha's attention away from me.

Phew!

I looked at Shreyas who was busy talking to Rishabh. His fingers unconsciously ran through his short and smooth hair. He chuckled on something Rishabh said, that brought a smile on my face too.

I really don't know what I'm feeling but guess, someone as perfect as Shreyas would never take an interest in me. I sighed looked to the front and saw Hardik holding a smirk.

I frowned and he looked away to his phone.

I looked down, feeling bored.

Omg! Has my dress slipped a little too low. Is my cleavage visible? Ugh! This Athiya!

I pulled my dress up softly. But, a bodycon is a bodycon.

I tried it a little hard, such that the dress gets up over my breast and gives a full coverage.

But, a bodycon is a bodycon. Impatiently, I pulled it harder but the design was stronger than my grip and I my hands accidentally few off and knocked a fork off the table.

Tang!

I heard Hardik snicker at the impact and others immediately getting their heads turned to me.

😭😭😭😭😭😭

'Esh, you're okay?' Athiya asked, looking concerned.

'What's wrong? Everything alright?' Shreyas asked.

'Yes, actually...' I am about to cry now.

'She's fine, guys!' Hardik spoke all of a sudden.

Oh no!

'She was just messing with her..' his eyes met mine and I knew what he knew and he knew what I wanted him to do as I shook my head firmly. 'uh..she was messing with the spoon.' he finally said, making others look at me weirdly.

'Relax! It's just her alter-ego playing.' Hardik said leaning over with a smirk.

What the...I'll see this guy!

'Harry, stop..' Athiya slapped his arm lightly. 'Spoons may fall any time, right?' she said sensibly.

'I agree. ' Natasha spoke. 'But, the spoon almost jumped from its spot before sharply hitting the floor. Just imagine the impact. Thankfully, it was just us. What if something like that happens in front of the exteemed guests in IPL.' she said placing a heart on her chest and acting too dramatically.

'You definitely need to learn some table manners, girl.' she said throwing me a glance.

How dare...

'I..' I was about to burst but then I felt a hand on my back.

I looked aside and Shreyas shook his head, asking me to contain myself. Probably, my look gave him a lot of clues.

But, I didn't realize when my cheeks had reached its melting point. His hand softly slipped off me but that was enough to make my heart pound.

'Nattie, stop it babe. It was just a ln accident. You don't have to take things that far.' It was strangely Hardik who spoke.

Natasha gave Hardik a frowned look. 'Harry, you...'

'Oh no!' Athiya exclaimed looking at her phone. 'Jackie just bruised her ankle while trying to learn judo for her next film.'

'Jackie! As in Jacqueline Fernandez?' Rishabh asked with wide eyes.

'Yes. Poor girl!' Athiya said. 'She just reached home and she's all alone. Guess I should pay her a visit.' Athiya said closing her phone.

'I should go too.' Natasha said.

'Yeah, we should start then. Jackie was pleading for some company.' Athiya said.

I felt bad for Jacqueline, even though I haven't watched any of her movies.

'I wish her a speedy recovery.' I said.

'Shall convey..' Athiya said but then she remembered  something. 'But hey! Can you go home by yourself? I promised Rahul to guard you with all my power.' she said.

Ugh! Not again.

'Athiya..please..' I chuckled. 'I go home all by myself everyday. You don't have to worry about Rahul. You can go see your friend. She needs you.' I encouraged.

'We should get started then.' Natasha said.

'Yeah, let's go.' Hardik stood up.

'Wait! Where are you going?' Athiya stopped him.

'To see Jackie.' he said shrugging.

'And you better know that she won't do a pole dance for you today.' Rishabh said, earning a glare from Hardik. 'A glimpse of her beauty would be enough for me.' he said shamelessly, earning a glare from his girlfriend.

'No need. I'll go with Athiya.' Natasha said.

'Hmm..and since, you and Eshaanvi are ultimately going the same way, I suggest you take her with you.' Athiya said.

What? With him? After all the things he's said today? No way!

'Athiya, it's okay. I'll find a cab.' I said.

'I don't think can would be a good idea.' Shreyas spoke now. 'You see, you have a lot of bags with you. It's only better if you go with Harry and he helps you with those.'

'You got to be fucking kidding me!' Hardik said frowning at Shreyas. 'Carrying bags..'

'I..I too feel that Harry should not go with her. He may actually want to drop my stuffs at my place.' Natasha too, was against the idea.

'Why not? I'd have done that myself of I didn't have a flight to catch tomorrow morning.' Shreyas said, making my heart jump.

'Come on Harry! Show some chivalry.' Rishabh said. 'Drop Nattie's stuffs at her place on the way.'

Hardik sat back and sighed. 'Fine. You can go with Athiya.' he said looking at his girlfriend. 'I'll take tweety and drop your stuffs on the way.'

Ugh! Did he have to mention that name?

'Tweety? Who's that?' Shreyas asked. 'Is that your pet name?' he asked.

I shook my head..but..

'Of course. That's how ai know it.' Hardik said, throwing me a wink abd earning a death glare from me.

