If You Only Knew Me (30 ◇ Muneera)

Thank you all for the comments on the last post, can't wait to read your comments again xx

Dedicated to my faithful reader Z! 

Happy reading, 

Cashmere
***

Thursday, December 8th, 2016...

"اهلا، اي انا وصلت...وصلت؟"

I said to Fahad over the phone. I held my black clutch tighter as I looked around the Palms, slightly nervous for this "date" with him. I real did not want to disappoint him. I just wanted it to be perfect, more for him than for me.

"chocolate bar أي كاني جدام "

He said and I looked around until I saw him, looking dashing in a pair of dark jeans and gray shirt. His lips pulled up into a smile, which were framed by his two deep dimples as he looked at me through his warm eyes.

I hung up as I walked to him, feeling confident in my pink jacket which I paired with black pants and a white shirt and pair of ankle-high boots. My hair was curled at the ends and my makeup was simple yet it brought out my features. I had to wear one of his lipsticks, of course.

I watched him look at me up and down as I approached him and I smiled, but to myself. I couldn't believe he actually liked what he was seeing…actually I was just starting to. I truly felt beautiful when I was with him.

"شكلج حلو"

He said with a smile, looking up to meet my eyes. 

"وكل مرة لا؟"

I teased and he laughed.

"اليوم بعد احلى"

He said and I smiled.

"شكلك حلو بعد"

I said and he smiled, and maybe it was dark but I thought I saw him blush.

"وين تبين ناكل؟"

He asked me and I looked around, indecisively. I remembered Jana when she told me that guys liked a girl who knew what she wanted and made things easy. I just had to be that person. 

"chocolate bar تشوقت جنى ودي"

I said.

"أي تصدقين انا بعد"

He agreed.

I was glad he chose this spot because I was more than sure we wouldn't run into anyone here. He opened the door for me and I walked in before him with a smile. We walked up the stairs and I couldn't help but wonder if he was staring at my body as I walked up the stairs. I hoped he found me attractive. 

"وين تبين؟"
He asked as soon as we reached the first floor. 
I gulped as I looked around, wondering if there was anyone we knew. The coast was clear. This was risky but it gave me a rush.

"هني؟"
I said, walking to a corner window seat and he sat in front of me.

This was really happening. The waitress welcomed us and placed the menus in front of us but I already knew what to get.

"Pink pasta?"I suggested.

"Oo fries," he agreed and I smiled.

"اكيييد" 

I said.

He called for the waiter to take our orders, ordering a chocolate milkshake for him and a Diet Coke for me.

He put down his phone to look at me and I felt goosebumps rise up and down my hands. 

I had a good feeling that I was never going to get used to how he made me feel when his eyes were locked on mine. How the corner of his lip went up when he saw me. It was those little things that sent waves of attraction washing over me and I couldn't get enough of them.

"مرة ثانية يا تاخذني معاك او لا تخليني فترة طويلة"

I taunted and he laughed.

"الحين خمسة ايام فترة طويلة؟"

He teased.

"طبعا"

I said and he smiled.

"عيل شنو بتسويين لي سافرت أمريكا حق الجامعة؟"

He said and I immediately sat up straight.

"!فهد لا تذكرني"

I said and he smiled.

"بس عشان تهيئين نفسج..."

He said and I bit my lip.

"راح تنساني صح؟"

I said and he leaned in.

"انا انساج؟ انسى نفسي قبل لاانساج"

He said and I felt my lips part as his sentiment. 

He really was everything.

The waiter arrived with the drinks in front of us.

"لا تفكرين شنو بيصير، استانسي الحين"

He said and I nodded, but part of me was dreading the future. How was I going to deal with him being gone?

My phone vibrated on the table.

Jana: manouur shloun the date??

I felt guilty when she called it that but I guessed it really was a date. I told my mother I was going with Jana to the cinema and I didn't know how she trusted me, not after Rawan had told her about me and Fahad at the carnival.

"ما تفكرين تدرسين برة؟"

He said and I shrugged. 

"ان شاء الله اهلي يرضون, تخيل لو الحق عليك السنة الياية؟"

I said and he smiled.

"جد حاولي...انزين يالله متى بتيين الشاليه؟ يبيلنا سباق جت سكي"

He said.

"الوضع صار bucket list"

I teased and he laughed.

"اوووف بس ترى والله وايد ارتاحلج واستانس معاج"

He said and I smiled…he couldn't be real!

"ليش جنج مو مصدقتني؟"

He said, wiggling his brows and I laughed.

