Game on, Love (Pitch and Pits #1)

21

Oliver

THERE IS A QUIET inevitability to fate, a pull that one cannot resist no matter how hard one tries.

I had never believed in such a thing, at least not before I met her.

The gallery was dimly lit, and people scattered in groups as they took the paintings in front of them. I had never been a fan of something like this, but when Mum had told me she was in the city to visit the opening of a new gallery, trying to find a couple of pieces for her clients—I’d suggested going with her. With everything that had been going on, I hadn’t gone back home in a while and between taking care of Dad and her already packed schedule as she worked from home, the only time we caught up was on our weekly calls.

But, five minutes in, she ditched me after spotting her old clients. It didn’t surprise me one bit; it was just who she was. Ready to help whoever asked, and as they stood in the corner, her hands moved animatedly as the couple nodded, taking her words in, I saw exactly that.

My eyes scanned the room, giving up on trying to pretend I understood the meaning of the piece in front of me. I never got the meaning behind minimalist art. It was a splash of paint. No deeper meaning to it. But as my gaze landed on her, my heart raced, and the all too familiar tug told me it was Raina.

She was in a dark blue dress that framed her perfectly, her hair open, and it was like she felt it too because one second she was focused on the painting in front of her, watching with an intensity I’d grown used to recognising in her and the next, she straightened up and glanced in my direction.

We shared our living space and saw each other almost every day, and yet, each time we crossed paths, it felt like it was more than just a coincidence. There was no denying that from the moment I saw her, I’d been attracted to her and had been doing everything possible to know her, but it’s moments like these that I couldn’t help but ask myself if the pull I felt was more than just chance, and the times where I felt like I was made for her were more than just my thoughts, but something that was written in something beyond either of us could imagine.

“Finally, something worth appreciating in this gallery,” I said, reaching her and a shy smile overtook her face.

“What, you don’t think that it’s worth appreciating the simplicity of these?”

I glanced at it once; it was a bunch of lines overlapping each other from different directions but in one shape before looking back at her. “I think art should make you feel something so intense, it overwhelms you. Simplicity can be found in anything.”

“Sometimes less is more; to someone, it could be exactly what they want.”

“I agree, but that shouldn’t be something you say about art.” I shrugged as I moved behind her. She sucked in a breath at the closeness, my chest touching her back as I leaned down.

“Close your eyes, Gorgeous.”

When she exhaled, following my instructions without a question, I held back a smile as I whispered in her ear.

“Imagine, you’re standing outside your dream house, the architecture is absolutely stunning. The way everything is perfect, and the precision of it all makes you instantly think about the effort that was put into the design. You open the front door and walk in, and the interior is just as amazing, and as you look at the huge wall that welcomes you, you look at a canvas, and it’s something that makes you feel.” Raina shivers under my breath, but I continue. “It tells a story, not just about what’s on the canvas, but what the person who did it intended and the placement of it in the house. Now, open your eyes and look at it again. Still think art should be simple?”

She turned her head sideways, her eyes meeting mine with a strong emotion, and I wanted to devour each second of it. But as a voice called out for me, I realised how much of a luxury it was to share a moment with her, to see her break down her walls so I could see her expression.

Mum walked towards us with a genuine smile, one that I’d rarely seen on her in the past couple of years. But as I took a small step back, instantly missing the touch, Mum faltered in her steps for a second as she reached us.

I frowned slightly as she watched Raina, and before the moment got awkward where it was leaning towards, I introduced them. “Raina, this is my Mum, Heidi. Mum, my R—this is Raina. She is Rihaan’s sis—.”

“Sister.” Mum finished, and I blinked. However, a part of me was glad that neither of them was focused on the slip of my tongue.

My Raina.

“You look just like your Mother,” Mum said, her eyes softening, and my head pulled back in surprise.

“You knew her?” Raina asked, her voice strained.

Mum nodded as she replied. “I used to travel with Nathan for some of his matches, and Diya and I often sat together to watch, even if we rooted for other teams. And when your parents moved here, she became one of my closest friends… we lost touch when you two moved back to India, but I was still sorry to hear about her.”

Raina blinked, digesting her words before she whispered. “Thank you.”

She was trying to steady herself, and my hands itched as they hung next to me… and fuck it.

I reached out, engulfing her small hand, and when she held on to it for a second, I was glad I didn’t question myself.

