A Muslim's Romantic Journey

Chapter 18.

Yusuf’s POV

There she was, standing still. Upon my eyes connecting with hers, all the worries of the navy blue and floral hijab girls disappeared. There was something about her which was stunning. I couldn’t even recognize her at first, but then, when I let my eyes wonder over her face a little, I knew it was her. I smiled seeing she was wearing navy blue again. Her gaze tore away from my eyes and observed my every feature. I wondered what she thought, I hoped she wasn’t disappointed.

I strode forward towards her. Her expression was one of nervousness and even a little fear.

“So you’re Safia.” I drank in her appearance. She had beautifully shaped brown eyes. The nice plump outline of her face gave her some sort of youthful innocence. Her luscious lips were a dark shade of red. Immediately I was drawn in. “You’re beautiful.” I didn’t just say because it was my duty to say so as a husband seeing his bride for the first time, but because I really meant it. She blushed as she put her head down, her nose going pink. I had that feeling again, from the first time I saw her. It wasn’t just her cute face, it was something else. Something about her made me feel this way and I didn’t know what it was. I put my hand under her chin and slowly pulled it up and I felt her tense under my touch. She was so shy that it amused me. I leaned in and pecked her forehead before I rested my forehead against hers.

“Are you okay?” I asked, my heart racing. She had gone even pinker than before and her breathing had changed.  She just remained silent. “Aren’t you going to say something?” When she didn’t reply, I pulled back. I began to feel a little ashamed. I was acting too much on my emotions without thinking about what she wants. “I’m sorry.” I said to her. She gave me a confused look. “Say something, please.” She thought for a while, as if figuring out what to say.

“You look nice.” Is what she settled with.  I tried to hold back my grin.

“Thank you.” I replied. I took a moment to just stare at her again. It was as if Allah had rewarded me with this wonderful woman standing in front of me. “You talk a lot more on whatsapp.” Hearing this, she bit back a smile.

“I’m sorry; I just don’t know what to say.” The way her lips moved when she spoke, it was adorable.

“Tell me what you think of me.”  I just wanted to sit and listen to her voice. I could tell the question caught her off guard.

“I think,” She paused to gather her thoughts. “You are a lot more confident than how I imagined you.” I laughed a little.

“Well one of us has to be otherwise this would be very awkward.”

“That’s true. And that was a compliment.” She clarified. “Men should be confident. But not cocky.” She still looked extremely nervous and shy, but it was good that I got her talking. I had expected her say unpredictable things and she was living up to those expectations.

“So, how’s university?” I asked for the sake of continuing a conversation.

“You’re asking me about university on our wedding day? That’s the last thing I want to think of.” I chuckled and took a step to stand closer to her. She became silent again.

“I’m sorry, what would you like to talk about?” I pulled a bit of her fringe to the side so I could see her eyes better. She was looking at my chest, probably to avoid my gaze. I put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to me. We both stayed quiet this time, with my arms wrapped around her. It was perfect, the scent of her hair, the way she dug her face into my shoulder, how she felt so warm. My phone began to vibrate and I had to pull away to answer it. I wasn’t very happy about that. It was Hamza.