Always Been You

~Lola~

At 15, Dante and I were sleeping in the same bed when I got up and noticed the bed had a bloodstain. I screamed, not knowing what to do. I was also embarrassed, as Dante had to see that, but she just smiled, brushed his hair back, and kicked my forehead.

“My bunny has turned into a Flemish giant rabbit.” I didn’t understand what he meant. He then pressed his lips on my forehead again and asked me to shower. When I came out, he had already changed bedsheets and was lying on the bed watching YouTube videos on how to put on a sanitary pad. I got flushed as I saw how serious he was with so much concentration.

“Bunny, bring your panties?”

“What?”

“Bunny, I don’t have the whole day. You know, I have to go to work, and I need to drop you off at school.” I didn’t urge him. I gave him the panties, and one of the house helpers walked in with sanitary pads. He was looking at the video and teaching me how to put it on a pad. I was so embarrassed. I mean, this was my Prince Charming, and he had to see the most embarrassing moment of my life and teach me how to use a sanitary pad.

Damn Lola, you will never be his!

I watched as he carefully taught me with so much patience and care. He looked at me and placed two more pads in my school bag. “Now, go wear that.” I batted my eyelashes at him, not knowing what he was talking about. He then sighed, “Bunny, when a woman reaches a certain age, she starts to see her period, and it will last for about 4–7 days since it’s your first time seeing your period. You will use the pads so that no one will know you are on your period. Goddammit, Bunny! Don’t they teach you this at school already?” Realization hit him. “Bunny, you’ve been skipping life orientation classes.” I didn’t say anything. Instead, I took the panties he had prepared for me and dashed inside the bathroom. “Bunny, you are not going hiking this weekend! And I’m coming to your school tomorrow!” He yelled, and I knew he meant it. Dante is very strict. I heard the door to the other bathroom being closed. I knew he was going to shower.

A year later

Prom Night

It was the happiest day of my life. I had already planned for everything, though I didn’t know the type of dress and shoes I would be wearing for my prom. Dante bought everything for me and told me he would deliver everything when the time was right. How I wish Dante was in high school with me. He could have been my date. But Dante was the CEO of a multibillion-dollar company. So my date was Hudson. He didn’t have a date, and I didn’t have a date, so we paired. Everything was going according to plan. I have been counting the days to prom since I heard there would be one. I heard a car honking outside. I knew it was Dante. He told me he wanted to take me to a salon. I ran outside and went inside his car, but then I noticed how he was eyeing my butt. I looked at him, but I couldn’t see anything on his face. He was wearing some sunglasses. He handed me a pair of sunglasses to wear, and he cleared his throat.

“You shouldn’t wear something like that next time.” He fixed his tie as though his throat was dry, then he drove. I was still staring at my outfit, wondering what was wrong with it. We got to the salon, and the stylist was busy styling my hair while Dante waited. Dante was… Am I allowed to say such words at my age? Well, he was a Greek god. He was hot, very hot, and wow, the man was sculpted on a Sunday morning. He was perfect in every way. Dante hit the gym regularly, and damn, the man was a temptation. But of course, he will never look at me the way I want him to. The lady was done with my hair, and he drove me to another location where I was introduced to my prom dress. I was in awe. The dress, the shoes, the accessories, My eyes were wide open, and I turned to look at Dante. He was smiling. His smile was enough to make my heart skip six beats at once. I wore the dress and went to prom, and guess what? My date didn’t show up. So I didn’t get to dance, though I enjoyed myself. But I felt like crying.

Later that night, around 7 PM, I received a call from Dante to come outside. I wanted to cry in his embrace, but I chose not to cry because he was going to call me a crybaby. To my surprise, the car wasn’t heading home. It was even headed outside of NYC. I didn’t say anything, but he knew me and probably knew I wasn’t okay. But then he spoke.

“So, any plans for what you’re going to do after today?” I nodded my head. He looked at me and then drove to a large, tall European-style hotel with a hint of Italy. I raised my head to look up at the hotel’s name.

“No, you didn’t!” He looked at me and smiled. He picked me up in bridal style.

“Your prom night starts now, Bunny.” I giggled. It was as though he knew I so much wanted to dance. We walked to the top of the hotel, it was well-decorated with people playing music, and he immediately took me to the center, where I had my unexpected prom date and danced with my best friend, Dante Monroe. We danced and watched the stars. It was as though the stars were near us. Dante then put a necklace on my neck.

“Bunny, no matter what, never take this necklace off. I bought it long ago with my first pay as the CEO of my family company. I used my whole salary to get you this. I was patiently waiting for your prom night to give you this as a gift to your now new journey to varsity and to a whole new you, my rabbit. ” I giggled and hugged him. I pulled back and stared deeply into his eyes. I was dangerously close to expressing my feelings for him, but then my throat ran dry. It felt like a flutter of butterflies exploded in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t have the courage at all. I was in a lot of thunderstorms of emotions. I was a coward. But then he looked deep into my eyes too and asked, “Bunny, are you okay?” I instantly came back to reality: I was a 16-year-old girl, and he was a 23-year-old man. We are different. He has been running his company for years before he even finished university. His mindset is also different.

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