"مادري لأنك فهد الب...."

I said.

"وانتي منيرة الن... شنو يعني؟"

He said and I smiled. He literally could have any girl he wanted yet he chose me. I bit my lip as I asked him the next question I'd been wondering for a while.

He took a sip of his milkshake.

"عاد طلبته بهالبرد؟"
I teased.

"شسوي لذيييذ"
He said with a chuckle.

"عليك بالعافية"
I said.

"جربي وقوليلي اذا يسوى تطلبينه بهالبرد"
He said, pushing the glass lightly towards me and I froze. 

There was no second straw. 

I placed my lips on the straw that once touched his and took a sip.

It really was amazing and I knew it wasn't just because of the milkshake. 

"جد لذيذ...اخذه قبل لا اخلصه عنك"
I said with a laugh, pushing it to him and he smiled.

I watched him drink from the straw again and goosebumps ran up my arms. It wasn't because of the cold. The waitress arrived with a plate of fries and placed it in front of me. 

I bit my lip hesitantly, wondering if I should ask him the next question.

There was no better time than now. 

 "فهد كله بسألك شرايك بروان بنت خالتي؟"

I asked him as the waiter placed the dish of pink pasta right in front of us.

"من أي ناحية؟"

 He asked, grabbing my plate to place some pasta on it before handing it to me.

"مادري يعني كان بينكم شي؟ لأن كله تسولف عنك"

I said and he looked at me blankly before bursting out in laughter.

"انا وروان؟ يصير خير. شفتي اخوها اول شي عشان اقرب صوبها؟ تبيني اموت؟"

He said and I laughed. Her brother, my cousin, was a large guy.

"بس لو مو محمد جان صار شي؟"

I said, taking a bite of the hot pasta. It still tasted good.

"لا ما اعتقد...يعني هي حلوة بس ما شدتني لدرجة ان ودي اتعرف عليها. قاعدة تحاتين؟"

He asked me, raising a brow.

"لا والله كلش بس لأن لو تشووف شلون تتكلم عنك بس."

I said.

"انتي وايد معاها عيل؟"

He asked me and I shook my head.

"اول أي لأن كنا بنفس المدرسة بس الحين لا، صايرة ما تنبلع"

I said as I poked the pasta with my fork and he burst out laughing.

"انزين دام اني بطلت الموضوع خل اسكره وافتح موضوع ثاني، شرايك بمبارة مدريد امس؟"

I said and he looked up, surprised.

"تشوفين مباراة؟"

He asked me, raising his brows.

I didn't. I just knew he loved Real Madrid so I kept myself updated for him.

"أمم أي؟"

I said, in the most "duh" voice possible and a smile formed on his face while his eyes relaxed, like he was liking me even more.

"منو تشجعين؟"

He asked.

"Real Madrid 6ab3an!"

I said and he laughed, impressed by my answer.

"كفو والله"

He said.

I knew him now, I knew him better than Rawan ever did and more than anyone else would. 

"مالك وايد الحين صح؟ your tumblr سؤال ما تستخدم"
I asked him and he nodded.

"الوضع صار مصخرة شوي"
He said.

"صح؟"
I agreed.

"...مالج blogبس حبيت ال"
He said as he chewed on a french fry.

"وايد حلو وماكو خرابيط حب وجذي نفس باجي البنات"
He said and I laughed. Rawan reblogged pictures of couples making out all the time. I was loving every moment of this date.

"اها وما تحب سوالف الحب؟"
I teased, placing my arms on the table and leaning in towards him teasingly.
How did I get so good at this? Maybe it was because of how easy it was to talk to him.

"كلّش"
He said with a wink.

"اكيد يعني friends احنا بس"
I teased again and this time he couldn't hold in his laughter.

"قلتلج ما ينفع معاج المغازل"
He said with a twinkle in his eye and I smiled.

"ها نطلب حلو؟"
He asked.

"لا مشكور انا حلّيت"
I said, holding in a smile as I looked at him.

"طلبي بس طلبي يالله"
He teased and I laughed.

"وتقول انا ما ينفع معاي المغازل؟"
I said.

"Oo aby gooey cake please," I added with a wink and he laughed.

"حاضر"
He said as he called the waitress to order our dessert.

"ها وين المرة الياية ان شاء الله؟"
I said with a smile.

"قلتلج الشاليه"
He said, leaning in towards me.

