Ok guys - Im posting this part then I will be taking a little break. Enjoy oo hala hala bil comments.
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"Khalid who?" she asked trying to regain her composure and pretend that she didn’t know what he was talking about.
"Meems please la tistahbalini – I know all about u and Khalid" and he proceeded to tell her how he met him 6 years ago when they were first year students at Georgetown University in DC. They were assigned the same room in the dorms and moved out 2 months later into their own apartment on M Street. They lived together for 4 years and shared everything and spent almost every spring break together. Sami also told her that Khalid was one of the main reasons he came to live in Oman. He was sick of Saudi and the life there and mainly the lack of freedom. It was hard settling in after being used to the life and freedom abroad. He told her all about the phone call he received from Khalid about a year ago telling him that he met the girl of his dreams and the one he knew he was going to marry.
After Sami moved to Muscat, he used to see Khalid quite often but never met the girlfriend until one day Hanan figured out that the Khalid who went to college with him was the same one that Meems was seeing. She confronted Sami about it and during conversation, they figured it out.
"Meems I met the girl a while later. She is NOTHING compared to you. Khalid is like my brother and I told him so. All I knew about u is what I know from Hanan. A few months ago I had a major falling out with him because of this issue. Hatheek ilbnaya bay3a 7ayaha oo howa bardu 9arat sum3itu zabala oo kida ibsababha. Inti 6ala3ty minha saleema ya Meems"
That is when Sami turned around to look at her for the first time since he started telling her the story. He noticed that the whole time she was crying and he suddenly got nervous. He hated seeing girls cry cos he never knew what to do. She realized that he never told her where he lives and she never asked but were now parked in front of his sister's house. He got out without saying anything and she drove off.
6 months later
"Hala 7anoona – mashallah 3alaiky ur starting to show!!! If it’s a girl you have to promise me you will call her after me" sang Meems as she walked into Hanan's house.
"Aish hada il gamar 6ali3 bilnahar?? Lah lah lah – goolily aish il 7ikaya"
"Il 7ikaya yabooya kida bagooli da7eena lama yow9al a5oooky abu ilsim" mocked Meems. She loved the Saudi accent especially on guys. Just then Sami walked in saying "how are my favourite 2 girls in the whole wide world". He flopped on the couch and put his head on Meems' lap. Automatically she started playing with his curls.
Since that day 6 months ago, Sami and Meems had gotten closer and closer. He still felt guilty sometimes because here he was with his ex best friend's ex gf who he had soooo many strong feelings for. But then again he realised that since he had good intentions at heart and the way Khalid treated her made him want to give her everything.
"Yalla ya binty – laish munshaki7a ilyoum" said Hanan
Meems involuntarily started blushing "I have a date tonight".
How many are looking for a new beginning?
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
A New Beginning - Khalid
She had met him almost a year and a half ago through friends. She noticed that he was putting a lot of effort to talk to her but she was freaked out. Yes she freaks out easily by guys. Especially guys that put too much effort. They swapped numbers on their fifth or six bump-in and they started talking as friends. A while later he asked her out on a formal date and he was very considerate about where to take her because like her, being an Omani he knew what it entails. He insisted that she leaves her car somewhere and he picked her up.
He was such a gentleman that he blew her away. He opened doors; he lit her cigarettes, apologized every time he had to take a call and the whole shebang. After that day, they had a standard Friday date for 15 months. They kept their relationship a secret because she didn’t want the world to know mainly to avoid things getting to her family. This was the life in Oman. Everything had to be done in hiding. Most of her friends suspected she was making up a bf. He also worked in a sensitive position in the government that did not allow for being open and only allowed him Fridays. He was a good boy, he doesn’t drink nor smoke and he didn’t like her smoking or drinking but he knew she will stop in her own time.
One day, they were on their way to have dinner when he needed to stop at an ATM machine. She had been having a bad feeling about him for a while. He had left his phone in the car and it rang. She looked at the number and saw it was a number that was not saved. When it stopped ringing she looked through the call log and saw that there were multiple missed, received and dialed calls by that number. When he got into the car she gave him the phone and told him about the missed call. He checked the number and frowned and glanced quickly at her without a comment. She dropped it and never asked.
