Twice Shy

18 TWICE SHY

MORNING RAYS OF SUN glides between the curtains, and slipped between my fingers, reflecting from the diamond on my finger over Ilyaz's bareness in dusty rosy hues. It was sweet, the sun too blushed in his presence. I turned towards the window, hugging the fabric tighter around my arms. The sun eliminated the night away, none but the simple northern star and the moon remained, those too fading, and the frozen lake glowed in pearly luminescence. The dawn arrived with a new day, much more promising than the previous.

Ilyaz came to stand behind me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. I fell against this contact, as if my atoms coalesced with his naturally.

"Your family's coming today for our Walima," he said, his voice still unsure. I tensed too, and I'm sure he felt it too. So, we were doing this?

I hummed in response, my hands reaching for his. He placed a kiss on the top of my head, intertwining his fingers with my own.

"Remember how we met again?" I asked.

A quiet laugh came from him, his chest grumbling only slightly.

"How could I forget?"

I smiled at the memory flooding in.

November, 2020.

It's nearly two years ago, and I'm at a hotel in Sheffield to celebrate my father's retirement. He didn't want to retire, but his cardiologist basically forced him to. They'd shown up to surprise me before my bachelors graduation, except I wasn't particularly glad. My mother hates Japanese food, which is what they're serving for my buffet, so she spends most of the time on call with her sister which just makes my father more annoyed.

My younger brother was forced to be here. Therefore, he didn't prepare a present. His presence is a present. Before he leaves, he's going to shake our father down for a cheque to invest in another election.

I excuse myself to get fresh air outside. There's a long indoor pool designed to look like a pond, under the glass roof which is enamoured in orchids that dangle over the moon glossed water. A man to my right skips pebbles on his own, and I know he can hear my family arguing inside even though I've asked them to quiet down. Also, he's glanced in our directions a couple times.

"Can I pretend I'm here with you?" I ask him jokingly. I pick up a small stone and walk beside him.

"Sure." He smiles at me, and my stomach does a little flip. He's got cute, wavy black hair that curls slightly where it falls over his eyebrow, and an honest smile. He wears glasses. Kind eyes.

"Thanks. My family never learned how to behave in public."

He chuckles and shakes his head. "My family could give them a run for their money, believe me."

I notice the laptop and a file on the table behind him. Was he working?

I jerk my thumb at my family behind me, "The commotion there probably wasn't so great for your concentration, I'm sorry,"

"I have been a little distracted," he admits. Then he slides me a long look.

"But it isn't because of them."

I think he's flirting. Is he? I become a cliché and turn around to make sure he's not actually addressing someone standing right behind me. Nobody's there.

His lips curve into a smile. "So, family issues aside, you seem pretty nice."

Do I? "I'm all right."

"And I'm nice," he says, hedging.

I'm cautious as I reply, "You might be."

"I've also been told I'm pretty cute." Yes, definitely flirting.