FOR THE PAST FEW DAYS, Kamaia, Eden, and Charlize had been in Qatar, watching the England team play and exploring as much of the country as they could before they had to leave.
Part of the reason that Eden and Charlize dragged the trip on for so long was because they thought that England would make it far, but also to give Kamaia and Jude some time to realise that they were what the other person needed.
The latter wasn't going as expected, though Eden had just assumed that Jude was getting used to the fact that Kamaia was actually here.
But Kamaia had grown tired of waiting. Would she still continue to wait despite it hurting her deep inside? Yes.
Jude had texted her early in the morning asking her to get ready; he wanted to take her to a cafe that he found when he was out with Trent and a couple of others from his team.
So the girl had done exactly that, choosing something simple to wear as she didn't know how the occasion would go.
When Jude arrived at their hotel, he was met at the door by Charlize who simply stared him down. Anyone would be lying if they said they weren't mildly intimidated by her, she just gave off that aura even though she was the sweetest person once you got to know her.
"Have her back here by 7, latest. It's just gone past 2, so you have enough time," she gave him strict instructions as Bukayo laughed form behind, and Jude nodded at every one even though he had no intention to follow them.
As Kamaia and Jude left the hotel and walked in a comfortable silence, he felt his hand searching for hers. He didn't know why, he just knew that in that moment he had to hold her hand. And so he did.
The action caught Kamaia off guard, her initial instinct was to pull away, but she didn't. Instead, she held on tightly to Jude's hand, as he looked back down at her to give her a small smile, which she gladly returned. But at the back of her mind was the idea that he wouldn't do anything like this again.
"Do you have some really bad news that you're trying to sugarcoat or what?" She ended up giving into the thoughts that were biting at her, sighing at the end of her sentence.
"What makes you think that?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that you're holding my hand in public just four weeks after you had a whole fit about being seen near me," she knew it was a low blow, but she couldn't suppress her feelings any longer. And Jude seemed to acknowledge that judging by the way his lips formed a tight line.
They weaved through the bustling crowd of people on the busy streets as they reached the little cafe that Jude had picked out. He led Kamaia a table at the back, near a window seat since those were the tables he knew she liked the most.
"I'm not expecting you to forgive me so easily for that, especially because I didn't give you a valid reason for why I acted that way," Jude began once they were seated, looking at the girl sat opposite him. He took the time to notice how the sunlight made her dark brown eyes appear lighter than normal, and how unreal she looked sitting in front of him.
"I just want you to know that I've had enough time to go over my actions and realise that I was in the wrong, not you."
"And I appreciate that Jude, but how do I know you're not just saying that, like all the other times?" Kamaia sighed, leaning her head against her hand.
"I told my mum about the situation and she told me to go to my room and think about what I did."
"Oh."
It was silent for a few moments after that before Kamaia let out a few giggles, and upon hearing her laugh, Jude also laughed too, remembering the fear on his face when his mum was busy telling him off for what he did to Kamaia.
"It's safe to say that I do like you, like a lot, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make this work. Promise."
It wasn't his words that made Kamaia believe that Jude was being genuine, it was the way he looked at her, the way his mouth had that lopsided smile that she adored so much, the way that between that small space of time, Jude had managed to grasp her hand in his over the table, gently stroking her thumb. She was in deep.
"Also I don't think I've told you this yet, but you look stunning, Maia. Like I'm forcing myself not to look too much but I can't."
Yeah. Way too deep.
─── notes.
cute 🙁
