Chapter : 43

Rishav's POV

"Well played Rishav." Sam said and patted my shoulder with a smile.

I gave a silent nod. Not really happy with my performance. The match had ended and St.Louis had won by 2 runs. Ravi wasn't much disappointed about the defeat since it was a practice session. Instead he was mad about that unfair bowler. I'm sure he was planning on breaking his jaw if he met him outside the cricket stadium any day.

I walked out of the gallery with my teammates to meet the rival team once before dispersing away. We all shook each other's hands and tried and smiled at one another.

"My plan worked well for us," The boy said as I shook his hand.

I frowned at him. It was that guy who had played exceptionally well in the game and the one who had instructed the bowler to aim for my leg.

"I'm sure you like to play unfair." I said and was about to walk away.

"You still don't recognize me. Do you?" The guy spoke again.

I stopped and looked at him with a pause, trying hard to recognize him.

My eyes widened the moment his feline features clicked a connection. This was the same guy who had misbehaved with Ananya the other day in that Chinese restaurant! The one I had kicked off the chair and was about to punch. My blood boiled at his smirk and sly eyes.

"So where's that girl? She owes me a lunch at that restaurant you know." He said and cocked his head to the side, looking somewhere behind me.

"Oh, there she is." He said with a grin.

I had enough of it. Grabbing his shirt I jerked him forward and landed a punch on his face, right on the nose. The entire group of boys were stunned by my sudden attack. Nobody had heard the conversation the two of us were having since everyone was busy talking and congratulating each other. The hit, however, gained a lot of attention.

Releasing the guy, I kept my eyes trained on him. He staggered back a few steps, holding his nose with his hands. The punch would leave a bruise, I'm sure.

But I wasn't done with that bastard. Taking a threatening step, I reached for him but Ravi and the others, including a few rival team members intervened. Pushing me back.

"What are you doing?! They'll get you out of the game Rishav!" Ravi whispered to me.

"What sportsmanship you have, bro." The guy said, trying to gain some more sympathy.

"I'll teach you what sportsmanship is you asshole." I was saying as Ravi somehow dragged me out of the stadium.

He released me once we were outside the field. Ravi pushed me down on a seat in the gallery and put both his arms on my sides, caging me in case I dashed out for that guy again.

"What happened back there?" Ravi asked.

I exhaled loudly and looked away in the far distance. Should I tell him? Knowing the fact that Ravi would murder the boy, let alone be angry about it, I decided to keep the matter to myself.

"He spoke some trash. I lost my temper." I spoke half of the truth and looked away.

"That sounds more like a Ravi than a Rishav you know." Ravi said and frowned.

"Everything okay guys?" Ananya's voice reached us.

We both turned to find her standing next to Kabir. They had curiosity dripping off their faces.

"Yeah, nothing too serious." Ravi said.

***

"I'm glad that you and Ravi have sorted everything out." Ananya said as she parked the bike into the front yard of my residence.

"It's a surprise that neither of us apologized and it's already forgiven and forgotten." I said and shrugged as I cautiously got off the bike, careful about my leg.

She too got off the bike and passed me a bright smile.

"Although I'm sorry you guys didn't win today." She said.

"You can't win always you know. Defeat isn't that bad." I said.

"That's quite right." She agreed and then kept shuffling her feet, not making a move to leave.

"You're waiting for me to peck a kiss, aren't you?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Am not!" She said.

Her denial made me smirk even wider. She is a very bad liar to be honest. The way her brown eyes widened was a clear sign that it was a lie.

"What made you think-" She was saying when I leaned down, taking her by surprise and pecking a quick kiss on her soft lips.

She had turned into shades of red with a big grin on her face. I smiled, knowing the effect I had on her. Taking slow steps, I retreated towards the stairway of the building.

"Rishav," Ananya called me.

"Yeah?" I asked and turned to look at her.

"You forgot your keys." She said and threw the bike keys at me.

I grabbed the keys in mid air, clearly confused.

"You're nuts. I'm not gonna take that Thunderbird. Do you even know how much it costs?" I said as I approached her to hand her back the keys.

"You don't want me to do your assignment, you don't want me to buy you a gift, what is it with me wanting to do something for you and you persistently declining my offers?" Ananya argued.

"It's got nothing to do with the assignment! Bottom line is : It's expensive!" I said, trying to act practical on this.

"Well, I can't keep it either. Ravi will kill me if he finds out that I rode that beast and did not bring you to the stadium in a taxi." Ananya said.

"You told your brother you got me to the stadium in a taxi? How come he believed you considering your lame ways of lying?" I asked.

She hit me on the arm playfully.

"Getting back to the point, you keep the bike while it still 'belongs'  to me. Deal?" She said.

I sighed and gave a nod, knowing that she had slyly gifted me the bike at the end of the day.