Cristal(11)

Mmm, I love his sexy accent.

She glanced around wondering if one of her co-workers had seen them. There was no one in hearing distance who could have said that. Weird.

She shut her eyes as the motorcycle started moving. The vibration of the engine made her insides churn. Cristal leaned closer to Kerim as he made a sharp turn. She tried to keep a quarter inch distance between them but was failing miserably at it. The bike sped through the streets, but she dared not open her eyes. Her heart was pounding hard; her knees felt weak, and her head was spinning inside the heaviness of the helmet. If I’d known he was going to pick me up on a motorcycle, I could have taken a cab, she thought to herself.

Cristal had never felt comfortable in enclosed places, partly due to her fears of being caught off guard by an asthma attack. As a child, her father had not wanted her to rely on a puffer. Instead, he had trained her to control her breathing when she felt an oncoming attack. Unfortunately, this was hard to do now with a helmet strapped to her head.

After what felt like a short but just as dizzying roller-coaster ride, she noticed that the engine had stopped and cautiously opened her eyes. She took in her surroundings and realized that they were parked in front of Gabriel’s apartment building.

She let go of Kerim as he climbed off his bike. He removed his helmet and offered his hand to her. She tried to tell him that she didn’t need any help but she swayed off balance, her legs betraying how dizzy and nauseous she felt.

Kerim grabbed her by the waist with one arm. She felt her stomach squirm.

Get this helmet off. I can’t breathe!

As if hearing her thoughts, Kerim reached over with his other hand, unsnapped the strap under her chin, gently removed the helmet and set it on the seat. The cool air caressed her cheeks. She took deep breaths, drinking in the oxygen. Part of her realized that Kerim’s other arm was still wrapped tight around her waist. She wanted to gain her composure but with trying to get the air back into her lungs, all she could do was look up at him.

This close, she was able to see that his skin was a smooth olive color; his nose perfectly straight and Romanesque, and his grin was mischievous but playful.

With the little energy she could muster, she managed to pull his arm off her waist and firmly pushed him aside. He stepped back, letting her pass. Yes, he was extremely attractive but that was a superficial asset. And yet, she always seemed to be drawn to the Christian Bale or Johnny Depp rebellious type of guys. Just like her chocolate ice cream addiction, she knew she had to stay away from bad boys, even if they were delicious desserts.

She felt herself blush and hoped Kerim hadn’t noticed.

She turned toward the entrance of the building and marched straight up to the buzzer, leaving Kerim standing by his motorcycle. She paused for a moment her head still dazed from the ride. Finally, she managed to enter Gabriel’s buzzer code. The sound of the ring tone rang out. After several rings, Gabriel’s voice echoed out from the speaker.

“Who is it?”

“Open the door. It’s Cristal.”

“Sure. C’mon in.”

A loud “beep beep beep” sound came from the speaker. She started to pull the glass door open but Kerim who had come up beside her was now reaching his arm out to hold it open.

Okay, so he’s a gentleman but it doesn’t mean I’m going to fall for that.

She walked inside trying to focus on the mission at hand. Kerim followed several steps behind her. Not interested in small talk, she headed straight to the elevator bay.

The building was built in the 1940s; the lighting was poor, the walls were covered with fake orange suede flower wallpaper, which may have been installed in the 70s, and the carpet, once a bright red, was now a greyish brown. It wasn’t the aesthetics of the interior that made her stomach queasy. It was the strange feeling of someone or something watching her every time she was in the building.

As if sensing her unease, Kerim reached out and touched her arm. She glared at him and brushed his hand away from her. You hardly know me Mr. Ilgaz. Don't even pretend you understand what I'm feeling.

The elevator finally arrived, creaking and squeaking as the door opened. She stepped in quickly and pressed the button. Kerim walked in and stood beside her. His gaze was unmistakably all on her. She fidgeted with the strap on her backpack.

Don't get distracted. Good-looking guys think that they can melt a girl's heart just by throwing her a little attention. You've been burned before.

Her thoughts brought flashbacks of her final year at Global Nation University. She had just finished tutoring Mikael, her infatuation at the time, for their final exam. During the tutoring session, he surprised her by asking her out for dinner. Of course when she told Harry about her big date, he had made a sarcastic remark saying that Mikael was a dumb shmuck only out for one thing. She remembered telling Harry to butt out of her love life in not so many words. Harry couldn’t understand her then and certainly didn’t understand her now. Unfortunately, the date ended up being a disaster just as Harry had predicted. Mikael did only want one thing.