"اها وايد سهل"
I teased and he chuckle before leaning back. He looked at me, like really looked at me as if he was admiring my features that I'd once hated.
With him, I felt different.
With him, everything felt right.

"ما قلتلي شصار باللنج؟"
I asked him as soon as his eyes wandered elsewhere and his face lit up in excitement as he began to tell me about the speedboat he'd been dreaming of getting. I watched his eyes light up as he talked about it, how his hands moved to express his feelings and I had to smile at his passion. I wondered if he would ever talk about me that way.

"Gooey chocolate cake," the waitress interrupted us as she placed it right in front of us.

"الله يستر"
He said as he looked at the dessert and I laughed.

We devoured the dessert together, fighting here and there with our spoons over the last few drops of ice-cream that was melting in the dish.

"امبيه شتبي انا خذيته اول"
I said.

"توج ماخذة لا تجذبين"
He said as his spoon flicked my spoon away.

"نطلب واحد ثاني؟"
I teased with a smile that I knew what covered in chocolate and he laughed.

"يالله عاد يالله"
He teased back and I put my spoon away. My stomach was going to explode.

"امبيه خيال"
I said.

"...ان حاشني حارج يا منيرة"
He said and I laughed.

"بس على الأقل بتذكرني صح؟"
I teased and he laughed this time.

I looked at my phone, it was almost 9:30 and I knew I had to go.

He paid for the dinner and opened the door for me, like a true gentleman.

"See you youm ila7ad, wallah I had fun!" I said, I was careful about not being seen with him in front of the driver so he wouldn't rat on me. Or maybe I was paranoid...

"انا اكثر، لازم نعيدها"

 He said and I smiled.

"اكيد"
I said before I turned around. 

"سايقج وصل؟"
He asked me.

"ما اشوفه تصدق؟"
I said, standing on my tip toes. 
I called Freddy only to learn that he was stuck in traffic. 

"امبيه يحر قلتله يكون هني على ال٩ وربع"
I said.

"ميخالف خل نمشي نهضم شوي"
He said.

"عن الحارج ها؟"
I teased and he threw his head back in laughter.

"عن الحارج"
He said as he placed his hands in his pockets and I followed him with a smile. 

The weather was not too cold but perfect for walking outside since we were both well dressed.

"عادي تتأخرين ولا لازم ٩:٣٠ بالبيت؟"
He asked me.

"اي حقي انا لازم"
I said while rolling my eyes.

"وباجي اخوانج شلون؟"
He asked with a chuckle.

"اختي طبعا ماكو حدود"
I blurted out with a chuckle.

"ليش جم عمرها؟"
He asked me.

"٢٥"
I replied.

"اها...عندج خوان غيرها؟"
He asked me and I shook my head.

"عيل اكيد انتي وايد معاها"
He said and I laughed, but he scrunched his brows together in confusion.

"Sorry bas 7adaa la2," I said.

"شلون؟"
He asked me.

"مادري...وايد شايفة نفسها وبس منفسة"
I ranted and he laughed, surprised I was talking that way about my sister. 
We reached the end of the strip now so we turned on our heels to walk back. My eyes were locked on a group of teenaged girls who were clearly judging me and Fahad. 

I smiled at them slyly...

He's mine, all mine...

"انت شلون اخوانك؟"
I asked him.

"انا بالنص...بس وايد مع بعض لأن احنا بس ٣ اخوان"
He said.

"اشوه ان ما عندي اخو"
I said and he raised his brows.

"افاا ليش؟"
He said and I smiled.

"عشان ما تخترع منه وتوخر عني"
I said, wiggling my brows and he laughed.

"...والله عيارتج"
He laughed again as he shook his head. 

We were right in front of Chocolate Bar again and my phone rang before Freddy hung up to inform me that he was right outside.

"سايقي وصل"
I said as I turned to him and he bit his lip...looking so crazy attractive doing it. 

"جنه بسرعة؟"
He said, tilting his head.

"للأسف"
I said and he smiled, showing off his pearly whites.

"مشكور وايد"
I said.

"حياج منيرة....اشوفج الأحد عيل"
He said ad I nodded.

"الأحد"
I repeated before I turned on my heels to walk to the car.

I hurried as cars behind Freddy were honking for him to move and I was pretty much making them late. As soon as I got in the car I sent a voice message to Jana about my "date". 

I got a reply back almost instantly...but it wasn't from Jana. 

wayed wayed estanast ma3ach muneera. youre a very special girl

I was going to burst out smiling.

wallah thank you sooo much fahad it means a lot o you're the most special person I've ever met

He was online, and it was a matter of seconds before he read my message.