A few weeks later she was out with the girls and she had a friend who was visiting from out of town and staying at the Intercon Hotel. As she was driving her friend back late at night, she saw his car in the parking lot. She had a really bad feeling especially that it was a weekday, so she decided to call the hotel and casually asked to get connected to Khalid Al 3ilani's room. The receptionist connected her immediately and she started panicking contemplating hanging up the phone. The room phone was answered and she heard his voice saying "Baby don’t pick up the phone", the phone was shuffled around and he answered.
"Hi Khalid" she said casually.
"Meems?? Its not what u think – I swear just listen to me. I have my needs Meems."
"Have a good time with your new baby" she whispered quietly and hung up. That night she cried herself to sleep. The next morning she sent him that final text message and went to Dubai for a few days.
He was such a gentleman that he blew her away. He opened doors; he lit her cigarettes, apologized every time he had to take a call and the whole shebang. After that day, they had a standard Friday date for 15 months. They kept their relationship a secret because she didn’t want the world to know mainly to avoid things getting to her family. This was the life in Oman. Everything had to be done in hiding. Most of her friends suspected she was making up a bf. He also worked in a sensitive position in the government that did not allow for being open and only allowed him Fridays. He was a good boy, he doesn’t drink nor smoke and he didn’t like her smoking or drinking but he knew she will stop in her own time.
One day, they were on their way to have dinner when he needed to stop at an ATM machine. She had been having a bad feeling about him for a while. He had left his phone in the car and it rang. She looked at the number and saw it was a number that was not saved. When it stopped ringing she looked through the call log and saw that there were multiple missed, received and dialed calls by that number. When he got into the car she gave him the phone and told him about the missed call. He checked the number and frowned and glanced quickly at her without a comment. She dropped it and never asked.
A few weeks later she was out with the girls and she had a friend who was visiting from out of town and staying at the Intercon Hotel. As she was driving her friend back late at night, she saw his car in the parking lot. She had a really bad feeling especially that it was a weekday, so she decided to call the hotel and casually asked to get connected to Khalid Al 3ilani's room. The receptionist connected her immediately and she started panicking contemplating hanging up the phone. The room phone was answered and she heard his voice saying "Baby don’t pick up the phone", the phone was shuffled around and he answered.
"Hi Khalid" she said casually.
"Meems?? Its not what u think – I swear just listen to me. I have my needs Meems."
"Have a good time with your new baby" she whispered quietly and hung up. That night she cried herself to sleep. The next morning she sent him that final text message and went to Dubai for a few days.
A New Beginning - Round Seven
She didn’t know what to reply. She contemplated ignoring and pretending that she fell asleep but it wouldn’t make a difference since it was a text message which means that it will still be there in the morning when she wakes up. Then it dawned on her that he only had her Dubai number and didn’t have her Muscat number. She quickly sent a message to T telling him that if Sami asked for her Oman number not to give it to him. T called her back.
"What's going on dude?"
"Hey – he's texting me and he's asking me if I'm ok with him calling me when he gets back to Muscat"
"So what's the problem?"
"Dude he's freaking me out – he stole my number from your phone. He's such a lazga. I was waiting for my car outside the mall and he drove back with me. He wanted to help me carry my stuff to my room but I didn’t want him knowing my room number."
"Meems – he's a good guy. He doesn’t know how to deal with girls much cos he's Saudi. U know how it is. Give him a chance. Why are u so against it?"
"T I'm sure he's a good guy but I can't . . . I don’t know. I guess I don’t wanna get hurt again and he's just tooo clingy. I'm the girl. I'm supposed to be clingy not him"
Meems and T chatted for a while. T was always a great support and he always managed to make her feel good about herself. He managed to convince her to give him a chance and she said she will think about it.
The next morning, Meems got up early and checked out. She passed by the mall to pick up 3 boxes of Krispy Kreme since it wasn’t available in Oman and hit the road. Her phone rings and she picked it up without looking at who was calling. It was Sami. He was calling to keep her company on her lonely road trip while he waited at the airport for his flight. It turned out that she will be arriving in Muscat around the same time as his landing time so she offered to pick him up from the airport.
