A Promise From My Heart

17.

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YUSUF'S POV

Her eyes, the ones I found consolation and kindness in, were unlit from inner sorrow she tried desperately to conceal. They lacked that compassion and warmth I knew them with. Now, all I saw was someone struggling to survive in the breakers that pulled her into the sea of blues within her. Once. Twice. They blinked, batting my sanity.

Slowly, her cheeks creased then evened out as soon as they crinkled. As though she had known she had failed miserably at smiling, she turned away to the built-in wardrobe to drape her folded towel on one of its doors. She kept her hand on the door, her back hunched and head bowed. Her back rose and fell to her steady release of air. And so she was for so long.

It might have been few seconds or minutes but it felt like a long period of time to me. I noticed the satin nightie she wore was slightly loose on her when it had never been. It was the kind that hugged her form softly in the right places. My gaze lingered on the curves I loved so much, nothing sharp or prominent, just soft and gentle, especially that signature feature that was my best part of her. Her rear end.

Since our pregnancy, it had grown softer and rounder. My brain began to transmit what I gawked at creating an autonomic response that made my mouth start drying out. I tucked in my lower lip in between my teeth and dampened it. Then she turned, meeting my dilated eyes. Her eyes narrowed at me with unsaid admonishment in them. The corners of my mouth lifted up into a smile.

"Really Yusuf?" She spoke.

"What?" I questioned, hands opened wide with no guilty expression.

I was not doing anything wrong. It was not bad to admire my woman. But then it felt like the right and wrong time. She just arrived from the hospital so I had not expected anything intimate soon. What will that make me seem like? Even though I was starved for months, I still have to be patient, study her for a while and maybe let her make the move instead. It's not the first time she did so.

I tried not to sigh out as a memory came back. Those days we could not keep our hands off each other. What had happened many months back had killed that side of both of us. Hopefully, we would be able to revive it back. It's been over two months since we kissed because of all that was going on. The last time we did that had to be her first week or first two weeks in the hospital.

"What perverted thought is going through that mind of yours?" She poked a finger at me and twirled it around.

"A lot you do not want to know." I admitted, all of a sudden feeling smug. "But I won't mind telling you." I gave a haughty smile. If she had been light skinned like me, I might have seen the redness of her cheeks. That glossy melanin masked it.

With her face still burning, she meandered to the bed where I sat and took her place right next to me. A hand slithered through my arm then I felt the light weight of her head on my shoulder.

"It feels good to be back home." She turned her head to gaze at my face, her jaw positioned on my shoulder. "Everyone's happy to see me at home."

That was partly true. Everyone except Noor was. Noor had not come out of her room when we arrived. When she had, it had been to eat or do something. Not a single word about Amy's arrival absconded her lips. If she had not thrown those scornful looks at Amy, I would have said she pretended not to notice her arrival.

"The arrangement was ceremonial." I felt the gentle smile that pulled her lips up.

"That was Kenny's plan." I replied, the muscles that controls my vocal cords tightened up. "He cooked. We all missed you terribly. I missed you." My eyes met hers as I rested a hand over hers that was still set on my arm.