Milena (COMPLETE)

CHAPTER V: Cita Romántica

On our first date, I felt that she brought heaven down for me.

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I reached the park at exactly 6:55 pm. I’m five minutes early, but Azil was earlier. I saw her waiting for me and holding a bouquet of white roses. She smiled and waved at me. As she walked closer, her beauty blinded me. She’s like an angel, um, a goddess to be exact! Her long hair swayed gently with the cold evening breeze. She wore a light orange dress paired with a golden two-inch sandal and with the silver pendant and bracelet I gave her. Good thing, I wore heels too, or I’ll be a dwarf beside her.

“You look… beautiful, Azil”

“Thanks, Mimi.”

She handed me the flowers and hugged me. I closed my eyes, as her sweet distinct fragrance invaded my sense of smell. She kissed my cheeks and whispered, “You look stunningly beautiful with that dress, baby. That’s why I had second thoughts on making you wear a dress! Just be handsome on your jacket and jeans so that my only rivals are girls!”

Oh yeah that’s right! I decided to wear a simple blue dress tonight. This is a special evening, my first date, so I decided to change my normal getup. Jeans and polo sleeves were for ordinary days.

She told me that she asked someone to reserve the park tonight. All the children in our neighborhood were not around, so we have the place for ourselves. The ambiance was so romantic! Two secret lovers under the light of the stars and the moon. She prepared our dinner on a picnic table. She set it all up at the center of the park, beside the swings and slides. She put her phone on speaker and played some romantic songs while we enjoyed our meal.

“Good thing we’re having this date at night, Mimi.”

“Why?”

She amusingly said, “If we date during noon, the sun will be shy by your hotness, Mimi.”

I made a quick-witted comeback, “But if we date at night, your beauty shines brighter than the pale moonlight, Azil.”

Her cheeks flushed, and we continued our dinner. Then after that, she set a blanket on the grass, so we could relax and stare at the stars and the sky. We sat on the blanket and leaned our backs on the picnic table. She laid her head on my shoulder and wrapped an arm around my waist. I also wrapped an arm around her waist and held her other hand, fiddling with our intertwined fingers. When the radio song played “Heaven” by Bryan Adams, Azil sang along with it, “Baby you're all that I want. When you're lying here in my arms. I find it hard to believe we’re in heaven…”

Yeah that’s true. Lying under the night sky. With her in my arms. This felt like we’re in heaven.

After serenading me with her angelic voice, she slowly straddled on my lap. Her face so close that the tip of her nose touched mine. We stared at each other. I really loved to stare at her cute chocolatey eyes, sparkling like the stars. They were shining and radiating with joy and I know it mirrored mine. We held a staring contest for a moment. She bit her lower lip before having the courage to kiss my lips.

Our kiss started with a gentle touching of our lips. We’re slowly taking our time. I can’t hear anything except for the loud pounding of my heart. I wrapped my arms around her waist to hold her steady. Her arms made their way to my shoulders, embracing me with her warm hug. She slightly tilted her head to the right so that our noses would not collide with each other as she pulled me closer to her. We stopped kissing when we ran out of breath. She rested her forehead unto mine while her hand started tracing the outline of my face. Like an artist admiring a piece of art.

“Mimi, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, baby. If it’s not a difficult Mathematics problem, I can answer that in a heartbeat.”

She laughed and asked, “That time, when I said that I liked you more than a friend, am I really the first girl who confessed her feelings to you?”

“Yep. You’re the first person who courted me. You’re the only one who gave me love letters and gifts even if we’re not close friends. I still can’t believe that you like me, and that you chose me. With that pretty face of yours, guys were lining up to court you. I am nothing compared to them.”

“What are you talking about?! You are prettier than me! If you start dressing like a girl, there would be more boys piling up for you. You see, girls and some guys were already in love with you! What’s more if you dress like a girl and used some make up? You’re handsome and beautiful at the same time! Okay? So, my next question is, am I your first kiss?”

“Yes, you are. You’re like a thief! You stole it from me! And not only my first kiss but you also stole my heart! Wait, am I your first kiss too?”

“I am not sure if playing dare games with my other gal friends, will be considered as a first kiss. If not, then you are my first real kiss.”

I glared at her. So, I’m not her first. That’s okay. I’ll make sure that I’m the last person she’ll ever kiss.

“Mimi, don’t be mad at me. All of them are playful peck kisses. They were only dare games. I swear, you’re my first real kiss and you’re my first girlfriend too! You’re my first and last! There’s no one else I wanted to kiss but you!”

