Love Me, Mikayla

XVII

Forget it, Mikayla.

I focus on completing my task and by the time it is done, he comes out while buttoning up the white shirt that he is wearing. I steal a glance at him, collecting the plastic wrappers of the gift that we received last night. Still, a pile of gifts is in our room, in a corner. I'll open them all with Akhsah.

"Mikayla..."

"Hm?"

"What else have you learned except for ballet, sketching, and playing musical instruments?" Why is he asking this all of a sudden?

Throwing the glittered wrappers all into the dustbin, I look at him over my shoulder and find him grabbing his wristwatch to put on his wrist.

"Um... there's a lot I've learned. Like mehandi art, knitting—"

"And stitching?"

"Yeah, stitching, too."

"Well, I need you now." I fell silent at the way he called me. I narrow my eyes at him, humming questioningly and he gives me a sheepish grin, turning to face me. "The button." He shrugs lightly, showing me the white button in his palm that he just lost.

Oh.

I hope it didn't happen after he asked me.

"Mind stitching it?" He asks cutely, and I agree with it.

I grab the kit and ask him to sit on the bed while I push the thread through the eye of the needle.

"I can wear another one and you can put it back after stitching the button."

"Why would you? It takes only a few minutes, okay? You can wait until then and you don't have to change the shirt for this petty reason." My words shut him up. Because what's the use of my learning stitching when he has to change the shirt?

I walk over to him and find him still standing near the bed. Okay. I step closer and grab his shirt. The earthy scent of sandalwood along with aloe attracts me and I lean closer to focus on the button so that I won't hurt him in the middle.

Not like I care but I don't like the sight of blood.

"I wanted to ask you about your work," he speaks all of a sudden, pushing a strand of my hair behind my ear.

I let him, not reacting to the touch visibly. He is just helping me. "What about it?"

"Do you want to continue your job?"

"I'm not really fond of it. Rather, I wanted to resign but my boss didn't let me. So, you see, I want to enjoy these days and then, I'm thinking of joining the office again. Do you want me to resign?"

"It's up to you. Nobody will stop you if you continue, nor anybody will mind if you want to resign."

"But my boss will." I huff, leaning in to cut the thread. My nose tip brushes against his vest and I can't ignore the way he smells. At the same time when I lean back after cutting the thread, he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me closer.

"I see," he says, "He doesn't want you to resign."

"Yes, now let me go," I demand, tilting my head.

"Or else?"

To his question, I showed him the needle in my hand. He looks at it and I'm sure he got the hint. So he sighs and lets me go. I giggle as I step back and put the needle in its place.

As soon as I'm done, he grabs me again by my face and kisses my cheek. Hard. When he leaves me, I feel like I'll faint. He laughs, buttoning up his shirt and mumbling, "You're cute."