Page 46 of Game on, Love

Her eyes sparkled, a hint of a smile touching her lips. “Oh, then maybe I can also give you a tour of the fan zone, and you can really get that fan experience.”

“I’m up for anything,” I replied, watching her smile grow as she turned back to her food.

Once we both were finished with our food, we cleaned up before settling down on the couch.

I sat down first, choosing to be right in the centre to be closer to her either way, but when she sat down almost right next to me, I had to try my hardest not to read too much into it. “Alright, let’s start with what you know.”

She tapped her pencil against her notepad, watching me with an amused expression. “I know there are bats and balls involved. And there’s a… wicket? Right?”

I waited for her to go on, and when she didn’t, I couldn’t help the slight surprise that took to my face.

Okay, this is worse than I thought.

Trying my hardest not to be offended, I opened my mouth to speak, but as though she couldn’t hold it in at all, laughter spilt out of her.

A real one, and even though I felt the effect of it all over—I watched in confusion.

“Oh my god,” She said, in between her laughs, clutching her stomach. “Your face wasimmaculate.”

Pursing my lips, I rubbed a hand over my mouth as I waited for her to give an explanation because, for the life of me understand what was happening. “Are you done?”

She sighed contently before leaning backwards and nodding. “Yes, thank you.”

I shook my head, tracing the remnants of her smile in my mind. “Still waiting for an explanation.”

“Oh, right.” She bit her lip, her shoulders shaking again slightly. “I may have lied.”

My brows raised slightly. “Go on.”

“I mean, I don’tknowcricket, but I do know the super basics of it. The pitch, the stumps, bails, scoring etc.”

“You’re such a little shit.”

She stuck her tongue out, and the corners of my lips tilted up. “I just wanted to see your reaction. And it wassoworth it.”

My eyes were focused on her lips; she was biting her lower lip in an attempt to stop herself from laughing.

Flicking my eyes to meet hers, I realised that, at that moment, I really wanted to kiss her. I watched her patiently, but her voice from last night echoed in my ears.

“Time.”

The one thing she had asked for was time, and I wasn’t going to push her just because we had a moment.

I cleared my throat, reaching for her notepad. “Alright, but break it down for me so I know how much you actually know.”

I flipped to a blank page, sketching out a basic diagram of a cricket pitch before handing it back to her. She stared at me for a beat longer before nodding.

“Okay, so I know that the pitch is in the middle of the ground, and the stumps or the wickets are the either end…” She drew them on before circling the two small pieces on the top. “And these are the bails. The bowler’s aim is to hit the stumps—making it their ideal way to out someone, and the batter’s job is to protect them, which is why there’s a batter at each end.

“Once the ball is hit, you can either run between the wickets for runs; if the ball hits the boundary, it’s a four, or if it flies off the boundary without touching the ground once, it’s a six.”

“So far, so good,” I nodded, leaning forward slightly as she spoke.

“And… that’s all I know.”

“Okay, I can work with this.” I took the notepad from her, turning on a new page and drawing a field. “Let’s start with the mental side of it. It’s not just about hitting a ball to get the most points. It’s about making sure you’re in sync with your environment so you can out-think your opponent. There are different bowling styles, and there are different batting styles, but it’s about knowing when to be patient and go for a safe one run or four and when to take risks and aim for that six. For some players, it can be natural—to know what kind of ball the bowler is about to play, but more often than not, it has to be learnt and requires experience.

“And even then, you’ve got to take into account the positioning the opposite team has. It can tell you where to aim, especially when you want to take risks and target your weaknesses. Cricket isn’tjustabout your individual skill but taking advantage of each player around you. That’s what makes it so great. For each ball, you have to read the game, target theirweaknesses or if your team is bowling, set traps, and pull off incredible plays when it counts.”

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