Our Space

Chapter 8

Sami made his way to the kitchen for a glass of water and stopped when he saw that the light was switched on. In case it was aunty Nasima or her daughter in the kitchen with their hair uncovered, Sami lightly knocked on the open door, standing away from the entrance so he couldn't see inside properly.

Hareem appeared at the door with confusion marked on her face. Seeing Sami, she adjusted her hijab, making sure to tuck in any loose strands.

"You can come in," She said. Sami hesitated, not wanting to be alone in a room with a girl. That too, a girl he was attracted to. But he only wanted a glass of water. He wasn't going to hang around.

Keeping his head low, Sami walked into the kitchen. He got himself a glass and poured some water. He debated whether to sit on a chair or squat to drink his water, following the Sunnah of the Prophet (pbuh) of sitting while drinking. Seeing that the chair was too close to Hareem, he decided to squat even though he felt embarrassed doing so in front of her.

May Allah reward me extra for my discomfort, Sami thought to himself. As Sami was about to leave, he heard Hareem speak.

"Could you do me a favour?" She asked. Sami wondered if he could get away with walking off as if he hadn't heard her. But he'd already paused on his way out and he couldn't get away with that now. Sami turned slightly to her direction, staring at the ground. "I was craving a midnight snack and I couldn't find anything and then I remembered that my mum put these fairy cakes on the top shelf of this drawer so my little brother can't get to it and ruin his appetite before dinner. Can you get it for me, please?" Hareem pointed to the cakes and Sami looked up at where they were placed.

"Could... Er... Could you move then? Please?" Sami asked, nervously. Did that sound rude? Well, she couldn't expect for him to come so close to her. She took a step to the left and when Sami didn't move, she took another step. Then Sami moved forward and reached for the fairy cakes with ease. As he put them on the counter, he glanced towards Hareem and figured that she was a little short, but not so short that she wouldn't abe able to reach the cakes.

"You're quite tall if you didn't hunch so much," Hareem said and Sami was surprised by her comment. At five foot nine, he was rarely called tall. Sami remembered the scene in Spiderman in which MJ said the same thing to Peter Parker and he stopped himself from asking if that was the inspiration for her statement.

Without replying, Sami turned to leave, half of him hoping Hareem would stop him again and the other half desperately hoping she wouldn't and that he could be safe in his room, away from any temptations.

"Wait," Hareem said and Sami stopped in his tracks again. "I just wanted to say thank you." Sami gave a quick nod and hurried off, his heartbeat not feeling as normal as it should.

Once safely behind closed doors, Sami reflected on what had just happened. Why did she ask him to do something he was she could have done herself? He wasn't used to the company of girls and he didn't really understand them, despite having studies Psychology for three years. From what he'd heard from his friends, they were complicated things. It was something Sami was looking forward to experiencing with his wife. Sami thought of Hareem as his wife and smiled.

He shook off his thoughts, considering them creepy and disrespectful to Hareem. Of course the thought had crossed his mind, that the way she acted indicated that she liked him. Then again, perhaps she just really wanted fairy cakes and truly couldn't reach them.

Nothing can happen! Sami reminded himself. Hareem's parents trusted him to live in their house and were clear on the distance and boundaries between them and him. He knew that if he were to ever mention an interest in their daughter, they'd kick him out of the house. Sami hadn't saved up enough money to be kicked out yet.