'It's just that he keeps on picking on me by calling me such names.' I admitted to Shreyas.

'Wow! That's a nice name, by the way.' he said with his intoxicating smile. My heart...

'Eshaanvi, let's not be late. You, too have to start for the practice tomorrow morning, right?' Hardik said suddenly standing up.

'Oh...yeah..how can I forget?' I sighed.

'I got to go guys. Shall see you soon.' I said to Shreyas and Rishabh.

'Bye Athiya.' I side-hugged her as both of us stood up. 'It was nice meeting you, Natasha.' I added.

'Bye and call me when you reach.' Athiya said, with a smile. I nodded.

^^^^^

We loaded the stuffs in the backseat and the trunk and I sat on the passenger seat. Hardik joined me soon and took the driver's seat.

'So, shall we start?' he asked.

Even though I wanted to smash his head on the glass for how he tried to ruin my day today, I decided to stay composed till we reach home.

Why?

Because I saw what havoc his man could create in a ride from yesterday's experience.

'Yes. Start.' I said with a fake smile.

And the car started, alongside a meta music that were tearing off my ear drums. But, the man beside me was too comfortable driving with the beats.

2 minutes later, it was just too much for me.

I decreased the volume.

Hardik increased it back.

I threw him a glare and decreased it again.

Hardik threw me a frown and tried to increase it but I slapped his hand away.

'Are you freaking crazy? It's just two of us in the car and the system is at most at a distance of 2 ft from us.' I said sharply.

Hardik looked at me, as if he was surprised.

'2 feet? Seriously! Have ever heard of the thing called loud music or woofers?' Hardik asked.

'Oh no. Can you enlighten me about that Mr. Pandya?' I said sarcastically, before rolling my eyes and looking away.

Hardik scoffed but I didn't turn my head to see it.

"You’re my butterfly, sugar baby
Come my lady, come come my lady.." the most 'melodious' voice in the world sang with the lyrics.

I feel like crying now. First of all, this guy almost ruined my impression before Shreyas and then, he almost picked on my dress and tried to make fun of...Ugh! How cheap!

I really thought he'd a good guy to me after the good time we had yesterday. Hell, I even showed him my hideout but this ungrateful idiot....

And he took the brake.

'Uhhhhhhh..' I almost screamed as the car took a sharp turn towards a complex.

'Oh my! Now what's wrong? Aren't we just two people barely at a distance of 2 ft? What's with the scream?' Hardik asked entering the parking.

I threw him a dirty look. 'You'd never change, right?' I said nonchalantly.

'Relax! This is where Nattie lives. The complex is usually busy. You have to make your own space and rush in.' Hardik said, not looking at me.

'Yeah, own space in the hell..' I corrected and looked away.

Hardik got out of the car and opened the backseat.

'Sit like a good girl till I return.' that guy had the audacity to tell me as he walked off.

'What the.. '

^^^

So, he called a security guard and handed over Natasha's stuffs. Next, I saw him move towards a lean girl with an Non-Indian look . She, too, seemed quite excited to see him. They spoke, they laughed with an obviously flirtatious body language.

Eww! Why is Natasha still with this guy?

Finally, he came back and closed the door.

'Sorry, Tweety! Guess I'm a little late.' he said starting the car.

'Yeah, just a little.' I said sarcastically.

Hardik scoffed, driving out of the complex.

'Yeah, I know..you saw me talking to Kylie. She's a nice girl, you know. Lives at the tenth floor of this building. Nattie lives at the eleventh. So, we often cross paths.' Hardik said.

'Right. Cross paths..such an honest boyfriend, aren't you?' I continued the sarcasm.

'You bet.' Hardik chuckled.

^^^

The brake hit again as Hardik stopped at a signal.

'Can't you actually drive like a civilized person?' I said angrily. I was almost about to fall off my seat.

'I can. But, this time, I wanted to teach some civilized people about putting their seat belts on while riding.' he said, pointing to me.

My teeth gritted. Yeah, I am the one at fault, huh?

I shook my head with a sigh and pulled the seat belts near my body and that's when zi remembered...what was I wearing.

The dress has gone way up my thighs and it was definitely revealing my cleavage.

Ugh! Why? Why me?

I tried, pulling the dress again, with full aggression.

I heard someone snicker.

'Twitty, you shouldn't put on a dress you aren't comfortable in.' Harfik said all of a sudden.

My heart jumped. Fashion police sets to put me in jail.

I cleared my voice. 'Yeah...I know.' I said.

The fact that Hardik has been the sole witness to my malfunctioning twice made things more embarrassing. He must've been laughing from inside.

I took out a pin from my purse and tried to pin the dress, such that my cleavage remains covered through out this brake-ful journey.

'In case you're wondering, you don't have to save your modesty from me, Eshaanvi. I've seen way more, remember?' he suddenly smirked throwing me a wink and in after split second of realization, my cheeks were about to burn.

The day I arrived in Mumbai went horrible. It was so rainy and moreover, Rahul didn't even tell me about the third person living in this house. And then, I went to the shower and came out without knowing the presence of another person in the room, chased after a thief and BOOM! The catastrophe!!

