When We Met

Forty Five

|Martin|

"It took you two days to get over me, Dylan?! Two days?! Was this a joke or a game to you all this while?!"

"No! It's nothing like that! D, listen to me. You're misunderstanding the situation. I didn't even know she'd be here, trust me!"

"Oh yeah? Is that why I ran into you both sucking faces?!"

"She kissed me! I pushed her away, in case you didn't notice!"

"Only when I opened the damned door! Apologies for ruining your moment."

"D, you know it's not like that. You bloody know it."

"Well, guess what Dylan Martin. I don't. I don't know anything. I should've though."

"You should've what?"

"I should've known that you'd break my heart one day. That falling in love with the college heartthrob is just too much to ask for. And make him fall in love with me was just a living dream."

"D, I love you. Only you. I don't think I can ever love anyone else. You know that!"

She tears up.

And says something I've never heard her say before.

"You didn't say that when I needed to hear it, Dylan. You let me go."

My eyes flutter open.

Before anything else, I smell the familiar scent of the lake, mixed with the aroma of Cheryl's garlic noodles.

I unlock my phone and check the time.

12:57 pm.

I remember showing Cheryl around the house, chuckling at her priceless expression when I let her have a peek at the lake and then dropping dead in the bedroom, as Cheryl jumped inside the shower.

And just like before, I relived that awful night in my dream, but this time, I woke up before the ending.

*******

"What if I drown?" Cheryl cries, holding on to her swimsuit as if her life depends on it.

"Cheryl..." I hold back a chuckle. "You won't drown. I promise."

"You do?"

I shake my head, wrap my fingers around her wrists and pull her flush against my chest. She squeals and drops her swimsuit.

"What are you doing?" She whispers and I smirk.

"Subtly telling you that I've got you."

"Oh really?" She pushes me on the bed and straddles my lap. I grin up at her and she just shakes her head in amusement.

"Yes madame. Plus, I used to swim in that lake when I was ten years old. If I didn't drown then, I'm sure a young lady like you would not either."

"Oh score. Dylan Martin has the highest IQ level." She says sarcastically and I laugh at her expense. Well, at my expense.

"Cher, it's post lunchtime. We've both enjoyed plates of waffles. You drowned yourself inside a disgusting pool of Nutella. Are you seriously worried about drowning in the lake? Real mature."

Her jaw drops and she starts hitting me with her tiny hands.

"You. Are. An. Absolute. Jerk. Dylan. Martin."

I can't help but laugh out loud. She's so adorable.

"Okay fine! Stop! Accept my heart felt apology, senorita!" She makes a face and flicks my forehead.

Okay. That hurt.

"You're dead." I say and flip us around so that I'm covering her body with mine. There is fear evident in her eyes and I grin at her mischievously. Holding both her wrists on top of her head with one hand, I start tickling her waist. She howls with laughter and wriggles under my body. Her nose scrunches up and tears spring out of her eyes as I torment her with this tickle battle. I could never understand why girls are so ticklish. It can seriously be a game changer, with their waist being their Achilles's heel. This always works out in favour of the guy, as I've noticed.

"Martin, stop!" She bursts and begs.

"Sorry, Donovan. You started this."

At that very moment, the impossible happens. My grip on her wrists falters and she uses her freakish arm strength to pull her hands free and pushes my shoulders so that I end up toppling out of the bed and landing my ass on the damned wooden floor.

That bloody hurt.

I think Cheryl has lost her sense of understanding because she is laughing like an escaped lunatic and I'm actually worried.

"Look... At... Your face!" She exclaims and I wonder if her swollen red face would just burst open.

Somehow, the sight from where I'm sitting on the floor is majestic and hilarious at the same time. I pick up Cheryl's swimsuit and throw it in her direction.

"Come on, Donovan. It's pleasant outside and I'm going for a swim. Care to join me?" I stand up and look at her with an amused smiled on my face.

She sobers up and gets up as well, standing in front of me with partially narrowed eyes. Adorable.

"I'll join you in five minutes. You go ahead." She stands on her tip toes and pecks my lips before taking a step back to wink at me.

I shake my head, pulling up my T-shirt and throwing it aside before undoing the belt on my jeans. Cheryl throws her hair into a top knot and bends down to pick up my T-shirt. I frown.

"What are you doing?" I ask. She says nothing and just winks before disappearing inside the bathroom.

Okay then.

I throw open the glass doors that separate the bedroom from the back verandah, which further opens into the lake. Untying my shoes, I remove my socks and dip my feet inside the cold water. It's refreshing, to say the least.

I jump inside and let the water embrace my body. Childhood memories of me and Deb swimming across the currents towards the half broken bridge come rushing back. I smile contently and chuckle at the images that float in my mind. Deb and I were extremely competitive. Being twins, we saw each other as two opponents with equal calibre and would compete against each other at something as trivial as catch. We used to come here with our dad, who'd sit by the shore and read a book whilst his two nutheads would become wild water animals. And then we'd pull him in and play catch with water balloons.

Those were the happy days.

I hear the sound of the glass doors sliding against the wooden floor and turn around to find Cheryl standing on the verandah with her arms folded in front of her chest. Her golden brown hair floats against her front in the form of long tidal waves. But what destabilizes me a little is her wearing only my T-shirt and this particular vision brings back memories that I have been throwing at the back of my mind since a very long time.

I look at Cheryl Donovan, and for a second, I don't recognise her.

Instead, I recognise the face that I had been looking for in every girl I came across; the face that suddenly vanished the moment I crossed paths with Cheryl.

The face that belongs to...

"Dina?"

My own words echo inside my mind.

*****