THEM AND HER FLEETING ROMANCES

Chapter 2

The invitation came out unexpectedly. When he decided to stay away from their home, Lyonel Ferriol agreed to stay at their grandmother’s old house in the suburbs. But, not after a week since he moved in, the lady from the other side of the road asked him to date her daughter even for once. He thought it was a joke, so he said yes but the same lady approached him again and said that she already mentioned the date to her daughter and they can go out whenever he’s free. Then asked about what day is the best for the blind date. Lyonel, same as the last time, agreed and informed the lady that they can go out on Wednesday.

The day of the date arrived and Sarah can’t help but admire the dashing man in front of her.

But that’s it.

Her knees started shaking when she realized who the hell is her date for the day.

The platinum blonde man is a hard person to forget since only few in their country have that kind of hair color naturally. He’s still pale as the last time she saw him but unlike before, the person radiates a healthy aura around him and not the sickly pallor of a vampire.

“Lyonel Ferriol,” the man introduced himself and offered his hand for a quick handshake. His soft gray eyes hidden behind prescription glasses that give the impression of liquid caramel eases Sarah’s anxiety. However, it still took long for her to accept the outstretched hand. But when she does, the thin lips of the familiar man curl into a smile.

“Ra – Sarah! Haha. It’s Sarah Castillo, nice to meet you, Sir Ferriol.”

Damn.

She almost slipped up and introduced herself as Rai. She grinned and laughed awkwardly at the man that’s wearing high-end clothing brands. Sarah’s even sure that the watch he’s wearing is the latest design of Rollander that she used as a reference a few days ago.

Realizing that, she praised herself. It’s a good thing that she decided to wear a little presentable for this date. Her initial choice was to turn off the other guy by wearing non-matching pairs of fashion ensembles but, because it looks like she’s making a fool out of herself, she settled on a neat black dress with minimal accessories paired with conservative high heeled boots.

“Uhm, where…where should we start?”

It’s awkward.

Since both of them live in the same neighborhood, meeting with each other wearing the set clothes they are wearing right now feels like a crime.

“Where do you want to go?”

Sarah took a glance at the guy. She’s not sure where she wanted to go, so she fished out her phone from her small sling bag and searched for good places that’s popular for dates.

“That won’t do,” she heard from behind her ears when Lyonel spoke. Before she knew it, he’s already looking at the search results she’s scanning and as he does so, his face is leaning close to her because of his blurry eyes. “Those are for teens and for their puppy love. You won’t like it,” he commented.

“If you have no idea where you want to go, how about we go to my friend’s place? He owns a good restaurant.”

Without much choice, Sarah agreed.

“Can you wait here?”

She nodded.

After a few minutes, Lyonel came back, riding his car. “Hop in,” he said.

Sarah, although disappointed that he did not open the door for her, hopped inside the car as he said. She stared at the snow-white beauty beside her and remembered the time when he requested her to act as someone he accidentally impregnated. What happened? She asked herself. He’s like someone who’s about to fade before but now he’s like a normal human, trying to live his life. Anyway, that’s a good thing and she’s happy about it. She’s just hoping that he won’t remember her.

“What’s wrong?” Lyonel finally asked. “You've been looking at me so intently since earlier. Is there something wrong with my face?”

“Nope. Nothing. I just remembered someone I used to know.”

“Your ex-boyfriend?”

Sarah laughed at the unintentional joke. “You can say that. Yes, my ex. He looks a lot like you.”

“Really?”

Lyonel seemed surprised that someone could look like him. All his life, he perceives himself as someone different and singled out among his peers because of the way he looks; his hair color and pale skin. Or maybe this girl just met someone with bleached hair.

“Bleached?”

“Bleached?” Sarah repeated. “Ah no, it’s natural for him. Like I said, a lot like you.”

This time, Lyonel smiled. “If he’s not your ex I would request you to introduce him to me but because he is, let’s forget the idea.”

“You can look in the mirror.”

“You don’t need to tell me; I do that all the time.”

The conversation was light. Like two long-time classmates who finally saw each other again after a grand vacation that transformed their views in life. And Lyonel did not refuse to answer Sarah's witty comebacks.

But what Sarah thought was just a quick ride turned out into a couple of hours long drive.

Lyonel brought her to a seaside restaurant, with a full view of the sea, touching the fine sand at the beach. Children playing, teens chattering and couples having fun.

"Where are we?," she asked.

The man who looked awkward in his suit on the beach stared at her. He laughed as he scanned the equally formal dress Sarah is wearing. "We don't fit in here," he stated. And glanced sideways to make her look around at the summer vibe on the beach with topless men and bikinis.

"Mind if we change?"