7

Chloe

  A knock on my door, while Taylor's songs were blasting on my speakers, interrupts my embarrassing dance moves. Turning the volume low, I saunter towards the door; my mother's glare welcomes me. 

  "I've been knocking on your door since five minutes," she says. 

  "What's the matter, mom?" I ask her. 

  "Your friends are here" she says and walks back downstairs.

  I walk down, and see Mahin and Layla, seated on the couch, with their belongings on the coffee table in front of them.  Dad was talking with them, it was something serious, by looking at their face expressions but I guess he changes the topic after spotting me come downstairs.

  "And here she comes, our beloved Chloe" he says dramatically. He still thinks we are young girls that he acts like an entertainer in front of us. 

  "We were just having a conversation of how to get rid of you, marry you off or send you somewhere. We settled on the latter one, with Allan, be thankful" Mahin says and the others, including mom, laughs. 

  They weren't talking about it; I'm sure as hell about that.

  "Yeah, whatever" I say and they stand up, so I walk them to my room.

  After thirty minutes, I'm all set to go. With my hair let free after treated to look wavy, instead of curly. And a dark eyeshade pairing with a violet lipstick with a light shade. I wear my clothes and ask them for opinion. This, according to them, was showing my style, in a perfect blend with makeup and hair. 

  "Girl, you look hot, good luck getting railed tonight" Mahin winks at me.

  "Stop, I'm still on my periods" I argue and try not to blush.

  "Whatever, you should go right now" Layla says and they walk to their homes after bidding me byes.

  I had booked a cab to the club, which arrived shortly after the girls left. Dad took my car to somewhere I don't know about, because mom took his, he said he'll leave the car in the parking of the club. 

  My phone pings with a notification of a text message just I had covered half the distance from my home to the club, it's from Allan. 

  Allan: I'll be a bit late, is it okay for you to accompany yourself?

  Me: Yeah, it is okay.

  Allan: okay 

  After reaching, I spot two empty bar stools so I grab the opportunity to sit on those, keeping the latter reserved for Allan. Just as I sit, order a glass of cold water, a guy pops to the other side of me, where another guy just left it empty with a girl, they're getting heated somewhere, probably. 

  "Is this seat taken?" he asks me.

  "No" I reply and he sits on that stool. My eyes skirt around the shelves of alcohol and all that in front of me. 

  "Have you been waiting for someone" I hear the guy say, I look at him and point at myself. 

  "Were you talking to me, mister?" I ask and he nods. 

  "Yeah" I reply and look at my phone as I get a notification again. This time it's the girls.

  I've been so busy in the texting cycle that I don't notice the guy forcing me to talk. I finally look up at him with a bored expression. 

  "Can you please stop whatever you're saying?" I say and his jaw clenches. Such an arrogant asshole.

  Just when I open my mouth to say some shit to him, I hear an unfamiliar male voice from my other side. "Oh darling, you've been sitting here and I have searched for you in the whole place" he says. 

  He's a good looking man, with his hair messy, too tall, like maybe more than six and a half feet and dressed like a bad boy, beautiful with his stone-carved features. Nice, but he's definitely not Allan. I'm even sure I have never met him but why is he even calling me darling? I guess because the guy on my other side is bothering me? He might be here to play gentleman and make the creep go from here, or was it planned, like, one would act as creep in front of a girl and the latter would come and save and then he could win her heart and maybe also get her to bed? But what if it's only that he's here to just you save me from this creep with no intentions behind it?

  Wishing it's not something similar to the latter thought I have, I stand up and give him a light hug "you took so long to come here, you know, I was getting pissed" I say and he laughs, and then looks behind me to the guy. 

  "Is he bothering you, darling?" he raises a brow at him. 

  "Yeah, kind of" I reply

  "Go off, man, finders, keepers" he says and the man grunts, curses at him saying he cockblocked him or something and walks away. After making sure the guy was nowhere in the reachable sight, I take a step backwards and he does too. 

