You lift my heart up
When the rest of me is down
You, you enchant me, even when you're not around
If there are boundaries, I will try to knock them down
I'm latching on, babe
Now I know what I have found
---
Sarah was lying in an oversized lounge chair at the aft beach club with earbuds on as the sun was setting. Hamdan had been coming and going all day between her and the office, answering work phone calls and she took the chance to get a tan.
"I'm sorry." He apologized sitting next to her in swim trunks. "The Government Summit is this next weekend and—"
She sat up and took the earbuds off. "Hamdan, if you have work to do, we could go back."
"No. We won't. I just turned off my phones."
She angled her head. "Can you do that? What if something important comes up?"
"Nothing is more important right now," he said, brushing away the hair that the wind was blowing on her face.
Her cheeks felt warm with blush.
"Do you feel like taking a dip into the ocean?" He asked.
"Uh..."
Before she could say anything else, Hamdan stood up, walked to the edge and dived into the deep blue water.
"Get in here, Anderson!" He ordered with only his head out of the water.
He was so handsome and he was finally done with his work stuff, Hamdan was going to be all hers for the rest of the day, she could not say no to him.
"Fine," Sarah rose to her feet. "But I can't be all cool like you and dive in," she admitted, sitting by the edge of the yacht and getting her legs in first.
The water felt particularly cold, given she had been tanning for at least an hour and her breathing was cut short when she was finally in the water all the way up to her neck.
Hamdan swam closer and took her hand, pulling her away from the safety of The Smeralda. He placed her hand on his shoulder and held her by the waist.
"It's not that bad, is it?" He comforted her.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing herself closer. "I guess not."
"Sarah?"
"Yes," she replied, losing herself into his stare.
"Hold your breath!" He warned, hugging her tight at the same time and pulled both of them down into the water.
She could barely catch a breath before her face was submerged into the ocean and she hugged Hamdan back, never before feeling so scared of letting go.
He brought them back to the surface.
"Stop it!" She called, drying the water from her eyes.
"Stop what? This?"
He pulled them back down one more time, deeper, and Sarah not only wrapped her arms around him, but her legs too. She let some air out through her nose and felt him swimming back up.
That time, she remained in place, with eyes closed and holding onto Hamdan with everything she could, trying to get herself ready for another dip.
"Are you okay?" He asked, laughing.
"Yes, but you're the worst."
"I'm going to keep doing it if that makes you hold onto me like this."
Sarah opened her eyes and untangled herself from him, wondering if she was being too much.
A smile played on Hamdan's lips when they were back face to face. "Are you ready for tonight?"
She narrowed her eyebrows. "What's tonight?"
"The Smeralda Gala Dinner," he stated casually, as if it was something she should know about.
"What?"
"You didn't get the memo?"
He must've found her confused face amusing as he laughed and planted a kiss on her lips.
"There's something waiting for you in your room," he relaxed his body and started to float on his back. "You think you'll be ready by 8?"
Sarah swam back to the yacht as fast as she could. "What about you?" She asked, once she was standing on the beach club.
"It takes me 10 minutes to get ready." He answered from the water.
She turned around, wrapped a towel around her body and ran to the owner's apartment. Slowly opening the door, she peeked inside and saw a black gown laying on the bed.
It was a mermaid dress, with a bateau neckline and a red flower made out of crystal gemstones on the right shoulder. She was in awe as she ran her fingers through the soft silky fabric. A small black box next to the dress caught her attention. She held it in her hands and sat on the edge of the bed. Her hand went to her mouth when she opened it and saw a pair of ruby stud earrings. The deep red precious stone was encircled by small white diamonds. Given her lifestyle and line of work, it had been ages since she last put on a gown and the idea of dressing up for dinner with Hamdan sent her excitement through the roof. She jumped off the bed, put the box back in place and danced her way to the bathroom while singing Coldplay's Adventure of a Lifetime, the song she was listening to before getting in the water with him.
Sarah inspected her look in the mirror after she put the dress on. The glow on her tanned skin made her pass on the foundation and she only applied pink blush, mascara and red lipstick to her face. Putting the last touches on the loose updo she managed to pull off, she thought about how silly her nervousness was. They had been together all day but that dinner felt very special, although everything with Hamdan had a bit of something extraordinary to it.
