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My heart was pounding against my chest as I briskly walked into the room.
Just as I had expected, Westlife weren’t there yet. I took a seat on one of
the comfy couches and waited patiently. Glancing around, I smiled. The walls
were filled with framed pictures of Westlife. The familiar, gorgeous blue
eyes of Mark Feehily met me as I scanned the room. My memory flashed back
to the day, four years ago, when those eyes first captivated me…
*Four Years Ago* I was walking alone on the semi-deserted streets of Sligo when I passed by a record store. Suddenly, out from the entrance came several guys, and one of them bumped hard into me. I stumbled, and looked up, ready to educate this young man on his manners, when he mumbled “Sorry”, and quickly walked away. Any other time I would have stopped him and gave him a piece of my mind, but this time, I couldn’t. All I could think of was those blue eyes of his that had memorized me. I stepped into the store and found out they were from a newly formed boyband called Westlife. I bought their album and enjoyed all the songs inside. From then on, my life was Westlife… *Present* A gentle knock on the door announced the arrival of Westlife. Bryan came in first. “Hi! So you’re the one who won the ‘Dinner with Westlife’ competition eh?” “Ye…Yeah.” I stumbled on my own words. “Relax!” Nicky was next. I grinned nervously. In came Kian, followed by Shane. The door closed. “Where’s Mark?” I asked. “Hey hey hey! So Mark’s your fave huh? The lucky guy!” Shane teased. I blushed. “He’s parking the car. Coming soon!” Kian assured. Seconds later, Mark stepped into the room. “Hey someone’s waiting for you!” Bryan whistled. I blushed even deeper. Mark looked at me and then at the empty space next to me. He came and sat beside me. “So what’s your name?” He gently asked. “Michelle.” I replied, looking into those eyes that I have been staring at everyday ! for the past few years. “Nice name.” He commented. “So Michelle, all we have to do now is wait for the van to take us to the restaurant.” I nodded. The other boys got up and started messing around, dancing and singing at the top of their voices. Mark and me sat on the couch, laughing at their childish antics. I wondered if he remembered knocking into me four years ago, but later dismissed the thought. He meets so many people everyday. Besides, I doubt he even remembered he did bump into someone, I thought. Soon, the van arrived to pick us up. Shane sat beside the driver whereas the five of us squeezed at the back. I sat with Mark again. During the silent journey, I could feel Mark nudging closer to me. Each time I glanced at him, he smiled sheepishly back at me. I thanked God that the streets were pretty dark so Mark could not see how deep I was blushing. Not before long, the van turned into a driveway dimly lit with only a few streetlamps. There stood an old-fashioned, small little countryside restaurant. But when we stepped inside, Wow! The place was romantically lit with scented candles and it was nothing like its exterior. The whole room was finely furnished. Apparently, the entire restaurant was reserved, for there were no patrons there. Mark led me to my seat and once again, he sat beside me. The captain poured red wine for all of us and soon, the courses were brought in. After a lovely, delicious, fulling, and extremely fattening dinner of salad and potatoes, steak, and lots of ice cream, the boys were finally full. I excused myself to the ladies to touch on my makeup. Thinking we would be going home after this, I sent a text message to my mum asking her to fill the bathtub with warm water ready for me, as it was a chilly night. I had no idea there was something else in store for me. *In the meantime outside* “Hey Mark, you sending her home?” Nicky asked. “Georgina’s waiting for me. I gotta go.” “Me too!” chorused the others. “Oh well! So I’m the only one who’s free huh?” Mark agreed. “Sorry mate.” *Later* “Hey where’s the rest?” I asked, finding Mark sitting alone, staring into space. “They’ve gone home. Someone needs them.” He winked. I understood that he meant Georgina, Gillian and the others. I winked back. “So…” “So I’m your chauffeur for tonight! Come on let’s go.” I followed him out. We drove for several miles before I realized he wasn’t going to fetch me home. “Aren’t you taking me back?” I blurted out. “Uh…” He stammered. “I wanted to show you something.” Soon, the outside scenery grew familiar. It then dawned on me that he was taking me to Paradise Beach, as I had named it. It was one of my favorite haunts, besides Hazelwoods. “How did you know this is my favorite place?” I questioned. “I didn’t. This is mine too.” He smiled. Reaching, he stopped the car and we got out. The wind was blowing against my face, tugging at my long hair behind me. I felt refreshed at once. We sat down on a large rock, watching the white sea sprays being washed up on the sandy beach. I don’t know what made me look up, but I did, and a sky full of twinkling stars looked back at me. The beauty of it astounded me. “Look! How beautiful is that?” I exclaimed, pointing upwards. “Not as beautiful as you.” Mark whispered. Stunned, I looked at him, and he kissed me softly on my lips. “Have we met before?” “Yes.” I replied. “Four years ago outside the record store you bumped into me.” “No wonder you felt so familiar.” I smiled. We chatted throughout the whole night. At dawn, after the breathtaking view of the sunrise, which I have always longed to see, we exchanged numbers and Mark sent me home. *Four months later* Mark has since been contacting me very often. Today, four months later, we are officially an item. God knows where I’d be now if I had not walked past that record store years ago. I’m sure I would not be as happy as I am now. |