Page 43 of Seventeen Years Ago

“The bed was comfortable, but it’s not...home. I’m sure you don’t have that issue with traveling as much as you do,” I said.

“You’d be surprised. Maybe it’s because I’m gone so much that home is where I want to be,” he replied.

That made sense. Was he trying to tell me that’s where he wished he was right now? Of course. He was trying to get out of Tabiq. The only reason why he’s here is because of the storm. If not for that, he’d already be gone.

Don’t forget it. He’s not here for me.

“You’ll be back home before you know it,” I said.

“And so will you. Do you want to go and grab some coffee with me?” he asked.

“There isn’t a place to sit anywhere,” I said. “Which is a good thing. It means more people are safe, just like we are.”

“True, but there is a spot that isn’t being utilized right now.”

“Where is that?” I asked.

“My suite,” he replied.

“Umm. No. That’s not happening.”

“You’ve been in my suite before. We had lunch on the balcony, or have you forgotten?”

Not one moment of the time I spend with you fades from my memory.

“I don’t know if you noticed, but the balcony option is out. Unless you were hoping I’d blow away,” I joked.

“I’d never let that happen,” he said. “But I do have a craft of coffee in my suite with some fresh fruit. You are welcome to join me. If you’d like, you can even invite your grandmother.”

I knew he didn’t mean that. And since I wasn’t his type, then there is no reason why I should feel uncomfortable spending time with him alone in his room. It’s not like anything was going to happen.Even if I wanted it to.

“Fine. I could use some breakfast. But my grandma will have to join us another time. She was in so much pain last night when we picked her up from her sisters, that I think sleep is what she needs most right now,” I said.

“She never complained on the way home. How do you know she’s hurting,” he asked.

“When you love someone, you know, even when they don’t tell you. You just know,” I said. Something in his eyes looked sad. I asked, “You don’t seem to understand what I’m saying.”

“Oh, I do. I just never had that with anyone,” he admitted.

It shocked me. “No one? Not even a family member?”

“The person I was closest to had been my brother. But even then, we couldn’t fully understand each other. He was always trying to gain my father's approval. I think he sought after it so much that it broke him. I don’t think my father ever told him he did a good job. Or that he was proud of him. I know he’d never done either to me,” Steven said.

People were waking up and coming out of their rooms. We couldn’t have such a deep conversation in the hallway.

“How about we finish this conversation in your room,” I said.

“Or maybe we just have coffee. I don’t even know why I told you what I did,” he said.

Maybe because you needed to.

I understood that feeling. I’d kept too much bottled up inside, and I knew held me back. I opened up to him more than I had to most people. It didn’t feel hard, but afterwards, I wondered why I shared so much.

Both of our cell phones buzzed at the same time. We knew what that meant. Reesa was calling a meeting and coffee was going to have to wait. Checking my message I said, “Looks like we’re off to the command center.”

“Here’s to hoping she’s got good news for us,” he said.

For all of Tabiq.

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