Questions - PAST
(MONDAY, JUNE 29, 2015)
"Please don't take this the wrong way, but, I don't understand why you became a nurse. Your educational and employment background is quite impressive." Ruthanne pointed out.
She had a way of bluntly addressing whatever didn't make sense to her.
Kylin smiled as always and looked away to ward off the pain that lingered around her.
Long ago, she actually had big plans for her life. Thoughts of that past somehow forced her to resurrect images of him. Kylin waged an endless war to fully suppress his memory aware of the pain those thoughts summoned from deep in her soul.
With the support of her protector, she was destined to blossom in a majestic way. But now, those dreams would never come to fruition. Fourteen months had raced by so quickly it was difficult for her to recall what her life was like before. Only when his face came to her was she inundated with what got away.
His warm embrace.
A supportive father-like spirit.
Inner solace, inspiration, and fortitude were the elements that came in the form of the man who was once desperately in love with her.
Olivier was the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. Even though they had a seventeen-year age difference, Kylin was head over heels in love with the man.
Who knew a twenty-three-year young woman would meet such a breathtakingly dashing man in the grocery store?
♡♡♡
PAST
GROCERY STORE BAE
Like every other woman in the store, there seemed to be a general malaise as everyone standing in line huffed and puffed at the cashier who moved so slowly, a snail could check faster than her.
Kylin made a mental note to avoid the sloth of a cashier's line when she was ready to check out. She turned to walk down an aisle when her feet cemented themself to the floor. At first, she was convinced she had inhaled too many paint fumes as a male model headed in her direction.
The tall dark brown vision of a man strolled by with immaculately styled faded and edged salt-pepper hair. He sported a pristine shaped-up beard and mustache combination. She was sure he caught the attention of the instantly zombified woman as they dropped whatever they were doing to follow him with their eyes until he disappeared from their view.
An image of a fitted camel-toned cable knit sweater and hazel eyes burned in her memory. It was as if Tyson Beckford's older more distinguished-looking brother appeared in the flesh. She recalled a few amazingly handsome men she'd met before, but Kylin was hard-pressed to remember the last time a man as pretty as Olivier came close enough for her to reach out and touch him.
After she'd allowed time to slip away from her as she spent most of the day painting her kitchen, Kylin only visited the store to grab a few items. Of course, she was a complete novice as a painter, which would explain the reason she wound up wearing more paint than she should have. But inexperience didn't stop her from marking the task off of her 'To Do' list.
A tacky powder blue t-shirt, scruffy old faded blue jeans, and a pair of white canvas Keds had been haphazardly splotched here and there with creamy yellow paint. She had no desire to talk to anyone, let alone a man as polished as the one who looked like he just left a photoshoot.
Kylin made a hard right down an aisle with every intention of avoiding the beautiful creation. Diverting her attention from the stranger was the right course of action because half of the stuff on her list would have been left in the store if she allowed herself to be distracted by him.
The last item on her list was some much-needed paint thinner. After all, she had a lot of paint to clean up as a result of the amateur she let loose on her house.
Laughing at herself was in order considering she was indeed the culprit who accidentally kicked over the paint bucket creating the huge paint stain waiting at home on her kitchen floor.
When she reached the department and spotted the thinner, Kylin realized it had been placed up just a little bit too high to reach. She was only five-foot-tall and the item she required had been placed a whole foot and a half above her head.
She looked around to find help, but to her dismay, no workers were in sight.
Kylin was within about four or five inches of reaching the can when a husky masculine tone caressed her skin like warm honey. The sexiest sound left her tingling as she made a misstep and nearly broke her neck craning to see who was the source of the divine tone.
"Miss. Uhm, can I help you with that?" It was like music straight from heaven to her ears.
The faulty step lent credence to the sight of Kylin about to hit the floor and embarrass herself to death. It was all that crossed her mind as she made peace with the fact that she would greet the floor at any moment.
Just when the force of the cement floor knocking the air from her lungs should have made its acquaintance with her body, Kylin was lifted into the air by arms that most definitely spent hours on end in the gym.
How in the world were they able to lift a big girl such as herself with ease?
With her eyes sealed tight just in case, she was sure she was lying on the floor fantasizing about the scent of cinnamon, musk, vanilla, sandalwood, and what most likely was honeysuckle. Kylin waited for employees and a sexy stranger to bring her face-to-face with the most embarrassing moment of her life.
Finally, her medium brown eyes opened to find the same camel-colored cable knit sweater and hazel-green eyes he had observed earlier.
Lava set her cheeks ablaze when it hit her that the beautiful stranger was holding her firmly in his arms.
