chapter 5 / is he sexting?

It was a rare, quiet afternoon in the team lounge. Most of the boys were lounging around—watching highlights of old matches, munching on snacks, or scrolling through their phones. 

Shubman was sprawled on a couch in the corner, his phone cradled lazily in one hand, his long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles.

It started innocuously enough. He was scrolling through his phone, occasionally tapping out messages. But soon, his expression began to shift—subtle, but unmistakable. 

A smirk played on his lips, and his free hand casually ran through his slightly messy hair. His thumb hovered over the screen as though hesitating over a particularly good reply.

The boys, scattered around the room, started noticing.

"Yo, what's Shubman grinning at over there?" Hardik muttered to KL, nudging him with his elbow.

KL glanced up and followed Hardik's gaze. His eyes narrowed as he studied Shubman, who was now biting his lower lip slightly, his expression caught somewhere between mischief and... something else.

"Oh no," KL whispered, his tone laced with mock horror. "That's not normal scrolling behaviour."

"Definitely not," Hardik agreed, already leaning forward. "That's sexting behaviour."

"Who's sexting?" Virat's voice came from the other side of the room, loud enough to make a few heads turn.

"Shhh," Hardik hissed, gesturing towards Shubman. "He's sexting, I'm telling you."

The boys' eyes collectively zeroed in on Shubman, who remained blissfully unaware of the attention he was drawing. 

His tongue darted out briefly to wet his lips as he typed something on his phone, his body relaxed but brimming with an undercurrent of energy.

"Look at him," Ishan whispered to Yashasvi, who had just joined them. "Bro's sitting there like a whole model in a Calvin Klein ad. Bet he's texting some mommy core woman, calling her ma'am or something."

Yashasvi snorted, trying not to laugh too loudly. "You think he's into that?"

"Are you kidding?" KL whispered conspiratorially. "Look at him! He's biting his lip. Biting. His. Lip."

"Probably calling her 'madam' in the texts," Hardik added, barely holding back his laughter. "'Yes, madam. Anything for you, madam.'"

The group nearly lost it, but they managed to stifle their laughter when Shubman suddenly shifted in his seat. 

He stretched slightly, his toned arms flexing under his fitted black hoodie, and his fingers continued their deliberate dance over his phone screen. The smirk returned, this time softer but no less tantalizing.

And then it happened.

Shubman let out a soft chuckle—low, husky, and almost... dangerous. The kind that sent a chill down their spines and confirmed everything they suspected.

"Oh my God," Ishan whispered. "He's down bad."

"Not just down bad," Hardik corrected, his voice low and dramatic. "Our boy's in the deep end. And whoever he's texting, she's probably got him calling her 'mommy.'"

KL clapped a hand over his mouth, shaking with silent laughter, while Washington Sundar raised an eyebrow. "Y'all are weird," he muttered, though even he was watching the scene with mild amusement.

"Bet it's some high-class woman," Hardik mused, leaning back smugly. "Fancy flat, designer bags, heels that make him weak in the knees."

"Bet she makes him beg," Ishan added, barely suppressing a grin.

At that moment, Shubman finally looked up from his phone, his expression soft but distracted. The boys immediately snapped their heads away, pretending to be engrossed in their own devices.

"What's so funny?" Shubman asked, his voice calm but curious.

"Nothing," Hardik replied too quickly, barely containing his smirk. "Just, uh, looking at memes. You know, Gen Z stuff."

Shubman frowned slightly but shrugged it off, returning his focus to his phone. The moment he was engrossed again, the boys exchanged conspiratorial glances.

One thing was for sure: they were definitely going to find out who—or what—had Shubman so hooked.

Shubman was halfway through scrolling when he saw something that made him pause. It was a post on Instagram, one of those rare gems that slipped through the cracks and caught his attention despite the endless flood of notifications.

The username on the screen read: reputationbby.

A private account. Of course, that was her. Verena.

His heart skipped a beat, as it always did when he saw something of hers. Her posts were often low-key, never looking for attention. 

But this one? It was different. A photo of her lounging on a couch, dressed in an oversized sweatshirt and jeans, her dark hair cascading over her shoulder, her eyes piercing through the camera like she knew exactly how to make someone weak in the knees. 

The caption was simple but powerful:

"Keeping it real."

reputationbby

liked by daddygill and 134 others

Keeping it real

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He couldn't help but smile to himself. Keeping it real—that was Verena all over. Unpretentious. Bold. Effortlessly stunning.

He swiped through the photo, his thumb hovering over the heart emoji before pulling back, instinctively holding off from liking it. 

His fingers danced around his screen, trying to figure out if he should follow her account on this burner profile of hers. He hadn't yet—this was his private space, his secret world, and he didn't want to risk exposing too much, even to her.

But damn, the temptation was real.

"Reputationbby," he mused silently, his thoughts running wild. "Damn, she really knows how to make a simple post feel like a masterpiece."

As he was about to scroll down further, his notifications buzzed again, and this time, a message popped up—from her.

Verena: "You stalking me on your 'daddygill' account again?"

Shubman blinked. His chest tightened, a rush of heat spreading across his face. She knew. Of course, she knew. 

She always did.

He chuckled, quickly tapping out a response, trying to keep his cool.

Shubman: "What can I say? You make it hard not to look."

He stared at the message for a moment, the words sinking in. He knew he was hooked—he was always hooked—but this was next level. 

The way she knew exactly how to stir something inside him, how she always seemed to be one step ahead of him.

Verena: "If you want to see more, just ask, daddy."

The words hit him like a jolt of electricity. His mind raced, and he quickly glanced around the room, his heart beating faster than usual. His fingers tightened around his phone as he responded.

Shubman: "I think you know I don't need to ask."

He hit send and, without even realizing it, his gaze dropped to his phone screen once again. Her account was still open. 

He'd found his way into her world again, and it felt like a slippery slope. But this was their thing. Their little secret, tucked away from the world.

The words "Daddy" echoed in his mind, a sense of power and control that turned him on more than he wanted to admit. He remembered the tattoo on his hipbone—the one she had inked for him. 

The memory of it still burned in his mind. He'd never imagined something so intimate, so permanent, so real between them. 

The little nickname, one so casual to everyone else, meant everything to him when it came from her.

He ran a hand through his hair, a half-smirk forming on his lips as he thought of her, and how she always managed to push him, to make him want her more.

Shubman quickly locked his phone screen, though he was already thinking about what she might say next. He couldn't help himself. 

Everything about this—about them—was a constant tug of war between control and surrender. But if he was being honest, he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to resist.

SOUP RANTS!

the fifth chapter is here!
did we like it?
do comment your favorite part
what do you think will happen in the next chapter?

until then
yours lovingly,
soup <3