Never Kiss Your Best Friend

Chapter 8

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Aisha's POV

"What is bothering you?" I asked Nicholas, cleaning the centre table in the kitchen as I looked at him. He was quiet today and barely spoke a full sentence to me, unlike his usual self.

It's been a week since I met Reine, and Aaron asked me for help. Though I was not much of a help to him with whatever documents he had been preparing or calculating, I did what I could. I still did not understand the real reason my input would be useful. Why I would be of any help? Tomorrow, he was going to have a meeting with the investors and some government officials.

"Nothing. You do your work and go home."

I nodded, halting the work as I stood straight, folding my arms around my chest. He was leaning against the kitchen counter, scribbling through the notepad, without maintaining eye contact with me. And it was bothering me. Ever since I came here, I had relied on Nicholas as a friend in need, no matter the time or situation.

"I am asking again. What is bothering you? You have barely spoken to me today. I notice you are not even looking at me. What is it?"

He huffed. "Nothing, I just had a petty argument with dad this morning. He wants to open a new branch of this restaurant, and I don't. not yet. Our thoughts clashed and you know how he is."

"That's it?"

"Mhmm. That and the fact that I am dying to know why the fuck Aaron McOwen dropped you this morning. The other day. And the day before that." His face lifted, meeting my gaze with feral anger.

"He is a good friend and my neighbour. We both go to work at the same time, so he gives me a ride. And don't curse him."

He leaned forward and slammed his hands on the table. His eyes looked at me as if he would eat me alive. I stepped back a little; the heart drumming in my chest at the way he was clutching his jaw. "I will fucking curse him. You don't want to be my friend. You want nothing more than an employer-and-employee relationship between us and then you go around and make friends with none other than Aaron fucking McOwen. What about staying private for your entire life and never making friends, ever?"

I sighed, giving him a moment to catch his breath. "You are my first ever friend in this city, and you know it is hard for me to interact with anyone, no matter how much I want to. I can't. He just saw me dancing one night and interacted with me the next morning. We talked and I am helping him with one of his projects now. And you keep that jealousy factor away if you want us to be on talking terms."

I knew he had grown some feelings for me recently, and like a mature girl, I rejected him with careful words to not hurt his feeling. I got fond of his flirting here and there, which was not much. But this was too much for me, too. It made me think I should quit my job.

Nicholas was my friend. A damn loyal one, but that was it. I wanted nothing more, nothing less. But I could not let this jealousy factor come between us and he had to stop that.

"I can feel whatever I want," Nicholas said.

"Nicholas, you-"

"For the billionth time, Aisha, call me Nick."

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and opened them to look at the furious man standing in front of me. "Nick, you must stop feeling this. For me, at least. You cannot hurt yourself for something which is not even present on the other side. You have to understand that you need to take your mind off me and look out in the world for someone who can love you for what you deserve. I am just temporary here, just for a few more years and then I will be gone like I was never here."