“ Well, well, well, if it isn't Dante Davids? How are you doing pal?” He asked, a smirk on his face, one that I felt the urgent need to slap off.
I just stood there, staring in disbelief, refusing to believe my own eyes.
“ Why don't you guess how I'm doing?” I said, overcome by the need to shove him off.
“ You definitely do not look bad”, he said and I inhaled and exhaled sharply just to calm down, “ I thought it was you when I saw the name on the job application but I didn't want to believe it, but here you are Dante”, there was a glint in his eyes.
“ In status quo”, I said, my head throbbing, my heart pounding so loudly that I feared that he could hear it.
“ Don't mind me, you actually look great. Like, I'm totally mesmerized”, he said and I couldn't help but wonder why he of all people should be mesmerized by the person I was. I guess I didn't turn out as bad as he had hoped.
“ You still look the same, like the corky hot asshole you were”, I said and immediately wondered where ‘ hot’ had come from.
Dante, get it together…..
“ Whoa, whoa, whoa, don't tell me you're still mad at me for the things we did as kids back then?”
“ The things we did? Really? We? Or the things you did?” My voice was rising with each word, about to crack into something more emotional.
“ Look, it's all in the past now, okay, we've grown out of it”, he said with a shrug. A f*****g shrug!
“ Sure, at least seeing you in a suit confirms that”, I said and he smiled, revealing his white set of teeth.
I took a proper look at him, examining his body with precision. He had gotten taller, way taller, with full hair, muscled body, high cheekbones, and even his Adams apple was a sight to behold. And there was his emerald green eyes, those eyes that pierced my dreams, those eyes that were bright, sunny, morning dreams, but had turned into a nightmare overnight.
He still looked good, so good enough that if he wasn't Hakim, I would've started planning on how to get his d**k up my ass, and I hated that he looked good. It wasn't how it was meant to be, at least according to movies. The bully usually grows into a bitter, potbellied family man working as a highschool coach, not a hot, sexy looking lawyer. Why is the real world so unfair?
“ Never mind what I just said Mr Mali. I'm just here to do my job, no need to bring up any incident from the past”, I said, taking a swift look at his fingers. There was no wedding ring, and I just couldn't tell why I felt so relieved by that.
“ Come on Dante, no need to be so formal. We were friends from highschool, we can be on first name basis”, he said and I just couldn't believe what I heard.
We were friends from highschool? Really? Was that what he thought? Like, was that how he recalled it? Friends? The constant beating and slapping? And let's not even forget about my precious flying tooth.
He tried to touch my shoulder and I took a step back, feeling grateful that I did. If I hadn't, I would've slapped his hand off my shoulder.
“ Excuse me, let me make something very clear. We were never friends, we are not friends, and we will never be friends, so please get that into your thick skull and behave properly”, I said and a downcast look came up on his face. Don't worry, it didn't last for more than a second before his usual smug face came back.
“ Is that how it's gonna be?” He asked, grinning like it was all amusing to him, and as he put his hands into his pockets, making his jacket to give way and make his shirt more visible, I imagined what wonders were hidden right behind those clothes.
Get it together Dante, you should be dreaming of punching him, not undressing him.
Well, I guess I will have to undress him to make the punches more effective.