Chapter 6: Lessons

As the door opened, there stood who could be no other than Kemal's sister. Her hair was down but slightly messy and her eyes appeared tired. She yawned as she waved them in with a quick gesture of her hand. After she turned her back, Kemal grinned at Chloé secretly.

"My Allah in heaven, do you know what time it is?" his sister asked. She tossed her hands up, clearly exhausted.

"Uh, only around 10 pm," Kemal stated. His sister squinted as she stared at the TV clock.

"So it is," she said, sighed, and yawned again. "It seems so much later with my young one. Where are my manners? I'm Sezen. I'm sure Kemal has had all of his usual stories about his demanding sister."

"This is Chloé," Kemal said, ignoring Sezen's comments and rescuing Chloé.

"Chloé. I've heard it before."

"Really?" Chloé asked, perking up. "It used to be a popular baby name–"

"Not for a baby. You. Your name. Here. In this house." She dramatically tossed her hands up yet again, staring at the ceiling, rolling her eyes. Kemal blushed when Chloé glanced at him. "If only you had not denounced your faith. You and–"

"I think you mean renounced," Kemal interjected.

"It is denounced–"

"Okay, I'm glad we've had our introductions. Let's take you home Chloé," Kemal said with urgency in his voice. Chloé agreed.

"It was nice to meet you, Sezen," said Chloé, relieved to be leaving. Sezen nodded, straight-faced, and gave an uninterested wave. Once outside, the couple entered his car and carefully closed the doors.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think she would be awake," Kemal said, quietly as if Sezen could still hear them.

"She seemed upset. I don't think she likes me."

"Don't mind Sezen. Our family is complicated. I'll tell you more at some point. But now, unfortunately, I must take you home. Do you live close by?"

Chloé nodded but didn't know what to say about Sezen. It wasn't common for her to meet anyone from Türkiye, so she knew little about his culture. Luckily, she didn't have to feel awkward for long since her apartment was only five minutes from there. As she glanced over at him, he looked at her apologetically.

"That is not exactly the kind of mood we started out with, was it?" he asked. She shook her head.

"It's okay. I think I'll just head inside and get a good night's rest," Chloé said. Kemal appeared disappointed but resigned to the circumstances. He gave her a small nod. When she exited the car, he beckoned for her to come around to his window. Once there, he motioned for her to come closer.

Her heart began to thump harder as she leaned into the car window. He kissed her once, gently. Then, they said goodnight and he quietly drove away.

Chloé went inside her apartment and jumped in the shower. The weather combined with their session had gotten her sweaty. As she mulled over everything that happened, she woefully considered that maybe this was all that was going to happen between them. She knew family could be hard to deal with, she had experience with those issues in her own life.

If this was all they could be, she'd make the most of it. She'd have a nice semester with him, a steamy story to tell her friends, and maybe even a few family members. Her mom would probably appreciate this. She'd dated a man from over there before.

After Chloé got out of the shower and dried herself off, she noticed a few messages from Kemal. She opened them and read an apology once more but the second asked what time he should pick her up to get her car. Excited and relieved that she'd see him again the next day, Chloé let him know that around 10 am would be good.

She stared at the phone smiling in anticipation. The three dots were bouncing up and down indicative of typing. Then he wrote, "Did you like it when I kissed you?"

Chloé grinned at the phone and wrote back, "Yes, I didn't want to stop."

There were a few minutes before he replied.

"Me too. I'll see you tomorrow, Chloé."

That night, Chloé fell asleep with a smile on her face.

***

When she woke up, it was around 8. She dug out her books and began to read the assigned chapters from her classes, but she just wanted to see Kemal. Her stomach was in knots as it got closer to 10. She paced around her living room trying to calm herself but couldn't decide what to do.

Eventually, she went outside to wait. It wasn't even five minutes before Joel came over. He was about to say something to Chloé right as Kemal drove up in his BMW.

Kemal parked directly in front of Chloé, using her assigned spot. Joel stood there; his thick brown hair stuffed under a baseball cap. He crossed his arms in a huff.

Kemal got out of the car with stylish black sunglasses on, his nice gold watch, and a light blue short-sleeved button-up shirt with jeans. His styled hair was shining in the sun as he tilted his head to her. She waved and he leaned against the car, invitingly. Joel watched in disbelief.

