Hamdan
I'm usually a man of my word but Layla, or more like how I feel about her, keeps making me bend and question every rule there is. I said I wasn't stopping by during her training sessions and I truly wasn't going to do it, but I haven't seen her in a long time. I had a visit to Dubai Media last week and she was nowhere to be found, I haven't been able to attend most of the family gatherings and she hasn't been there when I have managed to make it. This is my last chance to see her here at NAS, the Gov Games are this weekend and her team is wrapping up the training today, according to what the gym manager told me. Glancing at the clock in the car, I realize they must be done by now, so I'm kind of keeping my word, I'm just hoping I don't miss her. As we approach the building I see a group of girls on the steps by the entrance and I tell Saeed to slow down the car and stop behind some palm trees that sort of hide us
"Everything okay, sir?" Saeed wonders.
"Yeah." I mumble while trying to peek at the people by the door. "Just trying to see who they are."
One of the girls waves good-bye at the group and starts walking to her car. Now I can see a man with them, I'm almost certain that's her team but Layla is not with them.
"Should we call Jamal?" Saeed suggests.
"No." I reply. "This palm tree is blocking my view, can you see Layla's car over there somewhere?"
Saeed stretches his neck to look. "Yes, I see it, it's parked."
The rest of the group disperses and they start leaving one by one.
"Good." I tell Saeed. "Let's move to our usual spot."
Saeed ends up parking my car next to Layla's and I begin wondering where she is and why she wasn't with the rest. Jamal welcomes us as we make it through the door.
"I wasn't expecting you at this hour, sir." He tells me. "Early workout for today? Should we get the usual equipment ready?"
I shake my head while putting my phone in the pocket of my kandura. "It's okay, Jamal. I'm actually looking for Layla."
He lets out a small laugh. "Miss Roberts? She's in the pantry."
"The pantry? Seriously?" I reply with a smile.
Jamal nods. "She's been paying a few visits ever since she found out we had one."
I hear Saeed chuckle and turn my head to see him. "Can you believe her?"
Saeed shrugs. "Some things never change."
The pantry here is full of candy, cookies and chocolates. It doesn't make much sense but I decided to make one for my friends' children. We spend a lot of time here hanging out, it's not only a place to workout, and since the kids visit very often I like to spoil them with some candy, but now we have an intruder.
"I'll be right back." I tell them.
I head to the back of the first floor, towards the shiny white wall. Most people don't even notice there's a door there, it has a hidden handle and it looks exactly like the rest of the wall but I notice our intruder didn't close it properly so is now very visible. My steps slow down and I can see her looking at the shelves while holding a few chocolates in her hands. It's exactly the same as when we used to sneak into the pantry of the palace to get all sorts of sweets.
I breathe in and slap the door hard with my palm to open it. "Layla!"
She jumps and lets out a high pitched scream, when she realizes it's me, she takes her hands to her back and walks backwards until she hits the wall.
"Yallah, Hamdan! What are you doing here?!" She questions with her mouth full.
"What's in your mouth?" I ask while walking towards her.
Her eyes as big as saucers. "Nothing." She lies barely moving her lips to speak.
"What's in your hands then?"
"Nothing! What are you even doing here?"
I stand right in front of her and cross my arms. "Excuse me? This place is mine."
She discreetly swallows whatever it was in her mouth. "Yeah, but you're never here this early!"
"What's in your hands?" I ask one more time, not letting myself get distracted with how adorable she looks with extra rosy cheeks and hiding sweets.
"I-- uh..." Her eyes looking around. "I wanted some gum!"
I can't suppress my laughter. "Gum, seriously?"
"Yeah!" I smile almost forming on her lips.
"Fine, let me see." I dare.
"No! Why-- Why do you even have all this candy here?"
"It's for the kids, when they are here I ask them if they have been good, if they are getting good grades and if they do then they can get some candy." I explain, relaxing my arms.
"Aw! That's so sweet!"
"Yeah, like the chocolates you're holding."
She puffs and lets her shoulders hang. "Fine, I'm guilty." Moving her hands to the front of her body, she presents me with stolen items. "But Hamdan, I'm so hungry all the time, it's insane! I'm eating twice the food I was eating before and at times I feel like I could eat all the food in the world and still be hungry!"
"Well yeah, you're using all this energy and building muscle, but you should be feeding that hunger with protein, not simple carbs." I take one candy bar and gently hit her head with it.
"Hey!" She complains, rubbing her forehead.
I go to open one of the cabinets to retrieve a bag and hand it over to her. "Here, you can take all you want."
She takes the bag and stares at the blue F3 logo engraved in it. "Really, Hamdan? Do you think there's any other royal out there with their own brand?"
"I wouldn't mind being the first." I admit.
She looks at me and tilts her head. "You're too much."
"Good, I'd rather be too much than too little." Taking her hand, I guide her back in front of the candy one more time and stand next to her. "So? What are you taking?" I spot my favorite dark chocolate and take a bar to drop in her bag. "This one is really good."
She puts the candy she had already taken in the bag as well and happily starts taking a whole bunch of different ones until she finally gets a hold of some coconut cookies and opens the package to eat them as if she was starving, closing her eyes she makes it seem like those are the best cookies she ever had. There's still something so carefree about her, even now that she's older and has an important desk job, she still manages to hold to this part of her that the rest of us seem to lose as we grow up, the capability of amazement of seemingly simple everyday stuff, like a piece of candy.
"These are the best cookies I ever had." She tells me.
