A JOURNEY BACK TO LOVE

CHAPTER 3

Inside Wildfire bar. Cool evening breeze was felt deeply by people inside. Different sets of folks at different parts of the bar. Leslie sat in isolation at one end of the bar. She ordered shots of tequila. The three shots were lined horizontally. She took them one after the other and finished it in a little over 15 seconds. This drew the attention of a group of young men. These young men were executives from Globus Pharmaceutical. The biggest Pharmaceutical company in the city. They came to celebrate a milestone they achieved. One of them was Miguel, a 6ft tall handsome English speaking Spanish dude with a Bold but seductive aura. He was the one that was eager to approach Leslie.

“I will be back in a bit brothers”. He told his colleagues as he zoomed off to where Leslie was.

At this point, Leslie was already half drunk.

“Seems you are the type that likes her space a lot”. Miguel told Leslie.

Leslie scoffed, then replied—

“And it seems you're the type that doesn't know when a lady wants to be left alone”.

Miguel chuckled.

“Well, I am Miguel Dos Santos”. He stretched his hand for a handshake that Leslie totally ignored.

“Miguel, I am not the lady you meet at the bar and get a free pass to a one night stand automatically, so please just leave me alone”.

Miguel stood there, he wasn't going to give up. At this point, Leslie was irritated, she quickly signaled the bartender to get her bill which he did. She brought her purse to search for her debit card. She searched all the layers and saw it wasn't there.

“s**t, I left it in the sitting room”. She muttered under her breath.

Miguel saw what was going on and brought a 50 dollar note and gave it to the bartender. Without looking at his face whilst soaked in embarrassment, Leslie thanked Miguel and walked out.

Wildfire bar had become Leslie's therapy spot since her breakup with trevor. Almost every evening she would storm in there straight out from work and drink as much alcohol as her system could take. She would spend the entire time reminiscing and crying about every second she spent trusting Trevor during their time together. It was difficult for her to comprehend why someone will promise to change and do the exact same thing again. It affected her efficiency as a doctor but that didn't, matter to her. She didn't hesitate to scold any guy that approached her especially the ones that came with s****l intentions and approach.

Another cool evening at Wildfire bar she sat at the exact same place she was before. She had already taken 3 shots and 4 were left on the table. While she was there, Miguel walked into the bar and went straight to her.

“Can I join you?” Miguel asked politely. She accepted just because of the fact that he bailed her out the last time.

“Why are you stalking me?” Leslie asked immediately as he sat.

Miguel chuckled then replied—

“I promise you, I didn't plan on meeting you here today, but the universe seems to have different plans for us, you know.”

“Was it also part of the plan of the universe when it sent a spouse that shattered my heart on two different occasions before we went our separate ways”. Leslie responded.

“Well, maybe it decided to orchestrate two people who had a painful ending to their love life to meet each other and live happily ever after”. Miguel replied Sarcastically.

The two of them burst into a loud laugh. When they finished laughing, Miguel ordered for more drinks—

“You are divorced too?” Leslie asked.

“No, I am a widower”. Miguel responded.

“Oh my… I am so sorry”. Leslie said.

“No need to be, it's been 3 years already since cancer took her.

Leslie took a deep breath on hearing this—

“My goodness! Now I feel bad for laughing”. Leslie replied.

Miguel chuckled—

“If it would make you feel better, I joined you to laugh.” Miguel responded and they smiled at each other.

They spent hours drinking and talking about their lives. Miguel opened up on how losing his wife, Cherry, brought a different kind of pain in his life, a spectrum of pain he never knew existed. She shared her part of the pain and hurt caused by her relationship with Trevor. They also talked about work; Miguel told her how the pharmaceutical industry was experiencing a boom that year. Leslie told him about her passion led her to endocrinology. Eventually they left the bar and took a stroll outside.

The next day at work. About noon time, Leslie was informed that someone dropped flowers for her. A note that indicated it was from Miguel was in them. She sniffed it and blushed. Because they didn't exchange numbers, Miguel insert a dinner date request for 7pm alongside. She smiled as she looked at.

Inside Maestros Restaurant. Classy place, with only elegant folks. Everyone is putting on either black, red, pink or purple. Miguel sat alone for over half an hour. He started wondering if Leslie had ditched him. Just as he pondered, Leslie walked him looking dazzling in a pretty bright pink gown.

Miguel was left in awe as he stared at her walk to the table. When she arrived at their table, she paused, expecting him to do what gentlemen do, but he didn't utter a word or make a move because his mind was blown and not coming together anytime soon.

“You know, up until now I really thought you were a gentle man.” Leslie said as she took a seat.

“Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I was just—”

“Stunned?”. Leslie interrupted him then smiled.

“You look so pretty.” Miguel replied.

With a blushing smile on her face, Leslie answered—

“You don't look bad either”.

“You mean after I rocked my best Italian suit, your compliment is that I don't look bad?” Miguel asked sarcastically and they laughed about it.

They went on and talked. For Leslie, this was the best date she had as a lady and for Miguel this was a breath of fresh air and peace following the death of his wife.

From there, Miguel took Leslie to Westside beach. It was already 11pm and they sat close to the sea.

“I can't remember the last time I felt this level of genuine peace and to be honest I don't want it to end anytime soon.” Miguel said as he drew close to Leslie.

“I know and to be sincere with you, I really want to take things slow because the last time I felt this way and gave into my feelings, it ended up breaking me so much”. Leslie replied.

“I understand you Leslie and I promise that I will take things at your pace.”

They went on dates the next day and the day after that.

Leslie's birthday happened to be on the following week. Miguel organized a romantic date night at his place for them. He paid a private chef that made variety of meals for them. He dimmed the lights of his dinning and lit many candles around that gave a very romantic feel. Leslie loved it and on that night she confirmed it that she was actually in love with Miguel. One thing that gave her the confidence to fall in love with Miguel was that she gained comfort in the fact that the terrible heartache he experienced was going to make him eager to prevent another one.

“Thank You so much for this”. Leslie said when they finished eating.

“It's nothing my darling, you deserve more than this”. Miguel said. Miguel stood up and held Leslie by her hand and held her up.

He pulled her close and held her waist.

“You are literally an Angel Les and—”

“Oh, so I have a nickname now?”. Leslie interrupted sarcastically.

Miguel chuckled—

“Yes, you do, my darling”. He adjusted her hair and continued—

“I really admire everything about you, from the way you walk, to the way you smile, to the way you talk about things you love, everything about you just speaks elegance and I —”

Leslie interrupted him with a kiss. It was their first kiss.

“Wow, that was amazing”. Miguel said.

“Now you can add the fact that I am a good kisser to the things you admire about me”. Leslie replied.

Miguel chuckled and went down on one knee—

“You didn't let me finish Les, I know I promised I would take things slowly but I have never been certain about anything like the way I am certain that the night I met you at the bar was not a coincidence”.

He reached out for the ring box in his pocket and brought it out. Leslie started hyperventilating in shock, she went blank and became anxious at the same.

“Leslie Donald, will you marry me?” Leslie's heart started racing, it felt like she wasn't there anymore, too many thoughts went through her mind, all the hurt she passed through with Trevor, all the nights she cried from heartaches. After almost a minute She—