The Man I Left at the Altar (English)

Chapter 4: Unsure

Chapter 4

Holding Dark's hand with mine while he was driving was another one of my favorites. With his left hand on the wheel and his right on my left hand, I can say the butterflies in my stomach were fluttering like crazy. A small smile was on his lips while he ran circles with his thumb on my hand.

I sighed as I stare at him while he was driving. Amusement filled his brown eyes when he caught me dreamily looking at him. I can't help it. The love I feel for this guy is unexplainable.

I thought I'll never love again after my first breakup and my parent's separation. But Dark proved me wrong. He showed me the light and helped me love again.

Although there is and will always be a part of me that is scared of being left behind. With my parent's history, I learned at a young age to put everyone at arm's length.

I never committed to a relationship before. I always had different guys to flirt and date. There was only one time I have been in a relationship, and it was with my childhood best friend Scorpius. But the relationship never lasted because just like before, I never truly did commit.

But with Dark, he made me want to commit. And I did. But there was still a part of me that is hesitant.

Dark must have felt the gloom of my thoughts for he softly squeezed my hand and glanced at me.

"What's wrong?" he softly asked, his eyes imploring you to look at him and open yourself to his.

Dark has always been a perceptive person. You can never lie or hide anything from him. One look in your eyes and he'll know something is wrong. He sees and views things differently. He knows how to look at a wounded person, the same way how he learned to know the pain in my eyes the first time we met.

Shaking my head, I played with his hand, unable to look directly at him in the eye. I have always been honest with him. I made a friend, companion, and partner with Dark.

He's the best listener and he gives the right questions. He never gave me an outright answer, but encourages me to seek the answer for myself by reflecting from within.

"Laurene." He warned, glancing at me with his brown eyes. His eyes softened at my biting lip "Baby, please stop biting your lip. You make me want to pull over and kiss you."

A mischievous grin lifted my lips "Perhaps if you have do pull over, I'll give you more than a kiss."

He groaned and a pained expression fleeted his face that it made me laugh. We never have gotten extremely sexual. I wanted us to. But Dark wanted to take it slow. So, I always settled for his kisses and touch.

People might think that we have done the deed considering Dark was famous in bed, but it wasn't the case for us. And it made me respect him even more.

Kissing the back of my hand, he gave a deep sigh like committing the feel of my hand and the cherry blossom whip of my lotion. "You're going to be late if we pull over."

I pouted at him which earned me a dark rumble from him. gods, how did I ever got lucky? I love his chuckle and it was only me who can put a grin on him.

When I first met him, my friends told him that Dark was a brooding and unsmiling man. He was beautiful and enigmatic which made him desirable for women. But with me, he had this different persona. He is always smiling and laughing.

I asked him one time, which made him act differently towards me. I can deeply remember the look in his eyes, full of life, love, and meaning. His eyes were sparkling and his smile blinding me with the intensity and aura of his happiness.

I remembered him pulling me close to him and nuzzling my neck before telling me the words that made my heart clenched in so much love "Because you made me believe in life. You eased the darkness out of my life, and I live towards the day of putting a smile on your face, just as how you put a smile on mine."

His words, his smile and especially his actions will make me combust in so many emotions that I could hardly breathe at the intensity of it. Just like today with his boyish grin and carefree self, it made me realize that all the stares of other people were worth it because I can put a smile on his handsome face.

Unable to stop myself, I momentarily loosened the straps of my seatbelt, crawled over to him and wrapped my arms around him. I rested my face against his shoulder while he was driving and caressing my face with his other hand.

"I love you," I whispered with my eyes on the road.

"I love you too." He whispered back as he kissed the top of my forehead.

When we arrived in school, Dark drew so much attention with his Black Evoque car. Everyone knew who he was and the car he uses to drive me to school. It became a routine of ours to drive me to school and pick me up. Hence, the crowd of onlookers quickly landed on us when we stopped at the parking lot.

My heart instantly hammered at the eyes directed at us. The car was heavily tinted but I can feel the laser beam eyes of theirs searching for us. I should be used to it by now. But I wasn't. For a 20-year-old girl whose main experience of attention were speech classes, extemporaneous contests, and facilitating activities, curious and hateful eyes were a lot.

Dark must have sensed the tension in my bones because he sighed, unbuckled my belt and pulled me on top of him. I squealed as he caged me in his arms. He cupped my cheek with his hand and softly caressed my cheek with his thumb. His other hand made slow languid circles on my back.

My shoulders eased away from the tension and I purred like a cat with his gentle and adoring hands.

"There." He softly said, nuzzling my neck "You're relaxed now."

"How did you know?" I asked him, clearing the fog of realization in my head.

"Your shoulders would always tense up and your lips purse in a fine line when you're nervous and anxious." He said.

"Huh. I didn't notice it." I mumbled to myself.

"I tend to notice a lot about you." Maamo niya na tugon. His eyes hypnotically stared at me "Do they bother you? Is that what you were thinking earlier? The attention and curious gazes?"

I hated lying to him, but I couldn't tell him the truth of what I was thinking earlier, so I nodded my head. He sighed and a pained expression filled his eyes that I can almost hear my heart crack at it. I never wanted to see him hurt and pain, just as he doesn't want to see me suffering from the allegations of his past.

"Fuck." He cursed under his breathe looking away from me. His jaw clenched and unclenched. His eyes were full of pain when he glanced back at me "I'm sorry baby. I never wanted you to feel uncomfortable."

"It's okay." I assured him "I'm tougher than you give me credit for."

"I know." He said a look of pure wonder in his eyes "You are but I hate seeing you cry and tense. I'll take care of it."

I pulled away from him "How?"

A devilish smirk formed on his lips "Leave it to me."

I shook my head "I don't want you spending your energy in defending and saving me. I can handle it on my own."

"But I don't want you handling it all on your own." He continued "I know you've always been independent but I'm here now and I want to help. It is partly my fault why they are curious about you, so let me make it right."

I know he calls me Ms. Independent sometimes, but I don't want him to get into trouble. But with the seriousness in his eyes and his clenched jaw, I knew he already made up my mind.

So, I sighed in defeat and hugged him. "Just don't get into trouble."

"Baby, I never get into trouble." He smirked before I crawled back to my seat and he opened his side of the door. Ever the gentleman, he opened the door for me and kissed me on the lips before walking hand-in-hand towards my college's building.