Chapter 4: Wesley Stark
"Hi there," greeted a man in a white shirt. "Isn't it already late for a little lady like you to be staying out so late?"
Reese turned her sight away from the bay and observed the man approaching her. He was tall with blonde hair swept at the back, and quite good looking. She frowned at him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." He said. "It's just that I noticed that you've been staring at the sea for quite a while. Were you waiting for someone or does the view just amuse you that much?" Why is she staring at me like that?
"I should be the one who should be apologizing, but I don't feel like talking to anyone right now." muttered Reese, trying to shrug the man to leave her alone. She returned her sight back to the sea with a pestered expression on her face that is trying to hide something.
"Oh? But you know, I do recognize a face like that wherever I go." His words suddenly caught Reese's attention a little. Figuring that she doesn't seem to be interested in long conversations, he turned at his back, stating his last remark. "You can just let go you know, if you can't, try remembering why you began caring about him that much…"
"What?" Reese snapped her head, wondering how a stranger like him would know something about her. No one has ever seen through her like that before, perhaps Specula, but that doesn't count. The man turned around with a soft smile on his face, glad about how he succeeded in trying to get Reese's attention for some reason.
"I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Wesley Stark, but call me Wes." He informed confidently with a bit of charm.
"I wasn't asking for your name." Reese replied coldshoulder. "How were you able to tell?"
Wes looked rather surprised of how his charm not working on her, but at least she's talking to him. "What? Was I right?"
"I'm not telling." She demanded bitterly. "Why did you say that?"
"Well, first of all, that was just something I heard from a friend and I wasn't intending to make you mad." He added with resilience. "And second, I said that because I thought that something must be bothering you, like a broken heart or some sort of relationship problems or—"
""Well I'm not broken hearted and I'm certainly not in any relationship!" She exclaimed defensively, but inside, there was a little truth about what he said.
There was a short pause.
"Um, should I apologize again or…" He murmured, deciding not to continue since what he is going to say will not really change her impression about him. Instead of leaving her alone, he became more eager into actually making a normal conversation with her, step-by-step. He looked at her in the eye. "You know, I think you need a little break."
"Thanks for the tip, but I don't really need your advice though." She snubbed him, leaning back to the ledge.
Man, this girl is really hard to get. Her boyfriend must have done something pretty awful…
"He's not my boyfriend!" Reese blurted out, unprepared of what she'd be saying afterwards. She could see how surprised Wes is, with an eyebrow raising at her like she's some sort of an alien.
"I didn't say anything you know." And here I thought I was the weird one. Wes thought.
"I didn't mean to utter stuff that don't really make sense." She explained. "I have to go." She quickly paced away without looking back at him even when he called. It was her first time to make a mistake like in front of a stranger like what just happened. There must be really a lot of stuff going in her head that she kept on losing her concentration.
Wes just stood there, a little baffled, though having his attention at her. After a second, there his face looked disappointed, remembering that he had forgotten to ask her name.
Reese's pace slowed down after ensuring that the man was no longer in sight. She had never met anyone like him before. He made a different impression to her, unlike the way Hiltz or Raven made in the past. He seems like a carefree guy, quite normal, sophisticated, charming, but he's just not her type. She's more interested with someone like Raven. Uncontrolled and has a lot of strong points despite a few of his weak points. But that doesn't matter now. She sat down when she saw an unoccupied bench, trying to clear something in her head. Something just feels so vulnerable inside her. Although, the strangest thing is that her memories of Nichalo kept flashing in her mind ever since that day when she got caught off guard. It was unsettling despite knowing that she could defend herself, but the part that she just couldn't quite understand was that there was just something strange about that man. Something out of the ordinary.
