Face to face

I stood there awestruck… I've never seen a woman this beautiful before… at least not in front of me anyway.

"I'm in love with you! Please go out with me!" She asked me with a nervous look on her face.

I stood there wide eyed at the words she spoke, "Huh!? You... you love me? Really?!" I covered my face so she couldn't see my smile.

This... This girl right here... I wanted her. I didn't know if it was love or lust... But I knew I wanted her.

There was a crowd of people so I knew they were watching, but I couldn't control myself. This girl... This woman was gorgeous to me. I put my hand on her cheek and kissed her on the lips. The crowd stood and gasped as I had answered her question, I just hope she understood the answer. From her reaction, I could tell she understood. She stood there crying with a smile on her face, looking up at me. She was happy, the happiest she's ever been, and for that matter... So was I.

Things were going smoothly with my new found girlfriend, though I still couldn't tell if this was love or lust. I just liked being around her, and didn't want to let her go. She felt the same, about not wanting to let go anyway. As for the love or lust... She was convinced it was love. Other guys would go confessing to her and would instantly get rejected because she had a boyfriend now. Well, the same would happen to me but we spend so much time together that others don't try to interfere, although, there are some times when a girl would get enough courage to confess to me right in front of her, which obviously never goes well.

"Oh... You're the one dating Arlie right?" A guy asked me as I was on my way from work.

"Huh?! Yeah... why?"

"Do you think you could handle her?"

"Handle?"

"Yeah. Handle her. Cause she's way out of your league. If you knew her before she came to this city then you'd know what I mean."

Hm. I figured this would happen sooner or later. I mean, what's life without conflict? Be it because guys who like her, old friends we cut off, or girls who like me. It won't always be smooth sailing. I thought to myself.

"Ah. So... why did you wait till I was alone to tell me this? You could've told me in front of her. Or... is it because you like her? An old friend? If you're telling me this because you think I don't know how wild she is... don't worry, because I'm just as wild!"

"Huh?!"

"Don't think that just because I look like this, that I haven't done anything wrong in the past. There are things I regret even now. Things I wish I've never done, people I wish I've never met, but, because I've met them, I've grown up. It's better that I've changed and broke away from that repetitive nightmare, and met a woman as amazing as Arlie. As of right now, I'm the happiest I've ever been... so if you or anyone else threatens our happiness... you won't get away unscathed."

While I was saying all that, his expression went from confident to scared in no time. I finally walked away but the other guy just sat there. Scared out of his mind. I met with Arlie cause we had planned to go on a date but when I got there, a guy was already talking to her.

Hmm... like I thought. Never a dull moment.

As I got closer, I started to recognize his face, and he with mine.

"Mila! Is that really you Mila!!"

Arlie looked at me and was shocked. I couldn't control my expression. I didn't know if I was angry or afraid, or both, but I knew I didn't like it.

"W-what..." I stuttered.

"It's been awhile Mila. You haven't forgotten me, have you? You couldn't have."

Huh? I've never seen Mila this way... he's normally calm and collected. To think someone could stir him up like this. This is weird.

Arlie moved closer to me and grabbed my hand, then glanced at me as if to say 'no matter what happens, I'm by your side'. It instantly calmed me down.

"Ah! So this is your new girlfriend huh? Listen girlie. This guy right here... will leave you with nothing but pain. And if it gets too hard for him, he'll just run away… like he did before."

"Hmm!? Be that as it may... if he runs, I'll follow. If he's hurt, I'll ease his pain. If he hurts me, I'll hurt him back, and if things get too hard for him, I'll be right there to help him through it. So if you think... that anything you say will stop me from being with him, then you chose the wrong girl to mess with. I won't go down easily, and I won't let him either."

At that moment, I knew the answer to whether it was love or lust that I felt towards her. It was love. This girl... this woman, Arlie... I love her! I couldn't control the happiness I felt from the words she just spoke.

I turned towards her, put my hand on her cheek, and kissed her. I know I did this exact thing when she asked me out, but this time, I meant it.

"Arlie... I love you. So. So much." As I said this, she started tearing up.

"I... I never thought you would say that. This... is the first time you've said it." She said while crying.

"Um... sorry to ruin your precious moment, but I'm still here you know?" The guy said as he made his way closer to us.

"SHUT UP!" Arlie said as she got infuriated. "YOU RUINED IT DAMN IT!" She continued as she clenched her fist. She tried to punch him in the face but he caught her fist. Huh?! He... he caught it!?

"Oi, oi! Teach your woman some manners... unless you want her to end up just like Shula." He said as he pushed her into me.

"HOW DID YOU-"

"How did I know? It doesn't matter how. All that matters is that you and everyone involved with you will end up like her... so don't push your luck." He said.

"Well... I'll be seeing you, Mila. Enjoy your date... while you can." He continued as he walked away

Why... why did he know about Shula?! How did he even find out?! I thought to myself. Arlie saw that my body was trembling with fear and grabbed my hand and started walking.

We ended up walking to a park where she got on the swing and we talked.

About an hour past and she now sat there with a stern expression on her face.

"Hey, Mila. You met with someone today didn't you? Someone... who mentioned my past. The same as I met that guy. Right?"

My eyes widened. "H-how did you!?"

"Come on. It wasn't hard for me to tell. I mean, your expression and body language were completely off. Not just from meeting that guy, but before that. Call it... intuition? I could feel it." She said as she sat on the swing.

She took a deep breath. "Guess I'll tell you now. About my past."