Page 19 of Storm
Zee opened his mouth to answer me back, when Aariz stood between us.
“We should go fast. What if the ice cream finishes off?!” said Aariz, giving me a crooked little smile and a meaningful look, as if I was a kid who would fall for it.
Nonetheless, I was falling all mesmerised by something else for sure. As he arrested me in his gaze, I realized his eyes aren’t just shiny grey, but has freckles of black in them. So deep, like the rain filled cloud just before the eruption of storm.
Then turning towards Zee, he continued saying,
“We have to go home as well. So c'mon!” pushing him by the shoulder, Aariz made him move.
The moment they left, Umber sho
ok her head at me in disbelief,
“Sani that was really rude on your part to offer Zidaan, we’ll get him an ice cream too, while not even asking Aariz, who was standing with us in the same group! I'm really shocked. You have never behaved like that with friends before.”
“He is not my friend.” I muttered fuming.
I then quickly gestured her to stop talking now and told her we will continue it later, as the boys were back with the ice creams.
Later, I kept my hand busy holding the ice cream, so that, I didn’t have to be nice to Aariz. Unlike Umber, who was biding him goodbye, as if they were old friends.
Aariz walked towards me all smiles.
Not giving him a chance to say a word, I said in a stiff tone,
“Thanks for the ice cream. Bye.”
I turned my back to leave, just as he said,
“It was nice meeting you and...”
I did not stop, but took slow steps forward while going away. Hence, I did hear him complete his sentence, though he must have thought otherwise.
“...quite interesting as well.” I assessed a smile in his voice.
Before I could stop myself, I smiled too and slightly blushed even in my annoyed self and rushed off thinking, ‘Wow the hottie even sounds husky. Just the way they say in romance novels!’
While we waited for the valet to bring Zee's car, Umber and I stood by the corner licking our ice creams. But, I could not quite enjoy its taste. I felt too upset thinking about a certain someone.
Umber noticed it and urged me to blurt it all out.
I did.
“You were asking why I did not even behave civil with Aariz by offering him ice-cream.”
She nodded, and I told her what I saw— Aariz making fun of me with Zee. How could he do that after the teaming-up we had?! I thought we had become friends. Apparently, he considered me nothing better than a twenty-one yr old college kid he could not be friends with...Although, can surely make fun off, snigger at...
Umber sighed heavily,
“Sani, you saw Zidaan say something to Aariz. Then hearing him, Aariz shook his head staring at you, amused.”
I nodded sadly, and she went on with a chuckle,
“You honestly think Zidaan would ever make fun of you? Would ever say anything wrong about you to a random friend of his?”
It hit me. Obviously, Zee would never do that. God no!
“We spent a lot of time with Aariz tonight. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy. More than all of us, you and he got along well. Seeing both of you, nobody could have guessed you people met for the first time tonight. Then why do you think he was making fun of you? Insulting you?” Umber clasped my hands, locking eyes with me.
