Reiner – Too Much Kindness

“I told you that he’ll turn up,” Kat said before winking at me.

I knew well what she was implying but I wasn’t in the mood to pay along. By this time, I was more than certain that Charles had more than a casual interest in me. He was here to see me although beyond chatting to me, he hasn’t made any kind of move. For that, I was relieved and grateful. Needlessly to say, I wasn’t looking for that type of attention from any man right now.

“So, what if he did?” I asked with a seemingly clueless shrug.

“Stop playing around. I know you’re not that thick,” Kat said knowingly.

“It doesn’t matter how often he turns up here to see me, I’m not interested,” I said sternly.

“That’s what they always say at first. I won’t blame you if you change your mind about Charles though…” Kat said before smiling teasingly at me.

“Who knows…maybe he’s just here because he’s in love with the cook’s food,” I said before laughing the whole thing off.

“Maybe you are that thick if that’s what you’re honestly thinking,” Kat said before rolling her eyes at me.

“Back to work! Back to work!” I shooed her off loudly as I clapped my hands together.

By closing time, everyone was exhausted from overwork. Jamie should hire more people, seriously.

With how well his business was doing, I was certain that he should hire more people. Nights like this should not repeat itself. My back hurts and my feet were killing me from walking and standing in heels all night. Kat was complaining non-stop next to me now that all the customers have left.

“I’m going home. I’ve had enough for tonight. I’m so tired, I can barely walk anymore…” Kat continued complaining.

“Go home, everyone. I know it was tough for everyone. I’ll chip in an extra bonus at the end of the month so stop complaining. Don’t you dare catch the flu either. We can’t lose more people,” Jamie announced loudly.

“Bye…I’m heading back too,” I murmured as I waved my hand at my colleagues.

My feet were killing me, and I couldn’t wait to get out of these heels. If the path outside was well lit, I would have been happy walking barefoot. I decided to head back in Kat’s dress. She was fine with me returning it to her another day.

I heaved a loud sigh after I exited the bar. It was quite dark outside with only the streetlight on now.

Most bars were closed and had switched off their lights. I was on my way to where I had parked my car when a figure stepped out from the shadows. My heart leapt into my throat Are some stalkers or weird guys out to get me now? Should I make a run for it?

“Done with work? Are you on your way back home now?” a familiar voice spoke to me.

“…Charles…” I said in a shocked but relieved whisper.

What is here doing here? Was he waiting for me? What does he want from me?

“I figured you’ll get off pretty late. I thought I should walk you back…it’s dark and all…” Charles explained casually.

“Just that?” I asked before I could stop myself. He waited all this time for me just to walk me back to my car?

Shit. What did I just say out loud? It sounded so wrong…

Please tell me that he didn’t misunderstand me just now. Please tell me that it didn’t sound like I was looking forward to something more…

“Umm…I didn’t mean…” I started correcting the misunderstanding myself before it would get out of hand.

“It’s ok. I know what you meant. Don’t worry,” Charles with a small laugh.

“Thank you for worrying about me but you don’t have to wait for me like this. I’m sure it’s a lot of trouble for you. I’ll be fine, my car isn’t parked that far away,” I said.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” Charles said insistently.

“True…but…” I replied before trailing off. He was right…but still…

“I’ll walk you if that’s ok with you,” Charles offered.

“Umm…sure…” I replied after deciding to take him up on his offer.

It wasn’t like I had any solid reasons to turn him down. I should be thankful to him for caring so much about me. Unlike a certain someone who didn’t even know where I am right now. I looked up at the dark sky before letting out a depressing sigh.

“What are you thinking about? You seem depressed,” Charles asked softly.

When I glanced over at him, I realized that he had replicated my action and was also staring up at the sky. I was sure that although we were looking up at the same sky, we didn’t see or feel the same thing.

“Nothing. I guess I’m just very tired…” I replied half-honestly.

I was certain that Charles didn’t find my response absolutely satisfying to his curiosity, but it was just like him not to press me any further. I offered him a little smile instead of the words that I couldn’t say to him. The truth was on top of my messy situation with Reiner, my feet were hurting like crazy. It wasn’t far from my car, and I had decided to suck it up and bare the pain as I walked along.

“Your feet are killing you, aren’t they?” Charles asked as he crouched down in front of me.

I sucked in a breath in surprise at his sudden and very caring action as I watched him inspect my feet.

Without even looking, I could tell that there were more than a few blisters on my feet right now. I wasn’t sure if Charles would be able to tell in this darkness though.

“Yeah, walking in heels all day wasn’t a great idea today and I’m paying the price for that dearly,” I said before trying to laugh it off.

“I don’t think you need to bear the pain or put up a brave front. It’s probably best that you don’t take another step in these shoes,” Charles said as he looked up at me.

--To be continued…