Modest Kisses

Chapter Three.

CHAPTER THREE.

I sat in front of him with my heart beating very loud and fast disturbing my state of being, my hand being sweaty was an understatement.

He was going to lift my veil, and realize what an ugly wife he was marrying. Thanks to my Mamman, and her idea of encouragement. I knew such things happened. When the groom realizes how his bride was, he cuts off the wedding. If that happened to me, that would be the end of me ever attending a wedding to which I was a bride of. That would also bring an abrupt end to my mother's stand in the society.

"Allahu Akbar". I heard a lot of people shout, and according to the weddings I had attended it meant it was time to lift my veil.

My saliva got stuck somewhere around my esophagus. I looked down at my sweaty palms waiting for the moment to be done, and over with, and let me cry on my bed from rejection.

I kept on analyzing different scenarios of rejection that could possibly happen. I didn't realize when my veil was lifted up, till I felt a pinch of air on my cheeks, and I heard a deep honey voice say 'mashaaAllah'.

I gave a left-sided smile, and released the breath I didn't know I was holding. He likes what he sees then. Curiosity takes the best of me making me lift my head, and coming in contact with the most piercing pair of grey eyes I had ever seen.

He was looking at me like a blind man would, when he was looking at the sun for the first time.

His eyes where on me, and mine on his. It was like his eyes had their own vocabulary, what a beautiful language to learn I thought... So this was Ahmid? This was my first time seeing him, so I had nothing from his past to compare with his present. My mum refused to show me any picture of him saying she didn't want me having second thoughts.

"They" only said he was handsome, but he wasn't. For he had the most lovely pair of eyes I had ever seen, and he was by far the most handsome man I had ever seen. He was every shade of handsome, and every shade darker.

Ahmid's Pov.

My eyes followed her wherever she went like a tail follows its owner. I didn't know why I was doing that all of a sudden, but for some reason, I find her smile more interesting to watch than anything around me. I find knowing who she was talking to more important than taking another spoon from my plate of biryani.

In other words it would be fair to say I find everything about her captivating. it was just an attraction. I told myself it would be absurd to like her this early, wouldn't it?

"I am sorry beta," I gazed up to look at Laila's guilt stricken face. And that was all it took for me to feel guilty about been so hard on her lately, I understood she did it for me but still.

"No, I am sorry, I shouldn't have been hard on you like I was. I am sorry for everything," I said.

"its ok, no matter what happens you will always be my son, just bear that in mind. And I was just scared you would never get married," she said placing light pecks on every inch of my face.

"Arghh, Ma stop, you are leaving red smudges on my face," I said, successfully pushing her away and cleaning my cheeks. I didn't want Safa seeing me like this. What else could be more embarrassing?

"So you like her then?" She asked sitting on an empty chair beside me, as she traced my gaze which rested on Safa.

"Uh, I like who?" I asked playing lost, when I had every idea who she was talking about.

"Her, Safa."

"Oww, Safa? She is ok, she isn't as bad as I expected."

"I think you are not completely honest. I know you think she isn't bad at all. And you definitely like her," caught in the act, she just had to notice didn't she?

"Come on Ma, how stupid do you think I am? I don't even know her. At least pretend to think highly of me," I said I was suddenly angry at her for saying what she said. Not that she said anything particularly annoying, but it just didn't sit well with me.

"The most confused we ever get is when we try to convince ourselves of something our hearts know is a lie. Have the courage to follow your heart, because somehow they already know what it is we truly want," that was something I loved about my step-mom she seemed to know me well. Too well for my liking sometimes.

"Don't be a coward son, for the only regret would be not opening your heart to her," she said as she looked opposite our direction, at Safa who was heading towards us.

When she reached us, she knelt down in front of Laila.

"Namaste sasu ma," she said her voice barely a whisper, her head bent, and hands clapped together, as she patiently waited for Laila to pray silently for her. When Laila was done, she got up, and left us alone, well not before winking at me. That woman never grows.

This things were usually easy, you know talking to a girl but it was Safa everything was not easy.

I was still contemplating if to say hello or hy, don't they usually mean the same thing? Then she spoke, and her voice caught me off guard. Her accent wasn't in anyway American like mine. It was Asian, and it came out seasoned, and... should I say perfect?

"These weren't there earlier," she said referring to the smudges.

"Yah, that's what you get if you are related to Laila," I said, and she giggled.

" I have been trying to get them off though," I added.

"You could help him get them off, you know in fact, you could help him with a whole load of other things, but lets start with the red smudges. Well, that is if you weren't the one that put them up there in the first place," and we all turned to Yousef who had his hands deep into the pockets of his sherwani, and was smirking.

She bent her head. That adorable munchkin, she was too shy for her own good. Yousef chuckled having realized he had made her shy.

"Hi, I'm Yousef, and I believe your pictures did you no justice," he said with a mischievous grin. Even though I knew he said it to make her uncomfortable, I couldn't help the way my heart felt. Could it be jealousy? I don't think so because I only just knew her.

"Thank you," Safa replied but this time she looked directly at him. Though I was surprised I knew she caught on on what he was doing.

"You are always welcome, and thank you for agreeing to marry him," he said

"Oww! come on, Yousef don't go making it look like marrying me is bad thing," I said feigning hurt.

"Have you met you? You obviously don't think you are the easiest person to get married to do you?" He asked, and we all laughed, me laughing the hardest to mask the hurt, though I knew it was only a joke but it still stung somewhere in my heart. Maybe because I knew somewhere in between the joke was a little truth.

YAIYY!! ANOTHER CHAPTER. HOW WAS IT?. VOTE, COMMENT AND CONTINUE TO BE SUPPORTIVE BELIEVE IT OR NOT EVERY SINGLE VOTE MAKES MY DAY. AND PLEASE ANYWHERE YOU SEE MARYAM ITS SUPPOSED TO BE SAFA. SAFA WAS MARYAM BEFORE I CHANGED HER NAME TO SAFA AND THOUGH I CORRECTED IT, JUST IN CASE THERE IS A MARYAM SOMEWHERE IN-BETWEEN THE LINES ;)

SPECIAL THANKS TO MY ADORABLE FRIEND  ZAHRA_S FOR HER ENCOURAGING COMMENT ON MY LAST CHAPTER. XOXO :)