Until I See You Again ... (A CanEm Story)

Bitmedi

My foot is tapping rhythmically against the car door. I can't help it. I'm so nervous. I clench my fingers around the wheel, gritting my teeth, in desperate need to calm down. I concentrate on my breathing, inhaling and exhaling slowly.

"In ... Out ... In ... Out ..."

"Aferin Can Bey", I sarcastically congratulate myself.

After a long wall of evergreens, I turn left and I know I've reached my destination.

It's not at all what I imagined her house to be but I've got to admit that it completely suits her. It's a modern glass structure, angular and sharp, surrounded by trees and flowers, away from Istanbul's main housing areas, hidden from the buzz of city life. It feels like a haven that you can find only if you know where to look.

I park the truck and I waste no time in reaching the wood terrace that stretches in front of the glass wall. I can see her silhouette on the right, her head tilting more and more to the side as I approach. However, as I raise my arm to knock against the panel, she doesn't budge an inch. She can definitely see me, but she waits for me to actually knock before she lets me in rather grudgingly. Well I'm up for a treat ... She doesn't really make any effort to conceal her annoyance. If I could, I would have just stayed outside. Nonetheless something seems off and I just step inside, my whole body reacting to her presence like a magnet.

I can't stay away from Sanem, whether rude or not, I have to make sure that she's okay.

I detail her as discreetly as possible, noting the redness over her cheeks.

"Are you well?" I inquire in a shy voice.

"Excuse me?" she barks.

Great! I managed to piss her off. More than she already was ...

"Nice job Can Bey! Carry on like that and she might just throw you out and call a cab!"

Looking at my feet, I swallow hard before I start explaining myself.

"Well, is your throat sore? Did you catch a cold? Yani ... It wouldn't be surprising in this weather."

She starts rubbing the back of her neck, her cheeks getting redder and redder by the minute. There's definitely something wrong with her.

"Are you sure you're okay to travel Sanem? Your cheeks are very red ... I hope you're not running a fever ...", I insist cautiously. There is no way I will take her to the airport if she's ill. I don't care if it doesn't please her but she will have to go over my dead body to leave this place.

"Yok, yok! I'm absolutely fine", she retorts in a grunt voice, "Why don't you go sit down while I go get my luggage?"

I gruff in submissive acceptance and start moving across the living room, looking left and right, watchful of where I step.

"You have a lovely home Sanem ... So full of light ... So open ... It's ..."

The words die in my mouth as I come and stand right in front of the settee. No fucking way! My whole body comes to a halt. I know I'm still alive because I can feel air entering and leaving my lungs. I don't know how long I stay there but my brains refuse to process the information my eyes are sending. Eventually my mouth opens in a loud exhaling sound.

"Can? Can!" she snaps

"Huh?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, Yes ...", I mutter but I'm everything but okay. I fight the urge to unbutton my shirt and jeans. It's a real struggle. My clothes feel tighter and tighter, constricting my muscles and narrowing my trachea.