Muna
As a middle-aged woman hurried towards the elevator, calling out for us to hold on, I leaned my head against its wall and closed my eyes.
Moments later, she rushed in breathlessly, and chanted a quick "thank you, guys." And a man in here acknowledged her just as the elevator started moving.
We ended up spending the rest of the day with Andrew and his boyfriend, which wasn't bad anyway. Seeing Andrew in love was refreshing, it reminded me of when I first met Carl, we were crazy in love too or at least I was, until Carl decided to mess it up.
My eyes remained closed as the first person exited the elevator and when we started moving up again, I felt Nicklaus' hand brush against mine. Opening my eyes, I looked up at him towering above me, and our gazes met with his expression blank.
We left the restaurant shortly after he came to find me in the restroom, and thank God I was already out because he looked like he was ready to burst into the female restroom.
Meanwhile, I was in there the whole time talking to a girl who was cheated on by her boyfriend. I knew what it felt like to be in a situation like that. So when the random girl, sobbing in the restroom, decided to open up to me after I asked if everything was okay. I listened and gave her a comforting hug with some reassuring words. She needed to know that it was going to be okay.
"You tired?" Nicklaus whisper-asked.
Our ride back home had been quiet with my mind occupied with lots and lots of things. Nicklaus had almost kissed me, Andrew was in love and a girl had cried in my arms in the restroom after being cheated on.
I shook my head 'no' and offered him a smile. And just as I was about to take my gaze away from him, I felt his fingers intertwined with mine. Time seemed to pause, a chilling effect travelling up my arm.
We hadn't talked about what happened on the skating rink, except for when I rehearsed what our conversation might be like over and over again, in my head.
It was going to be simple, he was going to raise the topic. He had to. And I would say; it's fine, let's forget about it and pretend it didn't happen.
Did I want to forget about it? Hell no. If anything I liked that he wanted to kiss me, I wanted to kiss him too, but the restroom girl had refreshed some memories of mine.
Nicklaus moved his head off the elevator wall. "Still worried about her, eh?" He asked, referring to the restroom girl.
I sighed and shook my head, "She will be fine." I was worried about myself. I needed to protect my heart.
He stared at me for a few seconds and neither did I see it coming, nor did I expect what he did next. He inched his face closer and without warning, he pressed his lips against my forehead, with a tenderness that left my body frozen.
The world outside blurred, and for a heartbeat, the only reality was the warmth of his kiss, healing my heart and erasing whatever it was I was worried about. It felt so good. When his lips parted from my forehead, I blinked and stared up at him.
"Better now?" He asked.
His face was only a few inches away from mine and before I could gather my thoughts and give him a reply, he closed the remaining distance and captured my lips in a kiss that carried the weight of an unspoken desire. A desire that got me moving my body to him, and kissing him back.
But at that moment, the elevator dinged open for another person to leave, and Nicklaus' lips paused against mine, leaving the exchange of the air flowing in and out of us. When the elevator continued in its movement, he continued to kiss me slowly causing goosebumps to engulf me, and a soft moan to escape my lips.
In the hushed space between our kisses, he whispered with a sincerity that echoed in the air, "I've dreamt of this moment, I have wanted to kiss you for a fucking long time, Muna." I hoisted my neck kissing him more, his taste bursting the inside of my body into many emotions.
"And what was holding you back?" I moaned, feeling my nipples harden against my bra skin, and the little human between my legs growl in hunger.
"You-" The elevator dinged, interrupting his words.
Not bothering to finish them, he claimed my lips again, holding my face with both hands like they were the most precious thing on earth. When we were already in motion again, the woman from earlier cleared her throat. She was the only one left in here with us, but I was too far gone to care about who was watching. I didn't know I craved his kiss this much.
Nicklaus paused his lips against mine and I pouted. A ghost of a smile appeared across his lips, "You taste so fucking good." He whispered, and a smile dawned on my face. He was still holding my face like it was an egg, an egg he was scared would crack. "But I think we should wait, love," he said, side-glancing at the woman.
Smiling shyly, I turned away from him, and his hands fell to his sides. I rested my body back on the elevator wall, and when my eyes met the woman's, she gave me a cautious look, the type my mom would give if I was doing something she didn't approve of.
