The Boyfriend (Experience)

"I'm telling you," I repeat for the millionth time. "The aqua blue tiles will suit your bathroom walls the best."

"But I think the pink ones in salmon will brighten the room." Gwen argues. I sigh.

Welcome to my world, people. Finally, after years of having studied business management, I'm crowned manager of my dad's hardware store. Please applause. I'm no longer an asshole but I'm never afraid to venture out my ego personality. I mean, even though I calmly explain and smile when I can't get what my customer desires, he or she doesn't understand me sometimes. It is bad being good. I swear I want to whack their faces some days. Oh and I'm thirty however I'm not settled. Not yet. I'm still waiting for her.

I should probably find a nice girl, become serious with her, pop the question, get married and have three children and a dog in a sponge cake-painted house in a snobby neighborhood. And my answer is no. HELL no. Yeah I'm starting to possess crow's feet near my eyes and I found my first silver hair after my morning shower-I am STILL young. I want to take time off from my position and travel like there's no tomorrow. I want to discover the world and experience dangerous stuff that I dreamed of when young. I want to be utterly free before I turn forty and I need her next to me. Hope it's today.

"Excuse me," an old lady speaks up. "You should use blue like this kind gentleman recommended me before. When I enter my bathroom every morning, the walls shine due to the morning light and the obtained color raises up my mood."

"Really?" Gwen sounds impressed. The old lady nods. "Alright, I'll speak to my handyman, Dillon" She leaves happy.

I face my savior. "Thank you for your help!" I thank her.

"You're a polite salesperson," she compliments me. "But you're too honest." You just need to practise on creating wonderful descriptions of your products. Then the customers will be thrilled and purchase them."

I thank her again and promise her a discount when she comes the following time. Another satisfied client. I check another aisle if there's someone who needs help on choosing materials or tools. I grunt. Somebody dropped the gardening gloves and didn't care to put them back to the shelf. I bend picking up the pair.

"Pardon me," a young voice asks. "Do you know where the obstetrician practices?"

I sigh. Another newcomer who is still not used to the streets, areas of the island. I get up.

"You're actually-" I can't proceed because I'm looking at the lost woman. It's the person I've waited for the last seven years-my girlfriend Everleigh.

She smiles when our eyes meet. I itch to hug her and say how much I miss her. On the contrary, I stand emotionless and immobile. I'm not able to sat anything-not even a hello.

"Hello!" She finally salutes the first. "How have you been, Dillon?"

I clear my throat. "Good, In reality, I've been lost without you."

"God!" She sounds stunned. "Never expected the mighty, arrogant Dillon would pronounce those words to me!"

"I've changed but sometimes I'm not sure how I'm supposed to act."

Everleigh lets out a laugh. However she doesn't laugh like before. It's more mature as if fire slowly burning a log of wood. She's grown up too. She's no longer nineteen, she's aged to up to a few years. Her messy, careless curly hair has smoothed down to loose waves. And her eyes no longer have that bright spark.

"What have you been doing all those years?" I question her.

"I did a little bit of traveling at the start and moved back to the futuristic New York for six years.I realized that you were becoming older during my absence so I wanted to be like you. I hated the idea of me, being a confused teenager trailing behind you who are a grown, mature adult."

I chuckle. I can imagine the shocked reaction of the elders catching me walking like lovers with a girl, eleven years younger than me.They will gossip about it to every islander.

"Everleigh, how old are you?"

"I'm twenty-four and today's your thirty-first birthday, isn't it?"

"How did you know?"

Even I completely forgot about it until she brought it up.

"Here," she hands me a white envelope. "A present."

I open it and photos are inside. I take them out and flip them one by one. They are my senior year photos. How on earth did she retrieve them? I also don't understand why she wants to gift me these.

"Did you stalk me or something?"

"No. They're mine."

"Stop joking. You weren't even there. If you were, we would knowledge each other back when we first bumped to one another."

"Oh really. Inspect closer."

I flip slower this time and observe every detail on each picture. I search for her red hair. But nothing. Oddly, my old friend Annika keeps on appearing on every single of them!

"Seriously, I don't understand what you're talking about." I give up.

My girlfriend raises an eyebrow. "Do you remember Annika Stallman?"

"Yeah. She transferred to my school during senior year and left before the following year. She was a good mate."

"Uh-hm," she suddenly acts weirdly. "Did you share your first kiss with her?"

I explode. "Why do you want to know that!?"

Is she mad?

"Hey, if I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you, I have to have information about your life."

"Fine! I shared my first kiss with Annika! And I enjoyed it a lot! By the way, I loved to visit her after I fought with my friends and my family! She was the ultimate girl I ever felt comfortable with. Other than you!" I try to make her jealous.

Her face is shifting towards the color red. Steam is released from her nostrils and it looks like she's going to slap me in a second.

Oh God. I regret my words now.

"Dillon Everett!" She spurts out. How dare you, in front of me, talk delightfully about a girl who is in fact... me!"

"What?" I don't get the picture.

"I was Annika Stallman."

"You're cracking me up!" She really does.

"No. I'm serious!"

"Wait, you're telling me that you time-traveled back when I was eighteen, went to my school and befriended me?"

"You know what I can do." She stays serious.

Holly shit! I knew Everleigh all this time! I'm regretting my past behavior. Why didn't she confess when we met? Then I would have been nicer to her, the way she was to me when she was Annika.

"Why didn't you say so in the beginning?"

"I wasn't Annika that time, you idiot. It was after we separated that I had this idea. Why wait for someone whom you just encountered? So i went back to time and became friends with you, then we would've know each other for a long period."

I feel like crying. My eyes are watery. This is the most romantic gesture a girl has done to me. No one could copy her.

We weren't together for a day but over a year. We created more memories than I picture we did. She knows me more than I do myself. We love one another like it's been forever.

I select our graduation photo from the pile. It was the only moment we were alone captured by camera. My high school graduation sucked literally. The majority of my friends couldn't assist the ceremony! Shell contracted flu three days prior, Sam broke his ankle on the way and Aiden, well he was present but ditched me because he was going to hang out with junior girls. So during photo time, it was only me and Annika or Everleigh, should I change? Still us being has some benefits! I was able to put my hand on her waist and lean closer to her. Also, I was a coward about not having told her sooner since she took off the next day. Luckily, I am knowledged about the truth of her departure and her real identity. And she loves me too.

I look closely at the picture. I'm checking if there are any resemblances between Annika and Everleigh. In fact, I can spot them. If Annika changes her hairstyle and color, rubs out her goth make-up and gets rid of her brown contacts, she is Everleigh.

I tuck away the photograph in its place and place the envelope in my pant pocket. I pull my long-lost love closer to me.

"I love you Annika." I claim.

She puts her arms around my neck. "I love you too, Dill." She replies, her voice husky alike her old self.
Her lips are just inches apart from mine. Without hesitation, I plant my lips on hers and we are whisked together to an unknown place.