Muna
As I dried the dishes and fixed them on the rack, I tried not to think about Nicklaus not making it for the meal. He had confirmed he wouldn’t be a minute late, but texted me thirty minutes later, saying he wouldn’t make it because Ashley needed him.
It was okay, and I wasn’t mad at him. Okay, maybe a little sad.
Of course, Nicklaus had other friends before I met him and if it was Maya, who needed me, I would miss a meal with anyone just to go be with her.
After washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen, I sauntered to my bedroom and climbed onto the bed. I checked on Maya, but upon finding out she was at work, I went on and called my mother. I missed her so much.
After a long minutes of phone call with her, I picked up a book I got from the bookstore a few days ago and continued reading from where I stopped. I wasn’t a big reader, but I love a good romance fiction with some sprinkle of mystery and plot twists. Fifty-eight pages in, I had yawned a few times. The book was good but I was already feeling sleep crawl up my body, and before I knew it, I fell into a deep one.
The night broke into the next day and many coming days turned into nights. Just like that, I and Nicklaus went through three weeks of being so busy. While Nicklaus spent some of his days working late at the office, and some coming in before the sky turned dark, I was busy with a lot of new and old routines of mine.
The new content I created had kind of brought new traffic to my channel. It was the ‘Girl Talk Wednesday,’ where I had talk time with my subscribers, venting about some awkward or mind-blowing things I had witnessed in this city. I had also been pretty occupied planning the new merch I was about to drop. But in all of these, it had been weeks of me and Nicklaus squeezing out time to build our friendship, over something that had become our routine dinner.
It was nights of us strengthening our friendship bond over packs of pizzas. I found out that Nicklaus loved his pizzas the same way I loved mine, which for no reason made me happy. There were also plates of pasta, fried chicken, tacos and the rest. There were nights we ended up drunk, well, it was more like I ended up drunk since Nicklaus never drank and when I asked why, he changed the topic like I wouldn’t notice.
But the only thing being strengthened wasn’t our bond. My heart and body had become so aware of this man, the familiar feelings that always engulfed me, each time his fingers brushed against mine. Then, the flutter in my heart each time he pulled his face closer to mine, mixing up the air flowing in and out of us. Sometimes, I wondered if he did feel something too.
There was always a smile on my face each time the photos of him making weird faces, flooded my DM. And Sometimes they were just random photos of me he took. Just like the one I was staring at right now, as I walked towards the entrance of my apartment building, with my other hand occupied with the groceries I bought.
Nicklaus– Some of the meme-worth faces you make.
I chuckled as I swiped to the next one. “Stupid,” I muttered under my breath and glanced ahead of me. They were photos of me he got from my recent vlog.
Nicklaus– What are you up to, hope you are not busy getting lost again.
I chuckled as my finger ran across my keypad. Just because I got lost a few times, and called him to come help me out. Now, Nicklaus wouldn’t let it go.
I paused in my steps and typed out. Me– Too busy doing grocery shopping to get lost.
Continuing in my steps, I was about to push the lobby door open when I heard my name from behind.
I knew that voice, and I hadn’t heard or seen him pop up around me in the past weeks. And for some reason, he hadn’t crossed my mind since the last time we met.
Maybe he wasn’t a stalker, maybe it was all in my head since I hadn’t seen him around for such a long time. As I turned my body, Tim had already halted a few steps away from me.
“Hey,” He smiled and took two more steps towards me.
“Hi,” I smiled, tucking my phone into my shorts pocket. The memory of him asking me out on a date, or whatever he had called it awoke in my mind. Once again, I kind of felt sorry for him. “How have you been?”
“Good,” he shrugged, glancing around. “And you?”
“I’m okay.”
“I already know that, Muna.” He was doing it again, staring at me like he was seeing beneath what I had on, and the look in his eyes was always creepy whenever he did that. I cleared my throat, and his eyes went back to my face. “Uh– I was here for a delivery.”
“Oh-okay, I went grocery shopping,” I said, pushing out the bags I was holding, and his gaze flickered from my face to my hand before settling back on my face.
We stared at each other for a few seconds, without saying anything. Even though I wasn’t sure of the part where he might be stalking me, I couldn’t deny that there was something behind his gaze. Something I couldn’t fathom. Something that always made me a little uncomfortable.
“I– I was heading in before you…” I paused when he started nodding his head.
“Go on in,” he nodded in the entrance direction, and I flashed him a tight-lipped smile.
“Bye,” I said and turned to leave but before I could take a step, he called out my name, causing me to pause and turn to him again.
“Since it’s Friday, I would like to know if you’re free this weekend?” He asked, and I swallowed.
Even though I didn’t have much to do this weekend, he was not part of my weekend plan. “I did love to hang out with you, but…” I paused when a lump of saliva ebbed down his throat
He clenched his jaw, “It’s okay, go on.” His body language, though seemingly cool, oozed an unsettling energy.
Feeling uneasy, I stood there searching his face for some reaction. I needed a reaction to place on what I was feeling, but I couldn’t get any. He was hiding how he felt pretty well.
