Being Mrs Dantata

11

"If I asked you to describe Hanan, how would you do it?"

Zayd couldn't help but frown. He looked at her, still rubbing soothing circles on her back. "That has to be the most random question to ask after what just happened."

With a smile, Amal raised her head from his bare chest. Her hair – in its messy glory – fell sideways as she looked at him. "It was the first question that came to mind." Her voice softened. "Answer me though."

He wasn't sure he wanted to. There was an underlying fear of saying way more than he was supposed to. "Why are you asking?"

"I just want to know." She laid her head back down, staring at the mirror on the opposite wall. "I feel like we're going to be really great friends." She raised her head again, smiling excitedly. "Imagine if she ends up being a part of our friendship circle."

Zayd gave her a small smile. "Aren't you running faster than your shadow?"

"Just imagine it, Sa'ed. Take a moment to picture it."

He did as she asked and he found himself liking the mental image of all of them seated around a table, laughing over a joke that was shared. He knew Hanan would end up being one of the most reserved among all of them but she'd fit. He was sure of it.

Amal, who took note of every emotion that crossed his face, smiled once again. However, this smile of hers was small. "It's a nice picture, right?"

He nodded. "It is. It won't happen overnight though. We're the only ones she's met out of the entire squad." A moment passed before he added "Mas'ood too, but that was more of a business conversation than anything else."

"Baby steps, Sa'ed. We can never tell...So, answer my question. If I asked you to describe Hanan, how would you do it?"

He blew out a small breath. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

She shook her head, her smile an inch wider. "Nope. You should start talking, Sa'ed. The earlier I go to bed, the stronger I'll be for tomorrow's flight."

He sighed defeatedly and took a minute to pick out the right words. Then he started talking. "She's the kind of person you don't come across often, and I mean that in a good way. She's humble, down to earth and apart from the fact that she doesn't believe in herself, she's very talented."

Amal listened to his every word.

"She's easy to talk to too, when she's not being nervous though. And then there's something about her that just pushes you into protection mode; that feeling where you don't want anything to happen to her. I think it comes from what happened to her at Athena. I feel like it's caused this bias. Jonathan said it seems like favouritism." He rolled his eyes. "I don't know what he's talking about."

She chuckled. "Oh Sa'ed."

He smiled cheekily. "It's true though." He adjusted slightly against the pillows behind him. "But that's my description of Hanan."

"You forgot to add the fact that she's pretty."

His smile shrunk. "No one's prettier than you though."

Her cheeks stained with colour. "Sa'ed, stop it."

"I'm serious."

"But in her own way Hanan's really pretty." Her smile was so beautiful. "You can admit it, I won't get jealous."

He hesitated, not because he thought Hanan wasn't pretty but because he'd noticed it more than he should have. The realization was humbly scary. He swallowed and nodded. "In her own way, yeah. She's pretty."