  I should thank this guy, at least that's what I can do to him, right?

  "Um, thank you, err" is stop, where are your manners, Chloe? You should have at least asked his fucking name before showing your gratitude.

  But the man in front of me smiles "It's Zayd Khan" he says and forwards his hand for me. 

  "Chloe Mintz" I say and give my hand in his, he bends over and kisses my knuckles and lets my hand free to withdraw it from his hand. And just when he stands straight a familiar feminine voice rings our ears. 

  "Hey C!" she says, it's Sarah. 

  "Hey, Sar" I say and she hugs me and then eyes the male in front of me. Honestly their height differences is laughable, he's at least a foot taller than her, and her standing beside him makes her look like a chicken in front of a lion. She's wearing black leggings and black tank top and a leather jacket over it. Her hair is let free and she isn't wearing any hijab.

  "Waiting for your hot date?" she asks me and I nod. 

  "What are you doing here?" I question her. 

  "My friend was on a break with his boyfriend, took me with him as a side chick to make his boyfriend jealous and they left me here as he took my car and drove his boyfriend somewhere" she replies.

  "Is this guy bothering you?" she asks me, again after looking at Zayd as if to threaten him.

  "Nope, but he prevented me from lashing out on one in public" I reply and she looks at him again. 

  "Thank you for that" she says him. And they shake hands, what's up with people shaking their hands so much these days? I catch something in his eyes when she speaks to him, but it's soon gone when he replies with a 'welcome' and something more. 

  "Where's your hijab?" I ask her.

  "I'm getting my hair cut off, tomorrow, so it's like a farewell to the babies. And besides, I had to make someone jealous, couldn't do it with hijab on" she says. 

  I find it intriguing that Zayd didn't take his eyes off her since she came here. Not to judge, but based on the outfits they both are wearing tonight, they would make a good couple. Jeez, where did that fucking thought come from? 

  "You're the author of the book 'Me and My Imperfections'?" he asks. 

  That book of her is quite famous, and is also loved by many. Honestly, I must say, writing in an excellent manner is a talent which only a few writers have, and they get famous. I'm proud because my best friend here is one among those. 

  "Yes. And you might be the owner of the ZK watches right?" she asks him in return. They might have exchanged their names at some point when I didn't care much about what they're talking about. 

  "Yes" he replies. 

  "She is obsessed with your watches" I add, to make them realise that I'm present in the room, and they need not be lost in each other's eyes like they are.

  "Like, is fine, but obsessed is not the word I would like to use" she says. 

  They both leave the place one after another, as Sarah mentioned somewhere in our conversation that she was waiting for a cab, but I didn't notice it much. 

  Not even five minutes pass after they leave and I start getting bored. So I look up at the crowd and spot Allan at the doorway. He's wearing a black high neck t-shirt and black tight, shredded jeans. His hand goes behind his head as he scratches the back of his neck and then stops when he spots me. 

  I wave a hand over his direction, he waves it back and walk over, sits on the empty spot beside me. 

  "Sorry for being late" he says.

  "It's okay, my friend was here too, she went like five minute ago" I say, trying to make him know that I dint mind.

  But oh god, he looks like and angel from heaven, but in black instead of the stereotypical color gave to them, white. Those almond shaped blue-green eyes, that brown messy hair, pink heart shaped lips, bulky figure, light stubble, dreamy eyes. Okay, I'm going to tell Sarah to write a book with a character similar to Allan in looks. I'm really not sure if she will add it, but I can emotionally blackmail her to do it.

  "Oh, is it, why did she go? She could've accompanies you until I would have arrived" he says. 

  Just as I open my mouth to answer his question, the bartender asks for our drinks. He orders for a beer and I want just a flavoured sparkling water.

  "No alcohol?" he asks me.

  "I'm driving" I reply and he nods. I force myself shut, not to talk about what I was going to tell him. Because why should I force words out of mister cold man? 

