Meeting You Again

Chapter 18

Tariq's POV:

My days after the date with Ayla were very uneventful. I felt like my entire life was going to the company, working, heading home, going to bed, and repeat. I was sick of it! Was there no more to life anymore? What happened to all the times I would have fun? Don't get me wrong, I'm not a party animal. Quite the opposite, actually. But I wasn't planning to be a workaholic either. Just when I felt myself on the brink of losing my sanity, my assistant, Zane, practically locked my office doors and left me a booklet on things to do instead of work.

Bless the dude. He knew exactly what I needed. I flipped through the booklet and found Pupset. I'm sorry but playing with puppies? That sounds exactly like what I needed. So I head my way towards the location, only to bump into a familiar chocolate–colored eyes woman. Ayla.

Which led to the current citation of me and Ayla next to each other, the adorable Husky in between us. It was too quiet. Also, I really wanted to know what Ayla thought about our date. It was already Thursday, almost a week after our date. Does she not think the same as I do of her? Hating this lack of communication, I cleared my throat and prepared to talk.

I gazed into her eyes from my viewpoint and asked her.

"Ayla, I want your honest answer to the question I'm about to ask you about, okay?" I felt my hands become sweaty, and I swear I had to take the biggest gulp known to mankind.

She seemed lost with teasing the puppies, but she still responded with an okay. I took a deep breath. Fuck, why was I so nervous?

"Do you want to be in a relationship together?"

Shit. That was way too straight-forward, right? How do I fix this? I froze, and I couldn't process how to rephrase my words. I didn't want to scare her by being too blunt. I felt myself stammer mentally before choking out another sentence.

"I haven't heard a response from you yet and I was just wondering what your thoughts about me were. Would you like to go on a second date with me?" Did that sound a bit better?

Worried about how her face looked, yet too curious to not look, I glanced at her face to see her stupefied, and then pink started spreading upwards from her face. Stop. This is too much to handle. She looks so...cute! I really wanted to pull her face closer to mine and kiss her right then and there, but it was too soon. Hell, I've only really known her for less than a week, disregarding that coffee time a while ago.

She stammered a bit, seeming confused on how to continue. She finally looked up, looking at my face, and we caught each other's sight. I didn't look away and neither did she. Her face became even redder and I felt her gaze skim over my hair, eyes, nose, and jawline. I hope I looked good. I didn't take my glasses off from work, and I still had on formal wear. I heard women like that? The smart, intelligent look?

I saw her fisting her hands and nibbling her lip lightly, lost in thought. God knows how much I wanted to be the one doing that instead of her. I tried focusing on the puppy instead of my thoughts on Ayla, but still was anxiously waiting for her reply.

She cleared her throat, forcing me to look at her, and she started to speak.

"To tell you the truth, I...don't exactly think I'm ready for a relationship yet. I had a bad experience a while ago and I guess I need more time before I start dating again. I am really sorry Tariq, but I think you deserve someone better, someone who's actually ready to be in a relationship."

Damn. So she gave me the "you're too good label"? Yeah, no way was I going to accept that. But more important than my ego at the time, what did she mean she had a bad experience? Who would dare hurt this gorgeous woman who had a mature and steady outlook? What a dumb fucker.