Am I just a sucker for the 2nd lead or what? All those male characters who have the tragic ending? It's just too sad, especially when they are so good-looking. But I'm sure I'm not the only one.

You had known Lida since kindergarten and had practically grown up with her.

So you pretty much knew everything about her. As much as she would let on anyway.

One of the things you knew about her was that she had a bodyguard. A very very attractive bodyguard.

You know all those words girls used to describe really good-looking guys? Like Dreamboat, Heartthrob, Adonis? Yeah he was all that rolled into one.

His name was Ilya.

Ilya the Russian bodyguard.

When you told Lida you thought he was pretty swoon-worthy, she choked on her food and looked at you as if you had grown two heads.

And then when you asked around the girls in your group none of them seemed to think he was particularly handsome either.

You couldn't believe you were the only one who thought that.

But you let it go. Because it didn't matter now that you had a plan to try and somehow "befriend" said Russian.

You asked Lida if you could borrow her bodyguard and ask him to help you learn how to shoot a gun.

When she skeptically asked you why you would be wanting to learn that, you told her that you needed to learn how to protect yourself and that you remembered her telling you how Ilya was the one who had taught her.

She shrugged and said why not.

So the next day you found yourself at an indoor shooting range with the man of your dreams.

You previously had the chance to talk to him a few times when you went to visit Lida at her house.

He seemed to remember your name, so that was a good start.

It wouldn't even be classified as a date. But you were on a mission, so you wore your nicest yet most practical clothes, and took a little bit longer getting ready.

If he noticed anything he wasn't giving it away.

When he handed you the glasses you smiled winningly at him

When he gave you your gun you held his hand for a fraction of a second longer

When you put your ear muffs on you never broke eye contact

And when he held you from the back to teach you how to aim the gun at the target, you inched closer into him

You knew you smelled good

And that you were fairly likable

And not that bad looking

Nonetheless he still hadn't smiled once at you

Or laughed at any of your jokes

Or shown any inclination of being more than just acquaintances

So you figured, the attraction wasn't mutual

But what you didn't know was that Ilya was not immune to your efforts

He thought you were quite beautiful

And witty

And knew how to hold a conversation

He was secretly impressed by how well you could shoot for a beginner and wondered if you were aware of how good you were

It seemed not because you would blush in embarrassment everytime you missed the centre by a millimetre

A millimetre.

People usually miss by a mile

He quietly watched you be kind to the owner of the range and thank him warmly when you returned all your equipment

You then thanked him for teaching you how to shoot and was about to say goodbye when he asked you if you wanted to have another session tomorrow

He saw your eyebrows raise in surprise before a very pretty smile broke over your face

He gave you a small smile which reached his eyes when you shyly said yes