Mehrem

04

Illiyeen

Suddenly, a knock woke me, and I opened the door to see Hala standing. "Api." She whispered. "I am coming," I said and held her hands. She smiled at me and walked beside me.

Mawaa and Noorian followed me into my dad's study. I quickly scanned the room. So, all of my family was present and seated among the Ansaris. My first person landed on Chacho Ali, but to reach him. I had to greet Umair's father. He patted my head and directed me towards Chacho Ali. I froze for a second, but Chacho hugged me. Maybe a mini tear escaped my eye.

But I took the chance to whisper, "Chacho, before I decide, I want to meet Umair alone." He pulled out of the hug and closed his eyes in confirmation.

I sat beside Hala and Mawaa across from Umair. This time, I did not look at him. Yet. Until then, Chacho Ali spoke in my favor, and my dad asked me to give Umair a house tour. I looked at him, but he was staring at me again.

Why? This is so creepy.

Umair stood up and forwarded his right hand towards me. I quickly stared up at him. Why was he doing this? Should I give my hand? Why not? I zoned out. Umair called out my name.

It was the sexiest voice I had ever heard. His husky voice raced my heartbeat. Damn. Not only is he good-looking, but his voice also impacted me differently.

I placed my hand on his palm, and he helped me stand up. Not that I needed it. His hands felt warm and welcoming. Harsh and soft. I became numb to his touch as he gripped my fingers. Everyone appeared in the background. We walked past the door through the crowd, holding hands. It seemed no one noticed our hands.

I quickly moved my hand away from his grip. "Sorry"

"Ahem. So, how many rooms does this house have?" Umair spoke in a low- disappointed voice.

So this man says. Was he disappointed because I moved my hand away? He can't be this petty. I smirked. I walked towards the staircase, and Umair followed behind.

"Fifteen. It has two wings. This one is ours. The other is like a guest house. Usually, we are all In New York. So this house becomes handy on Eids, functions, and summer holidays." I ramped on.

"Functions? Like ours?" Umair said and looked into my eyes.

I gulped. Our eyes were on the same level as Umair stood two steps down.

Are we talking about us? Already? As in Him and I? Before I could look at his eyes, I looked away and completely ignored his question. I smiled at myself.

I continued walking towards the upstairs lounge. Suddenly, Umair spoke, "May I know where the bathroom is?" I pointed towards the room and saw Umair walking towards it.

Okay, Illiyeen, you need to get your shit together. You asked for this, right? Now, deal with it.

***

I faced the window and turned around when I heard Umair walking out of the bathroom. Lamps were on, but the light coming through the window was casting our figures over the floor. Umair stared at me. I fake coughed and brought Umair out of whatever Lala land he was in.

I directed Umair to sit, and he sat across from me. I kept looking everywhere except at Umair, and Umair kept staring at me. To think, we had yet to have a conversation. Before, in the hallway, it was just eye contact. Different thoughts ran through my brain.

My family kept saying we were perfect. But we never introduced ourselves to each other.

I finally broke the silence and cleared my throat—real this time.