It was in the middle of the night that Haashir felt a sudden weight on himself and he woke up. He turned on his side and saw Aida sleeping beside him, her right leg on him and that was what woke him up. He smiled. He was unaccustomed to sleeping with people and the mere touch of Aida had woken him up. She slept soundly, her thick, curly eyelashes resting like fans on her cheeks and there was an expression of peace and tranquility on her face. Haashir wanted to touch her cheek, feel her skin once again but he knew that he would lose Aida if he let such a feeling to come between them again.
He moved her leg away from him and turned to his left side when Aida hugged him from behind.
“Don’t… le…eave… me…” she mumbled in her sleep. Haashir was momentarily frozen as he felt her soft and warm arms all around him and tried to decipher what she was trying to say. She repeated the same again and again. Haashir turned around to face her and hugged her, soothing her in her sleep with honeyed words and endearments. Aida wasn’t the kind of girl to be weak in front of her adversaries. She was sweet, intelligent, controlled and private kind of girl who only talked when she felt the need to. He knew that about her and now, she was hugging him and asking him not to leave, showing him her weakness which was too much for Haashir to bear. He closed his eyes against the spur of emotions that he felt and hugged her close, trying to infuse his confidence and strength in her.
He kissed her forehead and held her near, while closing his eyes and trying to go back to sleep. Aida was a realist and a perfectionist. He had come to know her really well in the two months that they had been living together and Haashir knew her likes and dislikes, things that made her angry and her desire to keep things in her control. He knew all this and that was the reason that they hadn’t talked about the kiss anymore. He could see her feelings closely and knowing her, he knew that he should’ve been more in control because she trusted him. Trust was something that had been keeping them together since his return and he knew it. Aida didn’t trust people easily but she trusted him and that was why she listened to him as well. Haashir could read her feeling quite easily for he knew her when she was a kid but if any outsider watched her, he would never know what she was thinking or feeling at that moment. He loved the way she hid her emotions from people.
He loved everything about her. In fact, he loved her.
This statement stunned Haashir. How could he fall in love with such a controlling, enigmatic and reticent female for whom he had to work so hard to open herself up to him? He knew without a doubt that she was all that but what he also knew was that she was sensitive, emotional and loving as well. He could see that in the way she cared about her sister and her mother. She was possessive to a fault and somehow he loved that about her. With that thought him mind, he fell into a deep slumber.
****
Aida woke up to the warm rays of sunlight kissing her cheeks and bathing her in its glow. She stretched and yawned, smiling happily at the new day that had already started. Turning on her side, she looked at the empty bed and sat up, her expression almost comical. She had slept with Haashir, LITERALLY slept with him and all they had done was sleep. She couldn’t believe it. She gazed at the bed in an almost comical expression and then grinned. So, Haashir had kept his promise and hadn’t touched her.
He’s such a gentleman, Aida thought.
Getting out of the bed, she turned towards the wardrobe where her bags were sitting. She took out a new set of clothes for herself and was going towards the washroom when she realized that their suite was much too quiet. Where was Haashir? She stepped into the adjoining room that had the lounge and the dining room there. He wasn’t even there. She was coming out of the room when Haashir suddenly jumped out at her, startling her.
