MEETING HIM AGAIN

Dark brown eyes, same lips that I kissed back in the sea. This curly hair is what I saw back inside the hall. So it was him? I am, after all, not hallucinating about him. Same looks, some confidence, same aura. Thanks to the light shining above us in this corridor, I can see his gorgeous features perfectly. Even at night, he is still no less handsome.

"Hi." He greets me, walking to me with his hands in his blue jeans. Oh, so we even wore matching colors. What a coincidence!

"Hi." I open my mouth before I look like a fool again.

"We meet again."

Yes, we indeed met again after you made me go through the hell of looking for you as if you were my life.

"Aah, well, yes. What are you doing here?" I ask.

"I am one of the sponsors of this event, and so I had to come and see if my contribution was worthy." He says it so nonchalantly.

he is? He must be filthy rich.

"And is it?" I ask.

"It definitely is. I have no regrets so far. I love people who are passionate about what they do. And the energy you guys are showing, the joy on your faces, makes everything worth it. Even my time to be here is worth it."

"Wow! That's so sweet of you to say. Thank you so much to you and the other sponsors on behalf of everyone. This means really a lot to us." I say. cloaking my blush. His eyes are so alluring, even at night.

"You are welcome."

I nod my head, and we engage in another moment of awkwardness. I guess we have said all there was to say to each other; now it's a moment of silence and a stare challenge. His eyes are not leaving my face. I wonder what he is thinking. I would like to keep challenging him with my eyes, but I look away. He might be thinking about that foolish thing I did back there. A minute passed, and another, and he is still staring.

"What is it? Do I have something on my face?" I ask, a bit irritated.

"Yes." He says he is still not blinking or moving.

"Yes?" If I had something, wouldn't it have been nice of him to tell me to wipe it off instead of looking at me as if I were a ghost? "Where?" I ask, running my palm through my face, but he stops me by holding my wrist and pulling my hand down.

I thought he was going to wipe off whatever was on my face, but no. He stares again for a minute. I was about to pour out all my anger on him when he spoke.

"It's not something you can wipe off." He says. Wait, is it that scar on my head? I thought it wasn't that visible. "It's your beauty that caught my eye." My cheeks are burning really bad. How old am I again? Fourteen? Jeez! I am too old for this.

"Thank you." I say this while still battling with rosiness.

"That reminds me. You owe me." Oh, that almost slipped out of my mind. And I had also forgotten that he has my clothes.

"And you have my "wet clothes." I emphasized that, and he smiled.

"Aah, they are in the car."

At least not in your house, because Gia Wilson cannot stand this beauty in some private area.

"Good. Wait." I take out my phone from the purse. "I will just wire my debt, and then I can get my clothes." I was about to ask for his details when he snatched my phone out of hand. This guy is so mischievous. What is he up to now?

"I don't want you to pay me in cash."

Whoa! What's that again? So, what kind of payment does he want?

"What do you want as payment?" I ask him, confusion written all over my face.

"A date. Go out with me tonight."

Shoot! I am dumbstruck. Someone should wake me up from this dream. Did I hear that right? "A... d..a.t.e?" I stammered.

"That's right. No big deal. We will just have some drinks, catch up from where we left last time, you know, just a little fun." I don't know if this is right, but it feels so rhapsodic. As long as we are not going to his house or room, wherever he is staying, I have nothing to worry about. I promised myself that I was not going to limit myself while I was here. I promised myself that I would have as much fun as I could. And so, what's more fun than going on a date with my Greek beauty god? "So?" He asks, cocking his head to the side. If he looks at me like that, how can I say no?

"Alright. Just keep alcohol out of the fun." I say.

"I have no problem with that." He say. His smirk denotes just how thrilled he is.

"But I need to change first." This blue is too conspicuous for the night.

"I will wait for you at the reception."

"Okay." We walk hand in hand, and I leave him at the reception waiting area as I make my way up to my room.

I change real quick into jeans and a denim top. I wanted to leave my phone here, but I remember I didn't take it from Deep. I hope that dog of the Wells Club doesn't call. I walk downstairs, and we walk out to his Lamborghini and hit the road to wherever he is taking me.

We take a slow drive, and surprisingly, it's my songs playing in this so comfortable Lamborghini. Deep is even singing some lines, and I decide to help him. It's crazy and funny how we are acting as if we have known each other for ages. Nobody would believe that this is the second time we are seeing each other. I don't know how many more times I am going to see him, but I hope this is not the last.

"Back at the sea, you said you had been possessed by an evil spirit; that is why you acted so generously toward a stranger." He says this as we make our way into a certain restaurant, of which I didn't read the name.

"Hey, don't even remind me of that."

"I won't. I just wanted to ask, What kind of spirit gets into you when you are on stage?" He asks, pulling me a chair, and we settle down.

"I don't know. Holy Spirit? I can't really explain it." I say.