“Sorry, I was just caught off guard,” Mum replied as she watched her with a gentle look. “I remember when you were just a little baby, and now look at you.”

She turned to me, and I didn’t think it was possible but her smile widened further. “And you’re here with Ollie! How did you two end up meeting then? I didn’t even know you were back. Your dad never mentioned it.”

Raina froze for a second, and before I could question it, she recovered. “Ah, yeah. I moved back a couple of years ago.”

Mum nodded as she waited for us to share how we met, and I raked my brain to come up with a brief and uncomplicated version of the night before speaking, “At this year’s championship party.”

Pride flashed through her eyes along with understanding, hinting that she must’ve read the tiny wariness in my tone.

“Do you work in sports like you’ve always wanted to?” Mum asked, changing the topics and Raina nodded, her own lips tipping up. “I’m so glad to hear that!”

FOR THE REST OF the evening, I followed them as they talked about Raina’s mum, getting sidetracked once every often as they took in the different art pieces. Thankfully, we’d move on to a different set and were looking at some of their modern collections. Mum caught up with her clients, leaving us two. I watched Raina as she took in one of the pieces, her eyes wandering to the different corners of the canvas, and the moment it triggered a feeling, I watched my words from earlier fall across her face.

She turned to me, and she almost felt lighter as she murmured. “You’re meant to stare at the art.”

“I am.”

She shook her head, her eyes trailing back to the painting, mine staying on her.

“Oliver.”

“Yeah?”

“Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

She turned back to me, a bold expression on her face. “Like you want to kiss me.”

I did. But I hadn’t realised I was wearing that look, and knowing she’d already seen it, I didn’t back away either. “And what if I do?”

“You can’t kiss me with your mum only a couple of feet away.”

That was her concern?

“She won’t mind. By the looks of it, I think she might be more thrilled than anything.”

She tried to stop the smile from reaching her lips, but I saw it because, in the past hour, it was evident that Mum absolutely loved her. I think the giveaway was the small flick to my head for not mentioning her earlier in our weekly calls, but how could I tell her that everything that Raina gave to me, I wanted to keep it to myself?

When Raina didn’t reply, I took a small step forward, angling my body so that she could only see me. Her eyes widened a little, but she didn’t take a step back.

I kept eye contact as I leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on the spot just above the corner of her lips, lingering for a movement just as she took a soft breath.

When I pulled back, she was looking at me with a rare expression, the one I’d later grow to be familiar with, and I smiled. In that moment, I decided that I’d let her take the first step, but I also wanted to make sure that she knew how I felt, even if the gesture was small.

“Oliver,” She said my name again as I leaned back, but her voice was softer.

“Raina,” I whispered back, matching her softness.

“Look at the canvas.”

“Okay.”

She shook her head slightly as I turned, and everything in me stilled.

The piece before me was chaotic, yet it… fit. There were swirls of stormy clouds, with an array of gold crashing through it, while there were waves of red and blue with soft edges as they all clashed but somehow were anchored by a single steady arc in the middle. It felt like looking at everything all at once, and it made me feel… alive . Like it wanted to depict the chaos of the storm that was tied to the calmness of the ocean, and I couldn’t help but think of how much it made me think of her.

The longer I looked at it, the harder it was to look away. But when I felt the heat of her stare, it was easy to give her my attention.

“What do you think?” She asked, her eyes trailing over my face like she was trying to capture my expressions.

“It would look perfect on that wall,” I replied, and I didn’t have to wait for her to connect the dots with my earlier comments because her eyes softened in a way that told me it was what she thought of too, and I felt a tug in my chest.

Something broke the moment as awareness ran through her, and I blinked. Through my peripheral, I saw Mum walking towards us, and I glanced at the wall, searching for the artist’s name. I barely spotted it before Mum spoke. “You two find something you like?”

“Maybe,” I replied, and she smiled, nodding.

“Well, we better leave now if we want to make it to our dinner reservation.” I nodded, and before I could even ask, Mum said. “Raina, would you like to join us?”

Raina looked at me with surprise before turning to Mum. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude—”

Mum waved her protests off before giving her a smile. “Nonsense! I want to know everything you’ve been up to. That is only if you want to join us, no pressure.”

She smiled as she said. “I’d like that.”

As they walked together, already in another conversation, I trailed behind them. I just had to do one thing before I caught up with them.