Reo and Me

Thirty Two

Aisha's POV

I took an Uber to the nearest mall but traffic interfered and I reached in half an hour even though the distance was barely a few kilometers.

I dropped a text to the garage asking if I could pick my car up tomorrow. Walking inside the mall, I was overwhelmed to see so many people during midday in a mall in the middle of the week. Where did so many people come from I would never understand.

I moved through the stores, looking for something subtle yet eye catching. This took me another hour and half before I made a few choices.
One was a wine coloured deep necked off shoulder princess gown with sequins. It was perfect for the night.
Another was a long sleeved black fitted gown with a very low back, almost to my butt.
And last I had chosen a satin pink slip gown with a deep neck.
All were so pretty that I had a serious difficulty choosing between them. After a lot of consulting I decided to go for the slip gown. I had worn the other outfits before but never this kind.

It was slightly on the expensive side but it was a really good investment. I went to the Starbucks in the mall, ordering a sweet mocha and pulling out my laptop. I had some work to catch up on. I looked at the time- 2:30 PM. I wasn't especially hungry so I just settled for coffee.

The environment inside Starbucks was quiet and perfect to work in. This had been my years old tradition to get my stuff and work in the cafe itself. It was 4 by the time I was satisfactorily done with my work and decided that I had to leave and reaching would take me another 30 minutes.

I took the Tube back, careful not to crush the dress. Fortunately it wasn't peak hour and I managed to get home with the dress safe and sound. A 10 minute break later I started getting ready.

I took a shower to eliminate the sweat and Tube smells and shampooed with my favourite, important events only vanilla cinnamon shampoo. I came out of the shower smelling amazing but still put on some perfume.

I tied a robe around me and blow-dried my hair. Once I was happy with how it looked I proceeded for makeup. A very light but intricate routine, finished with a touch of light pink gloss over my lips.

I wore the right underwear and slipped into the dress. It was so gorgeous I had a hard time trying not to twirl about over and over again. I wore a simple pendant on my neck and left my ears bare. I tied my hair into a low bun letting a few strands loose around my face. I curled those lightly and I was ready.

It was 7:13 already. Sameer would be arriving soon. I decided to prep my purse with everything I always carried, my phone, money, meds and a tampon. I was sitting on the sofa doing absolutely nothing when the doorbell rang.

I opened the door and there stood Sameer, looking extremely handsome in his black tux with a thin tie. We looked like a couple going to prom. "You look gorgeous honey." Sameer smiled broadly. "You don't look half bad yourself." I joked.

We left the house a few minutes before 8 reaching the venue in 40 minutes, being a bit far from my place. The whole hotel was done in gold and overall looked absolutely luxurious. My heels clacked on the floor as me and Sameer walked towards the ballroom/lounge where the function was happening.

The lounge wasn't as full yet given the event was starting a bit after 9. But Sameer introduced me to all his colleagues. We walked up to a group of men and women chatting merrily.

"Guys, this is my fiancee Aisha. Aisha, these are my fellows with whom I graduated medical school." He looked at the group and then smiled at me.

"Hi everyone, it's a pleasure to meet you." I smiled my best smile.

"Likewise Aisha. Sameer talks so much about you, it's like you're infamous in the neuro department." One of the two girls in the group smiled at me.

"Let's do individual introductions guys, she looks confused. I am Alex." A guy with dirty blonde hair smiled. "Hi Alex." I smiled back.

"I'm Tiffany but you can call me Tiff." The girl who spoke now smiled. I nodded my head.

"I'm Mila." The other girl said almost coldly. Shrugging it off I smiled lightly.

"And I'm Chase. Nice to meet you." Chase winked at me. "Excuse me Chase, she's taken." Sameer responded almost automatically, making me blush and the others laugh in the group.

All of us sat at the table with champagne which was being served. I was sandwiched between Sameer and Tiff, with Mila opposite me between Chase and Alex.
"Excuse me for a minute. Aisha I'll be right back". Sameer smiled before leaving to talk to an older man, probably his senior.

Mila and the guys were involved in conversation so I was talking to Tiff. "So Aisha what do you do?" Tiff sipped on the champagne.

"I head the risk management team at Smith and Wheeler." I replied.

"Smith and Wheeler? Isn't that the top finance firm in London?" Tiffany replied. It made me happy to see that she knew about it.

"Well yeah it is." I gave a small laugh. "What kind of doctor are you? I mean you're a neurosurgeon too?" I asked.

"No, I'm a psychiatrist. I'm a surgeon as well but I don't perform surgeries." She said. We were about to continue talking when Chase suddenly sat at my side. I looked at him surprised.

"Is Sameer treating you well?" He whispered intimately. I was a bit uncomfortable but fortunately Tiffany interfered.

"Stop creeping her out Chase." She reprimanded at which Chase backed off with a laugh.

"He's a very humourous person. Don't take him seriously." She supplied. I nodded. We were involved in polite conversation until I noticed that Mila was actually not talking directly to me.

By this time Sameer had returned and the function was about to begin in sometime, but the chief guest hadn't arrived yet. "Aisha, come with me to the ladies room please." Tiff whispered. I nodded and we went together.

"Mila isn't talking a lot to you, right." She pointed out as soon as we entered the room.

"I feel so." I didn't want to sound whiny.

"I don't know if I should tell you this but she kind of has a thing for Sameer. Well has been having it since we started specialisation." She replied. I was not surprised because Sameer was very attractive.

"You mean she still likes him?" I asked, popping my lips together.

"Yes she does. She wasn't too happy when Sameer told us that he was engaged. Although Sameer hasn't paid attention to her all these years romantically. She's been just a friend." Tiffany hurriedly added.

I laughed, which surprised her. Even my own reaction surprised me. Wasn't I supposed to be annoyed at Mila?

"Surprisingly, I don't feel annoyed at her. Liking someone is a very natural thing and if she hasn't done anything so far so I can't ask her to stop." I replied. Tiffany seemed to think about it.

"You are right. I just thought you should know." She said.

"Thank you for telling me." I smiled at her. "Should we go now?" I asked. She nodded, smiling.