Umaymah sat on one of the sofas in the living room engrossed in her writing when she heard her name.
"Umaymah." The masculine voice called her name so gently as though it was something precious.
Her head turned in his direction.
"What do you think?" He asked with his hands slipped into the pocket of his pants.
Umaymah's eyes travelled from his hair to his shoes and back.
"Think about what?" She replied to his question with another question.
"My style," Salman replied with a dashing smile this time.
Umaymah turned to face him fully and then analyzed his sense of dressing.
Her eyes trailed down from his well-groomed curly hair then met with his deep black eyes which she snapped her gaze off immediately before proceeding to admire the gray suit that sat firmly on top of a white button-up shirt beneath, adding more structure to his broad shoulders.
She moved on to the pants that stood so elegantly on Salman's long legs.
Then finally, the shoes.
"It just looks like a normal guy named Mr. Salman Tariq going to work look," she shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing too special." She added and resumed typing on her computer.
Umaymah and Salman were childhood best friends.
They were from birth because their mum were also best friends.
They, however, went their separate ways after secondary school.
The marriage contract and their mothers' friendship were the only things that were still holding them together.
Salman was one of the people that used to understand her well after her older brother Haider.
Being a disciplined child, Salman received a lot of love from everyone around him.
He was the middle child and the only boy among his mum's children. He had an older and younger sister who by chance looked nothing like him.
He was a handsome man indeed but his habits of taunting, disturbing and teasing usually got on Umaymah's nerves a lot.
Salman's family had come to ask for her hand in marriage and she accepted it without second thoughts.
Why?
Her mum and the contract.
She didn't want to let her down or upset her by rejecting the proposal.
You've known him all your life, and getting married to him won't change anything. We both just spent a few years apart.
She had a tiny voice whispering those words into her head most of the time.
"You've been typing these for years now, when are you going to get it done with Mrs writer?" He teased as he made his way to where she sat.
She shot her head up to look at him and dashed him narrowed eyes while saying through gritted teeth "It's another story for a project for your information." then turned her head back to the write-up that was staring directly at her face.
Umaymah was a final-year literature student at the university.
She found joy, comfort, and serenity in reading books and also writing them.
She had written a lot of books when she was a child that all ended up uncompleted.
The manuscript she was currently working on was for her school project and she also intended on using it to enter a competition she had registered for.
Salman pounced on the sofa leaving Umaymah with an after-effect of slightly bouncing upwards.
He was close to her now.
"And for your information, this look isn't the 'going to work' look like you said," he straightened his sleeves and adjusted his cuffs in a certain way. "It's the go change now because we're going out look." He completed.
Umaymah rolled her eyes.
Salman had always been like that since they were kids.
Always disturbing her peace.
She took in a deep inhale and then exhaled heavily as if calming her nerves.
"I don't want to go anywhere, I have work to do." She pointed to the screen of her laptop.
Salman smirked.
"There's nothing you'll do that will make me change my mind." She said once she noticed the smirk grandly plastered on his face.
They had spent years apart from each other but nothing had changed in Salman except his growth.
He was still the same Salman Tariq Umaymah knew twenty-three years ago.
Salman rose to his feet.
"Okay," he said cracking his knuckles. "Then I'll have to do it the Salman way." He shoved Umaymah up from the sofa and swung her over his shoulder.
"Ah! Put me down!" She complained with her hair falling all over her face due to her head hanging behind his back and her legs in his hands.
The hem of her skirt threatened to go up but Salman secured it with his hands.
A small chuckle left Salman as he ignored her grumbles and proceeded to the staircase.
Umaymah struggled and kept kicking her legs in the air but Salman held tight not even giving her the slightest opportunity to escape from his grip.
"Fine fine, I'll go and change," she hit his back lightly. "Just put me down."
"Are you sure?" He halted still holding her firmly.
"Yes yes, I'm sure." It came out more like a growl.
Salman gently placed her back down on her feet and pointed in the direction of the staircase leading to her room. "Off you go now, I'll be waiting." He flashed Umaymah a smile which earned him a glare at her.
"Urgh!" Umaymah threw her head back in frustration and found her way up the stairs.
It was just a couple of days of them living together as a couple and all these were already happening.
How was living together forever going to be then?
___
She descended the stairs dressed in a beige silk maxi gown with long sleeves and puffs at the end of each.
Her mother had gifted it to her on her wedding day.
The hem of the dress was neatly done almost close to perfection.
A white chiffon veil was wrapped firmly around her oval face covering every single strand of her hair.
The ring on her pinky finger was simple and cut specially for a minimalist like her.
Her handy black leather purse was secured in her hands.
As she took her every step, the soft sound of her flats against the tiles of the steps could be heard by only a very observant person.
Someone like Salman.
His deep dark eyes dilated as he ogled at this beauty that walked toward him.
Her hazel eyes were now honey colour because of the reflection of the sun coming from the window.
It was as though he had been under a spell.
An unbreakable spell.
He didn't realize Umaymah was already standing right in front of him until she snapped her fingers.
"Your stares," she said once she got his attention back. "Do you always stare at people this way?"
Salman cleared his throat, smoothened his suit with his hands, and stood straight up.
The silence between the two was awkward.
"You look really beautiful Ummi." The soft words slowly left Salman's lips.
Ummi.
Ummi was the nickname he gave her.
Ummi was the nickname he gave to her when they were kids.
Her eyes flickered.
"What... The name" was all Umaymah could utter."I'm not your mum."
She scoffed.
Not minding her words, Salman said "Ummi." anyways.
Umaymah rolled her eyes.
"Shall we?" He held out his hand in front of her.
Umaymah looked closely as she raised her hand to place it in his.
" Ummi, "Salman added.
Umaymah immediately withdrew her hand to herself after hearing the name he called her and began walking to the front door without sparing Salman another glance.
"Wait up Ummi," He called from behind trying to catch up. "Don't worry you'll fall in love with the nickname again sooner or later. "He muttered to himself.
It seemed like he enjoyed teasing her so much.