Falling for my nemesis

ALEXA "Hello, Lynne, yes, I'm already at the hotel. I would be up in five minutes, and yes, I have your earrings with me." I said into my phone. "Thanks,Alexa. You're a lifesaver. I owe you one." Lynne said on the other side of the phone: "Perhaps you'll help me babysit for a whole week so I can have some time to myself." I replied giddily and ended the call. I slipped my phone back into my purse and shook water off my raincoat. Thank heaven my dress wasn't soiled beyond repair. It was nothing a quick blow-dry couldn't fix. I pondered why Lynne had to get married in July when it rained endlessly as I stomped into the hotel. Perhaps I would get married in February when the weather was clearer and the sun shined endlessly too. It was also my birthday month, but I also hated it. I scraped the thought as soon as it came: I am never getting married; it isn't for me. I am content with Andrea and my family. They are my happily ever after. Five minutes was all I had to make it to the terrace and give Lynne her earrings before it began. It was Lynne's rehearsal dinner for her wedding to Ronald. Those two have been in love for as long as I can remember, and I was only happy that they were finally getting married. My best friend was finally getting her happy ending after long years of waiting and yearning. I saw the elevator door almost closing just as I approached it. I rushed for it and was lucky enough to get inside before the door snapped shut behind me. I heaved a sigh of relief. If all went well, my lateness wouldn't be noticed. I relaxed and looked sideways. I wasn't alone inside. There was a man inside too. Strangers made me uneasy, especially men, and my heart began to do a crazy dance, but I willed myself to calm down by counting until it was over, just as Dr. Monroe had taught me. I counted my numbers and decided not to look in his direction again, but I couldn't help but perceive his smell. He smelled rich, so I concluded it was one of the many rich men who ran down here from New York for a quick vacation. I busied myself with my fingers to avoid small talk with him. "Hello, beautiful." He said his voice was sleek and deep, with a rich musical timbre to it. I thought it sounded familiar—something I had heard before. It drew my eyes to fully stare at the stranger. He was tall,about six feet two, and his dark blue suit did justice to his broad-shouldered form, but I couldn't see most of his face as it was covered with huge sunglasses. "You must have changed, haven't you?" He said it again. "Excuse me?" I was frightened by the familiarity in his voice. By now, I was no longer thinking. I recognised his voice for sure. I gave him a closer look; the mouth and the cleft of his chin looked familiar too, but they couldn't have belonged to whom I was thinking. It just couldn't be. My heart began pounding so quickly that I thought I would faint. "Alexa loved to talk. She was quick-witted, too. Why are you being a scared kitten now,Lexie?" said the stranger. This time,he turned around to face me in the small space of the elevator. He called me Lexie. No one has called me that in six years, and before then, only one person ever called me that name, and as far as I was concerned, he was dead to me, dead and gone, and I never wanted to see him again. No one likes ghosts. My legs became like jelly, and I was scared to move an inch lest I fall. He took off the sunglasses, and my heart almost stopped beating as I stared my nightmare right in the face. Yes,it was just as I feared. Andre Hidalgo. Piercing blue eyes were staring down at me with an amused look on his face. I was scared, but at the same time, I wanted to slap it off. He looked just like I remembered him, except that for the past six years, remembering André has been the exact thing I have fought to stop doing. "Andre?" I blurted it out; my voice sounds shaky. My legs were shaking too. "At your service. Hello Lexie,you grew up." He said. Just then,there was a violent jolt as the elevator stopped and the power went out. Darkness enveloped us. I dashed for the door and tried to yank it open with my quivering hands. I wasn't thinking; all I wanted to do was put as much space as I could between Andre and myself, but the door wouldn't open. It was when he pulled me away from the door that I realized I was still trying to get away. "Hey,stop that. There is a power outage, and we are stuck here. Haven't you noticed?" He said this,staring at me quizzically as though I were acting all crazy. I was being crazy, but I didn't care. All I wanted right now was to put as much space between myself and him as possible. "You're acting crazy,you know?" He said. "If trying to get away from a ghost is crazy,then I am crazy." I said it hotly. I was angry. I have spent six years asking myself how I would feel when I ever saw Dre again, and now I have my answer. "You are so beautiful when you're angry. That much hasn't changed about you,Lexie." He said, coming closer to me with the charming one-sided smile I never forgot. I moved farther back until my back was against the wall. I felt his fingers on my face, first a soft caress, then he tipped my face upwards with one long finger until I was staring into his eyes. They were as blue as I remember but harder now. Gone was the innocence of boyhood; the Dre standing before me was a full-grown man. I didn't push him away when he caressed my cheek with his warm fingers. Blood whirred in my veins,drowning out every sound around me. I feared I would faint. I shouldn't be this close to him,not after all he did to me. He bent his head until his lips were almost touching mine. Just then,the elevator jerked, and I came back to reality. I pulled away from him as one would from a venomous snake. I began toying with my purse while I waited for the elevator to reach the fifth floor. I refused to look in his direction again. The power was back on, and we had finally reached the fifth floor. I dashed out immediately after the door rolled open. "It's no ghost, Lexie. It is Andre Hidalgo, and I am back in Love Valley." I walked away without looking back. The ghosts of the past came calling for me immediately. I was taken back to when I was sixteen,to that fateful day in the sitting room of Hidalgo's mansion,the day Andre cast me aside before everyone,the day my life fell apart...