A crisp breeze swept through the cricket ground as the players gathered for practice. The sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows across the field. 

Shubman stood near the boundary, stretching, his phone in hand, a subtle but unmistakable grin plastered across his face.

Hardik Pandya, always quick to pick up on anything unusual, nudged Ishan Kishan. "Look at lover boy over there. Smiling like he just got a lifetime supply of free bats."

Ishan smirked, craning his neck to get a glimpse of Shubman's screen. "What's he even looking at? Betting it's Malini."

Shreyas Iyer, who had been eavesdropping, joined the banter. "Oh, it's definitely Malini. Haven't you noticed? Dude's been in cloud nine ever since they met. He can't even pretend to focus anymore."

Hardik sauntered over, his curiosity fully piqued. "Alright, Gill, spill. What's got you grinning like an idiot? Let me guess—it's Malini."

Shubman snapped his head up, locking his phone screen quickly but not before Hardik caught a glimpse of a chat app. 

"What? No. I'm just—" He paused, realizing he couldn't even come up with a convincing excuse. "Fine, yeah. It's her."

"I knew it!" Ishan shouted, laughing. "What's she saying? Does she miss you already? Did she send you some cutesy message like 'my cricket boy'?"

"First of all, my cricket boy? Really?" Shubman shot back, though the grin never left his face. 

"And second, not that it's any of your business, but she's just wishing me a good practice."

"That's it? Just good practice?" KL Rahul joined the group, his tone dripping with mock disbelief. "You're smiling like you won the IPL trophy over that?"

"Look, you wouldn't understand," Shubman muttered, shoving his phone into his pocket.

"Make us understand," Hardik teased, slinging an arm over Shubman's shoulder. "C'mon, tell us why Malini's got you acting like a lovesick teenager."

Shubman hesitated for a moment, glancing around at the circle of grinning faces. He finally sighed, knowing there was no escaping this interrogation. 

"She's just... different, okay? She's smart, funny, kind. And she actually listens to me, like really listens. She doesn't care about all this cricket star stuff. She just cares about me."

The group fell silent for a moment, their teasing expressions softening slightly.

"Damn," Ishan said after a pause. "That's actually kind of sweet."

"Kind of?" Shreyas laughed. "That's full-on romance novel material. Gill's gone soft."

Shubman rolled his eyes but couldn't suppress the warmth spreading across his face. "I haven't gone soft. I just... like her. A lot."

"Awww," Hardik said, pretending to wipe away a tear. "Our boy's in love."

"Don't start," Shubman warned, though his tone lacked any real bite.

"Okay, okay, but real talk," KL Rahul said, stepping in. "When are you introducing her to us? If she's got you this smitten, we've gotta meet her."

Shubman hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't know. It's still new. I don't want to freak her out."

"Fair," Hardik said, nodding. "But when you do, we're grilling her. Gotta make sure she's worthy of our prodigy."

"Hardik," Shubman said, narrowing his eyes. "You are not interrogating her."

"No promises," Hardik shot back with a wink.

Their coach's whistle cut through the banter, calling the team back to the field. As they jogged off, Hardik fell into step beside Shubman, nudging him with his elbow.

"Hey, man," Hardik said, his teasing tone giving way to sincerity. "Jokes aside, it's good to see you like this. She seems like a good one."

"She is," Shubman replied, a soft smile playing on his lips. "She really is."

And with that, the team got back to practice, though the grin never fully left Shubman's face.

Later that evening, after a long and gruelling practice session, Shubman sank into the passenger seat of his car. 

His friend and teammate, Sai Sudharsan, was behind the wheel, humming to the rhythm of the music playing softly in the background.

"You're still smiling," Sai observed, glancing over at Shubman during a red light. 

"What's going on, man? Did Malini send another message?"

Shubman looked at him, startled. "How do you know it's Malini?"

"Because you've been like this since you met her," Sai said with a laugh. "You've got that someone-special glow, bro. Even I can tell."

Shubman shook his head, chuckling. "You sound like Kavya."

"Hey, she's sharp," Sai replied. "If she's saying it, it's probably true. So what did Malini say?"

"Nothing much, just asked how practice was and told me to take care," Shubman said, his voice soft. "It's not even what she says, you know? It's just... her."

Sai smiled knowingly. "You're serious about her, aren't you?"

Shubman hesitated, his gaze falling to his phone. "Yeah. I think I am. It's crazy, right? We've only known each other for a couple of weeks, but... it feels different with her. Like, I don't have to be Shubman Gill, the cricketer. I can just be me."

"That's rare," Sai said. "You're lucky, man."

Shubman nodded, the sincerity in Sai's voice resonating with him. "Yeah. I really am."

Meanwhile, at Malini's apartment, she was curled up on her couch, scrolling through her phone. Kavya was perched on the other end, sipping tea and watching her with an amused expression.

"You're grinning like an idiot," Kavya teased. "Is it Shubman?"

Malini looked up, feigning innocence. "No."

"Liar," Kavya sang, setting her mug down. "You've been on cloud nine since that date. Spill, what did he say?"

"Nothing!" Malini said, though her flushed cheeks betrayed her. "He's just... he's so thoughtful, you know? Like, he cares about the little things. And when I'm with him, it's like the world just fades away."

Kavya raised an eyebrow. "Wow. That's deep. You're really into him, aren't you?"

Malini hugged a cushion to her chest, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Yeah. I think I am. But it's scary, Kav. I've never felt like this before. What if it's too much, too fast?"

"Hey," Kavya said gently, moving closer. "It's okay to feel that way. But don't let fear stop you from being happy. Shubman seems like a good guy. And from what Sai's told me, he's head over heels for you."

Malini looked at her, surprised. "Sai said that?"

"Oh, yeah," Kavya said with a grin. "Apparently, Shubman can't stop talking about you during practice. The boys are teasing him nonstop."

Malini couldn't help but laugh. "Poor Shubman."

"Poor nothing," Kavya teased. "You're both lucky to have found each other."

Malini nodded, her heart swelling with warmth. "Yeah. I guess we are."

As she glanced at her phone again, her fingers hovered over the keyboard. A simple message seemed too small to convey what she was feeling, but she typed it out anyway:

Hope you had a good practice. Can't wait to see you again.

Shubman's reply came almost instantly:

Practice was good. Even better now that I've heard from you. Can't wait either, MJ.

Her smile widened as she hugged the cushion tighter, her heart dancing to an unspoken rhythm.

soup rants!

- hello everyone!

- I hope you guys are having a great day so far, and I also hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

- they're so cute [ also i don't know how to continue this book, someone help ]

- also comments on the chapter?

- i hope you guys liked this one!

- with lots of love, supraja 🫶