"Sarah?"
"In the bathroom! Come in!" She invited, putting the earrings on.
Hamdan appeared on the door frame, looking impeccably handsome in a dark suit and black bow tie.
"Are you ready?" He asked.
"Almost," she replied, looking at him in the mirror. "Can you help me?" She requested, pointing at her back with her head.
He stood behind her as he finished zipping up the dress.
"You look amazing," he whispered in her ear.
Sarah's lips curled up. "How did you know my size?" She wondered.
He put his hands on her hips. "Lucky guess," he shrugged, taking his phone out and placing it in front of them.
"Bathroom selfie?" She guessed.
He brought his face next to hers and took a picture.
"Smile!" Sarah asked. "You never smile. I mean, in pics."
"I do!" Hamdan retorted.
"Fine. Take a smiling pic of us right now," Sarah posed in front of the mirror with a big grin on her face. "I want to see teeth!"
Hamdan did all sorts of weird faces but nothing close to a smile. "I can't do it, I feel strange."
Sarah laughed and turned around. "Come on... A little smile for me?" She murmured, rubbing her nose on his neck, closing her eyes for a moment to enjoy the woody scent of his cologne.
"There you go," said Hamdan.
Sarah looked at the picture on his phone. Hamdan had a gorgeous smile in it, protectively posing his arm on her lower back while her hand was taking a hold of his lapel.
"And you can't see my face," she joked. "Is that what it takes for you to smile in a pic?"
"I guess so."
She playfully slapped his arm. "I like it. Send it to me, and the other one too."
"I will. Tomorrow," he replied, turning his phone off again.
His bow tie was a bit crooked and Sarah fixed it for him.
"We're ready." She said when she was done.
Hamdan leaned in and pecked her on the lips.
"Now you have lipstick on," she mumbled, whipping his mouth with her thumb.
He smirked and held her hand. "Let's go."
The dining room had been transformed into an intimate setting of red roses and candles. Instrumental music was playing and the overpowering smell of the flowers made Sarah breathe in when they arrived.
"Where were all these flowers?" She asked in astonishment.
Hamdan pulled her chair. "It's a big boat."
"How? When did you plan all this?"
"That's a secret," he winked, taking a seat in front of her and unbuttoning his jacket. "Do you like it?"
Her shoulders hung. "Are you serious? This, the dress, the earrings, everything is beautiful. Thank you."
They were served a fabulous seafood five course meal and by the time they were finishing dessert Sarah was crying tears of joy as Hamdan shared his stories and mischievous adventures with his nieces and nephews.
"I would love to meet them!" She affirmed, drying her eyes.
"You don't know what you're saying. They're a handful," he said, standing up and offering his hand to Sarah. "Dance with me."
"I was wondering the other day if you danced," she acknowledged, taking his hand.
"Slow dancing it's all I can do," he warned.
"That's all I need."
They danced with their cheeks together and Hamdan cupping her hand on his chest, over his heart.
"Can I ask you something?" He said softly.
"Yes."
"How do you feel about me?"
She tilted her head back to look at him.
Hamdan continued. "It's just that sometimes I feel like I'm running and you're walking and it scares me—"
She could not believe the words coming out of his mouth. "You are scared?" She interrupted.
The dancing had stopped.
"Well yeah," he admitted. "It scares me to think that you don't feel the same way as I do."
Sarah was aware that she was holding back from him, but never imagined he would have doubts about her feelings. To her, actions spoke louder than anything else. Before she started talking, she took a moment to find the right words.
"I know I'm not as vocal as you are about my feelings and I'm sorry if that has made you feel insecure because you shouldn't be," she explained. "Do you know why I ride at your stables?"
He looked sideways. "Why?"
"Because I got lucky," she shrugged. "That's it. I got lucky that I met Salem and that he liked me enough to tell me about the job opening with you guys. I had already given up on the idea that something like that could happen to me and I was fine with it, but I got this amazing opportunity. Do you know when I would get a chance like that again?"