"That could be it. You are anointed." That made me laugh. Anointed? Well, if that is the case, I am even happier. "What do you want to order?" He asks, waving to a waitress.

"Something light. Some roasted sausages and juice." He gave the order, and we resumed our chit-chats. "So, I didn't get to know your problems." I say. I opened up to him, and now it's his turn. He breathes out a sigh.

"I just have a lot. Managing my own job, and now my father is passing on his role in the family business to me. It's taking a toll on me managing two different companies. On top that, my wedding is set to be held in three months time."

A fucking wedding? Freaking me! He is getting married. I'm heartbroken. I told you I was meant to be miserable. I thought that may be...forget it. Our order came at the perfect time because I need to swallow this lamp that is stuck in my throat. I take my glass of juice and take a big sip.

"I am sure you will find a way to balance your two businesses. Wait, are you the only child? I mean, that could be why you are carrying all the family baggage."

"Yes. The only child."

"I get it. I am sure you will find a way. About the wedding, what is there to stress about? Shouldn't you be happy right now?"

"Not when the bride decided to run away from me two weeks ago and three months before our wedding."

I was about to take another sip, but I got more interested in listening to his statement again. "What?" I ask, putting my glass of juice aside.

"That's my story. I woke up one morning to a very long text from her. She said I drifted away from her, I didn't have enough time for her, she finished by stating that it was too early for us to even settle down."

No, what kind of bitch does that? What bitch in their right state of mind would leave this adorned package all in the name of that shit?

"Then you should have looked for her and talked things through. You know, listen to her, and know where you went wrong."

"I tried my best, but she didn't want to be found. She had flown to Dubai. She doesn't even pick up my calls. I don't even know how to explain this to my parents. They will be devastated." Now he looks sad. So sad. Even though he is trying to hide it, he is hurting really badly inside. And who wouldn't be?

"That's quite deep; I mean, your story is quite deep. But don't you think it's best to let your parents know the situation as early as now to avoid hurting them more?"

"That is what I tell myself every single day. I should tell them. But when I imagine the shock on their faces when they hear the news and the embarrassment they will go through canceling the wedding, I just lack the courage to do it." I put my hand on top of his.

"She is the one who left you, not the other way around. You have nothing to be ashamed of. I am sure your parents will understand you."

"But I failed her. I neglected her. It's my fault she left."

"Did you love her?" I ask, even though it's evident in his eyes. He did love her.

"I did. I loved her. I just wish she had talked to me about it instead of walking away like that. I sure would have done something."

"Well, there you have it, Deep. She should have talked things through with you, but she instead chose to leave. I'm not judging her, but that was so wrong of her. I'm sorry if this will hurt more, but that's not what you do to someone you love." He looks down. I rub his hand with mine to soothe him. He doesn't look like the jovial Deep who was in the car with me a while ago. He sure is in a mess. Deep in a deep sh*t. "I'm sorry. I'm adding to your pain." He looks up and shakes his head.

"No. I just didn't want to look at it from that angle. I wanted to keep believing that it was my fault."

"The best way to deal with that pain you are feeling right now is to face the facts. Accept the reality of the situation. Blaming yourself won't do you any good." I say.

"Thank you." He says. At least now he doesn't look like a broken wreck.

"And get that burden off your shoulders by talking to your parents. It will do you a lot of good and relieve you."

"I will." That magical smile is on his face again. "So, do you have a boyfriend?" That made me almost choke on my drink.

I wish I had one, especially like you. Someone of descent, good-looking, presentable, and principled. A man of charisma. I would carry him wherever I go and kiss his lips like a hundred times a day. I would be so proud to walk around with him and introduce him to the whole world. I would feel like a queen to be called his. "I don't have a love life right now. You know, my life got messed up. Maybe I had one before who is yet to find me." I say.

"I am sorry for what happened. Haven't you found any leads yet? Nobody called you. Nobody reported you missing for those two months you stayed in the hospital." He asks with concern.

"No. No one." I am sorry, Deep, but I will have to lie to you too. It's not my intention, but I have no choice.

"I can recommend you to a good detective friend of mine. Maybe he will be able to help you."

Mental wild spin!

"Thank you. I will really appreciate that." It's time I did something to help myself. It's high time I free myself from Ejay's crutches. I can't live like a shadow of myself all my life. I can't live all my life lying to people. I cannot live in fear all my life. I will not allow him to determine my fate. I have the right to freedom. I have the right to know where I came from. I have the right to be friends with anyone I want without fear of him hurting them. From now on, I will do only what is best for me.

"Alright. I will give you his card when we get into the car." I nod my head and give him a smile. "You and I are the same. We have a lot on our plates. Allow me to make fun of our situations," he says, taking his glass of juice. "Cheers to the miserables."That sounds like my perfect situation. Miserable. I take my glass and click on his.

"To us, the miserables." We drink to that. "So, how much time do have for the fun?" I add. This feels like life now. Real life.

"How much time do you have?"

HUH? Me?