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I could not tell another lie, I smiled weakly and told him, “No, dad. He didn’t break my heart. I think I may have broken his.”
He was my dad so he would defend me. But Zander had no fault in this. It was mine and mine alone. My dad wanted to talk more about him but I asked him not to. I was in Costa Rica with my dad. I wanted to enjoy my time with him. This was not his cross to bear.
I had gone to Costa Rica to see things under a different light. Isaac Newton’s third law of motion came into mind, ‘For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.’ I lied to my boyfriend with my ex-boyfriend. Zander’s reaction would be anger, frustration, and he was right to have those emotions. I could not control the outcome of the events past the lie. But I could try. For Zander, I could try. I came to two conclusions.
One - I still wanted to be with him.
Two - I was definitely in the wrong.
*****
After Kieran dropped me off at my apartment, I checked my wall calendar. The time difference between Costa Rica and the United States was quite huge. I was still getting my bearings after landing in U.S. soil but I knew I couldn’t wait long. I turned on my cellphone. It was still in the same place where I left it 4 days ago. On top of my bed.
I left my cellphone by accident. I thought I had it in my purse; in my hastiness to leave for the red-eye to Dallas, stop-over en route to Costa Rica, I didn’t know that my phone was not with me until I was on the plane. The battery was fully drained and it would take a while to charge. It was already 7:20. I couldn’t afford to waste more time.
Hurriedly, I penned a note for Nalee and Tanya and left it on top of the dining table letting them know that I was back and that I would talk to them later.
I hurried to Hudson’s Bar. Football practice was done. Zander and his buddies would be hanging out at the bar.
When I reached Hudson’s, I requested for a table away from the bar. His team wasn’t there yet. He wasn’t there yet. Practice must have run late.
Slowly sipping on my apple mojito and a small order of the Cajun sweet potato fries, I heard loud noises. They’ve arrived. He was here!
It was not hard to locate him. My eyes easily found him. It was like I had a GPS on him. Wherever he was, I could zoom in and pinpoint his location. From the beginning, he has always held my attention. It never faltered. I could locate him in the dark filled with thousands of people. To me, he shone brighter than everyone else.
Zander was in the middle of a pack of 8 guys sauntering towards the bar. He was wearing a maroon shirt with jeans. He had his baseball cap on. My eyes were glued on him. As soon as they sat, a trio of women came up to his group. Zander’s eyes were focused on the TV screen in front of him. He didn’t even turn to the women. How rude! My heart was a little happy that he didn’t even notice them.
Time to set my plan into action.
I called a server and asked him for a favor.
Zander
Fuck, not this again! Dave was bragging about his ‘assets’ to a bunch of girls. It was rude of me to not turn to the women chatting with my football team. I just did not care.
It always happened. Whenever a bunch of guys hung out, a group of women would not be so far away. They joined us and flirted. Why couldn’t they just leave us alone! I was so not in the mood to be friendly to the female species right now. The guys must have felt it because they left me alone. They didn’t even ask for me to turn around and introduce myself. Good. I couldn’t wait to get the fuck out of here.
I was happy to be with the guys. The women,no. I didn’t want to waste my time. I’d have a beer or two and leave. I still had a bunch of Arch Design projects to finish.
Midway through watching the Sports Channel on TV and drinking my beer, the bartender handed me a tall glass of beer. I wasn’t even done with my first so what the hell?
He placed the glass in front of me and said, “Compliments of the lady,” and handed me a folded table napkin. It was obviously a note.
Before I turned my head to see who ordered me a beer, I unfolded and read the note.
I had no idea that a simple note could stop time and everything else for that matter.
To the one who always makes me wet…I miss you.
My heart went thud, thud, and thududud! I turned around and she was standing right there, in front of me.
I didn’t even know why I was angry or sad or miserable. All I knew was that she was there and everything else faded.
“Hi,” her voice was tentative, unsure. She closed the distance and I smelled the familiar sweet scent that was uniquely hers.Strawberries and peaches. I breathed her scent in. Call me dramatic but it was like pouring water over my starched throat. She quenched my starving, pathetic thirst.
My teammates were now eyeing the unfolding scene.
I was still taking in her presence. For some reason, she was here. In front of me. Her hair cascaded around her face. She was wearing some frilly top, skirt, with tights that molded to her body. Her eyes were stormy, pure violet. I knew she was beautiful. I’ve stared at her thousands of times. Tonight, she was out-of-this world beautiful. I fuckin’ missed her.
