"All for me? Oh my God she is so sweet..." Madi exclaimed before gushing over how much she had enjoyed having Sehr in Chicago and talking with my mom on the phone. Things that seemed impossible two weeks ago when I had left for Pakistan.
Life can be so fragile, yet so magnificently unpredictable at the same time.
I drove Madi's car while she called Kylie back. Soon, she was chatting about how smoothly everything had gone off at the Nikah, then switched to the plans for our Reception and Rukhsati later that evening, before saying something about the weather and downtown traffic.
"I think I'll just drop you off and head home to Abu's quickly. We only have a couple of hours till the Reception starts," I heard her say, or at least that's what it sounded like.
Honestly, I tried real hard to pay attention, but it was difficult to think about anything other than the way her luscious lips moved when she spoke and smiled, making me wonder what it would feel like to kiss her mid-sentence.
Maybe it will stop her nervous random chatter, I smiled to myself, and she'll tell me how much she loves me. Or she would turn bright red and stop talking altogether. Bold or shy, you could never tell which of her personalities would come out.
She was talking about the patient that kept her back in the hospital and something about mosquitoes and a viral infection when I finally started absorbing what she was saying.
"The mosquitoes reminded me of you..." she glanced at me, her cheeks starting to get a hint of crimson.
I had to laugh at the absurdity of that analogy. "How big were those mosquitoes that they reminded you of 6 ft me?"
Her laughter, a genuine heartwarming melody, never failed to bring warmth to my heart. At a red light, I succumbed to the irresistible urge to reach out, placing my hand on her cheek and tenderly stroking its smoothness with my thumb. Her lips parted and cheeks glowed a deeper shade of pink.
"I love the sound of your laughter," I confessed.
Her eyes fluttered, she leaned ever so slightly into me. My breath hitched as I closed the distance. Those lips...
"HONK!" The blaring sound of a car's horn destroyed that intimate moment in an instant.
"Kameena insaan, what is his damn problem?" I swung around to glare at the driver behind us. If it hadn't been for Madi's hand gently gripping mine, I had many more curse words come to mind.
"Uh Omar. The light's green," she said.
"Oh." I looked ahead at the empty lane in front of us, as the honking from behind became more persistent. That guy was still a kameena, but we were also still blocking a lane.
I released the brake, pushed on the accelerator and started driving. Waiting seemed to be ingrained into my kismet anyway. Fitte mun. My shoulders slumped.
A profoundly awkward silence lingered in the car after that, clogging the thick air around us. I suppose, I got my answer too - if I kissed her mid-sentence she would simply go quiet.
With hands clasped between her knees, she sat gazing out the window, twirling her curls every now and then. She was nervous, and it occurred to me that for all the 'waiting' we had done, this was new territory. This might still make her uncomfortable.
Control yourself, I told myself repeatedly, her comfort could never be compromised upon. When she finally spoke, we had just turned onto my street.
YOU ARE READING
Mending Broken Hearts
Romance#2 in the desi medical romance series He couldn't get over his ex-fiancé who had unceremoniously broken off their engagement just five days before their wedding. She was engaged to a man who did not respect her or her work. Neither were looking for...
39. Moments
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