A few hours later, she was parked outside the airport arrivals waiting for him to come out. She sees him rushing and then somebody stopped him. She couldn’t see who it was because the person had their back to a pillar but she could see that Sami was not very comfortable and was trying to rush off. A few minutes later he gets into the car and he seemed a little upset.
"I really appreciate you picking me; my sister is not familiar with Muscat roads yet."
"Your sister lives here as well? I thought it was just you."
"She's married to an Omani and he's out of town this week. She's the main reason I made the move here but I live alone"
They rode for a few minutes in silence and then he came out with it, "listen I just wanna be honest with you. I've known about you for a long time. And I've always heard very good things about you. You actually know my sister and she was the one who suggested you to me in the first place."
"Who is your sister?"
"Hanan ilFlani" he replied. Then it all fell into place. She had met Hanan a while back during a charity event and she remembered the conversation well. Hanan had given her a strong talk about being with someone like he ex. She had met him and never really liked it. There was something about him that just seemed sleazy and untrustworthy. She loved Hanan but she hated her that day for trying to force her to meet her brother that was arriving the next week. So since she left her house that day, she hasn’t been in touch with her. It's been almost 4 months now.
"By the way did you see who I was talking to just now in the airport?"
"No I wasn’t looking" she lied. She was trying to see but the pillar was covering the guy. She could tell it was a guy but she couldn’t see neither his face not even his figure.
"It was Khalid"
She hit the brakes HARD.
"What's going on dude?"
"Hey – he's texting me and he's asking me if I'm ok with him calling me when he gets back to Muscat"
"So what's the problem?"
"Dude he's freaking me out – he stole my number from your phone. He's such a lazga. I was waiting for my car outside the mall and he drove back with me. He wanted to help me carry my stuff to my room but I didn’t want him knowing my room number."
"Meems – he's a good guy. He doesn’t know how to deal with girls much cos he's Saudi. U know how it is. Give him a chance. Why are u so against it?"
"T I'm sure he's a good guy but I can't . . . I don’t know. I guess I don’t wanna get hurt again and he's just tooo clingy. I'm the girl. I'm supposed to be clingy not him"
Meems and T chatted for a while. T was always a great support and he always managed to make her feel good about herself. He managed to convince her to give him a chance and she said she will think about it.
The next morning, Meems got up early and checked out. She passed by the mall to pick up 3 boxes of Krispy Kreme since it wasn’t available in Oman and hit the road. Her phone rings and she picked it up without looking at who was calling. It was Sami. He was calling to keep her company on her lonely road trip while he waited at the airport for his flight. It turned out that she will be arriving in Muscat around the same time as his landing time so she offered to pick him up from the airport.
A few hours later, she was parked outside the airport arrivals waiting for him to come out. She sees him rushing and then somebody stopped him. She couldn’t see who it was because the person had their back to a pillar but she could see that Sami was not very comfortable and was trying to rush off. A few minutes later he gets into the car and he seemed a little upset.
"I really appreciate you picking me; my sister is not familiar with Muscat roads yet."
"Your sister lives here as well? I thought it was just you."
"She's married to an Omani and he's out of town this week. She's the main reason I made the move here but I live alone"
They rode for a few minutes in silence and then he came out with it, "listen I just wanna be honest with you. I've known about you for a long time. And I've always heard very good things about you. You actually know my sister and she was the one who suggested you to me in the first place."
"Who is your sister?"
"Hanan ilFlani" he replied. Then it all fell into place. She had met Hanan a while back during a charity event and she remembered the conversation well. Hanan had given her a strong talk about being with someone like he ex. She had met him and never really liked it. There was something about him that just seemed sleazy and untrustworthy. She loved Hanan but she hated her that day for trying to force her to meet her brother that was arriving the next week. So since she left her house that day, she hasn’t been in touch with her. It's been almost 4 months now.
"By the way did you see who I was talking to just now in the airport?"
"No I wasn’t looking" she lied. She was trying to see but the pillar was covering the guy. She could tell it was a guy but she couldn’t see neither his face not even his figure.