I smirk and remove some crumbs from the corner of her mouth with my thumb, and there it is, that same old electric feeling I get whenever my skin comes in contact with hers. She stays still, staring at me while my hand lingers there, barely touching her face. Not leaving my trance, I lean in closer and let my lips fall down on hers. I can feel her fingers on the back of my head as our lips press against each other, but too soon she breaks away and looks down at the floor. I don't attempt anything else and my mouth moves up to her temple where I kiss her there one more time.
Layla takes a step back and fixes her hair behind her ear. "Good luck at the games." She tells me.
"Good luck to you too." I reply.
Her smile is her way of saying good-bye before she heads for the door. I follow her with my sight and she stops abruptly and turns around.
"Thanks for the candy!" She beams with bright eyes and spins back around to continue her way.
---
Both our teams made it to the finals. Now, it's six male teams and six female teams and as usual, ladies go first. So I have the chance to watch her perform one more time. I was pleasantly surprised watching her yesterday during the eliminatory heats, she has always been competitive but physical activities are not her forte, this is a whole new side of her. She was jumping and running and screaming and rooting for her teammates, she was strong and determined and I could not be prouder.
I jump on the buggy car with Uncle Saeed and follow the competition on the side of the course, doing my best to not be that obvious that I'm here for Layla. As I drive through the sand I see them make it through the first obstacle, she comes out of the lane soaking wet and her team prepares for the human ladder where they're supposed to climb a very tall and slippery inclined wall. Their strategy is quite good; the strongest girls get down on all fours, another girl kneels down on their back and it is Layla's turn to climb up. A couple of teams are ahead of them and if they don't hurry up I'll have to keep driving and miss the action. Layla finally stands on the shoulders of her teammate and the girls at the bottom slowly begin to stand up to bring the whole pyramid higher. Layla stretches her arms as far as she can, her fingers almost at the edge where she could get a hold to bring herself up and onto the platform on the other side of the wall.
Come on, you've got this.
Finally, her hands clasp on the edge and she yells at her team, her feet leave her teammate's shoulders and this same girl offers her hands for support and to bring Layla even higher. She makes it to the other side and immediately leans down to help the rest of the team up. I keep driving and miss the rest of how her team does in that obstacle and try to pay attention to how other teams are doing. The Dubai Airports team and the Ministry of Education team are ahead of them but they are just as strong and fast, I can actually see Layla's team winning this whole thing.
The two leading teams swiftly go through the Wipeout obstacle and Layla's team is struggling in the middle of the obstacle, but after this one comes a puzzle challenge and it could be a game changer because Layla is an expert in puzzles, she always beats everyone else in this sort of games. The leading teams are stuck in the puzzle, turning the big wooden geometrical shapes around to try to make them fit into place. The crowd cheers at the participants and the electronic music playing brings another level of energy to the environment. Layla's team catches up and they all begin taking pieces of the puzzle in a very disorganized manner, they need to fix that or they won't make it. Suddenly, Layla stands up and yells at them, asking them to stop with a hand motion. That's my girl doing exactly what needs to be done. The rest of the team gives Layla some space and begin laying out the pieces on the sand so she can look at all of them before she starts assembling them. I can almost see the gears spinning around in her head while she takes the pieces one by one.
You can do it, habibti.
The Dubai Airports team finishes the puzzle and they move on to the next obstacle, Layla's speed keeps increasing and each piece starts falling into place, the rest of her team come closer and closer with excitement and the referee watches over them. Layla raises her arms and the referee tells them they can continue.
The P. A. announcer requests for all male teams to report at the start line to begin warming up and check for attendance. I don't want to leave her but I have a commitment to my own team, not to mention that everyone's eyes are on me. Making a U-turn, I stop right next to Saeed Hilal's buggy that was following me closely.
"Let me know how they do!" I request.
Saeed nods his reply and we both drive away in opposite directions. I meet my team at the start line and I gather them for a little pep talk. One of the referees calls our team and we report to him to start warming up. I'm still holding to my phone, waiting for Saeed's call so I pick up the second I feel it vibrate.
"Yes?" I yell over the noise, covering my free ear with my hand.
"Second place, sir! They finished second!" Saeed calls from the other side of the line.
"Thank you, Saeed!" I hang up and hand my phone over to Uncle Saeed.
Second place, that's amazing considering they were in fifth place for the eliminatory heats. It was definitely a team effort, but I think that Layla made the difference at the puzzle obstacle. The male teams are pumped and ready to go and when I glance up I see the female teams walking back on the side of the course. And there she is, smiling and looking proud, another teammate has her arm around Layla and they all look excited and happy. The chances of her hearing me are slim, but I have to try.
"Layla!" I yell.
She looks up right away and her smile widens when she sees me. With a red face, soaking wet and with sand all over her body, she comes running towards me. I extend my arms and she hugs me with a steel barrier standing between us.
"I saw you, you did awesome!" I say to her ear.
She pulls apart grinning. "Can you believe it? We finished second! I didn't even think we would make it to the finals!"
I simply adore seeing her like this; with joy exploding out of every pore she has, and if that is not love then I don't know what is.
"Do you think your team could beat us, Sheikh?" She tells me.
I raise both eyebrows. "Are you challenging me? You know I can't say no to a challenge."
She does a one shoulder shrug. "I'm just wondering if you could do better than us."
"That would mean first place." I point out.
She nods.
I take a deep breath. "Well, we'll see."
---
Coming Home is almost at 10k reads and I'm like... whaaaat? When did this happen?! Thank you so much, you guys! Even those silent readers, I see you and I love that you're here.
So, we're basically halfway through the story and I would like to give you a little heads up: a wedding is not going to be the end of this story, can you guess what's going to happen?
Stay tuned!
XOXO,
Sophie.