Shroud: Jinn

21 - Caprice

"How are you here? I thought you were at work." I sat down slowly in my seat, still stumped by Kamsaton's sudden presence. "I saw you."

"I could say the same thing about you." She set the book down delicately on her lap. I looked at her eyes which were scrutinising my every move. "Are you stalking me, Mus?"

My body tingled as the echoes in her "s" lingered in the air. Perhaps allowing her to shorten my name was not a wise idea. "What? No!" I looked away bashfully towards my reflection in the window and noticed that my cheeks had reddened under the accusation. I tried to maintain firm eye contact but I was looking at everywhere else except her eyes. "I'm helping to deliver a breech baby in Kuala Lumpur."

As I regained my composure, I gathered my courage to look at her face.

Goodness, she is so beautiful.

This time, it was her turn to evade eye contact. Her eyes landed on the pages of the book but her stares were blank and unmoving. I knew she was not reading. "I need to get away. You know...from everything..." Judging from her body language, I knew that she did not want to talk about what happened at the hospital earlier. Truth be told, I was not prepared to talk about it either.

I nodded in understanding, "A breath of fresh air will do you good. It'll do any of us good."

Kamsaton smiled faintly and continued reading her romance novel, Cinta Di Alam Semesta (Love In The Universe). She was doing that thing with her fingers again - caressing the area above her ample bosom. I needed to distract myself, so I started eating my egg sandwich but I engulfed it hungrily in less than three bites.

I want more.

"Is the book any good? What is it about?"

Kamsaton raised an eyebrow teasingly, "You don't come across as someone who would be interested in romance novels."

I chuckled, "You're right. I'm not. Summarise the good parts for me."

She focused her eyes back to the book before speaking, "It's about someone sent to destroy another being but she ends up falling for him. But they're not from the same world."

"Different realms? Like humans and jinns?" I mused. She glanced up at me briefly but did not speak. "Does he feel the same way?"

Kamsaton tilted her head to one side and looked at me for a long time, "He's in denial."

I looked at her thoughtfully, immediately intrigued by the story's plot, "How does it end?"

"We haven't got to the ending yet."

"We? When did I say anything about reading it? Hmmm...I'll decide if it's even worth reading," I snatched the book from her lap to open the last page but she was quick enough to intercept me. She retrieved it back in time and smacked me playfully on my left arm with the book.

"Don't do that. I hate spoilers!" Even her giggles were like soft jingles to my ears.

I smirked cheekily. "So, where will you be staying?" I asked, suddenly curious.

She arched an eyebrow again, feigning suspicion, "Are you sure you're not following me?"

"Yes! I'm not," I laughed. I held up my hands in mock defence, "I'm just making conversation."

"I'm not telling you the name of the hotel," she curled her lips in a sly grin and resumed her reading.

"Ah, a hotel, I see. That narrows it down," I caressed my chin thoughtfully and laughed playfully.