"It was Khalid"
She hit the brakes HARD.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
A New Beginning - Round Six
"T gave me your number - why r u so shocked" he said. She took the phone away from her ear and checked the number. She wasnt mistaken. It WAS a Omani number.
"How come your calling from a Omani number" she asked him already having random thoughts in her head.
"I told you last night - Im working and living in Muscat now. I suspected you werent paying attention to me"
"Sami come on - I heard everything you said but Im 100% sure you didnt tell me". She didnt want to admit that she had in fact tuned out quite a few times during their conversation but if he said anything about living and working in Oman she would have paid attention. This was almost as bad as him being Omani. At least if it was a Omani guy, he might have been discreet about her since it was a 2 way street. But since he wasnt Omani, then he could talk all he wants cos he wouldnt really care about his reputation.
She hated the life she leads. She hated needing to leave town to go out in peace and have a goo time. Her parents were relatively open minded but society restricted her. She often felt claustrophobic and therefore ended up just staying home most weekends cos she didnt feel like sneaking around and panicking everytime she sees a family member or someone who knows the family. She came from a well known and respected family so the pressure was even more.
She wrapped up the conversation by making some random excuse like being in the sun too long and needing to go for a shower and stuff like that and agreed to meet in the lobby in half an hour. She picked up her stuff and signalled to Jooja that she is going back to the room.
45 minutes, the girls were both still getting ready and by now Meems had already updated Jooja on the situation.
"Ya binti mara7 itshoofeeh 7ata fee 3ooman - 9a7?"
"Jooj he has my number!!! oo lama ita9alt fi T anaz3eh laish ya36eeh raqami chan ygool ineh howa ma 3a6ah il raqam lakin Sami kan masik telefone T oo y7oos feeh. Jooj he took my number by '3a9ib"
"6ayib zat is cuuute"
"No Jooj its NOT cute - its freaky - and now hes waiting for us in the lobby - he texted ten minutes ago - thank god im leaving in the morning"
"Dont woorry - Faisal is meeting us in ze mall with his friend so you will not be alone wiz 'im"
An hour later they had just finished their lunch and decided to start walking around in the mall. Sami was trying very hard to start a conversation with her but Jooja seemed to be an excellent intervener. Meems felt guilty since Jooja had to head to the airport around midnight and she had not spent much quality time with Faisal. Additionally she was beginning to panic because she was staying alone tonight in the hotel and he knew that. When the boys stopped to check out the latest PS3 accessories and games, the girls grabbed the opportunity and wandered off on their own to do a little shopping. During the two hours the girls had on their own, they managed to catch up on each other's news. Jooj told Meems about Faisal and how she met and how he was ready to get married but she wasnt willing to get married until she gets a more stable job that does not require constant travelling. Meems filled Jooj in on the "cheating asshole" and the gruesome details. Nevertheless, both girls did some serious damage to their credit cards during these couple of hours.
Meems saw T and Faisal sitting in a cafe and went over to join them, "hey T, when did u get here?"
"Just got here - listen im sorry about Sami - didnt think he would be stealing numbers off my phone but i will have a talk with him" T was honestly apologetic. This is something she really admired about him. He always apologized for the actions of the male species in general. It actually made her laugh.
"Dude its fine - hes just freaking me out a little cos he lives in Muscat"
Suddenly T started smiling and winked at her "look at them two lovebirds" and she turned around to see Jooja and Faisal's heads close to each other while she was showing him her shopping and he was gently massaging her shoulder with his thumb. "anyways its good u guys came cos were thinking of going to see a movie in a bit."
Meems was tired and she had a headache plus she still needed to do some shopping for some stuff people from Muscat had asked her for. So she excused herself and agreed to meet T later on. She said her goodbyes to Jooja and Faisal and was glad Sami was not there. She wandered off again and continued her shopping. She was never the kind of person that would do things on her own but in Dubai everything goes. Much later when she realised she couldnt possibly carry another shopping bag she headed to the Kempinsky to pick up her car from the valet service. Albert the friendly conceirge quickly came over to take her ticket and keep her shopping while she walked outside to have a cigerette. He saw her before she saw him.
