123. History Repeating Itself

*Ryan Damison.* 

The worst nightmare of my life, is now alive and sitting beside me in all his flesh and bones.

My nose hits with the nostalgic scent of leather and smoke, taking me back to the time I last met him in his car, when he made me sit on his lap and 

It feels like an episode of *history repeating itself*, without any background music.

Soft glow of blue light falls on his majestic face, highlighting his imperial features- Bushy brows, a sharp nose, full lips and chiseled jawline sculpted from the same stone as Roman deities.

It almost hurts to even look at his godly face.

Ryan tilts his head. His eyes crawl over the peach frock I am wearing, and lingers for a while on the exposed skin of my thighs where the dress ends.

“You got thick.” A smile curve his sinful lips, and he lightly licks them.

I just glare back at him, showing no effect of him on me, not even a fake smile.

“How many years has it been?” He asks, bring his two thick fingers up to his jaw and lightly scratching it.

“Two?”

“Three.” I correct him.

“Three years! Wow!” Ryan breathes out, leaning back against the headrest. 

I feel an unknown tightness in my chest. It *fucking* hurts in chest to see how handsome he looks in his black Tommy shirt and navy blue jeans.

His skin glows flawlessly, with zero pimples and spots. He looks just like he was before, not an inch different.

They say true: *Plastic does not age.* 

Yet, I was hoping he would be less attractive by now, or at least on his way to obesity. 

*But he looks beautiful as fuck!*

“Do you remember how we used to fool around your house and in college?” A mischievous smirk plays on his lips, denting his sweet dimples.

“No. But I remember how you left without a word, and never cared to contact me back.” I reply with a straight face.

“Amara..” His voice deeper than my depression.

I clench my fist, hearing that name again. He doesn’t even know how to spell it, even after three years.

Whiskey brown eyes find mine, and they appear darker, almost black as he says, “You know how bad the situation had gotten.”

“Not worse enough to text me.” I grit out every word from my sliced heart.

“Amara!” He places his hand on my knee and my skin freezes under his touch.

Heat from his hand spreads through my body, and my breathing quickens, remembering where else his hands have been and how lewdly he has touched me. 

“The police were involved, and I was one of the prime suspects in the drug case. And you already know my family’s reputation, I had no choice but to disappear.” Ryan explains to me.

I slide his hand away from my knee and spit furiously, “At least you could have informed me once that you were leaving, especially after sleeping with me that night.”

My throat clogs as buried feelings try to flood out of me expeditiously, taking my senses along with its intensity.

“You never called me, or texted to know how I was doing after you left. Hell, you didn’t even tell me you were going, and I came to know through Rose, that too after a week. I checked my phone every hour and cried every night like a foolish girl, hoping to hear from you again, because I was missing you so much.” I yell at him with wet tears.

One by one tears rush down my cheeks, seeping out of the cuts and soaking me in the pain I tried to bandage three years ago.

“Hey..” Ryan raises his fingers, and softly grazes my wet cheeks. “I didn’t know you would miss me this much, otherwise, I would have told you that I’ll be leaving for Germany soon.”

I feel a clench in my chest, resulting in physical pain.

“Lies! I messaged you, even DMed you so many times, if you had liked me even a little bit, you would have replied and told me the truth. But it’s clear now, you never really cared about me.” I slap his hand away angrily from my face, while I drown in my pool of tears.

*I don’t want his fake caress!*

“That’s not true. I cared.” Ryan retorts, his jaw flexes as he points directly at me. 

“I tried to keep you and your dorky brother out of this, that’s why I had warned him to stay clear of Zydus’s circuit as fast as possible, because I knew the police started tracking us.”

*Excuses!*

“They even came to my place with a search warrant, but luckily they found nothing and I was gone by then.” He explains to me, while all I hear is his fake excuses.

“I had to change the country, my number, leave all the social media and start a new life just to get rid of everything, but trust me, you and your cute face never left my mind.”

My heart bleeds with his flirtatious lines, and I shake my head, not letting his lies pierce through me and force me to feel something for him. 

I was silly and naive to trust him before. *But now not!*

“It’s true, Amara.” His hand returns to my cheeks and gently lifts them up to make me look up into his eyes. 

But I shut my eyes and my heart, not wanting to melt under the intensity of his manipulative charms.

*He is a liar. A fucking player!*

I feel his warm breath caressing my lips as he slowly leans in, whispering, “Though I didn’t contact you, I always made sure to check the site where you uploaded your story.”

My eyes snap open in absolute shock and collide with whiskey brown eyes, which hold mine with a passion I can’t escape. 

My chest rises and falls rapidly as I search for a sign of deceit, hoping he is bluffing, but his confident smile cuts through my suspicions, leaving no room for doubt. 

*He is not lying! He really..*