Her Eyes

Eighteen

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A droopy-eyed Esmae sat on the bed in Nikolaos' room, her freshly washed hair damp and darkened. Nikolaos stood before her, drying her hair with a small towel and staring at her tired face, mesmerized by the rare morning sun that blessed her skin, making it glow.

Beautiful.

She was beautiful. Her skin smooth and glowing like tree branches, her eyes as green as the leaf she once was, and her hair as dark as the shade created by the large trees. She was the embodiment of nature itself and she didn't know it for herself how marvelous Nikolaos thought she was whenever he stared at her.

He felt his heart stop whenever her eyes landed on him, and he was slightly nervous to tell her how beautiful he thought she looked all the time. He'd never felt as flustered as he did with anyone else but Esmae, and he had no idea why. She was always smiling around him with not a care in the world, and something about her unknowingness made him want to teach her all the wonders of the world he experienced in his lifetime.

"Still tired?" he asked, cutting through the calming silence of the morning, the birds chirping outside in the distance. Esmae nodded tiredly, leaning into the towel drying her hair, and sighing lightly. "The movie yesterday was funny," she commented, remembering the two-hour film the pair watched the night before.

Nikolaos hummed, brushing his thumb over her cheek and kissing the crown of her head before going through her curly, thick hair with his fingers and separating the large coils that tangled together slowly so they didn't tangle and hurt his girl.

"My parents are coming over soon to visit," he said, his words piquing Esmae's interest. "You like them, yeah?" he continued, noticing how Esmae's lids opened and her cheeks turned a light pink. A clear expression of happiness was displayed on her face.

She nodded, a smile peeking from her lips, saying hello for the first time that morning. "I l-like them. They're nice and your m-mum makes good f-food," she complimented, her fingers fiddling with each other shyly. Esmae wanted to compliment people more, it made her happy when she did, and she promised Nikolaos that she would start caring for herself more.

She promised herself the same too.

Nikolaos chuckled lightly, planting another soft kiss on her forehead when he finished drying her hair and tossing the towel into the hamper. He moved away to change into more presentable clothes for when his parents came, not wishing to get bombarded by his mother for wearing thin clothes. And for once, when Nikolaos moved away, Esmae didn't follow him.

She stayed put for a few seconds before deciding to style her hair, tired of having it fly around everywhere all day. She parted her hair, tying the two sides with hair ties and braiding each of them slowly, her fingers weaving through her soft, citrus-smelling hair.

By the time she finished braiding her hair, huffing with satisfaction, Nikolaos returned from the closet, smiling to himself at her figure sitting on a cushioned stool by the body mirror in his room. He walked to her, a hand wrapping around her neck gently and tilting her head up to look at him, his other hand going to her waist.

"Hi," he whispered, leaning closer, feeling her soft breaths fanning his face. "H-Hello," she replied, blushing from the intimate touches. He kissed her rosy lips and then her cheeks, before finally letting go after a forehead kiss and stepping away.

Just as he did, the doorbell rang, signaling the expected guests' appearance. "Come on, let's go," he ushered, grabbing her hand and pulling her from his room and downstairs to the front door.