Introverted Love!

Chapter 15

We had been at the party for over an hour and i still had not seen anyone close to my age. I thought this was Zainabs birthday party but none of her school friends were here and there was no decorations just a small table by the entrance where her gifts had been left as people walked in. I had mingled with a few of dads work colleagues since i knew them but I was definetly getting bored. Mrs.Mazari walked up to me
'Beta, why dont you go upstairs and get Zainab we should begin dinner soon' he smiled and i thanked my lucky stars and practically ran up the stairs only to go head first into Zack. Had he been sat at the top of the stairs all that time? Even though i practically walked into him he aplogised profusely
' I'm so sorry Maya,  are you ok' he looked me up and down and my cheeks burned when i realised he was holding onto me to stop me from falling backwards down the stairs. His other hand suddenly reached out slowly towards my neck but his eyes never left mine, he reached the pearls and straightened them out
'Your mum's?' I nodded and he turned to walk up the last few remaining stairs. Since my hand was still in his i got pulled along behind him all the way through his bedroom door until he stopped and turned around
'Maya are you here for Zainabs birthday?' Everytime he said my name butterflies fluttered in my stomach, his deep voice was still silky and soft. I just wanted him to say it again. I shook myself out of my thoughts. 
'Yea your dad told me to come up and get her? Why are none of her friends here?' I spoke softly not wanting her to hear if she was upstairs
'This is a buisness meeting Maya' he stared straight at me still holding my hand. My confused look must have made him realise i wasn't following
'My dad never intended for us to celebrate Zainab tonight but for him this was a way to introduce you and i to the board members' he said it slowly watching my face carefully for my reaction but what he didnt know was what i had decided with dad about giving this a fair shot. I didnt tell him that though mainly because i didnt know how.
'Hey Maya are you ok?' He held both my arms now and wore a worried expression probably because i had gone quiet processing my next move.
I'm fine its ok but we should get Zaianb so dinner can start' i released myself from his grasp and turned towards Zainabs room but he held onto my wrist
'Maya if you want out of this you need to leave now, I'll make an excuse for you but it'll only get worse if you stick it out' he spoke to me but looked at the floor dejected
'Zack can i ask you a question?' I started a sudden confidence overtaking me
He just stared blankly
'Do you want to get married to me, i mean i know it was a spur of the moment thought at the time but would you actually want to?' I turned to fully face him deciding to face the music
He looked stunned as if I'd just slapped him, slowly his body moved and just as he was about to speak i heard the floorboards creek behind me
'Salam Maya baji, is dad ready for me to come down now?' Zainab stood by the door in a blush pink maxi dress, she was tall like her brother and looked older tonight due to the makeup
'Yes he his, you look beautiful Zainab and happy birthday' i said before walking downstairs with her leaving Zack still stood in his room. 

The dinner went smoothly i sat between dad and Zainab and each kept me laughing with thier witty remarks. Zack sat on the otherside of the long table next to his dad and he looked serious all night locked into business conversations i never saw him smile even once. The food was delicious and as usual i stuffed my face, i found it strange there was no birthday cake but apparently no one else did because the evening came to a close just like that. I had grown quite fond of Zainab these past few hours and was sorry to say good bye but she promised to come by the next day and meet Luke and say hi to Lizetta so i left with some hope. I didnt see much of Zack and hadnt got to talk to him at all like i had planned to but i was so tired i just wanted to go home and sleep.

When we crossed the garden to go home all the lights were off so me and dad snuck in quietly and went straight to bed. After brushing my teeth i pulled on some grey sweatpants and a spongebob t-shirt, i was just about to crawl into bed when i heard a tap on my window. I figured it was a bird but a second later there was another tap like a stone hitting it. My heart leaped in my chest, I walked over to the window and saw no birds or humans just a message in the grass made from pebbles, it read YES.