Too Little, Too Late

16

For Ayra, The Ocean Suite of the Royal Zanzibar Beach Resort was one word: Magnificent. She loved every part of it.

The hundred square meters space had a king sized bed with actual four posters, an ottoman stool and two nightstands with tall night lamps, a sitting area with a loveseat and two one-seaters, a luxuriously furnished bathroom with a floating bathtub and a rain shower, and a private terrace which gave a lovely view of the Indian Ocean. There was also an in-room safe, a mini fridge stocked with drinks and chocolates on Ibrahim's request, a wall mounted TV, and a double wardrobe that could comfortably take their boxes whether they unpacked or not.

The hotelier who'd accompanied them to the suite smiled warmly, his hands behind him. "We hope you have a lovely stay here, Engineer and Mrs Fahad. Do let us know if there's anything you would like to have or anything you'd like us to change."

Ibrahim nodded, his arm around Ayra's shoulders. "We will. Thank you."

"You're most welcome."

Once the male left, Ayra stepped away from her husband and giddily looked around again, her grin child-like. "God, Ibrahim. It looked so beautiful online but this...This is way better."

He sat on the ottoman stool in front of the bed that had been laid to perfection, the pillows arranged nicely, and two blanket swans sitting in the middle of the flower petals that formed a heart. "I'm glad you liked it. It stood out from all the resorts you and Ibty recommended. Also, I preferred this to the Royal Suite."

"I prefer it too." She went around again, personally loving the cake, champagne and flowers they'd been gifted as a welcome present since they were on their honeymoon. "It's really beautiful. If the resort is this pretty so late at night, I can't wait to see how it is during the day."

He took off his sandals and then moved to remove his watch. "We'll have to rest a bit, pray Fajr, and then rest a little more before we can think about breakfast and touring. Besides, we have four full days here and five nights. That's plenty enough time to explore."

He stood and she walked over to where he was, blushing as usual when he pulled her close. She smiled nicely. "True...You look really good in vacation wear."

Ibrahim – dressed in beach shorts, a figure hugging top, and the sandals which he'd removed before standing – smiled at her. "Wel,l we're on vacation and I wasn't ready to wear my usual outfits for the flight. This was more comfortable."

And she wasn't going to tell him that she'd gladly ogled at him when his attention had been on something else. She kept smiling and so did he. He then reached up to unwrap her veil slowly.

"We need to call the others to let them know we've arrived safely. But, before we do that," He pulled the veil away, revealing her hair which had been pulled into a single braid which she'd folded. "I caught a glimpse of this earlier and I just had to see the entire thing. God, Ayra. I tell myself there are levels to this thing called beauty and you keep showing me that there are even more levels to it."

Ayra gladly melted in his arms. He tossed the veil on the bed and went on to free the braid. "Can I loosen it?"

She nodded, her heart racing while flutters tripled in every possible part of her. "You can."

And he did, sneakily massaging her scalp briefly. It took everything in her to not moan blissfully and she knew through the glint in his eyes that he knew what she was trying not to do. It only made her cheeks redder. When her curls were free, he ran his fingers through them and there was no way she could miss the admiration on his face as he said "You have really beautiful hair, Ayra."

"So do you." She'd run her fingers softly through his curls earlier when they were still in Aomi and he'd fallen asleep after they'd eaten breakfast. "Yours is beautiful too."