Chapter Five
The Muse~
I almost couldn't recognize him when he walked up to me earlier. He has changed so much… When I first met him eight years ago, in simple words, he was a mess. And I think a cute one. His hair was all over his face as if he wanted to hide it from everyone. I wondered, if I pushed through those thick messy strands, what would he look like.
He wore heavy reading glasses to hide his warm brown eyes. I wondered if he would let me see those. For some reason, I could never forget those eyes in the past few years. The way it looked at me…for the first time in my life, made me feel beautiful. He didn't have to say it. His eyes were screaming: You are fucking gorgeous.
When he approached me today, I recognized his eyes instantly. The look in them never changes. He is tall—I think six feet. When I saw him eight years ago, he looked more like a teenager. But now, he looks like a man—a very good-looking one, in fact. He has a sharp jawline, a pointed nose, and those hunter's eyes… dark brown, slightly tousled hair… he can be easily justified as a model.
Though he still wears glasses, but much lighter ones. And it only makes him look hotter.
"So you know this, Kyler guy?" Ana asks, sipping her drink.
"I met him eight years ago." I lower my head, stirring my drink with the straw as a ghost of a smile creeps onto my face, "The night before my flight. He looked like he needed help. Or else he was going to start crying. So I gave him 100$ to get a cab or something." I eye the hundred bucks on the countertop before me but don't touch it.
"You gave him how much money?!" Kristine looks like she just had a mini-heart attack. "And you didn't even bother to tell me about it?!"
"This is not the case, Kristine." Dylan says somewhat seriously, "Haven't you noticed that he still remembers Mimi?."
I blink and turn my head to look at Dylan. "I think it is normal though. Because this is not every day you get a hundred bucks from a stranger." I slurp at my straw.
"And this is not every day, you remember a stranger for eight years straight, Mimi" He counters with a pointed tone.
"But I still do remember him, Dylan." I return, my voice not as sharp as his, "Now tell me that I am also a creep."
"I never said that, Mimi." Dylan fingers the rim of his glass, looking a bit dejected.
"You are implying that." I point out in case he hasn't noticed what he is doing, "In any case, he is not worth arguing over this. He is just a stranger I once helped out."
Ice prickles my hairline and chill slides down my spine. I look over my shoulder to catch anyone staring at me. But everyone is minding their own business. But I am so damn sure that someone was staring at me.
"Right." Dylan chugs down his beer and flashes a smile my way, "I am sorry for earlier. I was just being paranoid."
I just smile and nod. I still can't shake the feeling of foreboding in my bones as Kristine jumps to another conversation.
The rest of the night is full of, 'ice prickles my hairline, the hair of my neck raises, and dread jolts down my spine' because someone is staring at me. And this is not the kind of stare that will make you the center of attraction. This is the kind of stare that will make you shudder with the intensity the gaze holds. And if you ask for my opinion, this is so fucking creepy.
I keep looking around, to see anyone staring at me the way they shouldn't but it is always the same. Ana notices that a few times and asks me if I am okay. All I can do is nod in answer.
As if it wasn't enough to ruin my night, Dylan also had to participate. He is being so overly protective. Maybe not that much but he is being protective. And I don't get why. I don't think we know each other enough for him to behave like that. It is kind of uncomfortable, especially when Kristine is sitting between us. But I still try to smile it off, after all this is the only facade that I have.
Keep smiling, Mimi.
At last, the night ends and Kristine and Dylan start to walk me toward my car. Ana has left already as she has to wake up early the next morning.
"So, what do you plan to do next, Mimi?" Dylan asks, putting his arm around Kristine's waist.
I unlock my car door and turn to them, "I will join a daycare center, I think."
"Daycare center? Seriously?" Kristin doesn't look all that impressed, "Mimi, you are going to be a CEO soon enough and you want to work at a Daycare center? Among those annoying bunch of children?"
"You may not like them, Kristine, but I do like them." I chuckle, "So I am gonna do what I want."
Because this is the last time…
She sighs and hugs me goodbye. Dylan waves me bye.
The drive back to my villa is quiet and I am at least revealed that I don't have the foreboding feelings in my guts anymore.
I park the car in my underground garage. There is a passageway to my living room. When I am fumbling with my keys. I get that feeling again in the pit of my stomach. I whip around as fast as possible and I can swear to my life that I have just seen a shadow moving out of the corner of my eyes. My heart clenches and my breathing stutters.
I have a stalker.