Diary on The Shelf!

Chapter 6

'With you, my focus is fractured'

CATHERINE STARED at Lorna, her disbelief evident in her gaping expression. Lorna snapped her fingers in front of Catherine's face to snap her out of her daze. She blinked rapidly, her eyes finally focusing on Lorna's amused face.

"Hey, you with me?" Lorna teased, chuckling softly.

Catherine quickly recovered and nodded, flustered. She grabbed her phone and placed it on Lorna's lap, her fingers fumbling slightly. Lorna laughed softly at Catherine's nervousness and unlocked the phone.

Catherine blushed as Lorna gave her an amused look, "Relax, I'm not going to bite."

Catherine managed a sheepish smile and quickly punched in her password to unlock the phone. "Here you go," she said softly, handing the phone back to Lorna.

Lorna shook her head playfully, "No, I need her number, Catherine. Dang." She chuckled, taking the phone from Catherine and giving her hers motioning for her to input Halima's number.

Catherine's face turned a shade redder, her embarrassment evident as she took the phone and input her number. "There you go," she mumbled, feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement.

Lorna saved the number and flashed a satisfied smile at Catherine. "Thanks."

Catherine finally found her voice, "My pleasure," she replied with a hint of a smile.

Lorna stood up and stretched, glancing back at Catherine with a playful wink. "Well, say hi to her. I hope to see both of you at the game on Saturday."

Catherine's heart raced at the thought of seeing Lorna again, and she couldn't help but smile widely. "Definitely, I'll make sure of it," she replied, feeling a newfound energy surging within her.

As Lorna walked back to her teammates and friends, a slightly skinny girl with blue-dyed short hair sashayed towards her, swinging her hips so Catherine thought for a moment that they were about to pop. The girl wrapped her arms around Lorna's waist who sighed heavily and pried her arms off her.

As Lorna walked back to her teammates and friends, a slightly skinny girl with blue-dyed short hair sashayed towards her, swinging her hips so Catherine thought for a moment that they were about to pop. The girl wrapped her arms around Lorna's waist who sighed heavily and pried her arms off her.

Catherine grabbed her small kitenge bag in one arm and carried her blue water bottle in her other hand and left the court. She couldn't wait to tell Halima all about it and she wanted to do it face-to-face even if it meant brushing shoulders with the older Khalid. For Halima.

She flagged down a passing motorcycle and gave the middle-aged man Halima's address. It was only a short ride to her home and within fifteen minutes given the slight traffic that blocked the roads even for motorists, she finally made her way across Halima's home.

She rang the bell and took a step back, her left foot tapping on the floor in quick succession as she waited for the door to be opened. She lifted her fist to knock again when the door was yanked open.

"Your shoes Catherine!" Mrs. Khalid called her back when she started making her way upstairs. Mrs. Khalid sighed heavily and glared at her figure, she had to have a talk with Halima about her friend . . . again.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Khalid." She chimed as she got rid of her doc martens and quickly—but cautiously—rushed upstairs to Halima's room.

She grabbed the handle and twisted it in one swift motion, "Guess what!" Startled, Halima tossed a book aside, her expression a mix of surprise and mild panic.

"I wasn't doing anything!" She responded alarmed, her heart thumping in her chest at an alarming rate. For a moment she thought her mother or sister had caught her in the middle of an erotic novel she was reading between two women.

She swallowed harshly and took deep breaths, she could already feel her pits stinging from fear and her palms clammy. Once she calmed her racing heart, she threw Catherine a nasty glare while the other girl shrugged and dumped her bag on Halima's carpeted floor.

Catherine moved across the room and grabbed the book off the floor, Halima got on her feet and scrambled to grab the book much to no success as Catherine raised her hand just above Halima's height. Halima clenched her teeth as Catherine started reading out loud from a random page, she had given up trying to jump to get the book as Catherine would pull it up when her hand got too close.

"Mariah could feel every part of her body awakening as Rita's fingertips brushed across her body. It left behind a tingling sensation that only increased when her warm tongue darted out and licked her earlobe and then behind her ear. Rita quivered . . ."

As Catherine's eyes widened, Halima saw her distracted and yanked the book from her hand. Her face was flushed, red, and hot. She could even feel the heat in her ears, she walked to her wardrobe and tossed the book inside, and then locked the door behind her.

Taking a deep breath, she looked back at Catherine who wore a teasing smirk on her lips, and she groaned. "Don't. Even!" She scowled.

Catherine's smirk only widened to a genuine smile as she led her arms up, Halima fought off a smile forming on her lips and sat back on her bed.

"I wonder what Mrs. Khalid thinks about smut. I should ask her."

Halima grunted and playfully kicked Catherine's back causing the girl to yelp and pointedly glare at her.

"You asshole! I'm not telling you about my talk with Lorna." At this Halima's ears perked, she sat upright on her bed and managed a tiny pout to manipulate her best friend.

"Yeah, that won't work." Catherine furrowed her eyebrows, her nose scrunched.

"Come on," Halima whined. Catherine didn't barge.

"Okay fine, I'll. . . uh. . . let you borrow one of my sister's hoodies," Halima whined.

Catherine narrowed her eyes at her, she had been begging for the hoodie for a while. "The purple one?" She asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, I have it inside my wardrobe." She replied. Catherine broke into a wide grin causing Halima to roll her eyes playfully, she knew Catherine had a little thing for her sister which

"I don't know what you see in her." She grimaced as she stood up to retrieve the hoodie, she then threw it so it hit Catherine in the face.

"Hey!" Catherine scowled. "Careful, now, how will Ifrah see all this beauty when it gets bruising?" She puffed her cheeks out childishly.

Halima waved her off. "Now, tell me about Lorna." She felt her heart doing flips in her chest and a soft tiny smile plastered on her lips.

"Okay, so picture this: she casually saunters over and goes, 'Hey, where's your smoking hot friend? The Muslim one. Can I score her digits?' And I'm like, 'Yeah, why not?'" Catherine playfully mimicked Lorna's voice, trying to add a touch of allure.

Halima couldn't help but chuckle at Catherine's dramatic reenactment, complete with an exaggerated sultry tone. She raised an eyebrow, her lips curling into an amused smile. "Yeah, right. Like she would actually say that." She shook her head, not entirely convinced by Catherine's playful exaggeration.

A startled pause gripped her laughter, her eyes widening in a mixture of astonishment and disbelief. "She asked for my number?" The incredulous question escaped her lips, almost as if she couldn't fathom the possibility of such a request.

Catherine rolled her eyes playfully, she decided to narrate the whole incident to her best friend. As she spoke, Halima's heart fluttered at the thought of Lorna asking for her number. She couldn't help but smile, feeling a rush of excitement. The prospect of possibly getting to know Lorna better had her forgetting all about her earlier video chat with Ismail.