Muna
“Hey,” I smiled as I pushed my body into Nicklaus’ car, and sat on the passenger seat.
“Hey,” he greeted back. “I was thinking you would show up with a camera or something.” He ignited his car engine and a text from Maya beeped into my phone, grabbing my attention.
Nicklaus had texted me after his workout session just like he said. Well, he convinced me to hang out with him, and since I was to meet a fellow YouTuber who wanted us to meet and talk about collaborating. I texted him to come and pick me up at the restaurant after we were done.
“It was just a brunch,” I shrugged. “So where is this place we are going to?” I asked, texting back Maya.
He smiled, “You will find out when we get there.” He drove onto the road. “This is just for fun and recharge,” he said and I hummed, hitting the send button on my phone.
Silence fell in the car, and I was quickly getting bored of it, so I decided to admire the interior of his car. I had been in Nicklaus’s car a couple of times but for the first time, I noticed how black and brown it was in here. My gaze shifted to Nicklaus, who had on a white T-shirt, blue jeans and tennis shoes. I was clad in a loose-fit black jumpsuit. And Just like many other times, I internally debated casual and corporate Nicklaus, which was hotter.
I knew I was making it obvious again when Nicklaus’s throat clearing filled the air. I quickly shifted my gaze back to the road, taking in the city view. The silence grew heavier, and I was getting tired of it. So I spoke up, saying the first thing that came to my mind.
“How much is your car?” I asked as he drove to a stop at the red light.
Nicklaus glanced in my direction, “And that is the first thing you could come up with?” He was smiling while he said that and I rolled my eyes at him, taking my gaze back on the road.
“Why are you good at this?” I asked, and he knew what I meant because his smile turned mischievous. I slightly angled my body to him, “Are you a mind reader or do they teach you guys that in law school?” I asked, and he let out a soft chuckle. “You know my mother wanted me to be a lawyer,” I said, and this time it was my turn to chuckle, only that it wasn’t just a chuckle.
It was a cackle, and that was because the memory of when my mom wanted me to consider going to law school, only because I was good at arguing with people came to my mind.
“You would have made a great lawyer.” I heard Nicklaus say, and I glanced at him, chuckling again.
“Wait, do you also think just because I love to argue, and don’t know how to let things go, I would be a great lawyer?” I asked, in between chuckles.
“You are smart, Muna,” Nicklaus said with his face morphing into a serious expression, and I stopped laughing, and focused my attention ahead of us. “Your confidence is charming and also, you have—”
I cringed, “Okay, I think we should stop now.” I bit the inside of my mouth, tilting my neck and itching the tip of my ear.
The corner of his lips pointed up in a small smile, and as the red light cleared, he continued to steer his car on the road. “You also don’t like when nice things are said about–.”
I cringed more. “Can we stop now, it makes me uncomfortable.” I gave Nicklaus a tight lip smile, hoping for him to stop. Of course, I didn’t like being praised, he didn’t need to spell it out.
“Okay,” he nodded and as the atmosphere grew silent again, I went back to admiring his car.
And after a few seconds of silence, I said. “You know I would have listened to my mother, it seems like lawyers make good money anyway.”
Nicklaus threw a glance my way, “You don’t make a lot of money in the first few years, and the car was a gift from my grandpa.”
“Oh wow,” I glanced at him, “You must be his favourite.”
“Well, I am but,” he said, stretching the ‘but’ and I turned to him, anticipating what he would say next. “I’m also his only grandchild from his only child.” He shrugged, saying, “You see, he doesn’t have many options.” A soft chuckle escaped him like he was laughing at his grandpa.
I was smiling when I said, “I can see that.”
“You’re an only child too, you should know how this thing works.”
“Well, I might be an only child, but I am not the only grand— wait.” I turned to Nicklaus again. “How do you know that?” I asked. I was sure I never told him that before.
Nicklaus glanced at his side mirror and did a turn on the road saying, “From one of your videos.”
