Less Than Perfect

{18} Warm Fuzzies

Tanwir Sarker

"Do you mind if I change out of these?" I asked Kanza as she moved some of her stuff around. At the sound of my voice, she jumped, staring at me with wide eyes. "I meant in another room."

A small pink tint flushed her cheeks like cherry blossoms. "O-Of course!" she laughed nervously, stepping aside. "Just down the hall."

This is strange. She's fidgeting. 

I tilted my head at her, visibly confused. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. This is fine. We're good." She cringed at herself the second she stopped talking. "I should let you get changed. Don't mind me."

"Kanza."

She turned on her heel, busying herself with idle tasks and brushing nonexistent dust away from the couch. 

Realizing that this was her method to ignore me, I reached for her wrist, gripping it tightly in my hand. "What's gotten into you?" I questioned, a little annoyed at being ignored by my wife. "If I'm doing something that makes you uncomfortable, I'd rather you tell me."

Kanza raised a brow. "Uncomfortable?" 

"Well, yeah," I sighed. "Isn't that why you're ignoring me?"

Her soft laughter filled the room, pulling at my heartstrings with such a force that my hold on her loosened, and I fell hypnotized by the effortless sound. It was soft, full of the vibrant light she ignited whenever she stepped into a room. 

I was lost in it, lost in the way her crescent eyes illuminated like the moon on a dark night. A few months ago, we were strangers, our only connection was through Amira. And now, I found myself smiling to the ease she brought with only her laughter. 

Kanza recomposed herself. "I'm not uncomfortable," she said, shaking her head as if it was a foolish thought. "I'm nervous because I like you." 

This time, I was the one feeling flushed and embarrassed. 

I released her wrist quickly, turning away with my regular clothes in hand. Maybe this suit was tighter than I expected it to be. My face felt hot as if it was burning, but I pushed the thought away. 

I like you. 

Why did her voice ring in my ears? Why did those words replay in my mind? The more I thought about it, the more I yearned to hear it again. Even after all Kanza went through with her lost love and Dayyan, she still had love to give. 

The light did not dim from her eyes, and I could only hope to keep it alive. Like the phases of a moon, life changed in cycles. We experienced heartbreak and love together. Broken hearts would be mended with sweet words, and the pain dulled over time. 

I know mine did. 

* * * *

When I walked out of the bedroom in a white tee and black joggers, I found Kanza sitting on her couch with her legs crossed and a bowl of popcorn sitting on the coffee table. She was dressed in a pale blue pajama set, long-sleeved with a happy polar bear on the front. The bottoms hugged her thighs as it flowed down her legs, prints of tiny, white clouds scattered across the soft fabric. 

My eyes trailed to her smiling face, curly locks of brown pulled to a side braid. Her hair was as crazy as her personality, untamed with a life of its own, yet so full of energy that it bounced off her in radiating waves. The braid was plaited below her bust, not too short or too long. 

"You look comfy," I mused, taking a seat next to her. "I thought you would make a bigger deal about the whole 'revealing your hair' thing."

She narrowed her eyes at me, lips pursued. "Like I would be the one to make a show out of my bird nest hair," she said sarcastically as she tugged at a loose strand. "It can't even stay in a braid."