Begin Again

Chapter 2: Let's Dream

Derek walked towards me with the brightest smile on his face, the beautiful smile that charmed the entire school. His hair was perfectly gelled up, and he was dressed smartly. This was the man of everyone's dreams, and he chose me. In his hands were two ice cream cones. He stopped right in front of me and offered me one of them. "Strawberry and chocolate, as you like."

Giving my sweetest smile, I accepted the ice cream. The cone had one scoop of pink ice cream and another of brown ice cream stacked on it. It was my favourite combination for as long as I could remember, and seeing that my boyfriend had remembered such a fine detail made my heart do somersaults. At that moment, it felt as if the background turned pink and hearts were floating around, and only Derek and I existed. It was such a dream... "Thank you," I giggled. "And cookies and cream, as you like."

He nodded, stroking my hair gently. "My girl knows me best!" With that, we sat on a bench side by side, one hand holding our ice creams and the other holding each other's hands. To me, it was like recharging my energy after a long hot summer day.

I could feel Derek staring at me as I tried my best to keep my racing heart calm. With a finger, he tilted my head towards him. At that moment, a flustered look appeared on my face. Is he going to kiss me? "Silly Lexie, you got ice cream on your lips," Derek chuckled and wiped the ice cream off with his thumb. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks as I lowered my head and continued devouring my snack. Dirty, dirty girl.

All of a sudden, he did it again. This time, he planted his lips on mine, and I closed my eyes to enjoy the moment. "Strawberry and chocolate ice cream is my new favourite flavour," he whispered into my ears after it was over.

I turned as red as a tomato upon realising what had just transpired. My hand hovered over my lips as the other slapped Derek on the shoulder repetitively. A huge smile appeared on my face as I squealed, "You surprised me! Oh my God!"

Derek laughed and pulled me into his arms. "You're so cute." We fell into silence as we immersed ourselves in this peaceful moment between just the two of us. Just a young and happy couple living in a small town and embracing each other.

"This is not a dream, right?"

"No, it's not."

Yes, it is.

Reaching my eyes, I wiped the tears off my face. I wish I could say it was merely a figment of my imagination and that Derek was actually never such a sweet boyfriend, but it wasn't. This dream was pulled straight from my memory, and this particular scene was from three years ago, shortly after we got together. I had never told him my favourite ice cream flavour, but he picked it up through observation. It was such a pleasant surprise.

Derek was the most caring boyfriend I could ever think of. He was cheeky, but his level of teasing was just right for me. He also always made sure I had the best things. We were so happy. We were called the dream couple for a reason. We did so many things together, and we were always there for each other. Everyone was jealous of how good our relationship was, yet they used us as their model to follow for dating.

Where and when did it all go wrong?

I took a deep breath and nodded firmly. I've cried enough over this relationship, and I am not going to start again. One thing led to another, and I am single again. But that's okay. I did it for myself. There is no way I can forgive a man who cheated on me, even if we spent three years cultivating our relationship. He wanted to break up anyway, so I fulfilled his wish. He would not feel sad, so why should I? Nursing that thought, I put on a determined smile.

Climbing out of my bed, I looked into the mirror. Every trace of me crying my eyes out last night had disappeared. There were no red and puffy eyes. There were no tear stains on my cheeks. It was a brand new day of a brand new life.