A Lingering Impression
1229 Words
Bimbo’s POV
Bimbo had spent most of the night convincing herself that she hadn’t just met Asnad, the Asnad. She was trying to ignore the way her heart still pounded from their brief exchange, but her body betrayed her. Her palms were clammy, and she could still hear the deep timbre of his voice in her ears.
“You don’t like crowds.”
How had he noticed? She had spent years perfecting the art of blending in, of becoming invisible in social settings. And yet, with just one glance, he had read her like an open book.
Annoying man.
“You’re zoning out again,” Amna teased, nudging her elbow.
Bimbo snapped out of her thoughts and turned to her friend. “I am not.”
“Yes, you are.” Amna grinned knowingly. “Let me guess… a certain handsome celebrity has something to do with it?”
“Absolutely not,” Bimbo denied quickly, maybe too quickly.
Amna laughed. “Right. And I suppose the fact that you’re gripping your glass like it personally offended you is just a coincidence?”
Bimbo let out a deep breath and loosened her grip on the glass. “I was just thinking about work.”
Amna rolled her eyes. “Bimbo, you always think about work. But let’s not pretend. That man had eyes for you. And don’t even try to deny that you were staring back.”
Bimbo groaned. “I was not staring. And besides, what does it matter? He’s a celebrity. We don’t exist in the same world.”
Amna’s smile softened. “You’re right. But for some reason, he noticed you. And that’s something, isn’t it?”
Bimbo didn’t respond. Instead, she focused on the flute of orange juice in her hand, pretending it held all the answers to her problems.
Because if she was being honest with herself, she wasn’t sure she wanted to be noticed.
Not by someone like him.
Asnad’s POV
Asnad was used to attention. It came with the job. The looks, the whispers, the endless admiration—none of it surprised him anymore.
But this woman?
She was different.
Bimbo hadn’t tried to impress him. She hadn’t even wanted to talk to him. If anything, she had looked like she wanted to disappear the second their eyes met.
And that intrigued him.
“Who was that?” his friend, Rami, asked, sipping from a glass of whiskey.
Asnad leaned against the bar, still watching Bimbo from across the room. “Bimbo,” he said simply.
Rami raised a brow. “And what’s so special about Bimbo?”
Asnad smirked. “She doesn’t like crowds.”
Rami let out a short laugh. “That’s your criteria now?”
Asnad shrugged. “She’s… interesting.”
Rami followed his gaze. “She’s beautiful. But you don’t usually go for the shy ones.”
“I don’t go for anyone,” Asnad corrected. “People come to me.”
“And yet, you’re standing here, staring at a woman who just ran away from you,” Rami mused.
Asnad let out a low chuckle. “Exactly.”
There was something refreshing about her. He was surrounded by people who chased after him, people who craved his attention. But Bimbo?
She was running in the opposite direction.
And that made him want to chase her.
Bimbo’s POV
She needed air.
The event had started to suffocate her. The mingling, the forced smiles, the constant socializing—it was too much.
She excused herself from Amna and stepped out onto the terrace, inhaling the crisp night air. The stars stretched endlessly above her, and for a moment, she felt at peace.
“Escaping?”
The deep voice startled her.
She turned, and of course, it was him.
Asnad.
The dim lighting made him look even more striking. His tuxedo was perfectly tailored, emphasizing his broad shoulders and lean frame. He looked effortlessly elegant, while she felt… completely out of place.
“I needed some air,” she admitted.
He leaned against the railing, gazing out at the city skyline. “Same.”
She raised a skeptical brow. “You don’t seem like the kind of person who needs to escape anything.”
He let out a soft chuckle. “You’d be surprised.”
Silence settled between them, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.
It was… nice.
Bimbo found herself stealing a glance at him. He wasn’t just handsome—he was captivating. There was something in his eyes, something guarded.
Something that made her feel like maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t the only one carrying invisible burdens.
“You don’t like events like this, do you?” he asked.
She hesitated before shaking her head. “Not really.”
“Then why are you here?”
She let out a small sigh. “Work. And a very persistent best friend.”
Asnad smirked. “Let me guess. The friend is the reason you’re in that dress, too?”
Bimbo glanced down at her deep blue gown. She had to admit, Amna had done a good job picking it out. But still.
“I chose this dress,” she defended.
Asnad chuckled. “Of course you did.”
She crossed her arms. “And what about you? You don’t seem like you enjoy these things either.”
“I don’t,” he admitted. “But it’s part of the job.”
She frowned slightly. “That sounds exhausting.”
“It is,” he said simply.
Something about the way he said it made her pause.
She had always assumed actors loved the attention, that they thrived on it. But Asnad?
He looked tired.
Not physically, but emotionally.
And Bimbo knew that kind of exhaustion all too well.
For a moment, she forgot who he was. Forgot that he was famous. Forgot that she was supposed to be keeping her distance.
For a moment, she just saw a man.
A man who, just like her, didn’t quite belong here.
And somehow, that made her feel a little less alone.
Asnad’s POV
She was different.
He had known that from the second he saw her.
But now, standing here with her under the night sky, he was sure of it.
She wasn’t impressed by his fame. She wasn’t trying to get his attention. If anything, she was trying to avoid it.
And that made her the most intriguing person he had ever met.
“Do you ever wish you could be invisible?” she asked suddenly.
Asnad turned to her, surprised by the question.
All the time.
But he didn’t say that.
Instead, he studied her, trying to figure out what she wasn’t saying.
“Do you?” he asked instead.
Bimbo looked away. “Sometimes.”
He wanted to ask why.
But he didn’t push.
He had a feeling she wasn’t the kind of person who opened up easily.
And for some reason, that made him want to know her even more.
Silence stretched between them again, but this time, it felt heavier.
There was something unspoken between them, something neither of them wanted to name.
A connection.
One neither of them had been looking for.
And yet, it was there.
Lingering.
Growing.
And Asnad had a feeling that no matter how much Bimbo tried to run from it, he wasn’t going to let her disappear.
Not now.
Not ever.
- Writer
