“While he has dated women, he refuses to commit to any one person. I would be very careful around him. He has broken a lot of hearts and doesn’t stick around to mend them.”
Kim stared down at the courtyard below as Karim gathered his things. What a shame, she thought. All of that manliness and muscle gone to waste. Hearing that he did not commit to one person simply translated to him being a player in Kim’s mind. Of course, he would; why would he stick to one woman when he could have many?
“That is sad. How can one not believe in love?” Kim asked. Amare shrugged his shoulders.
“Believe me, many women are saddened by that,” Amare said. “He also never brings any women home.”
“So he has never brought any home?” Kim did not want to seem too interested, but she was curious. Amare shook his head. “Not even one?”
“No.”
“Oh. Did something happen to him to be that way?”
Amare started laughing. “No, he was born that way.”
Kim laughed at Amare’s response. She could well understand if something had happened to make him behave this way. A rough break up can make a person dislike the idea of being in a committed relationship but how could he not want love or believe in it?
Kim had often been teased by her friends for being a hopeless romantic. She loved happy endings and hoped to find a good man who would love and cherish her. She held onto the dream of falling madly in love and getting married. She could not help but feel disappointed in the fact that Karim was her exact opposite.
“From the look on your face, I guess that you believe in love?” Amare asked her.
“Of course, I do.”
“Women always do; at least that is what Karim says. It seems every woman he comes across falls in love with him.”
Sounds like an arrogant jerk; Kim thought to herself. “I cannot see how that is the case. He is quite unfriendly.” Since becoming Amare’s tutor, Kim had only exchanged greetings with him, as he never seemed interested in engaging her in conversation.
“Yes, if he does not know you, then he will not converse with you,” Amare said, with half a smile on his face.
“No doubt, he is a traditional man.”
“Oh yes. He is much like father in that sense. They’re both set in their traditional ways but as brothers go, there can be no one better,” Amare said proudly. “He has always been there for both Taleb and me.”
Before Kim could make a comment about that, she heard voices from the next room. She could not make out what they were saying. Curiosity got the best of her.
“Whose voices are those?” she asked Amare.
“I am not sure about all of them, but one of them belongs to Karim,” he replied. Kim was already aware that Karim owned one of the voices. His voice was so deep and distinctive, she could not mistake it for anyone else but she did not say anything. Amare would only tease her for recognising his voice. She rose to her feet and walked to the shelf where Amare kept some glassware.
“What are you doing?” he asked her. Kim picked up a glass beaker and walked towards the wall.
“Nothing, just concentrate on your work,” she said and giggled. She suddenly tripped and almost fell over but managed to regain her balance. Amare burst out laughing.
“You are so clumsy,” he said and kept laughing as Kim laughed with him. Tripping over her feet was a frequent occurrence. She was just glad that it was Amare that had seen her and not Karim. She put the glass beaker against the wall and then put her ear against the beaker.
“You must never do this,” she said to him in mock sternness, as she attempted to hide her smile.
“Well, you are doing it in front of me, which will make me want to try it too.”
“No, Amare, it’s naughty.”
Kim squinted as she concentrated on the conversation. She wondered whom Karim was talking to and about what. Amare watched her eavesdropping.
“So what are they talking about?” he asked her.
“I don’t know. I can’t really hear much.”
“Then that beaker method is ineffective,” Amare said with conviction as Kim giggled.
“Oh no, it should work fine; the walls are too thick.” She readjusted her position as Amare laughed and shook his head. “I can’t hear,” she said and put her finger against her lips to quiet him. Suddenly she heard the door to the room open. Gasping, she whipped her head in that direction. In doing so, she dropped the glass beaker, smashing it into pieces on the floor.
Her eyes shot up to the figure entering the room.
Chapter Four
Amare and Kim stared at the door waiting to see who it was. Kim feared that Karim had caught her trying to eavesdrop on his conversation and she sighed with relief when she saw Taleb, the middle son, walking in. He glanced down at the broken glass and let out a low chuckle.