Thorns and Roses

21

            SAMEERA

The sun rays hit the window, cascading down the glory of the sun. It's been a month of...well...beauty, peace and calm.

Three months since Nurrain was shot and two months since I found out The man my father wants me to marry is my best friend's boyfriend and also a month since our school break...since I moved in with Nurrain to avoid going back to Nigeria to get married to my best friend's lover...

Nurrain...a gentleman. I told him about my situation and he offered this solution. He was kind enough to give me a room in his apartment after my 'BREAKTHROUGH'.

No, he never proposed but he tells me how my eyes are the most comforting things he knows. I asked him what his favorite song is and he said it's the sound of my laughter and his hobby...his hobby is making pancakes for me at a 2am when the world is asleep. I told him the scent of cigar irks me and he told me he would dispose all the cigars in the world, for me. And he did, at least all the cigars in his own world.

I walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. Nurrain is In the ground floor, he sacrificed the masters bedroom on the third floor for me.
Wearing my silk baggy sleeping pants and a matching shirt with a bonnet covering my head, I walked down to the kitchen to make some coffee.

There, I met Nurrain holding a cigar, with his back facing me. I coughed. I couldn't help myself.

He turned to look at me, his eyes watery.

"Nora.." his voice came out crooked. He quickly disposed the cigar, looking like an underage teenager doing something illegal.

"Nurrain...sorry I didn't know you..." I started, stuck all of the sudden.

He walked fast to me and pulled me into his arms.

"Please don't leave me." He cried into my neck. I felt weak...sad and terrible.

"I won't." I said wrapping my hands around him too.

There was a moment of silence. His sobs slowed down and my heartbeat slowed alongside.

He slowly pulled out of the hug, slowly. I didn't move, my body couldn't and my heart yearned for his explanation. The 'why' he is in this condition.

I watched him cupped my face, his eyes daringly staring into mine. There was a time holding onto an eye contact like this was a hassle. I feel it's too intimate and my fragile heart can't hold on. Yet still, I didn't move. Like that frozen sachet water at the base of a deep freezer, ice cold and not moving.

"I love you Sameera Lamido." He said and looked down to my lips. Seconds in, he moved back to my eyes. I watched his gaze. Intense. Like he was asking for a permission, a permission to claim my lips and I couldn't bring myself to dodge . At that moment, my brain was off and my heart was racing really fast.

I didn't speak nor did he but I let my eyes close themselves. His breath fanning my face. A little bit of cigar, peppermint from the toothpaste I guess and ....... His lips shut my thoughts off! Cold, soft and welcoming. He moved slowly, claiming every ounce of my sanity.

"I love you." I find myself saying the moment he broke the kiss. He placed a gentle peck on my forehead and dragged me in for another hug. I hugged him back and waited. My thoughts all closed up and at the moment, nothing else matters but 'us'.

The moment was cut short when his phone rang. It was a senior from his office. His attention was needed.

I cursed under my breath and smiled.

"I need to go." He said sadly.

"It's fine." I muttered.

"We will talk. There is soo much I need to tell you." He said I hugged him again.