“I haven’t said that in any–”
“It’s an old one from when you were in high school,” he turned to me, smirking.
Embarrassed, I covered my face with my hands, “Why would you watch that? They are old videos, Nicklaus. Old videos. Why would you go that deep?” I placed my head on the headrest. “I looked weird when I was younger.” My first YouTube videos were cringe.
“No, you didn’t,” Nicklaus chuckled. “You’ve always been beautiful, Muna. And I told you, I love watching you.” He said, and maybe it was the way he said that nonchalantly, or the tone he said that in. But it stuck something awake in my heart, making it flutter. I had come a long way to believing I was pretty and growing some self-confidence, but Nicklaus saying it made me feel even more beautiful.
I stared at him for a few seconds before shifting my gaze back to the road, and when my eyes fell on the building ahead of us, I turned to him again.
“This is it? This is what we’re doing for fun?” I glanced at Nicklaus, smiling widely and he nodded at me, smiling.
Oh my gosh, I was so excited.
__________
I rolled my skating shoes from side to side, in sync with the not-so-slow hip-hop beat playing in the background. Steadying my weight and posture, I smiled at Nicklaus, who was right beside me. I missed skating.
I slightly bent my back balancing my weight once again, preparing myself to go wild. One thing was sure, I was going to go wild on a pair of skating shoes, I always had to show off because I was good at it.
Again, I glanced at Nicklaus and he lowered his phone, which he was holding up in front of him.
He said, “I know you’re going to love it.” He rolled his skating shoes on the smooth rink and was now facing me.
“How do you know that?” I asked, gliding towards him.
“I told you, Muna. I love watching you,” he winked.
I didn’t know if it was the way those words rolled off his tongue, or the wink he threw at me that caused the shaking of my heart, because this time it wasn’t a flutter anymore. I felt my heart shake.
It didn’t end in my heart, since I lost a little balance. But before I could fall on my face, I regained my posture almost immediately. One of the perks of being a good skater was being able to manage my weight, and motion on these wheels.
“Give me your hand.” He said, moving closer to me.
Before I could say a word, Nicklaus grabbed my hand and we rolled off, moving in sync with the music playing in the background.
If only the inside of me was as smooth as the rink, a lot was happening inside of me, and there was also a spark of electricity travelling up the arm of my hand, which Nicklaus was holding in his large one. No matter how much I tried to convince myself that the excitement I felt was only because I was skating again, I knew it was a lie. Skating had never given me goosebumps before. Thanks to the noise from the other many skaters, I had something to distract me from time to time.
I and Nicklaus continued gliding around, and after some minutes, we were no longer holding hands. I was already showing off my moves, while Nicklaus watched me, looking delighted. I was moving my body to the beat, grinning happily. I was showing off just like I always did, and Nicklaus was holding his phone in front of him, filming me with a smile on his face.
“You’re good at this,” Nicklaus said, slowing down, but I didn’t notice sooner.
“You too–” Before I could finish the last word, I bumped into him, and he fell to the floor with me landing on top of him.
It was just like the first time we met, except that this time our faces were on the same level, and Nicklaus’s arm was holding tightly around my waist. His breath fanned my face, while my eyes remained tightly closed. I was scared he might have gotten hurt, or maybe he would react like he did the first time it happened.
As I held my breath somewhere in my throat, my heart was beating frantically behind my ribcage. My brain was searching for words to say to him when I heard him speak up.
Unlike the first time, his tone was warm. “Did you hurt yourself?” He asked, and I shook my head ‘no.’ I’d swear I heard some humour in his tone. “And you’re okay?”
I nodded with my eyes still tightly shut. “Are you?” I asked.
He breathed out a chuckle, “Muna open your eyes,” he said, and the skin covering my eyes quivered at his tone.
“This is embarrassing,” I said, chuckling nervously. “I’m so sorry, Nicklaus.”
“It’s fine, Muna. Now open your damn eyes,” he said, and slowly I parted my eyelids but what my eyes settled into had me melting like a puddle in his arm.