It felt good to kiss Nicklaus. But it also felt good when you kissed Carl. That was all it took for my mind to drift into a world full of doubt.
The first time I kissed Carl was good too. He had promised me all the good things, he said he was so in love with me and promised not to mess it up but then, what happened?
Again, Nicklaus might not want something serious. Of course, he wouldn't, falling in love was a distraction, remember? That hurt even more.
My head was beginning to ache, and as I perched it on the elevator wall, I felt his hand hold mine again.
"I wanna know what's going on in your head right now," He whispered and when my eyes met his, he wasn't smiling anymore.
I hated that those doubts had fully possessed me, but I couldn't help it, and it was not like they weren't valid. I wouldn't want to feel what I felt months ago, ever again. I hated those feelings, they almost ruined me. It wasn't something I wanted to get used to.
Nicklaus nudged my arm, calling my attention back to him. "Talk to me, Love."
After a few seconds of staring at him, I muffled out. "You?" And a corner of his lips quivered in a small smile. "Us," I shrugged. "The kiss. You know, I- I think it's a..." I paused, and his face fell into a slight frown. "I think it's-"
"A mistake?" He raised his brows, and I gulped.
Yes, but I couldn't say it out loud. I didn't want to admit kissing him was a mistake because it wasn't. I wanted it just as much as he wanted it, and I was feeling stupid right now. So I decided to just be silent and only stare at him.
Nicklaus sighed, shifting his gaze away from me. His expression was hard to read, I could not figure out if he was getting angry, and there was no trace of anything on his face. He tilted his neck and looking at me, he said, "Muna, Kissing you would never be a-" The elevator dinged open, and we waited for the woman, who seemed to have forgotten it was her floor for a second, to leave.
Finally, We were left alone in here and for some reason, my heart was beginning to pound a little faster. I was becoming anxious, but over what exactly?
I heard Nicklaus heave a sigh and when I looked at him, he immediately held my gaze, his eyes had grown intense and he moved, halting right in front of me. He took my left hand in his right one, and I glanced down at our hands.
I was planning to avoid his gaze because there was something about it, something that had me melting, something that always had me craving him. But when he placed his free hand under my chin and tipped my face up, I had no other option.
"Look at me." He deep-toned, and my gaze slipped into his heated one. I bit on my inner cheek, breathing softly. "Muna," he called out to me and I blinked. "I had been wanting to kiss you since the first day at Julia's." He drawled deeply. "The day you told me to shut up and listen to you. When you said that, Love, I--"
That was it. I couldn't take it anymore. I tiptoed and placed my lips on his, and he didn't let go.
This time we were kissing ferociously, it was as though we had both been starving. Hell, we were and when Nicklaus grabbed my waist and pulled my hips against his, I let out a soft moan while my right hand travelled to his chest.
I grabbed the soft material of his brown T-shirt. I was already panting for air but I wasn't ready to stop yet. Nicklaus tasted so fucking good, so good that when the elevator door dinged open for me to leave, there was a little spark of sadness in me.
Since Nicklaus seemed carried away and not ready to stop, I paused and slightly pulled my lips away from his. My eyes were still closed but when I tried to let go of his T-shirt, his hand held onto my wrist, stopping me.
I slowly opened my eyes, and my gaze met him, "It's my floor?" I said or asked.
"What about we both exit at mine?" His voice was low and deep.
"Huh?" I blinked. It wasn't like I hadn't been to his apartment, it was just that the invite was abrupt. I wasn't expecting that. "Uhm..."
"It's okay if you don't-"
"No... no, it's fine."
It was fine, we could kiss all night, maybe have sex or talk like we used to. I don't know but it was not like we hadn't hung out together alone before.
He jammed his finger on a button attached to the elevator and perked my lips, he kissed the top of my nose and then, my forehead. His eyes smiled like a boy in love, but I couldn't say if he was.
Maybe he was just excited that we were taking our friendship to the next level. The 'Friends with benefits' level. Oh lord, what was I doing?
One floor later, the elevator opened for us to exit, and Nicklaus held onto my hand as we walked towards his apartment. He glanced down at me still smiling, and I smiled too. At least I did, until my eyes fell on the dark-haired girl standing in front of his door, staring at us. Surprise was written all over her face, while the smile on mine slowly dwindled.
