Cristiano Fucking Ronaldo just called me babe, Zarine thought as she let her mobile drop on her bed. The international call which had eaten away a huge chunk of her phone balance had been totally worth it.

Because well, CRISTIANO RONALDO CALLED ME A BABE. Calm down, Zarine, calm down. He probably calls everyone babe. But he called me babe HOLY SHIT HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!?

Her heart was beating 90 miles a minute and she just couldn't stay calm. Every second, every breath, every word of the phone conversation came back to her again and again. She just lay back on her bed and smiled dreamily at the ceiling.

And he was going to call back. He was going to call her back. He had her number and she had his. She had the phone number of her crush. People had often teased her for being in love with a footballer who didn't even know that she existed but now...it was as if all her dreams had come true.

An hour passed in sheer happiness. Another hour passed and Zarine had to get on with her college assignments. But she couldn't concentrate. Every few minutes she would jump towards her phone and check the screen for Cristiano's call. How long did footballers practice anyway?

Three hours, four hours. The excitement had begun to be replaced by doubt that he may not call back. Maybe he didn't even want to talk to me. Why would he? He's a busy person. Ugh what was I thinking? It's not like we're friends. We're just two people who met online and...

Oh my God, he wasn't going to call. She didn't cry because she believed that she was stronger than that. Crying over some guy (even if he was her lifelong crush) was so not Zarine. If he didn't want to talk so be it. She wasn't dying to talk to him anyway. Bleh.

She walked to her Ronaldo poster and made a face, "Whatever." Stuck out her tongue at it too.

She was drifting off to sleep when her phone rang. She picked up the call, disoriented.

"Hello?" Her voice was groggy and raspy from sleep. She was indeed half-asleep. "This better be good."

"Hey...uh, I could call later?" The voice at the other end was slightly breathless but she recognized it in one go and suddenly she was wide awake.

She peered at the name on the screen and suppressed a scream. It was CRISTIANO FUCKING RONALDO!

[Hey guys. So before anything else, we should mention that Cristiano is 25 years old in this story and Zarine is doing her post graduation.

And well, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please vote and comment, it means a lot. Also, if you have any suggestion on what #zariano (yes, we have shipname!) should talk, let us know. See ya.]