  "You were about to say something" he says.

  "Yeah, that, she was here with a friend of hers who got drunk and she's gone to drop him home as he passed out, low alcohol tolerance" I quickly make up a story in my head, probably faster than speed of light. Fellas, let's give my information to the world Guinness record; I just broke it with my thought. Okay okay, I know I've got the worst humour. 

  I could have said the real truth, because I'm not against gay couple, but I'm not sure about the guy in front of me. 

  "Oh" he replies and I nod. 

  "Shit" he mumbles when a girl spills her drink on his sleeve.

  "Oh sorry" she says as she grabs tissues from the counter and starts wiping his sleeve. 

  "I'm so sorry, I can clean it and give it back to you tomorrow if you don't mind" she says as she bats her thick fake eyelashes on him and makes a pout while dabbing his hand. I notice her hand, she's wearing a ring in her ring finger, she's either engaged or committed, or it can be that she just likes to wear ring a lot. But why only in the ring finger? And her other hand is on his bicep. 

  "Excuse me, miss, can you back off from my boyfriend, you've disturbed us" I say as I stand from the stool and hold her wrist across his lap. He stares at me but then wraps his arm around my waist.

  "Yes, can you please leave?" he asks her. 

  "But –" she begins to say but he cuts her off, making her shut her jaw.

  "No buts, leave before I call the security" he looks intimidating.

  I sit back on my place when she huffs and leaves and his hand stays on my thigh instead of my waist. My waist feels sudden loss of heat as all the heat is transferred to the place where his hand is. 

  "Is she dumb? That thing might have cost thousands of dollars" I say as I point at shirt.

  "Does it matter?" he asks

  "Yes" 

  "Thousands of dollars is just like a small shell, for me" 

  "What about million?"

  "Nothing"

  "Billion?" 

  "Nothing" 

  "Are you sure you're a human?" 

  "Yes, why? You want to check it?" he smirks. My cheeks heat up and I look away. 

  "Come on, there's no fun in shying away" he calls out.

  "You look handsome" I say. He looks at me blankly and then we both laugh a little.

  "You look pretty when you laugh" I say "Oh no, not pretty, but as manly pretty. Argh, ignore that, you look good when you laugh, you should laugh more often" I blabber. 

  "So you mean I'm grumpy, cold and an ass?" he raises a brow.

  "Yes, I mean no"

  "Let me show you how I am" he says and his hand slides inside, in my thigh, but maintaining a good distance from the place where all the heat in my body is rushing to, and leans in my ear. "Do you want to see the whole package or just a demo?" he whispers in my ear and sucks my earlobe with his lips.

  I gulp, my cheeks feel hot, and I push him away by placing a hand on his chest. He sits back on his place, with his hand withdrawn. I fan my face. "It's quite hot in here" I say.

  "It might be hot in here, but my room has cool temperature" he smirks.

  "Right now, I'm okay with the hotness" I reply, I almost forgot I was having my periods

  I down my sparkling water, and ponder upon what the speed of light is. Remember, to be precise. I need to distract my thought from the man beside me. Layla still remember all the concepts we were taught in our school I must ask her to confirm whether it were three million miles or meters or billion meters per second.

  "What are you thinking, Chloe" he asks.

  Is this the first time he's calling me by my name? Doesn't matter, because oh God, he says it so smoothly.

  "Speed of light" the words leave my mouth before I could think what to say. "Fuck" I curse when I realise what I just spoke, because hey, it is too embarrassing, trust me it is.

  "It's almost two thousand miles per second" he says. 

  "Oh" I say.

  "You've turned all red" he says and my cheeks take the cue to heat up even more. Stupid body of mine.

  I notice his glass of beer, so I grab it and chug it down my throat. Fuck the car. I'm going to drink tonight if it's going to save me from utter embarrassment right now.

  "Slow down, baby, it ain't going nowhere" he says when I choke on the last bit of the beer while patting my back.