Clash Of Cultures

27. A Special Thanks

Noor

Our Uber reached the hotel ballroom about half past 7. By now the room was full of interns, residents and faculty. Everyone looked so different out of their scrubs and work attire. The DJ was playing 90s pop music and the room looked almost magical in the soft light and strategically placed beautiful bouquets of flowers. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked Chicago downtown's skyline. Everyone was dressed elegantly, but I felt so out of place in my saari.

"Kimberly, I am so overdressed here. I feel so weird!", I whispered to her.

"Nonsense! You look gorgeous...just ask that guy...", she tilted her head sideways with a smirk on her face.

I looked in the direction she was pointing towards and saw Sal standing among a group of senior residents. He was wearing a well-fitted black suit and tie which accentuated his broad shoulders and muscular form. I had always seen him in scrubs or a white coat, and that one time at the fair in jeans and a hoodie. I never realized how incredibly fit he was. Our eyes met and that familiar burning sensation inside me was back. His full lips remained slightly parted as his eyes slowly travelled down my body and back up to my eyes again.

Kimberly coughed, forcing me to peel my eyes away from him.

"Noor...go talk to him. This place will burn down with the electricity between you guys"

"I can't...", I grabbed Kimberly's arm and walked away towards the bar.

"Oh come on don't be shy?", she winked at me.

"I am not shy...", I told her. I am getting married to someone else!

"Ok fine. I need a drink. I'll get you a virgin margarita, but then I need to talk some sense into you"

What's a virgin margarita?

Kimberly had already walked towards the bar so I quickly googled it's ingredient. My mouth had become so dry, I badly needed something to drink, something non-alcoholic that is.

'Virgin Margarita: non-alcoholic drink typically made with fresh lime, lemon, and orange juice, agave nectar, and sparkling water'

Whew, ok...I can drink it!

Kimberly was still in line so I stood there fidgeting with my phone. But could help glancing back at Sal, against my better judgement. Of course, he had gone back to talking with his friends. Not that I should have expected anything more from him.

I hadn't noticed this before but Samantha was standing next to him. Even I had to admit, she looked sexy as hell in a classic black cocktail dress, with her cleavage showing and her blonde hair stylishly pulled back in to a pony. The two of them could easily have modeled for the cover of a fashion magazine, as much as the image of them together made me want to vomit.

Yet, they looked perfect together, and despite how Sal had just looked at me, he and Samantha would make so much more sense than him and I.

Even though she is so wrong for him, but he likes her, she likes him.

Plus I am marrying Omar!

"So why are you so against going out with him? This is not the first time you two have looked at each other like that. And he literally saved your life", Kimberly was back with our drinks.

I turned back to look at her. It wasn't my place to tell her about Sal's anxiety and use of drugs and alcohol to get over his past and I really did not want to tell her details of how he had hurt me so many times. 

So I just replied, "Sal and Samantha are perfect for each other. I could never compete with her"

Realizing that it was probably a good time as any to tell Kimberly about Omar, I continued, "Also I agreed to marry Omar..."