Page 124 of The Mismatch

He walked towards her, an anxious look on his face. She had forgotten how big he was. In her memory he had been smaller. His eyes intently searched hers.

‘How have you been?’ he asked, softly.

‘Fine.’

Silence.

‘Look—’ he said, at the same moment Soraya said, ‘Why are you back?’

‘I was in the area?’ He smiled. She didn’t. He scratched the inside of his arm nervously, looking down. ‘I fucked things up with us and …’ His hand seemed to be reaching for something – the right words perhaps?

‘And?’ she said, impatient for him to say what she had wished he would say for months. But it was too late now, wasn’t it?

He closed the space between them, and somehow within a blink of an eye his hands were cupping her face. Despite her better judgement, she closed her eyes and allowed it. Just the touch of his fingertips against her cheek sent sparks through her.

‘I need you to know something: I really wasn’t involved in that bet. I hate that you think I would do something like that, toyou.’

She could hear the pain in his voice, knew instantly that he wasn’t lying. But did it even matter anymore whether he had lied? Did any of it matter now?

‘I’ve missed you,’ he whispered. So quietly, she wasn’t sure if she had imagined it.

‘I’ve missed you too,’ she replied, despite her gut telling her not to.

His lips grazed hers gently. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he lifted her up, setting her down on the table. He grabbed her legs and she wrapped them around his waist. He suddenly deepened the kiss, each movement deeper and more desperate than the last. His mouth was hot, his tongue expertly caressing hers, and his hands held her waist like she was made of glass.

It was Soraya who broke the kiss first. ‘Wait,’ she said, putting a hand on his chest, imposing a much-needed barrier. ‘You can’t just …’ She shook her head. ‘You can’t just come back, after all this time, and kiss me, and expect me to fall at your feet.’ He gave her a small smile. His lips were a deep shade of pink; a reminder that she’d done just that.

He raised his hand to her cheek again. She was very conscious that her legs were still wrapped around him, and felt too scared to let go – in that moment she didn’t want to draw attention to herself, she just wanted to understand what he was thinking, what he was doing.

‘I’ve missed you, Soraya.’

‘You said that already.’

‘Are you seeing someone?’ he asked, his eyes suddenly anxious.

‘I’d be worried if I was,’ she laughed, untangling herself from him. ‘I mean, you are, aren’t you?’ She had forgotten that for a moment and felt ashamed. No one wanted to be the other woman.

‘What do you mean?’ He was still standing close to her, her legs either side of him. Her eyes briefly flickered downwards.

He was everywhere, his scent too close, his body too close, and she needed to regain her senses. ‘You have a girlfriend, right?’ She closed her eyes as he lifted up her chin.

‘Open your eyes.’

She shook her head.

‘Open your eyes.’

‘I can’t right now,’ she said.

‘Soraya,’ he breathed.

She opened them tentatively and was met with the sight of his large brown eyes focusing on her.

‘It’s only ever been you.’

She shook her head again. ‘Lies,’ she breathed.

‘Soraya, I love you.’