Coming Home (English Version)

13. Better

Layla

The slick and modern shapes and lines, not only on the home, but also on the gardens and water features, feel a lot like Hamdan. This house is new, the one I used to know is not far from here but it was a lot more traditional looking. I don't think he will ever wander too far away from the Nad Al Sheba area, besides the fact that he owns a good part of it.

A man wearing a white kandura opens the wide main door.

"Good morning, miss Roberts. Please, come in." He suggests while holding the door open.

I hesitate. In fact, I'm not even sure being here is a good idea at all. But seeing him all alone on his birthday broke my heart, how could I say no, I can't go see your falcons with you?

I clear my throat. "Thank you. Tell Hamdan I'll wait here."

The man bows his head and goes back inside, leaving the door open. Weather is getting nicer as the Winter approaches, so I don't mind waiting outside. The phone in my bag buzzes and I check it.

Farouk
Had the best time yesterday! Can't wait for next weekend :)

I can't believe he's this excited after I dodged his attempt to kiss me last night. It was a reflex, I don't know what happened. Apparently, I can laugh with him, I can flirt with him but I'm not ready to kiss him. It's a kiss, just a kiss, with a really handsome guy, what's wrong with me?

"Morning!"

I lift my eyes and see Hamdan in a reddish brown kandura and an ivory headscarf with some patterns that match the color of the kandura. He confidently walks in my direction and kisses me on the cheek. When he pulls back, my eyes are still inspecting his overall look.

"Something wrong?" He asks.

I blink a couple of times and put the phone back in my handbag. "Nothing. It's always a bit of a shock when you're not wearing white."

Okay, fine! He looks really hot but I'm not going to tell him that. I follow him to his G Class and get in the car when he opens the door for me. He starts driving and we leave the property from the main entrance, the same way I came in.

"So, how was your date yesterday?" He wonders.

Oh, no. Please don't. I don't want to talk about that.

"It was fun." I dryly reply.

He glances over at me. "Fun?" He insists.

I keep my eyes on the road ahead of us. "Yeah, it was fun. Can we please not talk about that?"

"Okay. My bad, I assumed you would want to talk more about all the fun you had."

Is he being sarcastic?

I puff all the air out of my lungs. "Why are you being so annoying?"

"What?" He chuckles. "I'm simply trying to make small talk! How am I being annoying?"

"It puzzles me too, you know? How you manage to annoy me every single time."

"Fine! I won't talk!"

"I'm not asking you that! All I'm saying is let's not talk about Farouk!"

He presses his lips together, points at them with his index finger and shakes his head.

"Perfect!" I turm my body away from him and look at my window. "Let's not talk at all."

I can't believe he's doing this! Do men ever grow up?

"Quick question." He tells me. "Can I breathe? Or does my breathing annoys you as well?"