A familiar face appears

I felt someone tapping my shoulder and slowly opened my eyes, expecting to see the redhead responsible for what happened to me.

In her place, though, was a familiar blonde woman with glasses and holding a cup of coffee.

"Sarah?" I asked, a bit disoriented.

She nodded and smiled, sitting next to me. "It's been a while, Ed, what are you doing here?"

"I'm... waiting for someone." I awkwardly replied, blushing slightly.

She was wearing a fairly formal and elegant outfit consisting of a dark blue chiffon blouse, a pair of black trouser suit, and blue high heels matching her blouse. She was still as beautiful as I remembered.

I didn't even think that'd I'd meet Sarah here, even though I knew she was studying and working in this exact place. We weren't on bad terms, but I used to love her deeply and still had a lot of affection for her. She was a beautiful, passionate, and smart woman, and I loved the time we spent together.

"You got yourself a new girlfriend?" She asked with a teasing smile.

I shook my head. "No. Haven't met anyone since we broke up. I was too busy."

She gave me a compassionate look. "Sorry to hear. How's your sister?"

"She's doing fine. She's slowly becoming more independent, and she's starting to get used to her job. And you, what's new since last time? It's been what? Four months?"

She sighed happily as she drank her cup. "I'll soon be done with my PhD and will be able to teach students other than first-years. I'm looking forward to it."

She has been studying French linguistics and literature. Her goal was to become a French teacher. She's always been very passionate about it back when we were together, even trying to teach me some French words.

She then giggled more bashfully. "There's also this coworker that I've been getting along with recently."

"Guy or girl?" I asked.

She smiled. "He's a man. A bit shy but very nice once you get to know him. I haven't met any woman I vibed with recently."

Sarah was pansexual, it was one of the first things she told me back when we started going out. She sometimes joked about it, saying that she was able to appreciate the best of both worlds.

"Hmm, I see. I hope things will go well with him."

"Thank you."

Mixed emotions were swirling within me. On one hand, I was glad that she moved on and found someone else, but on the other, I felt sad. I would have liked to stay with her. Sure, she was six years older than me, but we were getting along fine. Although, I only had myself to blame, I was the one who chose to break up to have more time to take care of Claire.

"Ah, there you are!" A high-pitched voice I recently heard exclaimed.

Sarah and I turned to see Dahlia walking towards us. She was like I remembered, her appearance so deceptively cute. But I now knew that it was a facade.

"I was looking for you, handsome~" She said with a flirty grin.

"I assume she's the one you were waiting for?" Sarah asked, chuckling. She was probably misinterpreting our relation.

"Yep. My name is Dahlia. And you are?"

"Sarah. So... You said you had no one, Ed?" She said, eyeing the both of us.

I sighed. "It's not like that. I just met her last night."

"Hmm, some annoying drunks were harassing me, it was so scary. But Eddy was so brave and saved me from them, like a knight in shining armor~" Dahlia gave her a cute smile as she held my arm.

It was annoying how friendly she acted after what she did, but I had to keep my composure, Sarah wouldn't understand if I were to make a scene in public.

Sarah snorted. "For real?"

Dahlia titled her head, not understanding Sarah's reaction, so she continued. "It's just funny. That's how Ed and I met too. How many damsels in distress have you saved so far, mister knight?"

I groaned. "Six. But you're the only one I dated, Sarah."

I did have to save a few people from drunks, harassers, and even a potential **** once, who spiked a drink after having been rejected too many times, thinking I didn't notice. This last event was how I met Sarah and the two of us got closer quickly, sharing some hobbies and likes. We both were into rock music, we both liked the same kinds of movies and books, and we had similar views on politics and other stuff.

"Well, I'll leave the two of you alone, I have some things to work on in my office. But if you're free, we can hang out again later. It was nice to see you after so long." Sarah said, smiling radiantly. "You still have my number?"

"Yeah. Didn't have any reason to delete it." I replied, trying to hide my blush. She was even more beautiful when she smiled like this.

"See ya, then!" She waved and walked towards the main building on the campus.

I observed her leave, regrets about our past break-up growing stronger. I thought I had fully moved on, but our short conversation today brought back all my feelings for her.

It wasn't a good idea to meet Dahlia here...

"She seems like such a lovely woman." Dahlia commented, finally letting go of my arm. "Why did the two of you break up?"

"That's none of your business." I flatly replied, glaring at her. "Now, I need answers. What did you do to me?"

"You're so impatient. I told you that I would explain, last night. But let's find a quieter place for that first, alright?" She said with a grin, holding my hand.