Chapter 5
I left Ryan’s girlfriend’s party around ten.
I would have gone sooner, but I didn’t want to look like a complete jackass for leaving so early.
After meeting her, I couldn’t focus on anything else.
I tried to play a round of beer pong with Ryan and a couple of other guys from school, but my curiosity got the best of me.
This girl sparked my interest, and I can’t seem to remove her from my thoughts.
And now she’s the girl who got away. What a fucking moron I am.
I didn’t even attempt to stop her. Honestly, though, how crazy would I have looked chasing her down, a stranger at that?
She probably would have knocked the shit out of me.
But there is a small piece of me that thinks maybe she wanted me to follow her. I know what I saw. And when our eyes locked for the first time, the feelings were mutual in some weird way. I was drawn to her instantly, needing to know more about her.
At the age of twenty-three, having a relationship has been the least of my worries.
It’s not that I don’t believe in it. It’s just that the girls I’ve tried to connect with just don’t click.
It has nothing to do with looks. I’ve had multiple gorgeous women attempt to be what I need.
The problem is that looks fade, and many women place their appearance on a pedestal, forgetting that their soul needs nourishment.
You can perceive yourself as a model on the outside, but you can carry an ugly soul on the inside.
And I’ve yet to come across anything different with the females I’ve encountered until now.
Meeting her tonight gave me hope for something.
The beauty of her radiated from the inside out.
I couldn’t pull my eyes from it. I’ve seen nothing quite like her, but there’s more to her I desperately need to explore.
There’s a brokenness filled with pain and tragedy that hides within the shadows of her expression. It’s almost like her soul has been in a war most of its existence.
It’s captivating in a way. How can someone so beautiful bear so much devastation? She carried herself so well, accepting her fate. I’ve tried to picture if my life would have turned out differently. Would I be as strong as her?
I know nothing about this girl, but I know she has experienced something daunting in her life.
My biggest question is: How is she alone?
I would have swooped her off her feet if she had let me.
I’m assuming that since she came with her friend instead of a man, she is like me, single.
Considering her friend willingly stuck behind and gave me her name and number, if there was someone involved, it’s not serious.
What if we were meant to cross each other’s paths? Maybe our souls were acquaintances in another life, and they’ve spent an eternity searching for one another to finally be together again.
Something shifted inside me when her presence was in clear view. From this point on, I can’t shake what I’m feeling. And even if I fail and she wants nothing to do with me, I won’t stop trying to know her until she tells me otherwise. Olive Sage Landers, this is just our beginning.