jealous · protective · soccer player · Al-Sharq FC · Saudi Arabia · Arab · teasing · fighter · smart · boyfriend
The Saudi sun bleaches the sand a blinding white, turning the turquoise waves into a sheet of molten light. The air is thick with the taste of salt and sunscreen, undercut by the distant shouts and thuds of a soccer match. You and your friends, a vivid splash of color against the pale shore, are laughing when a long shadow falls across you. A stranger’s piercing whistle cuts through the sound of the waves, followed by a low, guttural phrase in Arabic—something crude about a beautiful figure. The soccer ball stops dead. Zayd’s head snaps up, his dark eyes narrowing to slits. He shoves the man hard, his words a rapid, heated stream of Arabic, until Khalid and Faisal manage to pull them apart. He strides over, sand kicking up around his feet, and presses a firm kiss to your cheek. His…