Hamdan understood perfectly how the endurance world worked and of course he knew the answer to the question, but she asked it anyway.
"Never," she responded to his silence. "Now, I'm very American in a lot of ways. I love Texas, I love my family, but Dubai is where my heart is, my whole life is here. There is no other place in the world I'd rather be. And your family, Hamdan, they seem to be very nice people, I'm sure they are but I'm not stupid. I would never want to piss them off and I know I'm not what they want for you," Sarah looked down at the floor briefly and lifted her head back up to continue. "So, all of that, everything that I love, my entire life could be taken away from me with, I'm guessing that with... one phone call? One phone call from the right person and I would lose everything with a deportation, without a chance of fighting back."
"I would never let—"
She put her hand up to stop him from talking. "It could happen and you know it. Even you could do that, what if you hate me three months from now?"
He chuckled and shook his head. "That's not going to happen."
"You say that now, wait until you really get to know me," she quipped. "But seriously, everything I said is true. And despite all that..." She made sure Hamdan was looking her in the eye, in the hopes that he would see that she was talking from the heart. "Where am I? Here. Who am I with? You. Risking everything I have and then some because that's how much you mean to me," she finished, taking her hand to her chest.
Hamdan stood frozen for a couple of seconds before he scoffed and walked out, taking the railing on the deck into a tight grip. She followed him and stroked his back.
He undid his bow tie and the first button on his shirt. "I'm a jerk."
"Wha— what?"
He turned his body to her. "I didn't see things clearly until now and I'm sorry. I know that's all I've been saying lately," he admitted, holding her hands. "But I'm sorry I pushed you, I'm sorry I keep asking you not to be scared because you have every right to. And what you just said..." He rested her forehead onto hers. "You have no idea how that makes me feel, I— I can't even put it into words," the grip on her hands tightened. "You are the most incredible thing to ever happen to me, Sarah, and I'm not letting you go."
Sarah stroked his cheek, making him look up. Her hand moved to the back of his head and gently pulled him down for a kiss. Their arms wrapped around each other's body out of the urgent need of being as close as possible.
Sarah pulled her head back. "Let's go upstairs," she suggested.
Hamdan interlocked their fingers and without saying anything else, they walked back to the owner's apartment.
He had barely closed the door behind them when Sarah started kissing him again, pushing his jacket off. He finished the job and threw it on the floor to then hold her hips and pull her close. Her arms locked around his neck as they fed on each other and his hands moved up slowly on her back to unzip her dress. Sarah felt the fabric loosen up around her torso and when Hamdan was done with the zipper, he ran his fingers through the opened gap, sending shivers down her spine. She arched her back with a moan that was muffled by the kisses.
Hamdan stepped back and with both hands on her neckline, pulled the dress down unhurriedly and she let her arms to the sides, allowing it to fall down on her body. Sarah took her shoes off, stepped out of the crumbled fabric on the carpet and began taking the pins off her hair, allowing it to fall down on her back. Hamdan waited, ogling at her in the black lace lingerie the entire time. Once she was done, she gave her hair a little shake and he took her by the waist.
"You are the most beautiful sight my eyes have ever seen," he affirmed.
His gaze drifted down to her chest and she felt her legs weaken when he slowly traced a line with his finger from her cleavage to her collarbone pushing her bra strap down, leaving a tingling sensation everywhere he touched. He held her by the nape and his other hand traveled down a little bit further from her lower back as their mouths clasped together. One by one, she started undoing the buttons on his shirt, her hands desperate to feel his warm skin. He groaned the moment her touch landed on his chest and didn't stop kissing her when he let go of her to finish removing his shirt.
"I want you," he said, panting.
Her hands delved into his toned abs. "I want you too," she whispered, out of breath.
Hamdan's dark eyes sparked with need and he scooped her up to carry her to the middle of the bed. Crawling on top of her, he planted gentle kisses on her neck, chin, jaw and finally her lips again. He moved down to the soft spot above her breasts and she stretched her arms over her head as Hamdan's touch and lips kept traveling south, exploring every inch of her skin.
***
So... what do you think about this little update?
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Thanks for the love.
XOXO,
Sophie.