ShubDaSara

"Will you be my Girlfriend?"

2019 was going to come to an end. Shub had finished a test series recently.

Even this year they both weren't able to celebrate each other's birthday together. But honestly they both knew the harsh reality of being in limelight. Nothing in their life stays private.

It was going to be 1 year since they started seeing each other. Last year, this time only in Venice they had decided to give each other a chance. Shub got in touch with his team and requested them to plan the new year's for them. He was clear, he wanted to go somewhere they can have their privacy. Shub after almost a year of knowing Sara was thinking to finally ask her "if she would want to be his girlfriend ?"
But he was clueless. How does he do that ? He asked everyone who knew Sara and everyone he thought could help her.

He started with Arjun, then Alysha, Vedika, Sara's school friends, her university friends. He even ended up asking Sara's grandmom in London, who is very close to Sara, to help him as to how should he ask her the big question? Everybody gave different opinions. Different suggestions. Instead of helping Shub, they all actually confused him.

Shub even discussed with Jugnu, Subeer, Ishan and Shahneel. All their ideas were great, very fancy but they just did not feel like Shub's own. He wanted to do something for Sara which felt as if it was very personal to both of them.

He asked Sara if she would want to spend the year end with him in NYC followed by a 2 day stay at Paris, France. Sara happily agreed.

28th Dec, 2019
NewYork City

Shub was planning to go down on his knee and ask Sara if she would like to be his girlfriend. But then, he was clueless. If he does that now, what special will he do when the time comes and he has to ask Sara to marry him. What will he do then. ? Wait! Did he just think of Marriage ? For heaven's sake, he hadn't ever thought of anything like that earlier. A broad smile followed his face. He had dated girls before Sara but honestly he had never proposed anyone earlier to be his GF! He was not able to understand what to do. It was then that he felt like asking Virat about it. Virat and Shub had always shared a very unique bond. Everybody knew the talented Virat but somehow Shub was always able to see that "Lover" in him. Well, who would understand it better than Kohli ? After all, Virat was the flag bearer of being in love and proving it everytime. He was the ultimate "Lover Boy"

Shub decided to call Virat. He called him twice which went unanswered. Virat called him back in sometime.

Shub: "Hello, Virat bhai.?"
Virat: "Haan chote, bol. Ki haal chaal ?"
Shub: "Vadiya see. Kidhar ho ?"
Virat: "London. Tu ?"
Shub: "Newyork, accha suno na kuch puchna tha."
Virat: "Haan bol, waise bhai abhi vacation pe hoon main."
Shub: "Vacation related hi puchna tha."
Virat: "Accha chal bol."
Shub: "Aapne Anushka ma'am ko kaise propose kiya tha? To be your girlfriend.?"
Virat: "Hain ? Ye tujhe achanak se kyun jaannaa hai.?"
Shub: "Bhai bataaao na please."
Virat: "Pehle bata ki jo sunn raha hoon vo sach hai kya ? Sara Tendulkar ?"
Shub: (Blushingly) "Bhai, ab kya hi bolu ?"
Virat: "Khyaal rakhiyo uska, bhoolna mat kabhi ki kaun hai vo. Bahut pyaari bacchi hai."
Shub: "Haan bhai. Jaaanta boon. Isiliye toh samajh nahi aa raha kaise bolu ? Bataaao toh."

Virat: "Maine Anushka ko kabhi pucha nahi tha, I assumed ki hum toh saath hi hain. Ye sab samajh nahi aata tha mujhe. Bahut baad me propose kiya maine officially. Par tujhe karna hai propose toh bahut hi simple way me kar, just tell her how and what you feel for her. Ladkiyon ko naa zyada kuch nahi chaahiye, jo tu uske liye abhi feel kar raha hai, uska 60% bhi express kar dega na, ho gaya bss."

Shub: "Bhai express karna hi toh nahi aata."

Virat: "Seekh phir, maine bhi seekha tha, aur bola bhi tha. Sabko seekhna padta hai. Agar tu soch raha hai ki tu use kisi high class jagah pe le jaake puchega toh vo "haan" bol degi. Bilkul WRONG! Tu kahin bhi puch, par usko bata what you feel. Women are not like us, we need to make them feel that we love them, appreciate them, and they will do everything impossible in this world to be with us. Kuch samjha ?"
Shub: "Samjha. Thoda thoda samjha, bolunga kaise vo pata nahi. Guards down karne padenge na bahut.?"
Virat: "Vo toh karna hi padega, warna how will she know that she is special."
Shub: "Samjh gaya bhai, puri koshish karunga. Aur haan, thanks bhai, phati padi thi."
Virat: "Koi baat nahi, pictures bhejna mujhe, Anushka is saying 'Hi' to you both."
Shub: "Hi Bhabhi, Sara ko bhi convey karta hoon."
Virat: "Okay chal bye, take care!"
Shub: "Bye Bhai."

