"Looks like you're having fun here, yeah?" A man's voice walks in our direction. He is the man in a white tuxedo before but he changes his clothes into a semi-formal one, a blue elbow-length sleeves shirt.
"What's happening over here?" He asked, Anna immediately drew a distance between us. "Oh, nothing. This man over here is trying to bully me," she pouts her lips then looks away from me and crosses her arms on her chest, annoyed.
"Oh yeah, how does he bully you?" He placed his chin on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around Anna's waist, which irritated me. "He took a picture of me earlier but until now he still didn't delete it," she said like a kid complaining to her parents. The man stood up straight and kissed her on her temple. Why do they have to show their affection in front of me?
"I see, I'll take care of everything here, you go and see Elaine. She said there is something she wants to talk to you about," he said calmly. "Ok," she said to the man in front of us, "I'll be back," she added, then walked into the crowd.
"Isn't she cute?" The man before me is facing me now. We have the same height and the same chocolate brown hair but he is longer than mine, and he has this perfectly white and smooth skin like the girls have. There is no hint of any acne or blemishes on his face. And his lips, is he wearing lipstick?
"What's up with those looks? Don't worry, I'm not going to confiscate your phone," he turned his side and put his elbow on the table as he spoke to me, "What do you think of her?" I gave him a questioning look. I don't know if we have the same person in mind. "I mean Anna. What do you think of her?" Is he testing me?
"Well, I can say that she's beautiful inside out. She's charming and bubbly outside and gentle, caring, and understanding inside," I smile upon remembering the time we spent together from our hometown up to here when we met again. "Do you like her?" I was surprised by his sudden question. Am I too obvious?
"Why are you hesitating? Do you have doubts about your feelings towards her?" "No, it's just ... is it ok for you to ask me this kind of question?" I raised my eyebrows at him.
"Why not? I just want to confirm something," I'm totally confused about our situation. He's Anna's boyfriend, what does he want to confirm with me? "You see since we first met in university, she was always alone, she never attended any social gatherings on our campus. She rarely talked to others, even with her classmates."
"Elaine and I met her by chance. She's just sitting in her favorite spot until the day's end. At first, we thought that she was kind of weirdo but one day, Elaine got bullied by some mean girls on our campus. Luckily, Anna is around the corner and stops those mean girls from bullying Elaine."
"From then on, Elaine started to hunt her and asked to be her friend as an appreciation for her help. We even tried to get her a date by setting a blind date with her but she didn't attend any of it," I can't help myself from laughing at the new information I've got. She became a heroine in her college days.
"She never got a boyfriend. Elaine and I went on many breakups, but she's still single now. I'm worried about her getting old without anyone besides her," Single? "Single? Aren't you her ...?" He gave me a look that I can't describe like he was trying to guess what I'm going to ask. After a few minutes of guessing, his eyes widened like a saucer when he realized the question that I wanted to ask.
"Wait! You think that Anna and I are ...?" I nod my head and raise an eyebrow when he starts to laugh so hard. "You make me laugh so hard there, buddy" he pats my shoulder with one hand and wipes his eyes with another.
"Look, that's not the kind of relationship we have. She's not my type," Anna is so elegant and charming, she always wears a beautiful smile with her. Why does it look like he's not attracted to her? "Do you want to know what type I like?" He moves closer to my face and whispers something in my ears.
"You," there was a sudden chill pouring down my spine when I heard his answer to his question and then separated himself from me. He laughs again because of the indescribable look I made. "Don't you get it? I'm not into a woman," I still don't understand what he is trying to say. What does it have to do with his relationship with Anna?
"You still don't get it, do you? Fine! I'm gay ok! I don't like girls; I like the same gender as me. I'm a homo, ok?" He drinks his final glass of wine while I am still dazed out with my thoughts. "What makes you think I have that kind of relationship with her?"
"Because you kissed and hugged her," my mouth has its mind now. It's just moved without my consent. "So, that's why you seem so irritated a while ago because you thought we were showing off our affection to each other," he chuckles.
"Kissing and hugging someone doesn't mean they are in a special relationship. In other countries, that's how they greet others," some people may think that you are in a special relationship as I do. "I'm not sure why Anna is still single until now. We introduced so many bachelors to her but she still doesn't want them. I'm not sure if she has a high standard in terms of her ideal man," he shrugged his shoulders before he continued.
"Or maybe she's just waiting for a certain person. I'm going to ask you again. Do you like her?" Do I like her? While thinking about how to answer his question. I saw Anna come out from the back office, wearing a huge smile on her face while talking to her colleagues.
She's so kind, considerate, and polite. Even though she's kind of shy or uncomfortable, she's willing to go out of her comfort zone just to overcome her weakness. She's brave, always smiling, and makes everyone around her feel at ease. I knew her for so long but I didn't see her shed a tear in front of me, until now. I want to see her cry not because I hurt her but because of my love for her.
"You better think it carefully because even if I'm not into her, I'm not going to hesitate to break you up if you act like a jerk," he glared at me after his warning. Funny to think that I said the same lines a few days ago. I didn't expect that I would hear the same warning I told myself about him.
But am I good enough for her? Am I strong enough to be with her? I'm not as brave as her. I should not give up on her easily the first time I saw them. I thought I am a better man now, but I'm wrong. I'm still nothing compared to her. I'm still not worth it.