I was still standing in the same place. Staring at Arga.
“You remember?”
He nodded.
“I remember.”
“Even though I only told you once.”
“And?”
“So how do you remember?”
Arga slipped both hands into his pants pockets.
“Because you looked really happy when you were telling me about it.”
I fell silent.
It was that simple.
He hadn't just been listening. He'd been paying attention.
“So you brought me here on purpose?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
Arga looked at me.
“Because I wanted to see your face the first time you walked in.”
I let out a small laugh.
“And?”
“Worth it.”
I lightly punched his arm.
“What are you talking about?”
He smiled.
“Come on.”
We went farther inside.
The place turned out to be much nicer than I'd imagined. I got so busy looking around that I forgot Arga was walking beside me.
A few times, I pointed at something.
“Arga, look.”
“Mm-hm.”
“It’s so nice.”
“Yeah.”
I turned to him.
“Are you even looking?”
“I am.”
“At what?”
“You.”
I immediately went quiet.
Arga laughed.
“I’m joking.”
“You’re annoying.”
But I was still smiling.
We spent a few hours there. Eating. Talking. Even arguing over little things that honestly didn’t matter.
Strange. But nice.
Eventually, we sat down in a relatively quiet spot.
I stared at the drink in my hand.
“Arga.”
“Hmm?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“How can you be so patient with me?”
Arga turned to me.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not ready to date.”
“Yeah.”
“And I can be kind of fickle sometimes.”
“Yeah.”
“And I overthink everything.”
“Yeah.”
I looked at him, annoyed.
“Why is your answer always ‘yeah’?”
“Because it’s true.”
I laughed.
“I’m serious.”
Arga was quiet for a moment. Then he leaned back.
“Because I don’t feel like we have to rush.”
I looked at him.
“So what if I wait?”
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll change my mind?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
He smiled faintly.
“Because if I only liked you when you were easy to get close to, then I never really liked you in the first place.”
I fell silent.
The sentence was simple. But for some reason, it felt profound.
Arga continued,
“I don’t like you because you’re easy.”
I frowned.
“Then why?”
“Because you make me want to put in the effort.”
I lowered my head.
For a few seconds, we were both silent.
Then I asked,
“Have you ever been like this with someone else?”
Arga didn’t answer right away.
And for the first time since I’d known him, I saw something change in his expression.
Not anger. Not irritation. More like... he didn’t want to talk about something.
“I have.”
I nodded slowly.
“Oh.”
“Why?”
“It’s nothing.”
“You’re curious?”
I shrugged.
“A little.”
Arga looked at me.
“She used to be important to me.”
I said nothing.
“And?”
“Then it ended.”
“Why?”
Arga sighed.
“Because it turned out we didn’t trust each other.”
I didn’t know why that answer made me feel a little relieved.
Maybe because I knew that same fear.
“That’s why I understand why you’re afraid.”
I looked at him.
“Because you’ve been afraid too?”
“Yeah.”
“And now?”
“Now I’m more afraid of losing my chance with you.”
My heart started pounding again.
I looked away.
“Don’t say things like that.”
“Why not?”
“You’re confusing me.”
“Confusing you about what?”
“I don’t know if I should keep being afraid of you or trust you.”
Arga smiled faintly.
“Take it slow.”
He didn’t pressure me. He didn’t ask for an answer. He didn’t tell me I had to trust him right away.
And maybe that was exactly what made me want to trust him.
As the sun began to set, we decided to head home.
I was mostly quiet on the way back.
Not because I was uncomfortable. I was just thinking about a lot of things.
About Arga. About my feelings. About the fear that had always made me keep my distance.
Eventually, the motorcycle stopped in front of my house.
I got off and took off my helmet.
“Thank you.”
Arga took the helmet from my hand.
“You’re welcome.”
I was about to go inside. But this time, I stopped.
“Arga.”
“Hmm?”
“I had a good time today.”
His smile appeared.
“Me too.”
I nodded.
Then, before I actually went inside, I said,
“And... I don’t regret coming with you.”
Arga looked at me.
“Good.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t regret asking you to come either.”
I smiled.
“Pick me up tomorrow?”
“If you want me to.”
I nodded.
“I do.”
Arga smiled.
“Five tomorrow.”
I turned around.
After only a few steps, my phone buzzed.
I opened it.
Arga: One more thing. Me: What?
A few seconds later, his message came through.
Arga: Don’t be afraid of me for too long.
I stopped walking.
I read the sentence one more time.
Then I smiled faintly.
Maybe for the first time... I didn’t want to run from these feelings.
I just wanted to know— how long Arga would hold on.
And whether this time... I could truly trust someone.