Him & His Muslimah

14

Zaib

"Zaib, just tell me what you want. I'm sick of thinking of something," his mother hissed, rubbing her templates out of frustration.

Zaib chuckled, leaning forward as he grabbed his mother's slender hand within his. "I'm telling you mom. I don't need anything other than your prayers," he cheekily told her to which Ayesha rolled her eyes to the back of her head.

"I've been preparing gifts for all your twenty-three birthdays. Please have mercy and help me with the twenty fourth one?" Her voice oozed of sarcasm and her nostrils flared. She really was out of ideas and her blank mind raged to seek something he desired. She had gifted him numerous watches, perfumes, wallets and shoes.

"I have nothing to ask from you. By the grace of Allah, I already have everything." he explained keenly, hoping she'd stop interrogating him about something so insignificant. His birthdays were usually celebrated with hugs and gifts but he found these celebrations to be a waste of money.

What was significantly worth celebrating about him aging?

"Ugh, you're useless." And out his mom marched with a distasteful scowl on her face towards the kitchen where she was cooking some roasted chicken for the entire family.

Zaib's thoughts circulated back to yesterday. It felt like he had already received a gift from the Almighty Allah Himself earlier when he was lucky enough to taste Zoya Malik's handmade cupcakes. A gift in advance for his upcoming birthday—the best gift he had ever received for any of his birthdays.

If his mother heard his thoughts, she'd have punched his teeth out of his smile.

Zaib resumed his attention back to the stack of papers resting on his desk. For some reason, they never seemed to end today. Usually, it took him about thirty minutes maximum to review all the documents and put his signatures down. Unfortunately, today was not one of those days.

Reading through the lines, his eyes paused scanning.

"Both the parties agree to keep the location undisclosed until the board of meeting-"

Board? That game board. That silly game of Ludo! That board game which he solely played to find more excuses to memorize the depth of those lively eyes, dimpled smile.

She was a dangerous combination of a cutely competitive and a breathtakingly beautiful woman. Her smile was contagious. Every time that little dimple peaked out, he found himself brimming with joy. His heart reacted immediately whenever his gaze met hers.

She was just there... making him lose his senses. It was unbelievable how a person could impact your life so much without having a single clue.

"Why're you so strange today?"

Zaib jerked aback, caught off guard at the sudden intrusion of his thoughts. From behind him, he found a smirky Zain standing at the doorway. Zaib spun his chair to face him.

"What?" He answered with another question.

Zain chuckled, stepping into his room. "You've been staring at the wall with a humongous smile literally, your teeth will pop out any time soon. What's going on?" He interrogated with his hands resting within the pockets of his jeans.

Zaib rolled his eyes swinging back around focusing his attention to the papers. Zain itched closer to him with a quirked eyebrow, curiosity hinted within his gestures.

"What is going on with you?" He repeated like a broken audiotape.

"What do you mean Zain?" Zaib knew exactly what he meant but he wouldn't admit it for the world.