It wasn't long before Nicklaus noticed her too, "Ash?" He called out to her as we halted in front of her.
Finally, there was a face to the name. She was also the girl from the club.
"Nick," She said and then shifted her gaze to me. "I didn't know-"
"What are you doing here, are you okay?"
"I- I was just- uhm... I had a little too much to drink tonight and..." Her gaze fell on our hands, "I kind of told the taxi to bring me here."
I slid my hand away from Nicklaus's, and that drew his attention to me. "I should go..." I shrugged. "Maybe later?"
A light frown flashed across his face, "No?"
"I can come back when you are done taking care of your friend, "I glanced at her and back to Nicklaus, I said, "Just give me a call." I tried to smile, hoping the real emotion I was feeling inside was being properly hidden.
I was sad but if Nicklaus' friend needed him, I knew to take a step back. Even though I was a little bit jealous, I understood that she was there because she trusted him.
Nicklaus stared at me for a passing seconds before he reluctantly pulled his gaze away from me, and when I turned to leave, Ashley's voice came up.
"Wait," she said and I paused.
"You're Muna, right?" She asked.
I smiled or pretended to smile, I didn't know exactly which one. I wondered how she knew my name. "Yes-"
She inched closer to me. "Nice to meet you. I'm Ashley, Nicklaus's friend and oh, we also used to be in a relationship, even though-"
"Ashley," Nicklaus called.
Meanwhile, I had to keep my eyes from widening. They were together? Like a love relationship? She wasn't just his friend but his ex? Nicklaus never mentioned that.
There was a sudden feeling growing inside of me, it felt like jealousy. I didn't like what I just heard. I was about to take a glance at him, when Ashley's voice came up again, taking my attention.
"Even though we decided to go back to being friends, our parents-"
"Ashley stop," Nicklaus said in a stern voice and we both glanced in his direction. He held her arm. "Come on, I will take you home."
"Can I at least get a glass of water?" She pouted at him and he sighed.
"I will leave now," before the words left my lips, I was already halfway away from them.
I tried not to think about what I just heard but the more I tried not to, the more I did. Ashley wasn't just a friend but also an ex, and what did she want to say about their parents?
I didn't know how to feel about this, but I sure wasn't feeling good at the moment.
I was about to press the elevator button when my phone started ringing in my purse, and I scrambled it out. Just that it wasn't my phone, it was Nicklaus' and I remembered picking it up from the table at the restaurant and had unintentionally put it in my purse while in the car.
I glanced behind and they were no longer there. I needed to give it back, so I hurriedly walked back to his apartment and upon noticing the door wasn't locked yet, I opened it without knocking or thinking.
He would be fetching a glass of water, and all I would have to do was hand him his phone. Well, that was what I thought until I slid open the door and walked in on Nicklaus standing not far away from the door kissing Ashley. Yes, their lips were locked together. And at the sight of that, my heart sank to my stomach. All the air in me was snatched away. I couldn't breathe anymore. My chest was closing up, it felt like I was suffocating and choking at the same time.
I needed some air but my legs felt heavy to move. Tears stung at the back of my eyes, but I tried as hard not to let it cloud my eyes. I didn't want to cry. Not again.
I had to be strong, at least pretend to be strong. I had to hide this emotion, but it looked like I was failing especially since the phone that was in my hand slipped from my numb fingers, and crashed to the floor.
The sound had alerted them to my direction, and when Nicklaus's eyes connected to mine, the air thickened with an ugly tension, and my heart clenched painfully.
"Muna-?" Before he could push away from Ashley, I was already out of his apartment.
I didn't know how it happened but I was already halfway to my apartment, breathing heavily and my heart, which surprisingly was still functioning, was pounding so hard.
My name which was yelled by Nicklaus fell on deaf ears. It hurt so badly for no damn reason. I couldn't pretend anymore, tears were rolling down my eyes. I was hurting.
Yes, Muna is safe guys! At least for now, lol.
It's going to be a little bit of drama here and there in the coming chapters. Or maybe a big bit! Lol. But Nick and Muna's story is about to take an even more beautiful turn.
Please don't forget to vote guys! And I appreciate every one of you for reading this story. Thank you!