“Say whatever you want to justify your actions, I’m still mad at you!”

She pouted her lips. “I’m sorry Mimi, I never really valued my first kiss because before, I didn’t believe that first kiss is precious and should only be given to the person who’ll make your heart go boom-boom-boom. Don’t be mad at me, please?”

I laughed at her childishness. She’s pouting and mumbling her words like a child who lost her favorite toy. I pecked a kiss on her sad pouty lips, “I’m just kidding, Azil. I am not mad. I don’t care if I am not your first kiss. The important thing is, you’re here with me. And I’m the one who’s kissing you right now.”

“Mimi, do you have other crushes? I really thought that you and Zec were lovers!”

“I liked other boys before. And yeah, I like other girls too, but it was a simple admiration. I wanted more siblings because I only have one. The way I felt for you is different. I wanted you to be my partner. And, Zec and I were only best of friends! Don’t be jealous at her!”

“I will never stop being jealous of you two!”

“Baby, I can’t ignore Zec. She’s not just a simple friend to me. She’s also my dear sister. And I want you two, to get along. Both of you are special to me. We need to have a get together! Some bonding time!”

“Hmm. I am still not convinced. Maybe for you, she’s just a sister but for her it means something more.”

“Don’t think like that. You’ll never like her if you keep thinking that she has a secret love for me. Stop thinking and just kiss me.”

Azil leaned closer for a kiss, but my phone rang. I wanted to ignore it, but the ringtone was the one I assigned to Zec. I needed Azil to stand up so I could reach my phone. Azil was annoyed by the caller. I answered the call, “Hey bestie. Where are you? I searched for you everywhere, but I didn’t find you.”

“Hello there Milena Suárez! My bestie for life! Are you sure you searched for me everywhere? Did you really tried your best to find me? Did you not know that I am drowning here? Your beautiful best friend is drowning her feelings by drinking lots and lots of alcohol! I am so drunk, and I never felt so free! Let’s have a drink sometimes! Alcohol tastes so good!”

I am having a hard time understanding what she’s saying. She’s slurring out her words. This is her first time to drink alcohol, so I got worried. We tried drinking red wine or white wine but not hard drinks. And now, she’s drunk and alone.

“Where are you Zec? Wait for me there. I’ll fetch you.”

“Papa Bert’s Bar down the road. Country roads take me home to the place I belong.”

I ignored her drunk sense of humor. I didn’t end our call, so I could hear everything that’s happening on her background. I looked at Azil and whispered, “I’m so sorry, baby, but I got to go. I needed to fetch a drunk Zec at a bar. I’ll walk you home first.”

“Why, what happened to her?”

“I don’t know what kind of problem she has that needed lots of alcohol. She literally drowned herself.”

“Oh! I’ll go with you. Let’s hurry. She might go somewhere else and that’s not safe given her drunk state.”

“But it’s already late. Your parents will be worried.”

“Baby, it’s okay. I want to help your best friend. You said that she’s special right? Everyone special to you is special to me too.”

“Okay.”

We found Zec inside the bar with so many empty bottles of alcohol around her. I put an arm on my shoulder and Azil took the other. We helped her walk to her house. Quickly and quietly as possible to not wake her parents up. Zec will be grounded for weeks if her parents found out that she went home so late and drunk!

Azil searched Zec’s closet for some clothes and I prepared her bed. I told Azil that I could help Zec change her clothes, but she insisted that she’ll be the one changing Zec’s clothe, “Mimi, you already have a girlfriend! It’s not appropriate to undress other girls!” So, I went downstairs to make a hot milk for Zec. I also looked for a medicine that will ease her upcoming headache. When I went back inside the room, I wanted to cover my eyes. I didn’t want to see what was happening inside the bathroom! That was so disgusting! Zec puked everywhere! Azil assisted her as she continued to throw up in the toilet bowl. Azil held Zec’s hair to avoid being puked on. I put the tray down on Zec’s bedside drawer and helped Azil carry my best friend back to bed.

“That’s your taste of freedom. Here, drink this”, I gave Zec the medicine and water then her hot milk. And we helped her settled down to bed. I told Azil to sleep beside Zec then I placed a blanket on the floor where I planned to sleep. As I was shutting my eyes close, Azil moved towards me and insisted that she’ll sleep by my side. I offered my arm and shoulder as her pillow while she wrapped her arms around my stomach. She whispered goodnight and kissed the side of my neck. I kissed the top of her head and mumbled, “Thanks for helping and thank you for our romantic dinner date, baby. Sweet dreams.”