Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure.
- Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
The sun scorched the desert of California. Hot air distorted the standing cacti. Among them, a black sedan drove on the highway down the south.
Leo was behind the wheel. Jenny, his girl friend, was asleep beside him. She was the kind of person who became uncontrollably sleepy during a road trip. He glanced at the rear-view mirror and saw no other car behind them; his gaze, however, were caught by Rachael's face. She was watching a video on her phone, her head lightly tilted. She always had that posture when watching videos on her phone, relaxed in an elegant manner.
Leo shifted his eyes back to the road, but kept going back to the mirror. A complicated sensation rose in his chest. He felt guilty to be attracted by the beautiful Asian girl while Jenny was just by his side; however, Rachael's familiar, delicate face and her elegant posture stirred his memory.
Rachael and Leo almost got together, years ago. They used to watch TV shows together in her dormitory. She would sit just like this, head lightly tilted, her smooth long neck radiating an intoxicating air. He used to sit right beside her, shoulders touching, hands holding and caressing. His hands involuntarily loosened as they remembered her soft hands resting in them. Outside the car, stifling air rose from the ground. Inside the car, despite the air conditioner, a stifling sensation rose inside Leo's chest.
They were driving to a friend's wedding in a small village of California. Rachael asked them for a ride since there was no flight to the village. Jenny had only agreed to it because she had no idea that Leo and Rachael used to be so intimately involved. Leo had only agreed to it as he thought he had put the past behind him. Despite them sharing time in her dorm, the relationship never advanced further, and Rachael later started dating Leo's roommate, a good friend of his as well. It tormented Leo for a long time, as it took away both the girl he liked and a friend he had. It wasn't until after he found Jenny did the pain and sorrow went away.
It is a curse of human memory that the past never truly leaves. The harder you shove something away, the stronger it would come back, often with sensationalized exaggeration. Seeing Rachael in person ignited Leo's memory. His hand involuntarily loosened as it recalled the tender sensation of her skin, his nostril expanded as it recalled her sweet air. Trapped in the conflicting emotions, Leo stayed almost completely quiet during the trip for almost two hours. Jenny quickly fell asleep, so she did not mind Leo being quiet. Rachael was obsessed with TV shows on her phone - just like when they were together - and didn't seem to notice.
Leo looked at the mirror again, and met Rachael's eyes. She was looking back at him. Her dark eyes glistened brilliantly. Leo blushed and shifted his eyes away. _Why was she looking at me?_ The thought creeped in his mind, starting a wild fire of confusion, excitement, and arousal. Not only did blood rushed to his face, but also his penis hardened. He felt it erected against his pants, which was fairly thin and very likely already making a tent between his laps.