#yilke

She’d been approached by a cocky Greek man in the late afternoon of a Saturday brunch session with her girlfriends. Aleksi was his name. He’d interrupted their conversation, paying her cheesy compliments about the silkiness of her hair and the intensity of her eyes. She was flattered, really. Any man that had the courage to approach a woman in front of her friends to shoot his shot was definitely worth hearing out, in her opinion. 

“All of you ladies are beautiful, don’t get me wrong,” he started, donning an award-winning smile that probably could’ve brought any girl to her knees. 

“But you, my dear,” he paused to reach for her hand, placing a delicate kiss across her knuckles. “are the most breathtaking woman I’ve ever seen.”

Her friends immediately reverted back to the age of thirteen, covering their mouths and giggling as they witnessed the interaction with front row seats. She would make a mental note to get back at them for this later. 

Yildiz would be lying if she said he wasn’t attractive. His soft, brown hair, strong nose and angular jaw caught her eye immediately. She awarded him with a small smile, leaning back in her chair to see what it was he had to say. 

“If you’re not busy, I’d love to take you to dinner sometime. Obviously, I’d hate to interrupt your afternoon any further.”

He handed her a folded up napkin that contained his name and phone number. She took the napkin from him, unfolded it to observe it, and then folded it back up before delicately placing it in her purse. 

“Aleksi… that’s a Greek name, is it not?” She questioned lightly.

This was her game. She had a poker face that could make a grown man cry. Any poor bastard that attempted to get her attention had no idea what her next move would be. 

“That’s correct,” the young man nodded. “We’re known for our charm, y’know.” 

Yildiz offered him a coy smile.

“We’ll have to see about that.” 

It was safe to say that she was not impressed with his charm right now. She’d texted him a handful of times, and called twice now. No answer. In fact, her calls went immediately to voicemail.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she grumbled in frustration.

They were supposed to go out to a nice restaurant near her apartment about 45 minutes ago. Her home was nestled in the heart of the city square, so walking to their date spot wouldn’t have been a hassle at all. Their plan was for him to stop by her apartment to pick her up, and they’d arrive together.

She worked hard for the life she had. Her modest one-bedroom condo was designed perfectly to match the woman that she was. Her bedsheets were always made from silk, her produce was always organic and sourced from the expensive grocery stores, and she had a maid service that was responsible for the cleaning. She maintained a healthy work-life balance being a designer for a fashion magazine, and made enough to afford a luxurious lifestyle for one. Although sometimes, she did daydream about sharing it with someone. 

Another 15 minutes had passed, and she was ready to give up. This Aleksi had officially made it to her shitlist. Even if he groveled and apologized with some poor excuse about why he didn’t show up when he said he would, she was done. 

Yildiz made her way over to the crushed velvet couch that stood in the middle of her living room. There was a knit blanket spread out across the back of the sofa that didn’t match her taste at all, but she couldn’t bring herself to get rid of it. After all, it held a little bit of sentimental value for her.

“Ali Kemal, it’s freezing in here!” Yildiz squealed. 

She and Ali Kemal had been walking back from a local sandwich bistro when the sky suddenly opened up, spitting out storm clouds and rains that have previously been seen in movies. 

Naturally, neither of them had an umbrella, but Ali Kemal shrugged off the lightweight jacket he was wearing, and offered it to her as a makeshift cover. Due to the intensity of the rain, it soaked through within minutes. By the time they reached his street side apartment building, the pair were drenched. 

Ali Kemal was chuckling to himself about her impatience as the woman next to him was practically jumping up and down, urging him to get the lobby door unlocked quicker. She’d been to his place before, but her memory failed her when they approached the elevator that would take them to his floor. 

She whined about the cold hitting her bones as they stepped into the elevator shaft.

“Alright, alright, come here,” he said, rubbing his hands up and down her arms in an attempt to warm her with the friction between their skin. 

Yildiz let out a little noise that resembled the whimper of a puppy. He tried his best not to engrave that sound in his memory. The warmth from his hands was addicting to her, and without thinking, she moved forward and pressed herself into his chest. He was grateful that her face was buried in his wet shirt so that she didn’t see the pink tint that formed across his cheeks.

Ali Kemal and Yildiz had been friends for years, having met through mutual acquaintances after months of hearing about each other. They had similar interests, so it was about time they’d met. He was absolutely smitten with her instantly. Yildiz, on the other hand, was going through a phase of dating douche bag guys who had absolutely nothing to offer her. 

So, he kept his mouth shut and appreciated their friendship regardless. Her taste in men truly pissed him off though, if he was being honest, and he was no stranger to physically removing an awful one-night-stand from her apartment. In short, he felt that he should protect her, and he was fine with this. 

