I don't like you Neil D'Silva

*4*

"BARE concrete walls, a brick wall on one side, some exposed pipes, concrete floor, lots of open space, nice open bar, big patio. Hm, this would be quite a work, but a work I'd have fun doing nonetheless."
Farah says as she examines the place. Her hair was now tied up in a messy bun, a few loose strands falling in front of her face. Her shoe laces were undone, so she bent down to tie them back. She heard Neil suck in air through his teeth, clearly meaning he was looking at her ass. He was thinking of the many ways he could bend her like that, over the kitchen counter, over the table, on his bed...

"stop staring you pervert!" Farah's voice brought him back to reality. She told back up and fixed her dress, tugging it down a little. "relax Fay, don't flatter yourself, it's nothing I haven't seen before," Neil comments, making her gasp. She didn't know why that offended her. Did he not find her attractive anymore? Has he seen better than this after her? Does he have someone else in his life? Farah couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy at that thought. She tried to shake that thought out of her head and managed to do so.

"So, how's life huh? What've you been doing after high school? How's your family?" Neil starts the conversation.

"why do you care?" She retorts.

"Jeez I was just asking, don't have to get your panties in a bunch. I thought if we're gonna work together so might as well," he sounded defeated and that didn't sit right with her, so with a sigh she says, "alright sorry. But really there hasn't been anything interesting going on in my life. Got an art degree in UK, been designing peoples house ever since. Thought I'd start my own thing here and I did and that's how my names pretty high up there and yeah, mama, papa, and Zarah are all good. What about you?" She asks,

"Well after high school I got into a culinary school obviously, became a chef. Worked in India for like a year until I came back to Dubai to work in my dad's restaurant in Downtown Dubai, Thadka, and became head chef there and now I want my own thing. I've always wished to have my own restaurant you know, so people know me for well...me, and not for being Dilip D'Silva's son, you get me?" She looks at him.
She gets him, of course she does, but she doesn't say anything and instead just nods.

"So, you have a boyfriend?" Neil surprises himself by asking. He was rocking back and forth on his heels, looking at his shoes. Neil didn't know why he even asked her this question, or why this question was even on his mind in the first time. She looked at him, eyebrows raised up on her forehead, looking at him like he just asked her something he shouldn't. "Um what?" She asks, amusement lacing her tone. She looks at him as he tried to look anywhere else but her. He looked nervous and was anticipating her answer,

"anyways, no I'm not but why do you ask?" She asks him,

"were you always this beautiful or did time do something good?" Neil flirts and she scoffs, "do you really think you can use a line from Yeh Jawaani Hai Dewaani and woo me?"

"it worked before in high school, thought it might work again," he simply says,

"oh shut up Neil," she exclaims but tries to hide the smile creeping on her lips. "what about you?" She asks. It's not weird to ask your ex if he's dating someone else, especially if he asked you that question first . It really isn't a big deal at all. "Nah, the only love in my life right now is garlic naan with some butter chicken," he sighs at the thought making fresh garlic naan with butter on top. He could make it for Farah some day, he thought, but quickly shook that out of his head.

"Ok lets discuss what exactly you want in this space," Farah starts, "actually, I was thinking you tell me what you think I should do with this place huh? You're the interior designer her not me," Neil says from behind her. She turns around to see him standing pretty close to her, and because he was, she had bumped her head again his. "ow!" She exclaims, "why were you even standing so close?" She rubs her forehead and he mimics her.

"anyways so I was thinking..." Farah starts explaining her ideas, walking around the area showing what she could do with this place. Neil watches her as she moves her hand around while explaining. Watching her like this reminded him of the days when they dated, how she'd move her hands when she would explain some things to him, how she involuntarily plays with hair when she goes deep into her explanation. He looked at her in awe, smiling as he thought of the eighteen year old Farah he was once with.

She snapped her fingers in front of his face, "hello? So do you like my idea?" She asks, hope clouding her eyes as she patiently waits for his ideas. Farah knew her ideas were great, she knew that it would be exactly what the restaurant would need, but of course she'd need approval. "Yeah um it's great," his voice wavered. She didn't believe him,

"oh really? What was so great about it? What part did you like?"

"the um, about the bar, um how you're gonna do th-"

"You weren't listening were you? God why did I even agree to this, I knew it would be a waste of time!"she starts to walk towards the door, "Fay wait," he caught her wrist, catching her off guard for the second time today. She turns around and looks into his brown eyes, feeling weak at his intense gaze.

"I'm sorry Farah, I just got a little distracted but I know that's not an excuse to not listen. See, I completely trust you with this restaurant and I know you'll do a great job," Farah was shocked at his behaviour. She never thought Neil would say something like this. She never thought she'd even see this guy in her life again, let alone design his dream project with him. Is he really the same guy she left behind in high school ?

******
Sending love your way
HappyWatermelonKid •~•