“Bye, Tim,” I said but before I could move, he spoke up again.
“Are you guys together?” His tone was low, but cold enough to give me a chilling effect.
A puzzled look took over my face, but Timothy didn’t waver, and right now he was wearing a very serious expression on his face. He stared at me intently like he was going to find whatever answers he wanted on my face.
“What?” Confused, I asked.
After a few seconds of studying me, he spoke up again. “The guy from the other day,” he said, and his tone reminded me of the look on his face when he was staring at Nicklaus behind the glass wall. “Nicklaus, Is it?”
I swallowed, “No, no,” I shook my head. ‘‘He’s just a friend.” I didn’t know why, but I wanted to convince him. I caught a glimpse of the quick twitch on the corner of his lips before he sighed, lowering his gaze to the ground, and then back to me. “Why do you ask?”
He shrugged, “Nothing, just wanna know.” He said, but it was hard for me to believe that especially after I saw that expression flash across his face again.
I wanted to leave, I was feeling so uncomfortable under his gaze. I glanced around, trying to act okay and calm my nerves, attempting to shut my mind from all the weird thoughts creeping in.
He called out my name again, and when I settled my gaze back on him, he smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’ll be waiting for you, Muna. No matter how long it takes, I’ll be ready to go out with you. Always remember that.” He said, not smiling anymore.
I swallowed, feeling something I couldn’t even define pile up my throat. Something was unsettling about this. There was something a bit scary about his eyes. We stood there staring at each other, and after a passing seconds of none of us saying anything, he excused himself and started to leave.
Even though I was shocked, it wasn’t just because he said he would wait. It was also due to the chilling effect of his tone. It was the feelings it awakened in me. It didn’t feel right at all. Something clicked in my head and I moved my steps towards him, “Wait.” He paused on his steps and turned slightly to me. “How do you know his name?” I asked.
He was quiet for a moment, maybe contemplating whether to answer or by the look on his face, maybe he was mad I asked that. “I was there when you called him that, remember?” He asked, “At the coffee shop, I mean.” I stood there, staring at him without saying a word.
Simultaneously, I swallowed and silently sighed. Somehow I was relieved he heard it from me because there were many ‘what ifs,’ playing in my head already. What if he did a background check on Nicklaus, what if he was stalking not just me but him? What if he was… No, there was no way he was a psycho. He was just Tim, and that was it.
Since I didn’t say anything, Tim spoke up again, “I will see you around, then.” He said and I did nothing but stare at him.
Standing in the same spot, I watched him turn around and walk to a car, not very far away from me. I did not know why, but I continued to stand there or maybe, I couldn’t move because I wanted to see him drive away from my sight.
“I’ll be waiting for you, Muna. No matter how long it takes, I’ll be ready to go out with you. Always remember that.”
Those words were stuck in my head and had refused to shut down since I walked into my apartment. It haunted me like a ghost through the time I fixed all the groceries in their rightful places. Right now, as I stared at the peace lily he gifted me, I remembered I had only watered it once and that was the day I got it.
I sauntered to my bathroom and seconds later, I emerged with a spray bottle and followed Tim’s advice, spraying a good amount on the plant. After I was done with that, I went on and pulled my clothes off, changing into something more comfortable.
Putting the thought of Tim behind me, I went on with the rest of the day and since it was Friday, I had to do a final check on the video I would be putting up the next day.
__________
The gym had successfully turned into my safe space, each time I was stressed. And that was why, I was on the treadmill this morning running like my life depended on it.
I didn’t know why I was stressed though, life had been good, if not better. Carl had finally stopped texting me, and I had completely settled in and made really good friends.
But after meeting Tim yesterday, there had been a little unrest within me, and the thing that scared me the most was that my guts, which I had been trying to ignore, were almost always right.
I was declining the speed on the treadmill when I saw Bruce, approaching from behind. I was tired, and I needed to get out of there. Gasping for air, I grabbed my water bottle and climbed down from the treadmill before turning to Bruce, who had already halted a few steps away from me.
“Hey, Muna. How are you?” He smiled at me.
Wiping sweat off my face, I said, “Good,” while still breathing heavily.
“I see you’re killing it this morning.”
“You can say that,” I threw him a wink as I opened the bottle of water I was holding, and that earned me a smile from him.
I took a large sip of water, and he waited until I covered the bottle before saying, “It’s good to see you again. You haven’t been coming since the last time”
“Took a break,” I lied. I wasn’t taking a break, I just didn’t work out that often.
“That’s great.” He said, glancing to the side, and as if something caught his attention, he glanced in that direction again. “Hey, Nick.” He said, and I turned to see Nicklaus walking towards us.
Oh boy. We hadn’t seen each other in two days. Two freaking days but it felt like I hadn’t seen him in months. Why did he look so good?
He had on a grey sports shirt and black sweatpants, which matched the colour of my two-piece workout outfit. Running his fingers through his ruffled brown hair, he smiled at Bruce. He glanced at where I was standing, and when our eyes locked, his smile grew wider.
“Hey, man,” Bruce said as they shook friendly hands.
“What’s up, dude?” Nicklaus asked.
