Beyond Desire

25-Lilies for my Lily.

"He called you Lily!" Tessie shrieked for what had to be the hundredth time. "Lily! That's not a slip of the tongue"

I groaned and pressed my spoon into my ice cream. "For the last time, Tess, anyone can mispronounce a name. It's not that deep."

We stopped for a snack after leaving the mall.

Tessie jabbed her spoon at me like she was conducting an orchestra. "Not that deep? Girl, he could have called you Jali or Lila, but he called you Lily! That's a flower. That's poetry. That's romance!"

I rolled my eyes. "Please don't romanticize a vowel swap. But then again, it's you, so go ahead."

"You are so blind it's physically painful," she sighed, clutching her chest dramatically. "That man likes you."

"Right," I said, letting out a laugh and then rolling my eyes. "Because a man with ocean-blue eyes and a jawline that could cut glass is dying over me. He's probably seen millions of girls who actually look like they belong in his league. I'm too...." I gestured at myself, ".....basic for that."

Tessie's smile faltered. "Do we need to have a talk on self-esteem?"

"I just don't want to get my hopes up, okay?" I sighed.

Before she could lecture me further, my phone rang. Speak of the devil....The moment I saw his number on the screen, I felt a ridiculous grin stretch across my face.

Tessie's eyes narrowed. "Oh my God. It's him, isn't it?"

"Shh!" I hissed, answering. "Hi."

"Lily," his voice came through the line, calm and smooth, as usual, with that lazy drawl that made my stomach do flips.

I bit my lip, lowering my voice. "Hi."

"You got home okay?" he asked casually, like he wasn't fully aware he was ruining my composure with that voice.

"Still out," I said quickly, then instantly regretted how eager I sounded. "You... home?" Ugh. Why did I ask that? I sounded like we were in a relationship or something.

"Not yet," he replied, still cool and unbothered. "Where are you?"

"Just... stopped by an eatery to grab food."

"Alright," he said, tone smooth as ever. "I will call you when you are home. Cool?"

"Yeah," I breathed.

The line went dead, leaving me staring at my phone like it held the answers to life.

Tessie leaned across the table, smirking. "So, when's the wedding?"

I threw a napkin at her. "Shut up!"

But I couldn't hide the stupid grin tugging at my lips as I whispered to myself, "How the heck did we get here?" The last I checked, we hated each other's guts.

Tessie kept throwing me side–glances, the kind that carried a thousand unsaid words. But, thankfully, she swallowed them, along with another oversized spoonful of ice cream. Her silence was mercy. I needed it.

Because right now, I was still trying to catch my breath.

Everything felt off balance, like I'd taken a wrong turn somewhere and ended up on a road I didn't even recognize. I had no idea what path Khalid and I were on anymore...

The call had barely ended when my phone buzzed again.

Khalid: I still owe you an apology.

I frowned at the screen. "What for?".  I typed.