Fahad: a7bech wallah

He said it. 

He said it.

Not literally but he wrote it so that had to be true…and he was online while I texted him which meant he was nervous about texting me that. I couldn't stop smiling as I replied to him.

Me: mo kethry...

The driver park and I walked outside to the garage where I played with Rosegold for a while, still not in disbelief at what Fahad had sent me. I was head over heels in love with him right now.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

Jana is calling...

"امبيه جنوي لازم اقولج شصار"
I said as I walked into the house.

"تكفييين! امبيه يالله قولي"
She said but I bit my lip as I walked up the stairs to my room.

After her and Khalid I wasn't sure if it was considerate of me to boast about my relationship with Fahad. It wasn't fair to her.

"-اكيد؟ اخاف تزعلين عقب امم خا"
I said but she interrupted me.

"امبيه منور من صجج؟ حيل عادي والله يالله سولفي"
She said. I wasn't entirely convinced but I started to tell her what had happened anyway.
I listened to her screeching every ten seconds and "cuuuute" every five.

"شوفي شنو طرشلي"
I said as I sent her a screenshot of his text to me, but I cropped out my reply.

"جذاااابة"
She said, screeching too.

"عاد منّور تدرييين جم وحدة حاولت تييب راسه؟ يالساحرة شسويتي يما منّج؟"
She said and I laughed, but deep down I was wondering what he saw in me that made him like me this much...I would never know.

What mattered was that we really enjoyed each other's company. We understood each other. Our conversations were so easy and endless we could get lost in each other's thoughts.

Jana and I continued to talk until she told me she had to go because her KFC dinner had arrived and she did not want it to get cold.

"bye امبيه تغثين يالله"
I said as we hung up.

I reread Fahad's text again and I smiled to myself.
He liked me. He really did.

I sat up from my bed and got changed into my pajamas, which were a pair of shorts and oversized shirt. I snuggled into bed to watch Netflix to end the day just right, but much to my luck the Wifi in my wing was really slow due.

"Ufff!" I huffed as I grabbed my macbook air and went outside my room to the living room, hoping for a better signal.

Still nothing, just slight improvement that didn't do much at all.

I slipped on my house slippers and went downstairs to the guest reception area where I knew the reception was the best in the house. It was already dark as all the lights were off since it was almost 11, except for the ones coming from the stairs leading to Danah's floor below me.

I was finally able to play the latest episode of Orphan Black.

"لا يالله عاد"
I said, my macbook was on %9 now and I forgot my charger upstairs. I huffed again and unplugged my earphones to get up and slipped on my house slippers again.

As I approached the stairs I kept hearing chuckles coming from Danah's floor downstairs, and not just her's but the sound of a man's too. I gulped and inched near the stairs, careful not to make a sound.

"مليت انحكر يا ببيتي او بشاليهك خلاص ابي اطلع معاك cruiseامبيه حمد يالله كلها قهوة و"
I heard Danah say and I gulped.

"حتى انا والله بس واذا احد شافنا؟ كلّش مو حلوة"
He said.

"شعليك؟ ومنو اصلا بيشوفنا؟ انا بطلع يعني بطلع اذا بتقعد المكان مكانك"
She said and I heard the sound of keys now.
I walked closer to the stairs so I could see them now. I saw Danah, wearing a black shoulder cut-out sweater with black leather leggings that framed her model-like legs with him, Hamad, who looked pretty handsome in a pair of dark jeans and black sweater. Of course she got the good-looking guys.
Then I remembered, I did too.

"راسج شنو يابس"
He teased, placing a hand on my sister's head and shaking it while she laughed and pushed him away before he wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed her forehead.

Who was he and why had he not yet proposed if he was this in love with her?

"اسوق سيارتج؟"
He said, grabbing her keys.

"تعرفلها؟"
She teased and he slapped her from behind and she yelped before he laughed while placing a finger on his lips.

I wasn't believing my eyes.

The last I saw of them was him opening the door and her blocking his exit as he walked out of the house. Her face was in front of his and a sly smile played her lips as her eyes looked up and down between his eyes and his lips. But before I could see what she was going to do, the door closed, isolating my view from them and I was glad.

I felt sick now. My sister really didn't have limits with this man, just like Jana didn't with Khalid. Even if my sister and I weren't talking I just wished he wouldn't be playing her just like Khalid did with Jana.
I knew no matter what she would never listen. She never did.