Did the idiot really had to mention that? I still can't believe he saw me n.. forget it.

'You're so not a gentleman, you know that.' I said with gritted teeth.

Hardik raised one of his hands of the wheel in surrender. 'Sorry, I forgot I should delete that from my bins as well.' he said.

I rolled my eyes at him, trying to ignore.

Only if he wasn't injured, I'd...

'...how's your back, by the way? Did they see the reports?' I asked remembering our conversation from yesterday.

Hardik's face went serious all of a sudden.

'Do they really need to analyze the reports to make a decision?' he said in a sarcastic tone. 'They might already have decided my replacement. That's what they've always wanted.' He said referring to the BCCI.

'You're wrong, Hardik. Every institute, especially if they have a doctor, would never compromise with the health of a patient, no matter what!' I explained. 'They don't have any personal vendetta against you.'

Hardik looked at me in annoyance. 'You're so naive, you know. You really have no idea about the complexities of real life. They always want players representing the national team to be one of their blue eyed boys, trained and mentored by their own people. So, of there's a hope for a  a vacajt vacancy in the team with my injury, they'd definitely crack on it. Why not make it that Hardik Pandya has an irreversible injury and can never stand with a bat again, let alone bowling.' he let his heart out in aggression.

Even though I understand his inner turmoil, it's also true that health should be the priority of a man's life and neither of a team, match or tournament waits for anyone in particular. They just go with their own flow.

Hardik's face was painted with pain. 'Bloody buggers...' he muttered to himself while driving.

He was definitely not in a position to accept any logical explanation.

'Hey! Don't worry!' I said softly placing my hand on his shoulder. 'I personally, don't think your injury is career threatening. Yes, you need to take care of it seriously but it's definitely recoverable.' I said.

Hardik turned his head and looked at my hand on his shoulder.

'Some times, I forget you are a physiotherapist too.' he scoffed at the end 9f the seriously made comment.

I frowned. 'Do not underestimate me Pandya.' I said crossing my hands over my chest.

'I'm one of the very few physiotherapists in India with a training in Langston Therapy.' I boasted playfully.

'Who's this Langston? And how's it a privilege to massage him?' Hardik asked taking it as a joke.

I turned towards him and frowned.

'Oh no Mister, Dr. Robert Langston is one of my inspirations. He has hit 109 doctoral theses and many more theories in his pocket.  This Langston Therapy is a well-accepted and unique branch of physiotherapy that was discovered by him two years ago. Last year, we had a training on the same in Mangaluru. Dr. Langston, himself, gave a lecture.' I said, remembering the good-ole days.

'Oh my!' Hardik chuckled. 'And what's the discovery about.

'It's about a C-pec muscle layered between the two major muscle systems of our body. A-spot and K-spot determines the movement and C-pec determines the numbness and pace or even friction to our bones.' I explained with full enthusiasm. 'Like, for example, in your case, if you have an urgent match coming up in few hours and your back is giving up on you, a little external therapy targeting the C-pec would alter the friction and numb the pain for around 24 hours.' I explained.

'Seriously?' Hardik asked out of surprise.

'Yes, and Dr. Langston claims with five research papers and 76 case studies that a regular exposure to the therapy, alongside calcium supplements would cure any kind of damage.' I said. 'Sadly, the ICMR is yet to implement the Langston therapy.' O said sadly.

Hardik was looking at me intently.

'What?'

'You are really trained in this Langston therapy?' he asked suddenly.

'Yes.' I said proudly. 'We had a long training programme and Dr. Langston himself...'

'...and you're going to be the physio of Mumbai Indians, right?' he asked more curiously.

'Yes.' I said.

'Great! Tweety, you are my last hope.' he said all of a sudden. 'I'll tell you what they said this morning. They predicted that I won't even be able to play all the scheduled matches this IPL. I want to prove that motherfuxkers wrong.' he said aggressively.

'What?' I said not wanting to believe.

'Yes, you'd be my trump card, Eshaanvi. Just give that theory sone more read and apply that on me. I don't want to miss out from anything Eshaanvi. Please, help me out.' he almost pleaded.

Huh?
I shouldn't have detailed him these things.

'Look, I understand your emotions but as I said, the ICMR has not legalized the therapy in India. Besides, you're under the observation of BCCI. They are gonna do what's the best for you.' I tried to explain but..

'To hell with them! I know what they want. If they wanted any good, they would have informed me beforehand about my status, not just few days before a tournament. I don't believe them. I don't care what happens, I just want to give this a try and show them what's real.' he said, desperately.

'H...Hardik, there are very leas doctors in India who have a training in this. We only have some in Karnataka and Chennai. It's too risky to implement such things.' I explained.

'Come on Eshaanvi! I don't need anybody. This is your turn. Use everything you have learnt. Do a private call with Dr. Langston, if you need. All we need to do is keep it a secret from others.' Hardik explained.

I tried to explain again. 'Hardik, you are being an emotional fool now. I'm not even that experienced to ...'

'You help me with this and I help you with Shreyas.' he said freezing me in spot.

^^^^^^