"Who the hell is that?" Joel asked as if Chloé owed him an explanation. She rose to her feet and was about to say something when Kemal walked over to them. Joel stared up at Kemal, clearly experiencing immediate discomfort and a look of surprise. While Joel was somewhat muscular, he was not as intimidating compared to Kemal.

"Is there a problem here?" Kemal finally asked. He looked at Chloé and then Joel.

"No. I think we're good," Chloé said.

"Are we?" Kemal asked, tilting his head toward Joel. Joel continued to stare for a moment longer but then backed up. He turned and left, feigning machismo in his stride. It was comical.

Kemal smiled and opened the door for her. Chloé climbed in. He started the car after sliding into his seat and they drove toward town where they were the night before. She glanced at his face in the sunglasses as he shifted gears.

To her, he was completely captivating.

When they arrived at the bar parking lot, he waited outside as she unlocked her car. She turned around and found him looking down at her standing only inches away.

"I've enjoyed spending so much time with you this weekend, Chloé," he said quietly. She nodded, peering up at him. "I hope that we can do it again."

"Me too," she could barely utter. He held her face in both of his hands and then leaned down to kiss her delicately on the lips. Then he stroked strands of her hair, causing her bangs to lift in the slight breeze. When he caressed her right cheek with his left hand, she could once again feel his warmth against her skin.

"I wish that it could be now, but I've gotten too far behind in my lessons. Someone has distracted me," he joked. "I have to get prepared."

"Oh, I completely understand," she assured him. They hugged tightly, Chloé realizing that she'd needed to feel this closeness from him ever since they met, never having known how much until right now. It was hard to let go but when they did, she relished the way his fingertips lightly stroked her once more, as if feeding off the feeling of that last caress.

They both waved again and got in their cars.

When Chloé was home, she imagined what the next day of classes would be like. She anticipated the earlier ones to drag on but Psych of Health would fly by. At the kitchen table, she hauled out her huge, heavy collegiate A&P book and began to read. This would be difficult to concentrate on, but she felt comforted knowing he was working academically, as well.

As she sat at the table, she turned on the TV for some low background noise.

"... it would seem that the bodies had puncture wounds on them, indicating an object like a screwdriver or something similar may have been used."

Chloé turned around to watch more intently. The story was about two people close to her age who had been killed and dumped in the ocean off the pier. It sounded like the date of the attack was around the same time she and Kemal had been in the parking lot. She racked her brain for any memory of something out of the ordinary from that night.

Even if something nefarious had been going on, she was kissing Kemal for the first time. The world could have been falling around her and she wouldn't have noticed yet, it made her feel uneasy. She wondered what Kemal would do if someone had come up to them.

When she pictured Kemal standing up to some killer to protect her, she felt special. She'd never had that before in an intimate partner where he'd be willing to guard her, and he seemed like that kind of man. Her chest felt like it was going to burst when she imagined what she hoped their life could be together. The only problem seemed to be Sezen.

***

The next day, classes did drag on as she suspected but when she finally got to his, it was worth the wait. When he walked in, he flashed her his charming smile. She thought about the secret they had and smiled to herself. When he finally turned around, he was vibrant.

His face was flushed, and she could see the urge to smile playing on the corners of his mouth.

During the rest of class, he paced as usual, but there were times he would lose his train of thought as their eyes met. Their connection was far more powerful now that they had kissed. When they caught a glimpse of one another Chloé was on fire.

Chloé felt that her soul was pouring out of her, from her seat, onto the dirty gray tiles, inching toward him. Anything to get closer.

When class finally wrapped up, Chloé feigned packing her bag, but she wasn't thinking about leaving. She needed this to not be the only time they were going to be together today. It may never be enough to only see him once a day, ever again.

After everyone had cleared out, he removed his green-framed reading glasses and placed them in the case, snapping it shut. Then he slipped his laptop in his black bag. As she glanced at him, he gave her a sweet smile then beckoned to her.

Chloé walked up to the front of the class peering behind her to see if any students were lingering. They were alone. As they sat against his desk facing the chalkboard their shoulders touched once, affectionately.

"How are you?" he whispered, his eyes glittering.

"I'm good."

He leaned to her closely.

"I missed you," he said, quietly.