AYAD

Chapter 16

It had been a few days since Gracie had seen Dabir at the restaurant, and she was still feeling conflicted.

After work, Gracie took a hot shower, put on her favorite body lotions, pajamas and ate leftovers. Her mom had gone on a trip back to Nigeria, so lately she had the whole house to herself.

Laying on the living room couch, Gracie toyed with her phone that she carried in her hands. She wanted to give Dabir a call, but was still so nervous. So far, she had spoken to Becca and Leni and they were in support. Her friends felt like there was no loyalty owed to Saheed, so it was best to explore the shared feelings with Dabir.

The situation was so weird that Gracie couldn't even bring herself to tell her mom.

Gracie sighed deeply. It was time to stop being so afraid.

She selected Dabir's name from her contact book....And after a few rings, she hung up. Her nerves got the best of her.

Her phone started to ring.

"Shoot! No!" Gracie panicked. She put a hand over her heart in a desperate attempt to calm down, with all the bravery she could muster, she answered his call. "Hello?"

"Hey."

"Hey."

"How are you?"

"I'm doing fine, just life and stuff you know?" Gracie nervously asked, she had never gotten that many butterflies from a guy before and it was making her cringe. "You?"

"I'm fine." His deep voice was smooth and strong like usual. "Just finishing up at work."

Gracie's eyes went to the clocks at 9pm. "That sounds about right."

Dabir lightly laughed. "I've been getting better about it."

"So..." Gracie fiddled with the hem of her pajama shorts. "How long has that...like...been on your mind?"

"What exactly?" As Dabir talked, he was packing up his stuff to go home. Gracie could hear the papers shuffling.

"You know.."

"You can be open. I've never given you reason to hide."

"Okay fine... Since when have you wanted to take me out like THAT? I mean, don't get me wrong...I kinda want to too. But aren't you, like, worried?"

"Worried about...?"

"Worried about what people will say!" She replied. "How will I look going from brother to brother?!"

He paused. "I suppose it didn't matter to me what others would say."

"What would your mom say? Or your dad?" Gracie huffed. "Gosh, what would Saheed have to say?!"

"Saheed doesn't get a say in any one's life other than his own. As for my father... I'm not sure, that's for time to tell. Either way, I am not concerned."

"What if he disowns you over something like this?"

"I'm not a child who needs to live in fear of being disowned." He responded. "Gracie, I've given them my entire life so far. I've given everything for the family name and business. This is the one thing I've loved to pursue on my own, does that make me wrong?"

Gracie's throat dried out. He said the word love.

Dabir continued talking, "I understand if you aren't comfortable with it, I don't want to make you uncomfortable, I won't do that to you. But I like you Gracie. If you like me too, I would like to take you out."