" Hey, I thought u were gone already." oh shit - how is she going to get out of this one. They are both staying in the same hotel and since he was obviously waiting for a cab, she couldnt not offer to take him. They were a big group on the way there so he was in the other car but now she couldnt avoid it.
"No Im just heading to the hotel, you wanna jump in with me or you going somewhere else?"
"I was thinking of going to meet a friend but i guess i will just head back to the hotel with you"
Oh god - what is it with men!!! They manage to translate everything into an invitation. She was more than happy to tell him that he should go meet his friend but she didnt wanna be rude. She tried to busy herself looking for a lighter in her bag when he suddenly comes up with a lighter and offers her the flame. Now usually with girls, if they were interested in the guy, this move would have really sexy and would have managed to get a few eye bats here and there. But with someone who was freaking her out, she just had an internal "oh god" sigh.
The 20 minute ride to Atlantis took ten minutes with blasted music to avoid conversation. He was quiet as well so she hoped that he got that she was uncomfortable with him. When they arrived at the hotel, he offered to help her carry her shopping to the room but she insisted that she didnt need any help. She didnt want him knowing her room number as well cos as it is, he was really freaking her out with how sticky he was. As she walked into her room, she felt her handbag vibrate. She dropped everything on the floor and threw herself on the bed. She took her phone out and saw that it had been quite active since the afternoon. It was only ten oclock in the evening but she was too tired to return phone calls. She started reading through the messages and saw the Sami had sent her quite a few messages throughout the day. Now it clicked why he was so quiet. Some of the texts he sent were while they were in the mall and asking to meet and things like that. And the last text was received a few minutes ago asking her if she had dinner.
"Hey Im really sorry I just saw all your texts - I havent eaten but Im too tired to eat" SMS DELIVERED
BEEEEP "Can I tempt you with a room service burger and a movie?"
"That sounds nice but Im honestly really tired and just getting ready for bed" SMS DELIVERED
BEEEEP "So when you heading back to Muscat"
"Tomorrow morning Im hitting the road" as she sent this message she regretted it. She hoped he wouldnt invite himself for the road trip with her. SMS DELIVERED
BEEEEEP "Do you mind if I call you when I get to Muscat?"
"How come your calling from a Omani number" she asked him already having random thoughts in her head.
"I told you last night - Im working and living in Muscat now. I suspected you werent paying attention to me"
"Sami come on - I heard everything you said but Im 100% sure you didnt tell me". She didnt want to admit that she had in fact tuned out quite a few times during their conversation but if he said anything about living and working in Oman she would have paid attention. This was almost as bad as him being Omani. At least if it was a Omani guy, he might have been discreet about her since it was a 2 way street. But since he wasnt Omani, then he could talk all he wants cos he wouldnt really care about his reputation.
She hated the life she leads. She hated needing to leave town to go out in peace and have a goo time. Her parents were relatively open minded but society restricted her. She often felt claustrophobic and therefore ended up just staying home most weekends cos she didnt feel like sneaking around and panicking everytime she sees a family member or someone who knows the family. She came from a well known and respected family so the pressure was even more.
She wrapped up the conversation by making some random excuse like being in the sun too long and needing to go for a shower and stuff like that and agreed to meet in the lobby in half an hour. She picked up her stuff and signalled to Jooja that she is going back to the room.
45 minutes, the girls were both still getting ready and by now Meems had already updated Jooja on the situation.
"Ya binti mara7 itshoofeeh 7ata fee 3ooman - 9a7?"