It was like a deep ocean but brown, and It felt like I was drenched In fire instead of water, lighting my body in flames. The intensity of Nicklaus’s brown eyes was out of this world. His eyes were not only intensely staring into mine, but our faces were dangerously close. It was so dangerous that I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t let out another breath at the sight of this man. My body was giving up. All the joints of my body were getting weak, and they were succumbing under the hold of him.
“Muna,” he said softly and I swallowed, blinking repeatedly. “I will always be here whenever your clumsy ass trips and falls,” he said, and that was a flash of light smile on his face, which quickly faded away. He gazed deeply into my eyes, “Whenever you trip and fall, I’ll be here to catch you. It’s a promise.”
I swallowed a lump and smiled, shaking my head. “No, I will try to get a hold of my clumsy ass,” I chuckled, nervously. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
He laughed, the sound delightfully invading my ears. “You’re not gonna hurt me, Muna.”
His chuckle morphed into a smile, and my heart was beating erratically at his words, my heart was beating for a man I was supposed to be just friends with. If I remember correctly, he said he wanted no distraction, but he was the one distracting me always. Each time his thoughts invaded my mind, I was always distracted.
And what was the meaning behind his words? Was that his heart beating against mine? It could be my ears, I wasn’t sure and making assumptions only hurt.
But then, with the way his heated brown orbs were staring into mine, it was as if they were saying ‘You’re the biggest distraction in my life right now but I don’t mind.’
Some skaters were already frowning at us, while some were making comments that we get out of the way. Some were asking if we needed a room. It was time I got off him.
I muttered under my breath, “Nicklaus.” I hated how weak I sounded. I tried to move my body but his arm around me grew tighter.
What was with him? He was looking at me differently, a noticeably different way.
His expression was so serious that there were traces of a frown between his brows. But unlike his brows, his eyes were hungry, and he looked like he was seeing me differently for the first time. Or maybe this wasn’t the first time, maybe this was my first time noticing him look at me this way.
“Muna,” my name rolled out of his tongue, calmly and hot. There was something about the way he said it right now, it sent chills all through my body. Including between my legs since I felt a signal down there.
I wanted to answer him but my throat was as dry as hot desert land, and my brain seemed to have stopped working. I couldn’t even think of any response, and I was left with no option but to hold his gaze. But it wasn’t long before I began to struggle to hold his damn gaze, and when I tried to direct my eyes somewhere else, a word that sounded like an order but at the same time sexy filled my ears.
“Muna, look at me.” I swallowed, focusing my gaze on him and his eyes which quickly ran the length of my face, lingered on my lips.
He brought his free hand close to my face, and what he did next almost had my body trembling. In a good way. It wasn’t because Nicklaus tucked some strands of my braids behind my ear. It was because his hand brushed against my ear, sending an electrifying sensation down my neck, and all through my body.
He knew what he was doing! He knew for sure, because what he said next almost threw my heart into a cardiac arrest. A good cardiac arrest if there was anything like that.
“I wanna kiss you right now,” the words muffled out of his mouth and sent shivers down my spine.
“O– Okay,” I stuttered calmly.
Did I just say that? Did I just swiftly accept for Nicklaus to kiss me like it was our normal routine? His face was moving closer to mine and my eyelids surrendered to the riot going on inside of me, shutting close. I wanted him to kiss me right now. I had always wanted to kiss him.
“Muna?” It sounded like Andrew, but there was no way it would be him.
But why was the kiss not coming?
“Nicklaus?”
Wait, was that really Andrew or was I hearing things?
“What the fuck are you guys doing here?” Andrew’s voice yelled again, shooting me back to reality. When I opened my eyes, I pulled off Nicklaus’ body with the speed of light, almost falling to the ground. But Nicklaus was fast to help me and when we both stood on our feet, we turned in Andrew’s direction.
Andrew was here and he wasn’t alone.
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