Don't Forget Me (31)

The garden where the party was was breathtaking, everything was covered with twinkle lights, even the palm trees and walls; basically the whole house was lit up and it was stunning. There were lots of orchids everywhere, as it was the main theme, and some seating areas even though no one was seated.

The men and women alike were  were all huddled in multiple circles to chat and laugh, and I kind of felt awkward because I didn't really know anyone. I tried to find people I knew but I realized it was a bad idea since they'd ask me if I knew anyone from the Al-M family and Zaid wasn't really an acceptable answer.

There were a lot of people,  that I had a hard time finding Zaid, especially since I hadn't seen him in a dishdasha before and everyone else was in a dishdasha. I didn't know what kind of party it was bas 6ala3 it was a post-milcha party that was kind of intimate. There were a lot of people bas obviously close family and friends. Except for me maybe.

I found Zaid's sister, Zaina, from the salon, and his brother with his bride being congratulated by different people. They both looked so happy it was contagious that I was so close to congratulating them myself from how happy they looked.

I could sense some eyes on me and I regretted my whole look; I kind of wanted to look good only for Zaid, and not anyone else. Some older women I saw were trying to figure out who I was, and I bet they wouldn't really be happy if they did know who I was.

I checked my phone and he still hadn't replied or seen the message. I couldn't even ask the maids where he was so I just walked around with a glass of water, careful not to step on the grass and just on the ceramic tiles so my heels wouldn't sink.

11 o'clock

He texted.

I reread the message again; was he going to meet me at 11 or should I look to my left where 11 was on a watch?

I bit my lip and looked slightly to my left and smiled.

There he was; he looked ever so handsome in his dishdasha and qtra that I felt my face flush with color. He was cleanly shaved and well groomed, and his smile just shone in the darkness, as cheesy as that sounded but it was true in both the literal and figurative sense.

He smiled at me as he looked at me head to toe before texting me again.

You really know how to tease me don't you?

I smiled as I texted back.

Funny I was thinking the same

I looked at him and he pointed to inside with his chin, which I took as a cue to follow him. I looked around in case anyone saw us, but we were safe as we walked away from the crowd and towards the elevator which we casually stood in front of.

Zaid wiggled his eyebrows at me and I smiled, mostly worried about being seen and people talking, but so far so good.

We got into the elevator as Zaid pressed on a new floor that I hadn't been to before. The tension in the elevator was unreal as Zaid was in one corner and I was in the other. We could only look at each other's reflections through the elevator door. I could smell his musk, which smelled so good that I was almost intoxicated with him.

I was relieved once the elevator stopped and we walked out to a wide reception area that spread out into wings.

He turned at me and smiled as I followed him, and I kind of knew where we were going. He opened the two large doors of his wing and I gasped as I walked in.

His wing consisted of two floors, the floor we were in, the first floor contained a study area, a walk in closet, and a huge library of books that reached he ground floor, which the first floor overlooked and was open to. The ground floor contained his main bed and living area with a large TV and stereo system. He had a small elevator next to the stairs and we went down to the ground floor.

I was still admiring his wing as we sat at the living area as I looked around, and the ground floor had tall windows that overlooked the gardens that surrounded the house. It looked like it was out of a movie.

"Hathi '3urfitik?" I asked as I walked around his room. It was a stupid question and "'3urfa" was a stupid word of choice but for some reason I was so nervous around him.

"Ee," he said as he stood up, and the sound of his cane as he walked echoed through his wing.

"Ugh lo ana minnik chan ma 6ala3t," I said as I looked around.

I saw a row of various colored canes next to the changing room and I ran my hands across them.

"Your cane collection?" I asked.

"Ee," he said with a chuckle as he picked up a black one with a silver handle.

"Hathi my favorite, khathait'ha min Seattle bas lail7een ma istakhdamt'a" he said, admiring his cane.

"Shfeech?" he asked when he saw me smiling.

"Madry laish thakartni b Bruce Wane," I said. So much for being smooth.

He laughed loudly. "Batman?"

I nodded, embarrassed.

"T9adgeen 3ajibni iltashbeeh," he said and I rolled my eyes.

"Lat9adig wayid," I joked.

"3ayal intay shnu?" he asked me. I shrugged.

"Oh, catwoman," he said.

"I'm a cat?" I asked him flatly.

"Ashkara wala mara shiftay Catwoman," he joked while he wiggled his brows and I was left stupefied. I made a mental note to watch Catwoman.

He plopped back down on the couch. He chuckled and sat in front of me. His eyes were strictly focused on me as he placed his right leg above his left knee.

"Shnu?" I said as I felt hot under his stare.

"T3arfeen shnu," he could only say as he smiled.

"Ili a3arfa inna ma9adig btrid bacher," I said.

"Latyeebeen 6ari bacher," he said, almost hurt, and I nodded.

"Asif mu qa9di a3a9ib," he said, even if he sounded far from angry, "bas wallah hal isbou3 lo shnu ansaa," he added. I could smile in agreement.

"Ili e7ir inna shlon ma 3arafna ba3a'6 gabl iltrip 7ag Paris?" I asked him.

 He chuckled as he stood up and headed to the shelves of books.

"Khal ashouf itha ra7 t3arfeeni," he said as he pulled out a book.

It was a yearbook. He sat next to me as he opened the book, when we were in grade 9, and showed me his picture.

I gasped and laughed at the same time and apologized for laughing but he was laughing too.

"Ubai hatha inta?!" I asked him as I grabbed the book to zoom in.

"Lil2asaf," he said. He looked like a chubby teenager with braces and a horrible case of acne, it was like another person from a parallel world.

"Mu layig kan 3ndik awkward phase!" I told him as I laughed.

"Intay matwaqa3 kan 3ndich awkward phase," he told me. I shook my head.

"Grade 10 '6aim!" I told him but he wiggled his eyebrows as he stood up and walked again to the library.

I ran to the bookshelf right when I realized what he was doing.

"Zaid mara7 itshouf 9oorti!" I said and he could only laugh as he tried to grab the book behind me.

We stopped messing around when the doors of the wings swung open and a familiar face looked down to see us together, almost stunned and disgusted at the same time.

It was Zaina.

***
Dedicated to Maha :*

twitter: @cashmerepoison

ask.fm/xcashmerepoison