“For you to act like you. This,” she waved a hand at him, “isn’t you.”
“It isn’t?”
“No. I think you’re trying to make it easier for us to say goodbye to each other, and while it’s sweet in a twisted sort of way, it’s not working.”
He stared at her, then started laughing. “I am a terrible actor, aren’t I?”
Lauren gave him a wry smile and nodded. “Only around me, yes. I know you better.”
Hakim sighed heavily. “I had hoped to make it simpler for you. I don’t think his week has been what either of us expected and I know the end of our time together is going to be more difficult than we anticipated.”
“And why is that?” Lauren sounded curious, but not like she disagreed.
Hakim couldn’t help himself; he had to tell her how he felt.
He stood and moved around the table, then held out his hand. Lauren took it and he led her over to the couch where they could talk more easily.
When they were seated, he didn’t let go of her hand. Gathering his thoughts, he finally said, “I like you, Lauren. More than I thought I would. I admire you and I value your thoughts, and throughout this week, I’ve found myself wanting to pick up the phone to call you more than once during the day while I’m at the office just to talk. To tell you a funny story about something that happened. And I keep wanting to touch you. To hold your hand and put my arm around you.
“And the last thing I wanted to do was make you cry,” Hakim finished, unnerved by the tears he saw in Lauren’s eyes.
Lauren laughed and squeezed Hakim’s hand to reassure him while she swiped at the tears with her other hand. “No, it’s okay. It’s just that I like you, too. Definitely more than I thought I would after meeting you on Monday. This week has been unexpected and fun; I’ve been distracted because all I can think about is you.”
Another tear rolled down her face; Hakim lifted his hand to gently wipe it away with his thumb. As he cradled Lauren’s cheek in his hand, he moved so that he could wrap his other arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer to comfort her.
Lauren leaned against him, looking up at him with wide eyes. She felt so right there in his arms, and Hakim didn’t want to let her go anytime soon.
He traced the skin of her cheek with his thumb, marveling at the softness of her skin. He could stare into her eyes for days, just like this, and never get tired or bored.
She smiled at him and he was completely lost in the warmth of her presence. Hakim leaned down, hesitating in case she didn’t want the same thing. Lauren tilted her head back, inviting him closer, and so Hakim pressed his lips to hers gently, savoring their first kiss.
Sensation rushed through him and it was all he could do not to deepen the kiss. But he didn’t want to push—they still had so much to work out. Plus, he wanted to enjoy this simple, sweet feeling of her lips tenderly exploring his. They were taking it slow and that was a good thing.
When they broke the kiss, Lauren stayed in his arms, shifting so that she could lean her head on his chest as he stroked her hair. She placed one hand on his chest and they were both quiet for a long moment.
He’d never been happier, Hakim thought. He had never known he could be this happy. It was like all the pieces of his life, work and home and family had suddenly fit together into one. This felt like the kind of joy he saw in his parents and in his sister and brother-in-law. Hakim wanted, more than anything he’d ever wanted, to make Lauren happy and to be happy with her.
Lauren looked up at him, then, and he couldn’t resist kissing her again. Soft and sweet, but with a rising passion, this kiss was even better than their first.
The steward interrupted them, clearing his throat as discreetly as possible. Hakim pulled back from Lauren and grinned impishly at her. She just shook her head at him like being caught kissing him didn’t bother her. Hakim turned to the steward.
The man said, “The pilot asked me to tell you that we’ll be landing soon. Can I get you and Ms. Sanders anything else to drink or eat beforehand?”
Hakim checked with Lauren, giving her a quick look, and when she shook her head, he said, “Thank you. We won’t need anything else. How long until we land?”
“Approximately thirty minutes.”
Hakim nodded and said, “Thank you.”
Once the steward left them alone, Lauren sighed heavily. Hakim dropped a kiss on her forehead, knowing as she did that their little moment of joy was about to come to an end.
“We have the worst timing, you know.”
Hakim agreed, but he was trying to stay positive. “I don’t know. Your mother could have been at the party. That would have been terrible timing.”