Chapter Eleven: Bold Moves Ahead

Dragging a drunk Noor to the hotel room was harder than playing Bumrah's deadly yorker. Shubman let out a breath as he laid the drunken Noor on the bed, who was singing heartbroken songs. He wondered why she would even do that, considering they got together as soon as he confessed about Ghazal. Suddenly, he felt a pair of arms snake around his neck and a kiss on his left cheek.

"Don't use that peanut brain of yours. I love heartbroken songs," Noor giggled, swaying their bodies as her red eyes stared into his sober ones.

Shubman huffed; even in her drunken state, Noor wanted to roast him. He untangled her arms from his neck and was ready to move away, but tiny Noor had other plans. She pulled him closer by his arms, making him fall over, but luckily he was quick to position himself or else his tiny girlfriend would have been crushed.

"Noori, are you crazy?" Shubman shouted, looking down at Noor, who seemed unaffected.

"Crazy in love with you," she giggled, kissing his jaw.

Shubman's heart skipped a beat as he heard his best friend confess without any hesitation or veil. He knew that she loved him, but he never realized it was to this extent. He leaned down to kiss her forehead but felt a push, and with that, he fell on his back, luckily landing on the bed. He watched Noor get up and search for something on her phone but couldn't find it. Huffing, she threw her phone on the bed and looked at him.

"Watch me dance," she declared.

Suppressing his frustration, he made a mental note to kick Ishan for encouraging Noor to have a shot competition. He opened his eyes only to see her enacting moves from Rajesh Khanna to Sunny Deol. Sighing, he got up, ignored her dance performance, quickly showered, and changed his clothes before getting back into bed. He knew she would soon get tired and fall asleep. As for changing her clothes, he was still hesitant, so he thought her dress looked comfortable enough to sleep in. Her heels had been removed the moment they arrived. Switching off the lights, he muttered, "Goodnight, sleep when you're tired."

About an hour later, he felt a weight on his body, more like someone trying to fit into his space.

Groggily, he opened his eyes to find Noor trying to adjust herself on his body. Groaning, he asked, "Noori, what do you want?"

Noor, tired after dancing and singing to songs from the '70s to the 2000s for an hour, pouted and batted her eyelashes innocently. "Sleep, and also these clothes are uncomfortable."

"Can you change yourself?" Shubman asked, pushing a strand of hair away from her face.

Noor nodded, coughing a bit, prompting him to pat her back. "Yes, and I want to take a shower too."

Nodding, he set her aside and tried to find her nightwear when a whining noise stopped him. "I wanna wear your clothes. They seem comfy."

Blushing, he turned around and opened his suitcase. The thought of her wearing his clothes was enough to give him butterflies. He really wondered where his sigma male personality went when he was with her. Handing her the clothes and one of his boxers, he led her to the bathroom and was generously stopped at the door.

"Thanks, Mr. Gill. I will take it from here." Oh, Lord! His bestfriend talking with him with so much respect is something he can never ever digest. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't realize the door had opened again. Noor was freshly bathed and smelled like the hotel soaps they had been provided with. He took a look at her; the t-shirt was worn the wrong way, but it was better than being tangled. He looked up to see her eyes drooping and her hands extended, asking to be picked up.

Smiling, he leaned down and put his hands under her knees, lifting his big baby who buried her nose in his neck. Lying in bed, he snuggled with her, pulling the duvet over them. Noor was asleep in less than a minute, snoring softly on his neck. He stroked her hair as he thought about her personality.

She had a low alcohol tolerance level.

She liked her coffee sweet.

Her eyes, his favourite, had a unique and beautiful glow under the moon rather than the sun.

Her eyes would turn a darker shade of blue when she was concentrating or overthinking and lighter when she was carefree.

She had a mole in the centre of her throat.

The mole that someday he would... uhh, maybe he should not be thinking that right now. He decided that someday alone, he would recount all of these, but for now, he needed to control himself, or else his dirty mind would escalate. He didn't want to do anything until she was ready for it or felt so. Closing his eyes, he was about to doze off when his phone dinged with a notification. Holding Noor with one arm, he turned around to pick up his phone. The contact he thought would text, but this soon, he hadn't anticipated. Pulling the woman lying next to him tight into his chest, he texted the woman who used to.

Ghazal 🖤🖤

Hey, saw you at the club. Happy for you that you seemed happy without me.

You can talk straight away without being sarcastic.

Well, it didn't take you long to jump into another arms.

If only you didn't leave me in my downfall. And the arms you've been talking about have always been there.

So you cheated?

No, I don't have that mentality. I wouldn't stoop as low as you. And I'm not obliged to answer who I'm with now.

Language, mister. I just did it because I didn't want to hinder your performance.

You think I'm dumb. You need to check with your friends who would spill anything for a drink. Anyway, blocking your number. Bye!

You blocked the contact. Tap to unblock

You'll unblock me in no time. And trust me, without me resorting to any cheap villain tactics.

As Shubman lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, he knew Ghazal wasn't the type of person to resort to obvious villainous tactics like in Hindi films. However, he also understood her influence and ability to manipulate situations behind the scenes. He doubted she would act immediately, but he couldn't afford to be naive. He needed a plan to protect himself and Noor from any potential schemes or false accusations.

Turning his gaze to Noor, who slept peacefully beside him, he felt a surge of love and concern. She murmured in her sleep, singing Punjabi songs. He leaned over and kissed her forehead gently, silently promising to keep her safe no matter what.

Thinking ahead, Shubman considered confiding in his close friends about Ghazal's veiled threats. He also pondered consulting a lawyer to understand his options if things escalated. His priority was ensuring that Noor remained shielded from any drama or harm that Ghazal might stir up.

As he let his thoughts drift to the upcoming match, Shubman made up his mind: he was determined to score a century. But he also wanted to do something bold, something that would make a statement. The idea struck him suddenly—perhaps this was the perfect moment to play a card before Ghazal did.