Sequoia Valley: Risk (Free Preview)

19

Jâsim had a flaw. Well, truthfully, he had more than one, but this specific flaw could turn out to be a problem if he didn’t control it around his new wife. She obviously didn’t feel safe enough to realize her personal rights would not be threatened just because he liked being around her and missed her presence when they parted. 

He’d always leaned toward the side of voicing and showing his feelings when he felt them. If he loved someone, he said it; if he missed someone, he told them; and if he felt like hugging someone, he did, provided it was Islâmically acceptable to do so. Obviously, he couldn’t hug just anyone. 

 So when he’d wanted to hug Yâsmeenah goodbye, he’d asked, and when he’d felt bereft at the idea of being apart, he’d told her he’d miss her. He’d only meant to show his fondness for her, not frighten her. He wanted her to feel valued and appreciated in his company, regardless of how little she probably felt for him. 

His intentions had backfired on him. Instead of feeling appreciated and valued as he’d hoped, she’d become frightened, assuming something he’d never intended. He’d known clearly from the beginning that he could not pursue the physical side of marriage for a while; not until she learned to trust him, became comfortable with him, and showed she was inclined to it. If he’d been patient for fourteen years—since the time he’d started feeling attracted to the opposite gender at the age of twelve—he could certainly be patient with his wife. He would prove to her that she was safe with him; that their marriage could be a happy one; and that not every man took what he wanted without consideration. 

Despite that unexpected bump in the road and the feeling he may have shown too much too soon, he was relieved they’d parted ways on a good note. She’d hugged him again without any suggestion on his part. So far she wasn’t inclined to any kind of romantic relationship with him, but she wasn’t repulsed by him either. It gave him hope for the future. 

From the moment he watched her go into the building, he mentally started the countdown for when he’d see her again. He knew he was already becoming overly attached to someone who had no feelings for him, but he’d always been a risk-taker. Risking having his heart crushed if she turned out to never be able to return the feelings already growing within his open heart was something new though. 

Before pulling away and driving off, he pulled out his phone, unlocked it, and opened her message window to send her a text. Noting she was still under her original name, he went to his contacts and changed her name to Meena. 

Then he went back to the message window and sent her his text. 

Jâsim:

Message me when you’re inside

Though he needed to leave, he could not in good conscience leave until he was sure she’d safely entered the apartment. As far as he knew, her ex-boyfriend was safely locked away awaiting trial, but one never knew what kind of friends that kind of character had and what they might do for their imprisoned buddy. That was one kind of risk Jâsim would not take. 

Her message came in moments later. 

Meena:

I’m inside

He smiled and typed a reply. 

Jâsim:

Good

Lock up

I’ll contact you later

Once she’d replied with an affirmative, he dropped the phone into his cupholder and drove away. 

For the next twenty-four hours, after arriving to work and clocking in, when he wasn’t invaded with patients or paperwork, he thought of ideas for activities they could do when he was finally off. Additionally, whenever the opportunity presented itself, he sent her messages that his mother might have considered borderline harassment.