From the very start, when I first laid eyes on him, I knew he was trouble. He was a mistake. He even told me as much. Of course, that made me more determined to fix him. To save him.

He was getting arrested when we first met. I was in the park, working with a model, one of my long-term clients who needed a picnic-themed shoot. All of a sudden there was a guy with face tattoos pretending to be my assistant.

“Um, do I know you?”

My model was perched on one of the large boulders the city had carted in for the park’s landscaping.

“Just go with it, okay?” He leaned down and started to mess with one of my bags.

“Go with what?” I held up a hand to my model. The sunset was due to hit in just a few minutes and I didn’t want to miss the lighting.

Just then two bicycle cops came on the scene. “There he is!”

As the man stood, I stuck out my foot and he tripped/sprawled on the ground.

One of the cops was on top of his back and the other wrangled out some cuffs.

The guy on the ground gave me as much of a dirty look as he could. “Thanks. You’re a real stand-up guy.”

And then when we caught each other’s eyes, it hit. I knew. I knew I had known this man in another life. There was no other way to explain it. The whole world stopped breathing and slowed. One beat at a time, until his face was imprinted on my soul. And even though we didn’t say anything else to each other, I knew I'd see him again.

And I wasn’t wrong. When I got home and unpacked my stuff, I found what had to be a half a pound of cocaine.

The criminal had hid his stash in my bag. I set it aside in my closet. I wasn’t sure how to dispose of it. I didn’t have to wonder long, because that very evening, Mr. Criminal was at my door.

“You have something of mine.” He lifted his eyebrow.

“I think it's a gift, being that you stuck it in my bag.” I stepped back as he stepped into my place. I knew he was dangerous, but I let him close the door to my apartment. “How come you’re not in jail?”

He walked into my place like he owned it and sank into the chair. “Because they can’t charge you for possession if you don’t have anything on you.”

“And did it occur to you that I could go to jail? Just because I was in the wrong place at the right time and you’re a douchebag?” I’d be angry if it didn't feel like this man’s whole being would fit into my own.