When Silver Met Gold

Chapter 13 - Inquisitive Sky

"When I look into your eyes, I lose my thoughts."

The moment I saw Aaliyan, my jaw was on the floor, my eyes as wide as a round wall clock.

Sky nudged me, "Close your mouth."

I shut my mouth, but my heartbeat took it as a sign to run like a tiger chasing its prey. I stood there, my eyes looking at nothing but him. I checked him out, my eyes raking over his fine self, from his fawn-colored boots to his brown hair. "Stop ogling on him, Dex, you're embarrassing me!"

"Why the hell are you embarrassed?" I gritted my teeth at Sky.

"You're my sister!" She shrugged.

I turned my attention towards Aaliyan in his brown Salwar Kameez. He was putting the cake on the table while talking on his phone in Urdu. His Urdu dialect and his voice made my heart flutter.

Allah, please prevent me from jumping on him from these stairs. Amen! I made a silent prayer.

He didn't know we were watching him from the stairs. Aaliyan was laughing at something when we came down. He stopped laughing when he saw me, and he looked taken aback by... my presence?

"Come on, guys, let the party begin." Gray jumped from the balcony and landed on his feet.

"Don't mind him." I smiled at Aaliyan. "My brother has springs."

Gray placed an open-mouthed, sloppy kiss on my cheek.

"Eww! Control your emotions." I hit his arm hard and rubbed my cheek. "And your drool too."

We moved to the dining table. Aaliyan set up the candles, and I blew them out. Those three sang the birthday song for me as I cut the cake and placed a little piece in their mouths.

Afterward, Gray's lame jokes and valorous adventures entertained us. Sky and I set the table and called them for dinner. We were eating in comfortable silence until Sky's phone came to life with the loud bark of a dog. Aaliyan got startled, and we three burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry, excuse me." Sky stood up, stifling her laughter, and went away.

We ate dinner while having a light chatter. Most of the time, Aaliyan talked to Gray about his interests and how he was coping and dealing with Papa's business.

I served the dessert. Sky took her green tea because she was allergic to sweets. "So, do you have any nickname, Aaliyan?"

"No, but you can call me whatever you want," Aaliyan said politely.

"Okay, what do you do?" she asked, more like investigated, Aaliyan.

"I run a textile business and some other side businesses." Aaliyan smiled at her.

"Who's in your family, I mean, who do you live with, siblings and parents?"

I pinched Sky's leg under the table, making her yelp.

"No need to pinch me, I'm having a conversation." Sky opened her big mouth at me insultingly, making my cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

"It's okay." Aaliyan threw me a mocking smile, making me more embarrassed. "I live alone, I have relatives, but they don't live here, they are in other cities."

"How many girlfriends have you had?"

Her question caused me to gasp, and Aaliyan's neck and ears began glowing a deep red color. He lowered his head almost onto his plate.

"Don't embarrass me, Scarlet!"

"You shut up," she said to me like I was a fucking kid. At that time, I felt like one. One who had eaten her favorite chocolate secretly and whose mother was scolding her for that. Terrible!