Blast From Two Pasts

Chapter 6: Matching Steps

"Want to talk about it?" asked Lloyd after that extra-strong punch I threw at him.

I knew my ever-reliable and loyal office bestie would rather get a facial and his nails done at the spa on the ground floor but he obliged when I invited him to an impromptu after-work sparring session at the office gym.

"Nope," I replied as I kept jabbing away at his boxing pads.

It has been days since that maddening outing with Lucas, Ayen and Chad yet I was still fuming. A few minutes after I left, Ayen called to apologize for her behavior and asked where I was. I lied and told her my boss called for a last-minute assignment.

"Just tell me what's bothering you instead of trying to break my jaw," Lloyd said as he grimaced in pain.

"Sorry," I said when I realized I was killing him.

"Is this still about that blind date with... what's his name again, Lucas?"

I answered with a combination of hard punches. Hook-straight-jab!

"Lucas... turns out to be an acquaintance from high school," I said, throwing jabs with extra force. "I saw him again last weekend when I accompanied Ayen to the florist and the designer."

"Oh, you mean this Lucas character is a ghost from the past? Interesting! Does Ayen know?"

"Of course not. She'll keep pestering me if she finds out her fiancé's cousin is my first love."

"First love! The plot thickens! Ouch, watch it."

I stopped punching. I never liked sharing my thoughts, especially when I was in a bad mood, but Lloyd can read my mind. He's one of the rare individuals whom you immediately trust and the only person I could confide in at work. It didn't hurt that it was easy to share feminine stuff with him.

I sighed and recounted my two horrible encounters with Lucas.

"He still has that effect on you," Lloyd remarked, motioning me to start punching again.

"He's despicable, arrogant and mean! He thinks women couldn't resist him even if he does something detestable."

Lloyd laughed. "I once went on a blind date with a guy who acted as if I was lucky he was sitting in front of me. It hurt my ego, but I let it go. I didn't like him anyway."

I widened my eyes at him.

"Are you kidding me? You think I'm angry with Lucas because he's not giving me attention?" I retorted as I started punching furiously. "I shouldn't have gone on that date in the first place. Men are scum."

"Say it, girl," Lloyd teased, before turning serious. "Cara, I think you're disappointed that he's not the man you expected him to be. Your judgment of guys is whack because of your douche of an ex-boyfriend."

Lloyd was right. I was angry with Lucas because he was not the guy I had a crush on way back when. Anger also became my default defense against getting hurt. But why was Lucas being weird? I wasn't expecting him to smile at me the way he did with that beauty queen or the designer's assistant, but he could at least be normal!

"You've been out of the dating world for too long, honey. Just chill, okay? You're overreacting," Lloyd said.

I sighed and gave him a look.

"Fine," I almost grumbled as I started hitting the boxing pads again.

***

I'd always known Ayen was capable of making outrageous requests. But I wasn't ready for this.