If It's With You

019- Betrayal

Muna

As a middle-aged woman hurried towards the elevator, calling out for us to hold on, I leaned my head against its wall and closed my eyes.

Moments later, she rushed in breathlessly, and chanted a quick "thank you, guys." And a man in here acknowledged her just as the elevator started moving.

We ended up spending the rest of the day with Andrew and his boyfriend, which wasn't bad anyway. Seeing Andrew in love was refreshing, it reminded me of when I first met Carl, we were crazy in love too or at least I was, until Carl decided to mess it up.

My eyes remained closed as the first person exited the elevator and when we started moving up again, I felt Nicklaus' hand brush against mine. Opening my eyes, I looked up at him towering above me, and our gazes met with his expression blank.

We left the restaurant shortly after he came to find me in the restroom, and thank God I was already out because he looked like he was ready to burst into the female restroom.

Meanwhile, I was in there the whole time talking to a girl who was cheated on by her boyfriend. I knew what it felt like to be in a situation like that. So when the random girl, sobbing in the restroom, decided to open up to me after I asked if everything was okay. I listened and gave her a comforting hug with some reassuring words. She needed to know that it was going to be okay.

"You tired?" Nicklaus whisper-asked.

Our ride back home had been quiet with my mind occupied with lots and lots of things. Nicklaus had almost kissed me, Andrew was in love and a girl had cried in my arms in the restroom after being cheated on.

I shook my head 'no' and offered him a smile. And just as I was about to take my gaze away from him, I felt his fingers intertwined with mine. Time seemed to pause, a chilling effect travelling up my arm.

We hadn't talked about what happened on the skating rink, except for when I rehearsed what our conversation might be like over and over again, in my head.

It was going to be simple, he was going to raise the topic. He had to. And I would say; it's fine, let's forget about it and pretend it didn't happen.

Did I want to forget about it? Hell no. If anything I liked that he wanted to kiss me, I wanted to kiss him too, but the restroom girl had refreshed some memories of mine.

Nicklaus moved his head off the elevator wall. "Still worried about her, eh?" He asked, referring to the restroom girl.

I sighed and shook my head, "She will be fine." I was worried about myself. I needed to protect my heart.

He stared at me for a few seconds and neither did I see it coming, nor did I expect what he did next. He inched his face closer and without warning, he pressed his lips against my forehead, with a tenderness that left my body frozen.

The world outside blurred, and for a heartbeat, the only reality was the warmth of his kiss, healing my heart and erasing whatever it was I was worried about. It felt so good. When his lips parted from my forehead, I blinked and stared up at him.

"Better now?" He asked.

His face was only a few inches away from mine and before I could gather my thoughts and give him a reply, he closed the remaining distance and captured my lips in a kiss that carried the weight of an unspoken desire. A desire that got me moving my body to him, and kissing him back.

But at that moment, the elevator dinged open for another person to leave, and Nicklaus' lips paused against mine, leaving the exchange of the air flowing in and out of us. When the elevator continued in its movement, he continued to kiss me slowly causing goosebumps to engulf me, and a soft moan to escape my lips.