“I’m good bro, I’m just about—,”
“Babe,” A girl who had walked in after Nicklaus, called out and we glanced in her direction.
“Aye, my girl is here. See you guys later.” Bruce said before walking towards the brown-skinned girl, whose body was damn curvy and hot, that I couldn’t stop staring at her.
Since it was Saturday, many people were just coming in later, unlike the last time I was here.
“Look who managed to come in today,” Nicklaus’s voice drew back my attention, and I playfully rolled my eyes at him. When I started walking off, he quickly blocked me, causing me to pause in my steps, and his tall frame towered in front of me. “We haven’t seen each other in a year and you’re walking off?” He folded his arms across his chest and pretended to be mad.
I chuckled and tilting my neck to the side I said, “Funny.” I shook my head briefly, “It’s just two days.”
“It is, isn’t it?” He smiled, his intense gaze causing me to lower my eyes down to his lips, but that was a bad idea, which caused me to swallow a lump.
“And I’m done working out,” I muttered.
Did he look this good every morning, and was his gaze always this intense? For someone who was here to work out, he smelt so very nice. My gaze quickly darted down to his ‘Adam’s apple,’ which was also not a good idea, because when did Adam’s apple become an attractive part of a male’s anatomy? I pushed my gaze down his chest, and at this point, I gave up. It must be because I hadn’t seen him in a long time. No, in two days.
“Are you really done here or you don’t want to crash into me again?” He smirked. “I mean, this time I will do well to catch you, I promise.”
“I hate you,” I chuckled, and a smug tainted the corner of his lips as his big brown eyes danced between mine.
“You do, don’t you?” He smirked.
I wondered if he even realized how close we were. Nicklaus never seemed to care about that. He never cared about the closeness of our bodies. But each time it happened, my heartbeat rose erratically.
“I really do hate you,” I smiled, shaking my head.
“You’ve been saying that a lot lately, and I’m beginning to think you might mean the opposite of that.” He said, and I rolled my eyes at him again. “You’re cute, Muna.”
“Don’t call me cute,” I placed my hand on his chest to tug him to the side, but Nicklaus took hold of my wrist. Suddenly, I felt a tingling heat at the part he held.
I tried to pull my hand off his grip while taking a few steps back, but that was a bad idea. Because not only did his grip tighten around my wrist, he pulled me close, and my boobs, no, chest, landed below his.
Oh lord. I stopped breathing.
Quickly, he was now the one that pulled away from me. He clamped his large hands on my shoulder and dipped his neck to my level. “Are you okay?”
“You play too much,” I smiled, assuring him I was okay.
Still lowered to my level, he stared me deep in the eyes and asked, “Why are you in such a hurry, Love?”
Not only did my body melt under his gaze, but also because I just heard him call me that again. I was beginning to hate the effect everything Nicklaus did had on me, and I hated that he didn’t even notice.
“People do leave the gym after working out, Nicklaus,” I said, surprised I was still able to hold on to his gaze. I might look okay and normal on the outside but on the inside, my feelings were like a riot, battling on which one of them was on his side. It was beginning to feel like they loved him more than they did love me
He pulled his hand off my shoulder and shoving it into his pants pocket, he stood straight up. Thank goodness. “I just got here.”
“And you expect me to stay just because of that?”
“Well?” He shrugged but didn’t say anything again, rather he glanced around the gym and back to me. “Will you hang out with me today? Let’s do something fun, I missed you.”
I snapped my gaze up to him. Why did he say that so smoothly like it was normal? No, it was normal to miss someone. But with Nicklaus, nothing seemed normal anymore. Well, I decided to act like I didn’t hear the last part.
“Nicklaus,” I took a step closer to him. “Are you asking me out on a date?” I teased, but only that a part of me wanted him to say yes. So maybe it wasn’t a tease. When a smug took over his face, I regretted saying that immediately.
He narrowed his eyes at me like he was giving it a thought, “A date huh?”
I wanted to laugh it off, and say it was a joke but before I could do that, a sudden heavy sound exploded in the air, and grabbed everyone’s attention to two hefty-looking men, laughing at the commotion they had caused. It looked like there was an accident with their weightlifting. I never understood why they lift that excessive weight, only to look like Hulks at the end of the day. Hulk isn’t even attractive, but each to their own anyway.
I turned back to Nicklaus, who at the same time met my gaze. “I’m out of here,” I didn’t want us to go back to the previous topic.
“What did you say about–”
“I will think about it.”
“I will text you after my workout.”
“You should do that,” I said, walking off but after walking a few more steps away, I heard Nicklaus call out my name again. I paused and turned to him.
He stood there with a smile on his face and hadn’t moved a step away from where he was standing, he pointed to his head, “You’ve got a new one now.” He said, referring to my hairstyle, and a smile crept up to my lips. He noticed. “It’s beautiful.” He said, smiling and my cheeks burned so hot, while my lips curved in a smile.
“Thank you,” I said, touching the strands of the knot-less braids I got two days ago.
When he gestured with his hand for me to leave, I turned and left the gym house, still smiling.
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