The Meet Cute

Here comes the first part and this is heavily based on the dream mentioned in the introduction. And for reference this takes place in late November 2023.

~~~~~Ik Mulaqat mein, baat hi baat mein,Unka yu muskurana gajab ho gaya.Kal talak wo jo mere khayalon mein the,Roobaroo unka aana gajab ho gaya.~~~~~~

Anamika was nervous to say the least. She sat in the BCCI house pushing her butterfly ring back and forth on her ring finger and bouncing her leg. Looking around the glorious exhibition set in front of her eyes, she tried to recollect her script but her mind had gone blank.

As India had hosted the ICC Cricket World Cup this year, the BCCI had hired XYZ company to set up an exhibition showcasing the greatest Cricket milestones at the BCCI house in Mumbai. Anamika had been a part of the curation of the exhibition and had been presenting the artifacts to the people for over a month. She had been listening and taking feedback from the fans that visited and had been adding all that to her script. However, today was different. She knew it was different when her boss, Sandhya, had texted her last night asking to be present in her best formal wear.

It was only in the morning when she was told that some players from the Indian Cricket Team were going to visit.

She looked at the clock, 17:30. Any minute now. She told herself as she straightened her pencil skirt and walked towards Sandhya, who looked as calm as the summer sky. Anamika had given herself a pep talk in the washroom not even 10 minutes ago. She had fixed her hair and made sure her maroon blouse was tucked properly in the gray skirt she wore.

"Ready?", Sandhya said, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Yes. You could've told me who was coming last night, you know.", Anamika said with a little pout.

Even though Sandhya was her boss and someone she wanted to be like, they had formed a sisterly bond in the year they had been working together.

"Yeah and let you stay awake all night overthinking. Nope sorry. Besides, they only confirmed it this morning." she said with an eye roll, "You are going to rock this, believe me!!"

They were interrupted when Raghu kaka came in and informed them that the players had arrived. Anamika started recognising the men as they started walking in: Ishan, Shreyas, Shardul, Siraj. She and Sandhya greeted them and exchanged pleasantries.

"Shall we start?"Anamika asked.  The faster it's done the better.

"Actually, one of us is on the way. Can you please wait for a few minutes?" Ishan said a little apologetically.

"Sure, you guys can look around until then." She said and went to stand next to Sandhya as they started discussing their next project which was supposed to begin by the end of the month.

Shubhman was running late. He had already gotten 5 missed calls from Ishan and 2 from Shreyas. Shouldn't have taken that nap, he thought to himself. It was his plan to visit that exhibition since they had missed it at the beginning because of the practice sessions lined up for the World Cup matches. However, after the haunting finals the group thought the exhibition would be a good morale booster for them. He sped up the car as the signal turned green. As he reached the location, he pulled out a packet of roasted nuts from the glove compartment and ran inside.

Anamika was busy talking with the other guys when they heard the door open and Shubhman walked in wearing a white short sleeved t-shirt that accentuated his biceps and blue denims. He looks even better in real life. As he walked in smiling at his friends, His dimples were so cute and looking around the place, while popping nuts in his mouth. He's popping nuts, he's eating, IN AN EXHIBITION. He has to be stopped.

"Excuse me sir, you shouldn't be eating in here." She said a bit loudly before she could stop herself.

Shubhman's eyes moved towards her and met hers as he heard her say that. His eyes quickly travelled to his teammates and then at her as he stuffed the little packet in his pocket and muttered "Sorry" with a little smile.

Once the pleasantries were exchanged, Sandhya gave them a brief introduction of the exhibition, while Pooja, their intern handed out the brochures. Sandhya moved aside and Anamika came to the center taking the guys around the room which was designed tastefully with some original and some duplicate artifacts. Her fear and nervousness faded away as she saw the boys listening to her intently and asking little questions at times. As the tour ended, Sandhya again came to the front thanking the BCCI for giving them this opportunity and also telling them briefly about their company.

"You guys conduct Heritage walks, too?", Shardul asked looking at the brochure.

"Yes, Anamika does!", Sandhya replied as Anamika nodded her head in affirmation and added, "Heritage walks in Fort and Food walks in Matunga"

"Can you take us this Sunday? We have been wanting to attend one for a long time", Shreyas asked normally.

She looked at Sandhya, who simply nodded. "Yes sure but we might have to create a WhatsApp group or mailing list for coordination, whichever you guys prefer", She said realizing they may not be comfortable sharing phone numbers.

"None of these guys will check their mail!" Shubhman exclaimed, rolling his eyes, he knew that from experience.

"Okay then, Anamika, why don't you take Shubhi's number? He will forward us the link for the group", Siraj said, giving him a pensive look, while Ishan looked on with mirthful eyes.

"Sure!" Anamika moved forward pulling out her phone from the pocket as the boy asked Sandhya more questions about the exhibition and the walk.

As she was taking down the number, Anamika didn't miss the cinnamon scent of Shubhman's cologne. She formed a group and forwarded him the link. When she finally looked up from the screen, she found Shubhman leaning on the artifact next to them and looking at her with an unreadable expression.

"Have you decided to break all the rules today?" She made sure to whisper this time.

"Sorry, I'm just tired," Shubhman said sheepishly.

"God knows what will happen to you on the walk. We might have to walk for 4+ hours!" Anamika said with mirthful eyes.

"Excuse me, I'm an athlete, miss. I've a lot of stamina." He chuckled when she looked at him wide eyed and flustered.

Stop it Anu, he doesn't mean it like that. Get your mind out of the gutter!!

"Guys they are calling us for taking pictures", Ishan said, bringing them out of their bubble.

The three of them reached outside to find the others standing near the stairs at the entrance. The photographer suggested the picture with the players standing on the lowest step while Sandhya, Anamika and Pooja stood on the stair above it. They took a couple of shots.

"We will need one with you all and just Anamika", Sandhya said.

The photographer asked Anamika to stand in the middle of the group with Ishan and Shubhman on her either side.

As she stood next to him the smell of her lily perfume teased his senses. She smells so good. It was subtle in a way that would want a person to lean close and take in more of it. 

"Be careful of the Instagram reels, Anamika," Ishan muttered.

"They are going to call me a Kebab mein haddi!" She said and looked at Shubhman who simply winked at her. Anamika felt a swarm of butterflies in her  stomach at that moment.

She stood on the step with her colleagues as the cricketers piled in their cars. She saw as Shubhman and others waved at her through the windshield and she returned it as the cars left the complex.

"Told you, you will rock it!!" Sandhya exclaimed as soon as they turned to walk in.

"Yep. Now I'm excited for the walk!" Anamika said excitedly.

"You aren't nervous for that?" Pooja inquired remembering how she was scared just this morning.

"Nope. Cricket was their domain, Heritage is mine!" She said smiling proudly.

Would love to hear your views on this....