Diadem's Birthright

Chapter 3: Is It Attraction?

On my way home from school, I stopped at the mini Mart to get some fresh groceries for dinner tonight. I planned on making chicken vesuvio with jibarito, Ashley's favourite since she was arriving this evening. I couldn't hold in the excitement of my eventual reunion with my best friend that I unintentionally added a bounce to my steps as I rounded the corner to my apartment block. I stopped short upon catching a glimpse of a moving truck opened and parked in front of my apartment building.

At first, I was very excited at the thought that Ashley had finally arrived albeit way ahead of schedule. That was until I caught a glimpse of a very familiar looking motorcycle parked near the truck.

I couldn't really remember where I had seen such machinery that looked oddly out of place in this kind of area where my apartment was located. It looked like something you would find underground in the 13 - car parking lot of a wealthy person's mansion. I was still pondering this matter until I heard a faint, familiar voice coming from behind the truck and when I reached the entrance of the building, I saw the familiar big build of my "mystery guy" who had almost accidentally hit me and left me at the hospital the other day. He was standing in front of a man whom I assumed to be the leader of the moving crew. He was talking to him with his left hand perched on his hip while gesturing with his right hand as the others offloaded some furniture and other stuff from the truck.

The crew leader looked tiny standing next to such a gargantuan such as him that it was laughable. The whole bunch kept up with what they were doing until I came nearer into their line of view then they paused to look at the intruder in their midst. Feeling self conscious, I evaded their gazes until it collided with that of the "mystery guy's".

His caramel coloured eyes were shaped in an exotic arc with dark and long lashes, his beautiful chestnut hair swayed beautifully in the breeze, his sexy lips were set in a half smirk as if it was permanently etched on his face, he had a high nose bridge with perfectly contoured cheekbones and skin with a golden tanned hue that gave him the look of a reanimated greek god. My eyes continued their journey down his body, he was wearing a tightly clad turtle neck T-shirt. The t-shirt hugged his body perfectly showing off hints of his ripped muscles and his washboard abs, his hips were encased in a tight jeans trousers which hugged his thighs in a mouthwatering hold.

My eyes traced their way back up his face to his eyes and when our eyes met, I felt chills down my spine because of the coldness and dullness I saw in them. He turned to look at the crew members making them scurry back to what they were doing. I couldn't identify what the chills were, either they were caused by attraction or by fear but I steeled myself against the foreboding feeling then raised my hand to him offering a handshake.

"Hi, I'm Mirabel Graham, you can call me Mira for short. Are you new to the neighbourhood?"

He looked down at my offered hand for a while as if contemplating something before taking it in his large hand.

"I'm Ramzan Al' Makhir, but you can call me Ramz for short since people find it difficult to pronounce it. I just moved into the condo at the top floor of this apartment building today." Although his voice was thick and husky but it also had a tranquil smoothness like the whiskey I've heard about from Ashley whenever she goes for a night out at the club back home. His hand was hard and firm with a superbly nice grip too. The warmth of his hand permeated mine followed by the masculine scent of his cologne which wafted to my nose making me lightheaded.

"Wow, your name sounds Arabic besides I would rather prefer calling you Ramzan, it's a beautiful name. If I may ask, are you from the middle east?" I asked while retracting my hand.

"I'm of mixed race, my mother is of Afro- Asiatic origin while my dad is of Arabian-Greece origin." He said while tilting his head slightly.

"Oh, that seems like a very exotic family." I said, "By the way, it seems I've seen you around a couple of times before. Did you come around here often?"

"Yeah," he replied. "You attend college around here. You know the university of Michigan? That's where I study." he said while reclining on the trunk with his hand shoved into his pockets.

"Oh! that's where I study too, no wonder you seemed oddly familiar for a reason. So that makes us not only neighbours but also school mates, that's so nice" I said excitedly.

His eyes shone briefly with a gleeful gleam and his half smirk seemed almost less manufactured and more real. Although it was for just a short time, the brief change was mesmerising in its own way that I felt another surge of attraction which shocked me. What was more shocking was the fact that I was having a normal easygoing conversation with someone I barely knew and oddly enough I was having a good time also.

"Mira!" I heard a singsong voice calling my name from behind me and when I looked back to check out who it was, I saw Ashley walking towards me with her suitcase trolling right behind her on her right hand with her handbag perched on her left shoulder whilst holding her sunglasses in her hand and waving it. Seeing her brought me out of the zone I was in with Ramzan making me remember what I was supposed to be doing before I ran into him.

Ashley strolled up to where we stood, reached her hand out to hug me tightly first before turning on Ramzan to scowl at him while thrusting me to her back in a protective manner.

"Who are you and what are you trying to do to my friend?" She asked him then turned back to say to me, "Don't worry Mira, I am here now no one will ever disturb you again." She turned back to him to continue "Although my dear friend here looks like a she might be easy fodder for bullying but trust me I will not condone it if any one ever tries to lay a finger on her. I will make it my mission to hunt down such a person. Do you get me?" She finished angrily while panting heavily.

"Ash!" I said when the shock of her arrival wore off. "It's not what you think it is. You are gravely mistaken," I told her while patting her back to try placating her before turning to Ramzan and to say. "I'm truly sorry for the misunderstanding and for my friend's eccentric behaviour, Ramzan. This is Ashley Whitney, my best friend and roommate. Ash, this is Ramzan, my new acquaintance and our new neighbour." I said by way of introduction.

Upon hearing this, Ashley's eyes popped wide open in surprise before looking apologetically at him.

"I'm so sorry, please pardon me." She said while clasping both hands in front of her head and bowing it slightly. "I thought you were up to no good because of your build and also because I always worry about her safety. I'm truly sorry once again."

"No offence taken. Besides, it seems you have a great protector in your friend Mirabel, and that's a very hard thing to find in this day and age. You are obviously a very lucky person." he said in reply. "By the way, I have to go back to offloading and unpacking. It was nice meeting you Miss Mirabel, Miss Ashley. Thanks for the welcoming ambiance, I truly appreciate it," he said.

"It was nice meeting you too, if you have any problems or you need my help for anything don't hesitate to come ask, okay? We stay on the 4th floor apartment room 3." I told him.

"Alright, thanks for today Mirabel. I definitely enjoyed the time spent with you." He said with a spark in his eyes before turning his back on us while waving his right hand with the left still in his pocket and swaggering away.

"You have a lot to spit out young lady!" Ashley said in a menacing voice with arms folded while tapping her heel clad foot on the pavement.

"Welcome home dear, how was the journey?" I asked, trying to deviate from the topic but she was having none of it. Upon seeing her continuous scowl, I decided that it was no use hiding it from her or there would be hell to pay. "Alright, I will tell you everything."

"Everything?" She asked to be sure.

"Yes, everything. Let's head inside first." I collected her suitcase then we both made our way to our apartment.