I turned my body backwards. The person covering me smiled at me. A man was standing behind me. And I didn't know this man at all.
"Are you sure you want to go home, in this weather?" he asked me.
"I can't wait until the rain stops," I replied.
Aside from the rain that didn't seem like it would stop anytime soon, I felt uncomfortable staying too long in this mall. My feeling is still uneasy. I still feel like someone is watching me from a distance.
"Then take this umbrella." He handed me the umbrella handle.
"What about you? Don't you need this umbrella?" I accepted the umbrella while waiting for this man's answer.
I felt bad accepting the umbrella from this man.
"It's okay. I just need to run a bit to get to the parking lot. I have a vehicle." The man answered my question with a smile.
This man is very friendly to me. From the beginning of our conversation he always smiled at me. It was as if we already knew each other. Or maybe this man just has a friendly nature. Unlike Christ who always says sarcastic things to me. Christ rarely even smiled at me, unless he managed to tease me with his words. Even the annoying guy didn't hesitate to laugh out loud because he had succeeded in toying with me. Huh! What's wrong with me, why am I comparing this man to Christ?
"But, do we know each other?" I asked this man warily.
Why did he lend me his umbrella so easily? But his face felt familiar. I tried to remember.
"You don't remember me?" This man asked, as if he couldn't believe that I had forgotten him.
"Oh, I remember!" I exclaimed to him.
"Really, you already remember who I am?" The man's smile grew wider.
"You're the person I accidentally bumped into earlier when we were at the supermarket, right? I'm really sorry about what happened earlier. It was because I was in a hurry." My memory came back to this man.
Earlier he had stopped while carrying a trolley, when I was in a hurry to go to the cashier, I accidentally bumped into him. But, why don't I see him carrying anything in his hands?
"Well, you remember." But there was a disappointed expression on his face.
"Where's your shopping items?" I voiced what I was thinking.
"Shopping items?" He looked confused by my question.
"I saw you carrying a fully loaded trolley earlier," I explained to him.
"Oh, right. I'll get it later." He said.
"Then I'll go home first. And thank you for the umbrella." I said to him as I ended our conversation.
I don't know him very well and I feel like I've been chatting with this guy for too long. I smiled at him before going down the stairs on the front floor of the mall. This man just nodded at me. Under this umbrella I walked out of the courtyard of this mall. Suddenly I heard the sound of a car horn from behind me. I saw a black car stop beside me as I turned my head. The exit from this mall is still wide, why did this car stop as if I was blocking its way? Behind the car I saw the driver start to roll down his window.
"Get in Emily, let me take you home." Christ turned out to be the driver of this car.
"No need to bother, I can walk." I said as I walked away from the black car.
"Come on, the rain hasn't stopped anyway." Christ coaxed me while driving his car slowly following my footsteps.
The rain hasn't stopped yet, but it's not as heavy as before. I turned Christ down because I didn't want to bother him. I thought maybe his house was in a different direction than mine.
"Just go home, I won't ride in your car." I refused again after we had almost reached the narrow road to my house.
"I really wanted to stop by your house," Christ said from behind the driver's seat.
"What for? You want Bie to accompany you? So you're bored. "No, it's already night, maybe Bie will go to sleep soon." I reject this man wearing a black shirt.
"No, I want to get something. I left something at your house." Christ stopped his car after seeing me stop.
Why didn't he tell me earlier? At least I wouldn't have to feel cold like this.
"Okay. If you insist." I said as I walked to the side of his car.
Is it better if I just sit in the back? I opened the left rear door of the car while holding an umbrella. Before getting in I saw there were some plastic bags on the car seat.
"Sit in the front, Emily. I'm afraid my groceries will get damaged if you sit there." Christ's words were really annoying.
How could I possibly sit on these things, even if I sat on this chair, I would definitely move it. I closed the car door and then I moved to the front door. I sat down first then I closed this umbrella. It turns out that this umbrella can be folded, so it makes it easier for me to hold it.
"Just put your umbrella under," Christ said as he started driving.
"Sorry, your car got wet." I put down my umbrella, then put on my seat belt.
"No problem. I just need to take it to the car wash." Christ said as he started to enter the narrow road.
What an arrogant person! I'm a little curious about him, why do I always meet him at the mall. From my first meeting to my meeting with Bie. What was he actually doing there? Could he be one of the employees at a shop inside the mall? But, if you look at its appearance, it seems not. Because I always see him looking neat. He always wears a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of shoes. Shop owner maybe, that sounds a little reasonable.
"What are you thinking, Emily?" Christ asked after pulling his car over in front of my house.
"I wasn't thinking about anything," I told him as I turned off the car engine.
From the windshield of the car, I saw that the rain had started to ease. But there were still drizzles of rain dripping on the windshield of his car.
"But you've been silent all this time." Now Christ had turned his gaze towards me.
"I think, we are not close enough. So I don't need to chat with you during the trip, right?" I took off the safety belt.
"That's exactly it, we're not close enough. But why do you always stare at me while I'm driving?" His words immediately made me speechless.
The trip from the mall to my house was only a few minutes, so he would feel like I was staring at him for too long. Even though I was just examining his appearance.
"I just saw the way you were driving. Because it was raining, you might not be careful and hit a cat, maybe." I answered carelessly.
"If you're worried about that, you should help me see the road ahead. Does my face look like a rearview mirror?" Christ said with a chuckle.
Damn! He's playing with me again with his words. I could already feel my cheeks starting to turn red in embarrassment. He was really good at arguing.
"Okay, thanks for the ride." I said to cover up my embarrassment.
Suddenly I remembered something. Before I could ask I saw Christ unbuckle his seatbelt too. Surely he will come down too. But, after his seat belt was removed from his body, Christ leaned towards me. As time went on, his face started to get closer to mine. I could only remain silent without blinking. I can see fine hairs growing around his jaw. Deg!
*Continued*