The Perks of Having a Nikah (A Muslim Love Story) *BACK 2023*

08.

❝"ادْعُ اللَّهَ فِي يَوْمِ سَرَّائِكَ لَعَلَّهُ أَنْ يَسْتَجِيبَ لَكَ فِي يَوْمِ ضَرَّائِكَ
Call upon Allāh during your joyful days that perhaps He will respond to you during your days of hardship."
Abu Ad-Dardaa'a • Jami' Al-Ulum wal Hikam 19❞

Zane

Zane lays in bed thinking about the girl in the niqab; the girl who made his heart beat faster with just one look. Those deep brown eyes and that long brunette hair. He knows he should feel guilty about what happened earlier, but for some reason he just didn't. Sure, the guilt was sort of there, but it was more of a ten percent than anything else.

He continues to daydream and think about her. About the way her hand would fit in his. The way his heart beat faster when she gave him just one look. He thinks about what it would be like when they were finally married. He thinks back back to what happened earlier and what could be going through her mind right then.

He loves the moment they shared, even though he didn't get to achieve want he wanted and she pulled away. He thinks about kissing her. He makes a bet with himself that if he saw her with her niqab off, he would definitely go for it. If he sees her with it on, he'll make it his mission to take it off so he could. Just thinking about it makes him smile. She was just so cute and adorable and soft.

He daydreams for what feels like five minutes, but in reality, it has passed an hour. Zane picks up his phone to find a text message from Alia. He can't help but feel annoyed.

hey babe, just thinking about u. as always. :) u wnt 2 hang out later? maybe a movie or something? ;) xoxo

He reads it over twice and clicks the home screen and tosses the phone on his bed, letting the screen turn off by itself. He can't help but go back to thinking about when Yasmeen called him arrogant. He can't help it, not really. Not when so many girls always tell him how hot he is. It probably got to his head, he thought. She was the actual first to not even bat an eye at him. And that made him want her even more. He really couldn't wait to call her his wife. He acted like he didn't want it to happen because she seems so reluctant on it, but now he wants to change her mind about it.

His heart beats faster just thinking about her. Zane hops out of bed and heads to the bathroom to brush his teeth for the second time. After two minutes he is done and wiping water over his face. Feeling refreshed, he heads downstairs, hoping to see his bride-to-be. Just as he anticipated, she is there, but in her hijab and niqab. He didn't want to do this, but he'll just have to play harder and get it off. Thinking about it got him all excited.

I could just pull it off quick. He thinks to himself, as he examines her watching Titanic on the flat screen. The movie is nearing the end. He never really liked that movie. It was too cheesy for him. He only ever had seen the whole thing because his mother was in love with it, and because of the constant replays, he'd pretty much memorized every single line. Almost every single line, anyway.

He looks around to see if anyone else is around, and finds no one. Fadwah had probably gone home. Oh well, he shrugs his shoulders. Better for him. Zane rakes a hand through his hair and heads to sit on the lone couch adjacent to Yasmeen.

"Titanic, huh?" He asks, more of a rhetorical question.

She turns to look at him with those beautiful brown eyes and nods, but says nothing. After a few seconds, she turns back to the television.

"I never was fond of that movie. Too cheesy for my taste."

"Good for you." It goes to commercial and she changes the channel to something else. There is a theme song playing and she mutes it. Jessie is written on the screen.