At least, that’s what he tried to convince himself. 

Finally, the elevator beeped and the door opened onto his floor. Realistically, the ride was maybe a minute or two long, but it felt like eons to a frozen Yildiz. She nearly ran down the hallway to his door, waiting impatiently for him to unlock it. He took this as a sign to quicken his pace as he approached the entrance to his home. 

The dark-haired man made quick work of his keys, unlocking the door and throwing it open. Her original complaint of the cold came from stepping into his apartment, which he kept rather chilly. Yildiz’ whining erupted as he was peeling off his wet shirt from his body, revealing a toned chest and abdomen that she didn’t fail to notice. 

“Alright, one sec, I have some dry clothes for you.”

He disappeared into his bedroom for a moment, clicking on a desk lamp so that he could see, and rustled through his dresser to find something suitable for the miserable woman in his living room. Another few moments passed and he emerged with a t-shirt, a pair of the smallest sweatpants he owned, and a towel, as well as a pile of wet clothes in his hands. He had also had a quick wardrobe change. 

She practically snatched the dry textiles out of his hands, desperate to get out of her heavy clothes.

Yildiz nearly stripped in the middle of his home before pausing and meeting his eyes. He was frozen, but not quite in the same way she had been. 

“Ali Kemal,” she started. “Some privacy?” 

Her words brought him out of his daze. He laughed off her request and walked into the kitchen, averting his eyes from her rain-soaked body. 

“Oh, take it easy, no one’s looking at you,” he teased. “You’re the one that’s changing in the middle of my living room.”

A drenched t-shirt flew past the entrance to his kitchen right as he walked by. Another laugh escaped his lips at her retaliatory actions. Another few minutes passed and she joined him in the kitchen, now clothed in the oversized t-shirt that nearly drowned her and the sweatpants that were still a size or two too big. The towel he had offered her was used to dry her hair, and was now discarded on his coffee table. 

He felt sorry for her. 

“Still cold?” Ali Kemal asked.

She nodded, letting her teeth chatter. He returned her nod and gently grabbed her hand, leading her back towards the living room. The young man guided her towards the couch, where she sat and watched as he disappeared into his bedroom for a second time. 

He returned with a navy blue knit blanket in his hands, approaching Yildiz with the warm fabric. He draped it over her shoulders, sitting down next to her and leaving an arm around her to hopefully provide more heat. Again, this would also fall on the list of things that he was telling himself were true.

“Better?” He confirmed. 

“Mhm,” she hummed, scooting closer to him. 

After a moment, he slowly lifted his arm and readied himself to get up from the couch. Yildiz’ head shot up from where she’d been laying against his shoulder, which stopped him.

“Where are you going?”

He offered her a soft smile.

“I was going to make you some tea. That might help you warm up.”

She paused for a minute before returning to her position, tucked into his side. 

“This is enough,” she said, not daring to look at him. 

The memory flashed through her mind like a scene from a movie. Yildiz sat down on her couch, huffing out a sigh as she mindlessly fiddled with the loose strings of the mismatched blanket. After a moment of contemplating, she picked up her phone, tapping on the screen a few times to send out a text message.

Are you busy?

She placed her phone on the coffee table in front of her, face down, and got comfortable on her couch. After the stress of getting herself together for a date and then exhausting herself emotionally, she decided she would just lay down for a minute. As her eyes fluttered shut, the weight of her exhaustion finally hit her and she was out like a light, completely oblivious to the vibrations coming from her phone.

After a time period that she hadn’t kept track of, she was awoken by the sound of a loud knocking on her front door. The noise jolted her awake as she looked around for a moment in confusion. Once she recognized the appearance of her own apartment, she got up and stumbled towards the door, attempting to rub the sleep from her eyes. 

Yildiz threw open the door without bothering to check who was on the other side through the peephole. In her hallway stood her dark-haired knight in shining armor, as always when she asked. 

“Ali Kemal?” She asked. “What are you doing here?” 

She stepped aside, allowing him to come in through the entrance. Once he entered her apartment, he gave it a quick scan and then his eyes turned to her. He gave her a quick glance before noticing her attire. Obviously, she was planning on going out tonight. 

“Yildiz, are you okay? I must’ve called you a thousand times, but you didn’t pick up.”

She met his gaze with a confused expression, which quickly dissolved once she remembered the text she sent. She brought a hand up to her temple in embarrassment, running it down her face as an annoyed look took over. 

