Page 25 of Always? Forever.
It didn’t happen. The kiss didn’t happen. Why do you ask? My phone rang. And the moment was broken. God. It was my mom calling. I guess the news that I was apparently getting married to a girl she never met reached her. In brown families, this was a very bad thing. I cleared my throat as I got up to take my phone while Samaira sat up straight and started fidgeting. I hid a smile. She was nervous as was I.
“Uh, it's my mom.’
“You should take it”
I nodded my head as I answered the call
“What is this news of you getting married to some girl? Why wasn’t I told that you were married? Or better yet being your mother why didn’t I know that you were dating someone?”
“MOM! I’m not married…yet. I plan on marrying her.” I glanced at Samaira, her eyes were wide when I said Iplanned on marrying her. Guess she also, like me, felt weird when it came to that.
There was silence on the other end of the call. “Well, who is she?”
“Samaira,” I said firmly, leaving no room for argument. If my mother had any qualms about Samaira, she would have to put it aside for me.
“Well, why didn’t you say so before!” She replied, shocking me a bit. I knew my mother liked Samaira’s work. But had no idea she liked her enough to marry her son.
“Would you have agreed?” I asked skeptically
“I don’t know, but probably yes I would have, she’s a lovely girl. When do I get to meet her in a personal setting?”
“How about tomorrow?”
“Sounds perfectbeta”
Saying our goodbyes I cut the call.
It was Samaira who broke the silence first. “So guess we are keeping tomorrow aside for your parents?” She asked. I nodded hesitantly, scratching my neck, not sure whether I should have asked her about her availability first.
Taking a deep breath, she said, “Alright then. I’ll deal with my parents once you leave. I rather not give them a heart attack. You didn’t really talk to them did you?”
“I didn’t. But I probably should have” I looked at her apologetically.
She waved it off casually. “This isn’t a real marriage or a proposal. That’s alright. Actually, it’s a good thing. They would be furious if a guy directly called them without them talking to me.” I chuckled
“But can we do a video call with them, together, the day after tomorrow?”
She asked, already frustrated with the thought of her parents getting pissed. I chuckled and nodded a yes.
“I should go” She says, pointing towards the door , neither of us moving from our places.
She got up from where she was sitting and moved closer to me. Was she going to continue what we had started? God I hoped so. But then again, if we did continue I wouldn’t be able to control myself and she deserved better than a guy who was terrible at making decisions. Apparently, I didn’t have to decide because she had gotten up to walk towards the door. Okay then.
“Text me the time for tomorrow?” She asked hesitatingly. I found out that I did not like her hesitating with me. I wanted her to be comfortable with me.
“Sure, Good Night.” I gave her a smile which she returned with a small smile of hers and mumbled a good night. I had decided at that moment that out of all her smiles that I had seen, this one was my second favorite because the small smiles that she gave me were almost shy. It was adorable. Geez did I just use the word adorable? I need to take a walk.
She waited for the elevator as I leaned against my opened door.
“Hey, you never told me why you like to read romance?” I asked her, hoping she’d answer.
Samaira
“Hey, you never told me why you like to read romance?” He asked me casually leaning against the door frame looking hot as hell, I had hoped he’d forgotten about it but apparently not. He looked at me with such a soft smile and a look I couldn’t decipher, it made me feel things that I only wished I would one day feel. I didn’t know whether I liked this knowing we were just entering a marriage of convenience.
But his face made me answer the question with the utmost truth that no one knew.
“They make me feel things I haven’t felt in real life.”
