A Piece Of Her I'll Never Have

Chapter 20

     Aamir's POV.

       "Hmm,I missed this place and their chicken salad",Sophia chirped as she took a mouthful.
      "And I missed eating here with you,I missed you."
      "Oh,get a grip of yourself, Aamir. You've said that a thousand times already."
      "I'm not afraid of admitting it,unlike you."
     "Oh please",she scoffed.
        "Admit it,else why would you cut your honeymoon short? Admit that you missed hanging out with this hotness."
        "I was scared, Aamir.  
    This took me by surprise. Sophia was not the type to blurt out her feelings.
       "Why,what were you scared of?"
       She shrugged. "I'm married, to Jamal Alcatraz. Isn't that enough reason?"
       "Yeah,Jamal has always been a bit of a monster",I joked.
    She didn't roll her eyes. That meant she was serious.
       "Tell me what the problem is,Sophia." I grew serious too.
        "Everything was so perfect. It felt so good to be there with him and..."
      "You're scared you may fall in love with him",I finished."
  She cringed. "Gosh,don't put it that way,Aamir. It sounds so cheesy and it makes me feel uncomfortable."
       She didn't know how much it made me feel uncomfortable.
         "I'm just trying to help you place your feelings ."
      "I know",she sighed. "The thing is he doesn't know about my medical condition and I'm scared of how he'd react when he finds out. I'm scared of how much it'd affect me when I'd see the disdain in his eyes. I don't want to go through that,Aamir."
      You'll cope,I'm used to it.
       "You shouldn't worry,Sophia. I thought you said the new treatment was very effective."
       "Yes,but I know Jamal hates being lied to. He'll be mad when he finds out I kept it from him,its his right to know."
        "We all lie at some point,Sophia. Sometimes it's for the best. Besides, you aren't lying, you're just withholding some details."
        "Yes,important...",She looked towards the entrance to the restaurant and I followed her gaze.
       Jamal and Stacy.
      What was this,payback for my little stunt? He had to be kidding me.
         "Well,well. Look who we have here",Sophia said with a smile but based on what we had just discussed, I knew she wasn't jolly on the inside.
       Who would? Her husband was still very fond of his ex.
        "Sophia,what are you doing here? I thought you and Aamir were going to eat in his office",Jamal said when they reached our table. He looked surprised and a little guilty.
         "No,if that were the case,I wouldn't have invited you. I'm glad work's going on well,you had time to invite miss Cooke here afterall."
       "Uh,yeah. It was a coincidence,she actually wanted to meet Aamir but I told her he was with you so we decided to just come here together."
          "We can just switch partners,then",Stacy offered.
        "Well miss Cooke, as you can see clearly Aamir and I are already halfway into our meal. Besides we were having a pleasant discussion here,weren't we,Aamir?"
         "Sure. You guys can go right ahead."
         Jamal shot me a glare before walking away with Stacy.
       I'm already immune to that,bro. Find something else.
       "Are you okay?",I asked Sophia.
         "Sure,why wouldn't I be?"
          "You had asked Jamal to have lunch with us?"
      "Yes,but he had downrightly refused,telling me he had tons of work to catch up on."
       "He probably just didn't want to dine with me."
       "Can't blame him considering you haven't been a very exemplary brother lately."
       I sighed. "So now what,you hate me too?"
         "As if that's even humanly possible",she said,smiling.
      That warmed my heart more than it should.
        "Just one thing,though; the prospect of having Stacy Cooke for a sister-in-law doesn't seem very appealing."
      I laughed heartily. "I'll keep that in mind."

       Jamal's POV.

     I lay on the left side of the bed,thinking about how much of an idiot I had been lately. True,I was mad at my father and brother but that wasn't enough reason to make Sophia suffer.
      Was she even suffering? She always had Aamir with her.
       She always seemed so happy with him and vice versa. It actually seemed like I was the third wheel.
    I didn't like that but well life had never particularly enthusiastic about pleasing me.
        "Papa says marrying me off was a very bad idea; we hardly see eachother now", Sophia said as she walked out of the bathroom. "Serves him right for... ". She stopped probably because I was grinning.
        "What is it?"
       "Nothing. Its just that I've never seen you with your dressing gown off."
        "What do you mean?",she asked,tugging at it.
         "No harm. I was just saying."
        "Permit me remind you that it's mid November."
          "Ah,but you take it off when you turn off the lights",I countered.
         "I have absolutely nothing to hide."
         "Then prove it" ,I smirked.
         "Fine",she yielded,taking it off. She was wearing shorts and a strap blouse.
         "See,I told you I had nothing to hide."
       She was indeed petite and very pale but very attractive all the same. She'd have been a very beautiful young woman if she wasn't so... Wait why was she so frail,had she been very sick when she was younger? She had probably been a very sickly child
       "Are you done checking me out now,or do you want me to turn around?"
        "Well",I said leaving the bed and approaching her. "There's no rush we have the rest of our lives for me to do so and besides",I said against her lips,"I must confess this is not the kind of body you get satisfied looking at just once."
        "Should I take that as a compliment?"
         "I know now that that questions are your way of dealing with your emotions. You're trying hard not to blush,just like when I told you I liked your green dress at your welcome party."
       "Great,we're improving as a couple, then,"she fake-beamed.
     This reminded me,"I'm sorry,Sophia, for what happened earlier on today. Gosh I'm so silly,I've said that already,just yesterday."
      "That's the point, Jamal. There's no need to apologize to me if you're not sure you're sorry. I'm going to Aamir's room,we have stuff to discuss. You'd probably be sleeping by the time I get back so,goodnight."
       Nice way to spoil the moment, Jamal.
       Yeah,whether I liked it or not,I was definitely an idiot.