Escaping The Loop

XI

Then I assembled the resistance, "Who allowed you to sit with us anyway?" looking at him, scanning him from head to toe.

"I was invited, wasn't I Athena?" he looked towards my uncle's second child. "It is quite rude to banish a former colleague of yours." As if there was a pout hidden in his words.

This guy really knew how to talk! Charming and deadly. My favorite combination back then. He was tall, 1.90 meters or so, he had raven black hair so smooth a female is quite tempted to run her fingers through, a hard lean jawline with a stubble that was simply irresistible, the bluest eyes I have ever seen; the Mediterranean confined to a limited space that are his eyes. The nose of a great ruler I presume, broad shoulder with what I may assume followed by packs of hard muscle. Oh yeah I was thorough once (regarding physical aspects that is). I feigned indifference, hiding my intense attraction to that man.

"Cecilia this is Kalon, he is quite admirable once you get past this most smug persona he is displaying." My cousin came to his defense.

I was reluctant, but my reluctance was limited. So limited. When a girl is tested, asked, or questioned whether she approved the company of a gorgeous man, noting that he is the first man to catch her eye since the first day she set in this town, what is she supposed to do?

Say bring that boy along!

And so I did. We talked and talked for hours. Not all of us, just me and him. My cousins were preoccupied with their friends and it would be rude to meddle into their conversations where I don't know half the things or people they are talking about.

I managed to know so much about him. His father is a doctor, a profession he is trying to avoid much to the chagrin of his parents, he likes soccer apparently, a great swimmer (says his arrogant ass), he writes, he plays the guitar, and spoke briefly of the last serious relationship he had. Long distance was the cause of death to that relationship. What's with long distance relationships anyway? I always thought that as long as two people seem to get along and everything is going quite well, why does one party (or both parties) insist on finalizing what would've been a successful prospect?

Beside the point, her loss is my gain.

We spent lunches together, took me on his dad's boat once or twice-didn't suit me-dinners, a couple of times he spent the day at my uncle's house, walks, a kiss here a touch there, the town was buzzing about our torrid affair. We were the talk of the watering pool. I would sit with him and his friends and spend the whole time there. 17 days was all it took for my roughened up heart to land in his hands. That swine.

One night, the night before I left for Russia to pursue an education in law, Kalon decided we spend our final night together. A romantic notion really, a last hurrah. He instructed me to meet him at his father's boat at precisely 8 pm (so I recall). That's what I did, I put on the dress he loved on me, and went to meet him. After countless rom-coms, at that age you would be impressed with the slightest romantic gesture; bouquet of flowers, a goodnight text, show up unexpectedly at your workplace with plans for lunch, but Kalon went all out on this surprise. The boat was cradled by the piers wooden docks, floating and swaying with the slow evening tide. The boat was lit up with twinkle lights, the ones people usually decorate their houses with for the holidays, and an adorable spread on the front deck of the boat. It was like those romantic spreads you see in movies, with food you can feed your significant other with and not make a mess. He was waiting for me by the boat, wearing this white shirt that I couldn't recognize the fabric it was made of, and khaki shorts. He looked divine in anything, and I was so dazed by him in every sense of the manner. At times I would stare at him and wonder how someone this handsome fancied spending time with me; I wasn't the prettiest out there, and I wasn't that expressive. Sure in the recesses of my mind I had those thoughts, but what I displayed to him was completely contradictory; that he was fortunate that deemed and spent time with him.

"There she is", he looked at his watch, "and right on time. I should add 'punctuality' to the list of your merits." And he smiled that smile that made my heart have a premature ventricular contraction, knocking the wind out of me, and leaving me semi-paralyzed. I didn't have a smart ass comeback, didn't need one, I just held his hand as he helped me get on the boat. We sat there and talked for hours, it's odd after spending nearly every day together that we would actually have leftover things to talk about. It happened in a daze, the kissing that led to touching, the fruit spread everywhere and the blanket underneath us disheveled, before I knew it I had regained perspective and didn't want this. Not here. Not like this; with a person I might not see again. I urged Kalon to get off of me, coaxing his chest with the subtlety of my forearm, "Kalon stop", he was too busy and urgent nuzzling my neck, "come on cecilia, you have waited for this as much as I did. How romantic it would be on our last night together. The years would stretch between us and we would have this night to remember." Despite the knowledge I tried to cram into my heart and mind, the fact we wouldn't see each other again, I wanted a future with him. His admission broke my heart. This isn't what I want. "Kalon stop", as if my words were fuel for his insistence, "Stop! NO!" my words still not registering as his hands reached the hem of my shirt. Panic set my heart thudding loudly, "Kalon seriously just stop", I kept struggling and shoving, "I said NO!", then finally I managed to leap from under him, kicking him back in the process. I ran as fast as I can and leapt off the boat, I stopped and stood in my grounds once I heard what he had to say. "What a waste of effort and time", shaking his head in disappointment, "the time I could've invested in someone who wasn't a tease." My back towards him, with tears drowning my eyes, my broken heart in my hands, I went back home. I flew the next day to Russia and never looked back since.