Kylin was sure his smile must have been one hundred and ten percent illegal because nothing that lethal should ever be allowed out in public, all willy-nilly. She was convinced someone might suffer a heart attack after a single glance from him.
"I'm so sorry. Ahhhmmm... thanks for... ahhmm... thank you." She scrambled to untangle herself from his embrace.
Kylin felt his hands slide down her body assessing what was under the oversized t-shirt as he helped her step down to the floor. As a sane-minded person, she didn't jump to any conclusions about their interaction. Maybe her imagination was just playing cold nasty tricks on her.
"It's no problem. I'm just glad I was here for you. It would be a shame for a woman as pretty as you are to hurt yourself." The angelic voice melted in her mind like warm butter. Maybe the warm sensation was due to starvation, or it could be as simple as never expecting to meet Prince Charming in real life.
As she contemplated his words, he reached over her and retrieved the item she nearly broke her neck to grab. Placing it in her left hand, her savior gently handed her a folded piece of paper in her right hand. With that, he turned and made his way back to the front of the store.
Honestly, Kylin temporarily lost her mind as she forced herself to walk to the front of the store as if nothing happened. She hadn't been convinced all was well. Something felt a little bit out of place with the whole scene.
When she reached her condo, Kylin pulled the piece of paper from where it was pushed down in her back pocket. She was far too afraid to open it during her shopping trip despite wondering what was on it.
Stop being a wuss and just get it over with, already. She whispered to herself.
Kylin unfolded the paper. At first, she wasn't sure what was there. She grabbed her glasses to read the professional handwriting which appeared to be a poem.
I've been privileged
to have seen
and enjoyed
the finer things
in life.
When my eyes
beheld you,
I realized
ALL ELSE
pales
in comparison.
Please spare me a small measure of your time.
Olivier
1.903.555.5555
Kylin nearly fainted.
No freaking way.
It had to be some kind of ridiculous joke.
How was it even possible for a man like Tyson Beckford's older much more delicious-looking brother to express interest in a 'Plain Jane' like her? After all, she was sure they had absolutely nothing in common.
One of the most annoying traits of extremely delicious-looking men was that they were too high maintenance. Too much work was required of a woman who wanted to be with a man like that and she wasn't sure if she was willing to fight with any man over bathroom time.
♡♡♡
(KYLIN'S THOUGHTS ON THE PAST)
There are sure to be those who believe me to be a broken vessel in need of a beautiful man to make me whole, but that's far from the truth.
When I was growing up, I had the love and support of a father who spent every day of my life convincing me that not only was I his princess, but there was no one in the world who was smarter or more beautiful than me. He insisted I was the best thing since sliced bread.
I remember living with abounding happiness and joy in my family.
My dad also reminded me that my life was nothing without Almighty Jehovah God and He has never made a mistake. My mother took me to the church where I learned to love my siblings be they in Christ or the world as I loved myself. I was taught by my mom that no matter who I was or where I came from, I was no better or worse than anybody else.
I was reminded that In God's eyes, he loves us all the same.
So you see, I wasn't some wilted flower who was thirsty for love and affection.
Just because I saw the man as being far out of my league had no effect on my self-esteem or self-image.
The vision of a man who most certainly had to be a distinguished older male supermodel was simply someone too pretty for my taste. I knew it made no sense to go after a man who obviously spent more time in front of a mirror than I did.
I'm short and kind of bumpy.
Okay, I'm not the type of person who spends a lot of time in the gym.
BUT, I'm definitely not some monster to be abhorred and avoided at all costs. I have always received tons of compliments on how pretty people say I am, and I don't think I look too bad myself.
Because I've never cared what other people think of me, my self-confidence has always been pretty good even though I can be brutally shy. I just don't believe in exposing myself to the same mistakes as others.
When I see other people making terrible mistakes because they hooked up with the wrong love interest, I wonder why a person with a modicum of common sense doesn't choose to run in the opposite direction the moment they see a similar situation headed their way.
I have always been the type to stay as far away from messy situations as possible. I try to weigh the good and the bad of an issue. If I can identify that a situation might bring harm my way over time, I collect myself and run away.
Of course, I dated a few guys during my college years who thought they had me locked down. Poor foolish souls. I'm far smarter than that.
At the first sign of stupidity, I'm out.
You would think the love of parents who empowered me to love myself and the fact that I grew up in a church that teaches abstinence before marriage would encourage me to wait patiently for 'Mr. Right', but that didn't happen.
I gotta admit it, I'm no saint.
♡♡♡
"The best way for Wattpad to know how you feel about stories like mine is when you Comment & Vote. Your interactions are totally up to you, but hearing from you really helps and encourages me to write the stories you enjoy reading.
Thanks so much for your support."