“Oh. Yeah, I’m fine. I just… I was having a bad day,” she explained. “But it’s fine, I promise. I’m okay.” 

His eyes never left hers. 

“Yildiz,” he pressed. 

She huffed out a sigh, breaking her gaze away from him in embarrassment. She couldn’t look him in the eye and tell him her sob story. The dark-haired woman wouldn’t be able to handle the look of pity in his eyes. 

“I… I was supposed to go on a date tonight,” she started, motioning to her outfit. She was donned in a very flattering pair of jeans, and a deep, burgundy camisole that made her dark eyes pop. “But he stood me up.”

The young woman could feel her eyes start to sting as tears threatened to spill over. She wasn’t upset about the guy specifically, it was just the concept that she’d once again made a bad bet on some jackass, and here Ali Kemal was to pick up the pieces. She got lost in her own turmoil for a moment, but was brought back by the feeling of two fingers under her chin. 

Ali Kemal gently nudged Yildiz to look at him again. When her saddened eyes met his, it took everything in him not to break down right here and scoop the broken girl into his arms. 

“Yildiz,” he whispered. 

The softness of his voice sent chills down her spine. 

“That guy is an idiot if he can’t see that the most beautiful woman in the world is standing right in front of him.”

His words were directed toward the guy she was supposed to go out with, but he couldn’t help but feel that they applied to him as well. He’d tried swallowing his feelings for her for so long, and it was hard. If he was being honest with himself, his fear was that he would lose her forever if he made the wrong move. 

“Ali Kemal, you don’t have to say these things to me just to cheer me up.” She whined, looking down at the floor space between them. “Don’t lie.”

The words came out of his mouth before he could stop them. 

“I meant every word of it,” he stated. 

Her eyes darted back up to meet his, and it felt like the world stopped around them. In this moment, the only thing that mattered was the dark-haired man in her apartment who always came rushing to her rescue. 

Yildiz was suddenly very aware of their proximity to each other. He was basically embracing her at this point, with two strong hands resting on her arms as he searched her eyes for some kind of response. Her features softened as their gazes met. 

“Ali Kemal…,” she whispered, but it came out like a plea.

The sound of his name on her lips sent him over the edge. With his newfound burst of courage, he stepped forward, closing the space between them as he crushed his lips to hers. Yildiz was stunned at first, but reacted with a nervous hand on his shoulder. He took this as an opportunity to pull her closer, their bodies pressed against each other.

Her hand trailed up the back of his neck as she tangled her fingers into locks of pitch black hair. Ali Kemal let out a soft groan at her touch. After a few moments, the kisses became shorter and more frequent until they fizzled out, allowing the pair a moment to catch their breath.

“Yildiz…,” he breathed, resting his forehead against hers. 

She could only respond by mindlessly drawing circles with her fingers on his back. The sensation was forming goosebumps across his skin. Ali Kemal’s hand moved to cup her cheek, which Yildiz leaned into. 

“I don’t want you to… do something that you’ll regret,” he reasoned, giving her an out. “We can stop this and pretend it never happened.”

She pulled back from his touch, letting her eyes meet his, with that infamous poker face taking control. He was two seconds away from sweating bullets, not being able to gauge her thoughts. 

“Who said anything about stopping?” She muttered, grasping the front of his button-down shirt and pulling him back towards her.

The next morning, Yildiz woke up to a warm presence against her back and a blue-tinted room whose color came from the early-morning brightness just barely peaking out from its resting place. Electric green digits beamed at her from her nightstand, informing her of the ungodly hour that it was. 

6:37 AM.

She let out a tired groan and buried her face further into the pillows. As if on cue, the strong arm wrapped around her waist tightened and pulled her closer. 

A few hours later, she was woken up again by the faint sound of vibrations. She sharply inhaled and attempted to rub the sleep out of one eye as she blindly reached for her phone. She grabbed the device, cursing whoever it was that disturbed her slumber. The young woman allowed one eye to open, seeing the last name she expected on the screen.

Aleksi.

Yildiz could almost laugh at the irony. 

The sound of rustling bedsheets and movement next to her pulled her attention away from the device in her hand. A trail of kisses was planted on her shoulder, leading up to her neck. 

“Who is it?” Ali Kemal grumbled, his voice still heavy with sleep. 

She turned back to her phone before holding down the button on the side, and powering it off completely. 

“No one of importance.”

The phone was discarded without a care, and Yildiz rolled back over to face the man in her bed. Ali Kemal’s arms wrapped around her as he pulled her back into his embrace. 

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¤ ᴘᴜʙʟɪꜱʜᴇᴅ ᴡᴏʀᴋꜱ ¤