SERENDIPITY OF LOVE ✅

#2

Badra knew him and makeups, so she dabbed some powder and applied a coloured lipstick on her already pink lips and spritzed perfumes all over her body. She bid Badya goodbye before she walked towards the parking lot, where she met him having a heated argument over the phone that seemed to be deliberate, considering the way he was trying so hard to stifle back his laughter.

"Wafiyya, it's over!!!" He yelled and ended the call, bursting into a series of laughter. He drove out of the driveway of Adetokumbo Ademola crescent and looked at Badra that was looking at him with a displeased expression on her face.

"Ya Maheer, how many girlfriends do you have for Allah's sake? You just told me of Rabab in there, and now it's Wafiyya?" She asked and fixed her grey orbs on his face, making no room for dismissal of the topic.

"Look Badra, I'm not that bad you're thinking. They're only two; Rabab and Wafiyya, and we broke up with them all." He doesn't make eye contact, and she knew he was lying. She's the only one in his life that knows he doesn't make eye contact when he's lying.

"You know you're not saying the truth. Save us the stress and just tell me the truth." She folded her hand over her chest and glanced over the road. Seeing that he just parked beside Coldstone made her almost squealed but she held her expression tight and didn't budge from her seat.

He turned and looked at her as well, "Okay. They're thirteen. We broke up with them all, Wafiyya was the last one and we broke up as well. Let's get in." He tried opening the door when her loud gasp made him turned and looked at her, scratching his left eyebrow.

"What?" He couldn't help but laugh at how her eyes bulged out and the bewildered expression that was painted on her face.

"Ya Maheer? Thirteen! You just came back a month ago! Innalillahi, I have a heartbreaker as a brother!" She gushed exaggeratingly and kept looking at him as if he had turned into an alien to her.

"Stop exaggerating and hop out. I have just one hour thirty minutes left." He pinched her cheeks and walked out of the car.

Badra took in a deep breath and hopped out of the car. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and she looked at him, knowing he was doing this just to rub it on one of his thirteen girlfriends face. Though there wasn't a camera before them, Badra felt a little guilty as she placed her hand around his waist and placed her head on his shoulder. He's her favourite and also her best friend.

They sat down and made their orders. Before their ice-creams were brought to them, Badra looked at him and cleared her throat, which made him turned his attention on her.

"Ya Maheer, I want to talk to you about something," she said, innocently looking at him, smiling softly.

"About that your crush who loves your friend?" He teased, knowing so well she told him that she doesn't want to be talking about him.

"Noo!" She whined and sobered up Her expression as the waiter placed down their orders and left. She started licking her ice cream before she looked up at him and smiled.

"First, thanks for the date. Second, thanks for the book. And third..." he cut her off before she could even finish her sentence because he knew exactly what she was going to say.

"Stop breaking girl's hearts. Do you want some guys to do the same to us, Ya Maheer? You see Badya is in love, do you want her boyfriend to break her heart as you do to other girls? Who knows it's what you're doing that turned back at me and my crush loves my friend." He mimicked her voice and the expression she usually makes whenever she remembers about her crush, and he looked down on his ice cream-not being able to lick it again. That's what heartbroken girls do, he has seen enough of them. His sister included.

"This man knows me so well!" She whined again and smacked his left arm. "But that's not all, today I have a fourthly, and you can never guess it!" She silently squealed and clapped her hands enthusiastically.

"Ummm... let me see what could make Badra Aliyu Shagari this happy while her favourite person on earth is leaving?" He lifted his bearded chin and made a thinking expression.

"Stop it! You look so ugly while thinking!" She laughed so hard and smacked his arm again.

"Okay, this famous heartbreaker wouldn't stand to be ugly. You tell me then."

She sobered up her expression and plastered a lugubrious one on. "Ya Maheer, I want you to take your studies serious this time, please. Don't befriend the guys you know would never be of use to you; academically. Don't go around partying and skipping classes, tests or even exams that would later make you withdrawn from there also. You know Daddy wouldn't change school for you for the fourth time right? It has worsened this time that he isn't even taking you abroad, please Ya Maheer." She was at the verge of breaking into tears, seeing how her brother is so unserious with his studies is getting to her.

Maheer stood up and walked towards her chair. He lifted her and hugged her to his chest. Seeing her like this changed all his plans he laid out and planned out on doing over there, where he believes money wouldn't let the school authority withdraw him. Her expression changed his mind, and the tears he saw forming in her eyes made him avowed on never letting her down.

They stood there for a minute before Maheer stopped a waiter and handed him his phone. "Take us some pictures please." He ordered and tried as much as possible to hide Badra's face with his arms, as he kissed her forehead.

"I was just talking to you about breaking hearts, Ya Maheer!" Badra spoke hushedly through his chest, and he softly smacked her back.

"Shut up and let me finish what I was doing!" The waiter finished taking the pictures and handed Maheer back his phone.

They looked through the pictures and were laughing so hard as they walked out of the ice cream bar. They entered the car and Badra had to wait as Maheer uploaded the pictures on his Instagram page with the caption 'What a perfect goodbye with her. I love you, Najma.'

"Ya Maheer, what's Najma again? Or it's the name of one of your ex-es again?" Badra asked, amusement filling her eyes.

He chuckled and shook his head, scratching his left eyebrow. He ignited on the car and drove into the road before he answered her "Najma isn't the name of any girl I've ever met. But it'd be the name I'd be calling the girl I'd truly love in my life. So yes, for now, you're my Najma." She saw the sincerity in his eyes, and she could see hope dancing in his eyes that he would surely find true love.

"What does it mean then?" She asked out of curiosity because she's never heard the name before.

"A precious star amidst lots of stars. So she'd be my Najma amidst the other ladies." He smiled genuinely, and the blue in his orbs flicked more that Badra thought his eyes looked like a morning sky.