Shub had booked a private open space for their date. It had a round table with lots of flowers. Sara loved flowers.
Shub was nervous, but he knew what he had to do. Sara reached the place and as soon as they saw each other, they smiled and hugged each other.
Sara: "This is all so beautiful. When did you do all this ?"
Shub: "It's nothing."

They had their favorite starters, mild music was playing. It was then when Shub asked Sara if she would like to dance with him. Obviously Sara agreed. They both were terrible dancers, all they kept doing was continuously looking into each other's eyes. Their steps were not at all in sync but they purely were enjoying it all. After dancing for sometime they returned back to their table. It was then when Shub said:

"Sara, I wanted to say something."
"Yeah, go on. What is it?" Sara asked.
Shub: "Okay don't laugh in between."
Sara: "Why will I laugh ? Okay, I will not, bolo?"
Shub: "And don't interrupt me also, let me finish ha ?"
Sara: "Okaaaay."

Shub: "You know I have been with a few girls before 'US'. Like in school and even after that. When I saw you for the first time, in Dubai, everything else faded. I always thought that we don't stand a chance. Why will a princess look at me, ever ? Why will she think of me or even give us a chance. With this thought I had returned from Dubai. I actually never intended to give us a try because I always thought you were way beyond my league. It was only when we started talking I could see how down to earth you were. With me, you were always just SARA and not the Sara Tendulkar, the world knew. I will be very honest, initially I thought I was attracted to the idea of Sara Tendulkar, but eventually I figured out that I was actually head over heels over my SARA. Sara who disrupted all her schedules only for me. Sara who took all the efforts to know my family and friends better. Sara who was so secured in herself that she never questioned any of my decisions whether it be my cricket or anything else. Sara who was so into me that she never had a second thought while introducing me to her family. While you kept doing all this with utmost honesty, every day I had been falling in Love with you. The last 1 year by your side, has been by far the easiest and most amazing year for me. You simply make everything around me better. I always thought if I ever got to make a girlfriend, my cricket will get effected. But you made sure you made my cricket your priority, very convincingly you let everything else come later. You think I am not aware, how you swap your schedules when you get to know I have matches and later tell me that you are busy, just so that I don't feel guilty of not giving you time? I know it all. Sara, last year when I had told you that I wanted you, it was just a wish. In this one year you have turned that wish into a dedication. I am totally, blindly, madly in love with you. I am in love with the way you smile, the way you send me those stupid memes, the way you care for me, the way you rant, the way you look at me and then pretend nothing happened. All of me is in love with all of you! You know I am not that expressive but today I am opening my heart in front of you (Saying this Shub got down on his knee while holding a rose in his hand) I want to ask you "Miss Sara, will you give me the honor to call myself your boyfriend ??"

Sara stood numb

A tear rolled down her cheek!

"Shub, what do I say. It has always beeen a yes. Since forever."
Shub: "Really.?"
Sara: "Yeah."
Shub: "I am warning you, I might be very possessive and demanding boyfriend. Soch lo."
Sara: "Bring it on. I am so ready for it."

With a broadening smile, he strode over to where she was standing. There were no awkward pauses, no second thoughts, no worries of what he was doing wrong — only him and her and their hands fitting together like puzzle pieces.
"I love you so much," Shub confessed quietly, and she smiled at him with a hundred words behind her diamond eyes, "I love you more" Sara reciprocated.
Just as quickly as her hands laced with his, he kissed her. She responded with such enthusiasm that he was taken aback at first, but regained his composure and reminded himself of what was happening; he was really kissing her, she was really kissing him, both their eyes closed, and the world around them stood meaningless.

Nothing could have possibly meant more than this, nothing could have more beauty than this moment: those small hands pressed into his, the way her round eyes fluttered to a close. She fit into him like a glove. It felt they had never been more grateful to have life until now. Anyone could have rather walked into hell again and again than lose this.

After this moment, if was difficult for them to leave each other even for a minute. They kept roaming on the streets of NYC and even visited the city of love, Paris, in the next few days. They hadn't been this happier before.

2020 was here. What the new year holds for the cuties, we shall see in the next chapter :)