Delusions of the Innocent | ✓

[4]

Amara's POV

"Has anyone ever told you that you have a gorgeous smile?" Peter flutters his lashes flirtatiously.

My stomach twists at his words as my cheeks start heating up. "Oh, come on, Peter. We don't have time for this." I try to keep myself composed.

"It's true! It's one of your best features." He winks.

I'm starting to think I might even be crushing on him a little. It's a small crush, it'll go away soon enough.

My phone buzzes and I pick it up to see a text from Dina.

"He's totally crushing on you." The text read.

I turn around to look at her sitting behind me, close enough to hear Peter and I. When she looks at me, I roll my eyes and give her the keep dreaming look, which makes her giggle.

I text back. "Daamir looks like a handsome fella, things going smooth for you two?"

The moment she reads the text, her cheeks turn pink.

Bingo!

"Do you plan on helping me with this project or?" I ask Peter.

"I've already finished the outline last night." He says as he pulls out the papers.

I look at him, impressed. "Oh. That's great. I'm proud."

"Thank you, M'lady." He bows his head.

The rest of the class, he has managed to make me laugh until I couldn't breathe.

"... and then, he jumped into the pool, screaming like a little girl. It was epic."

"That's enough! I need to catch my breathe again before I pass out from laughter." I wipe my year away.

"It's a pretty funny story, huh?" He chuckles.

"I'm shocked he's still friends with you." I shake my head.

"Right? It's crazy—oh. You have something on your face. Let me get that for you." He reaches out and wipes the corner of my lips before I even had time to react. His fingers even hovered over my lips for a slight second before he pulls away.

I become frozen for a whole 10 seconds before managing a thank you. My heart's pounding so loud, I feel the blood in my ears vibrating.

I turn around to see if Dina saw and, well, her mouth was so wide open that I wasn't sure if she'd be able to close it.

Yep, she saw.

"Is everything okay?" He asks with concern.

No, oh my God, no! I have to pray to make sure Allah knows I had nothing to do with what just happened. There's also a slight chance I might die from my heart beating so fast.

"Yes, I'm fine." I answer.

For the rest of the class, I tried to keep my distance, tried to act a little out of it. And when class ended, I bolted out with Dina.

• • •

"He did what?" Beena gasps.

"Do you want us to beat him up for you?" Zoya says.

"Guys... I think Amara might actually be crushing on him..." Dina chimes in.

The other two girls gasp even louder. "What?!" They yell in sync.

"Dina!" I groan.

"This is news." Zoya claps her hands.

"So! What does he look like? What's his name? Tell us everything!" Beena pushes.