He Taught Me How To Kiss

11.

He awkwardly stood there with a guilty expression on his face. I can't detect if he is faking it or has genuinely felt bad about what happened.

Another drama is precisely what I do not want in my life right now. And he is here to give me exactly that. I do not know if I am ready to hear what he has to say at the moment or not. I could close the door and never have to deal with him again. But I have decided to let him in.

I carefully pushed my door back to let him in. As he walked inside, I gently closed the door and stood nervously there for a min to get a hold of myself. I turned back and saw him settling down on the plush couch and already making himself at home.

I mentally rolled my eyes and went where he was sitting. As I sat beside him with my hands on my lap, I saw him shifting a bit to face me. He pressed his lips inwards and ran his hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry, Hailey." He said.

An apology could soothe anyone's anger, and it was here, calming down my overthinking nerves. It was exactly what I needed at the moment. But as my mother says, we shouldn't ask for an apology and be more understandable by forgiving them and understanding their point of view. But as much as I wanted it, it's not in my teaching to do that.

"It's okay, you don't have to say sorry. I understand."Like a machine, I mimicked the words my mother taught me while looking straight at bookshelves, avoiding his stare.

After a moment of silence, I expected him to say, okay, fine.' But instead, he was staring at me with an intensity like I did something wrong. I was about to say sorry if I did something wrong. He held my hands in his and closed the distance between us a bit. I was confusingly looking at him first and then at his hands holding mine.

"Hailey, listen to me. Okay?"He said with his eyebrows raised a little and a bizarre warmth in his eyes. I nodded and didn't try to pull my hands away from his grip.

"You deserve my sincere apology. I won't make an excuse or anything. It was stupid of me to not show up and made an awkward situation for you. I ruined that could be a fun night for us, something other than mathematical solutions. I am very sorry." He didn't stutter at all like he is not ashamed of asking for an apology and taking responsibility for what happened.

Before I could say those 'it's fine' words again. He added,

"And it was not okay or fine. Your eyes and face says clearly how much hurt and embarrassment it caused you. So it was definitely not okay so stop saying that and learn to know your rights." He said while rubbing my hands gently.

I stared at him dumbfoundly,

"So, do you accept my apology, or I have to beg on my knees and then ask for it. Or take you out to make it up to you?"He lightly smiled and gently pressed my hands to get my response.

I lightly chuckled and replied,

"No, You don't have to and yes, I accept your apology." I returned the smile.

For the first time, I felt like someone saw me and heard me. I wasn't forced to accept someone's fake and dry apology and act like it's not a big deal. It made my lips slightly curved upwards.

He didn't look away from me for once, his eyes were sparkling, and his face had a bright glow. It made my cheeks flush and burn sensations in my ears. I gently pulled my hands from his to tuck my hair behind my ear.

He sat straight with his elbow resting on the back of the couch; I straightened myself also, beside him.

"Hailey, tell me about yourself?" he suddenly asked this simple question that confused me. He knows about me, or I thought so.

"Umm... I'm Hailey. I'm 18 and tutor a boy named Asher," I joked and rested my elbow on the back of the couch like him.

"Not this, tell me about your dreams and future plans."

I was slightly taken back by his question; no one asked about my dreams and plans before. My mother made my plans without my consent.

"Um, My mother wants me to get married with some well settled guy after my education."

"Is that what you want as well?" He raised his eyebrows.

"I always think of PhD in something. I am not sure what I want to pursue right now but I do know I love creating things. It could be in science like meds or mathematics like architects." I merely shrugged and then added;

"But it's stupid. I am not a genius."I looked away.

"Who said you aren't?" He gently placed his hand under my chin and made me properly look at him. I whispered tensely."Mom."

"You are a genius. Don't listen to what others say. If you believe you can do all this, then you can."He softly said while caressing my jawline with his thumb.

I could feel the pool burning in my eyes. No one has ever listened to what I want. No one believed that I had the potential to follow my dreams.No one but him.

I closed my eyes for a split second to stop any escaping tears and looked away. Before the situation could turn into some emotional mess, I decided to change the topic.

"Enough about me, You tell me why you didn't show up?"

He took a large breath before saying anything.

"Because of some family drama, as you know my grandmother just died. So all relatives are going crazy over the money and stuff. My Dad set up a sudden meeting between all the Brothers and their sons. So I had to attend that and trust me I regretted that a lot." He was almost emotionless while telling me about this.

"Looks like we both have family troubles." I typically spoke my mind out loud. Before I could apologise, he chuckled and nodded approvingly.

"And it looks like we both forget about it when we are together."Before I could react to this. He gently closed the proper distance between us, and his rosy lips instantly met mine. 

Note: I am sorry for the delay. I was dealing with some stuff and I thought no one is liking this book so far. After seeing the comments and votes for this past week. I have decided to continue this and hopefully every week a new chapter. Hope you all like this book.