"Jooj he has my number!!! oo lama ita9alt fi T anaz3eh laish ya36eeh raqami chan ygool ineh howa ma 3a6ah il raqam lakin Sami kan masik telefone T oo y7oos feeh. Jooj he took my number by '3a9ib"
"6ayib zat is cuuute"
"No Jooj its NOT cute - its freaky - and now hes waiting for us in the lobby - he texted ten minutes ago - thank god im leaving in the morning"
"Dont woorry - Faisal is meeting us in ze mall with his friend so you will not be alone wiz 'im"
An hour later they had just finished their lunch and decided to start walking around in the mall. Sami was trying very hard to start a conversation with her but Jooja seemed to be an excellent intervener. Meems felt guilty since Jooja had to head to the airport around midnight and she had not spent much quality time with Faisal. Additionally she was beginning to panic because she was staying alone tonight in the hotel and he knew that. When the boys stopped to check out the latest PS3 accessories and games, the girls grabbed the opportunity and wandered off on their own to do a little shopping. During the two hours the girls had on their own, they managed to catch up on each other's news. Jooj told Meems about Faisal and how she met and how he was ready to get married but she wasnt willing to get married until she gets a more stable job that does not require constant travelling. Meems filled Jooj in on the "cheating asshole" and the gruesome details. Nevertheless, both girls did some serious damage to their credit cards during these couple of hours.
Meems saw T and Faisal sitting in a cafe and went over to join them, "hey T, when did u get here?"
"Just got here - listen im sorry about Sami - didnt think he would be stealing numbers off my phone but i will have a talk with him" T was honestly apologetic. This is something she really admired about him. He always apologized for the actions of the male species in general. It actually made her laugh.
"Dude its fine - hes just freaking me out a little cos he lives in Muscat"
Suddenly T started smiling and winked at her "look at them two lovebirds" and she turned around to see Jooja and Faisal's heads close to each other while she was showing him her shopping and he was gently massaging her shoulder with his thumb. "anyways its good u guys came cos were thinking of going to see a movie in a bit."
Meems was tired and she had a headache plus she still needed to do some shopping for some stuff people from Muscat had asked her for. So she excused herself and agreed to meet T later on. She said her goodbyes to Jooja and Faisal and was glad Sami was not there. She wandered off again and continued her shopping. She was never the kind of person that would do things on her own but in Dubai everything goes. Much later when she realised she couldnt possibly carry another shopping bag she headed to the Kempinsky to pick up her car from the valet service. Albert the friendly conceirge quickly came over to take her ticket and keep her shopping while she walked outside to have a cigerette. He saw her before she saw him.
" Hey, I thought u were gone already." oh shit - how is she going to get out of this one. They are both staying in the same hotel and since he was obviously waiting for a cab, she couldnt not offer to take him. They were a big group on the way there so he was in the other car but now she couldnt avoid it.
"No Im just heading to the hotel, you wanna jump in with me or you going somewhere else?"
"I was thinking of going to meet a friend but i guess i will just head back to the hotel with you"
Oh god - what is it with men!!! They manage to translate everything into an invitation. She was more than happy to tell him that he should go meet his friend but she didnt wanna be rude. She tried to busy herself looking for a lighter in her bag when he suddenly comes up with a lighter and offers her the flame. Now usually with girls, if they were interested in the guy, this move would have really sexy and would have managed to get a few eye bats here and there. But with someone who was freaking her out, she just had an internal "oh god" sigh.
The 20 minute ride to Atlantis took ten minutes with blasted music to avoid conversation. He was quiet as well so she hoped that he got that she was uncomfortable with him. When they arrived at the hotel, he offered to help her carry her shopping to the room but she insisted that she didnt need any help. She didnt want him knowing her room number as well cos as it is, he was really freaking her out with how sticky he was. As she walked into her room, she felt her handbag vibrate. She dropped everything on the floor and threw herself on the bed. She took her phone out and saw that it had been quite active since the afternoon. It was only ten oclock in the evening but she was too tired to return phone calls. She started reading through the messages and saw the Sami had sent her quite a few messages throughout the day. Now it clicked why he was so quiet. Some of the texts he sent were while they were in the mall and asking to meet and things like that. And the last text was received a few minutes ago asking her if she had dinner.
"Hey Im really sorry I just saw all your texts - I havent eaten but Im too tired to eat" SMS DELIVERED
BEEEEP "Can I tempt you with a room service burger and a movie?"
"That sounds nice but Im honestly really tired and just getting ready for bed" SMS DELIVERED
BEEEEP "So when you heading back to Muscat"
"Tomorrow morning Im hitting the road" as she sent this message she regretted it. She hoped he wouldnt invite himself for the road trip with her. SMS DELIVERED
BEEEEEP "Do you mind if I call you when I get to Muscat?"
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