Strangers

Jessica

“What’s wrong?” Amy asks her. Jessica looks distracted and confused for some reason.

“Nothing!” She claims. “It’s just…”

The scent. She can’t get the goddamn scent out of her head! In fact, she can smell it even stronger now and her mind is going crazy. There’s an inexplicable urge within her to find the source of that addictive aroma and…and…

What the hell am I thinking? She scowls inwardly.

“I need another drink!” Jessica declares. The bartender serves her another glass and she chugs it down. 

“Woah! Slow down!” Amy laughs. “The night is still young. We can still have a lot of fun. Although, you may start your fun earlier…”

She points behind Jessica. The latter turns around and her jaw nearly drops. Sitting across the room is the most gorgeous man she has ever laid eyes on!

Jessica’s heart instantly skips several beats. He’s dressed in a suit but the piercing above his eye makes him a combination of a dangerous gentleman who can command the entire room in a second if he wants to. The man half glances at her with his beautiful eyes and their gazes lock at each other.

Can looks really kill? She wonders. Because this man probably can.

His one gaze is making her cheeks blush. She’s suddenly conscious of her baggy clothes and curses herself for not dressing well. The man is dressed in a refined manner, his every movement so graceful and sophisticated.

And here she is looking like a bum!

“If I don’t listen to your fashion advice next time, do me a favor and shoot me with my gun!” Jessica groans.

“You should shoot your closet instead,” Amy sighs. “But I think that man is staring at you. Damn! He’s hot!”

Jessica hides her face in embarrassment. Amy inches closer and says, “You know, you can try flirting with him a bit. It won’t hurt anyone.”

“Amy, I look like a mess now!” Jessica hisses.

“Jess, you’re beautiful and you know it. If you hadn’t wasted your time with that dumb Jonathan, then you could’ve had many more suitors! This is your chance. Just try and flirt with the bar hottie!”

“Bar hottie?” Jessica echoes but Amy ignores her as she goes through her purse.

“Here,” she says, handing Jessica her compact makeup powder and lipstick. “That’s all I have right now. Just go, put them on, and you’ll look fabulous. Just go!”

“Alright!” Jessica exclaims and runs off to the ladies room. She quickly puts on a bit of makeup and checks herself out in the mirror.

“This will have to do,” she sighs. She’s not looking drop dead gorgeous like the stranger outside but at least she feels better about herself. Flirting with a stranger seems a bit scary to her especially after her breakup but Amy is right. She can’t keep running away from the joys of life because of one douchebag.

Feeling a bit more confident, she heads outside. She’s walking towards the bar when a voice calls her.

“Jess?”

Jessica freezes. Oh no oh no oh no! She screams inwardly.

Her worst fears came true. She turns around to meet a dark haired man of her age with a stocky physique and dull black eyes. His hair is tousled with front bangs which makes him look much younger than his age (Jessica suspects he’s trying to pass off as a teenager) and he’s dressed in a pair of baggy jeans with holes cut into it. His t-shirt is bright red and the odd combination of bright sneakers is making her confused.

This is her ex-boyfriend? 

For a moment, Jessica is confused. Jonathan used to dress in casual shirts and long pants. He also added light red streaks on his hair, probably after their breakup. Jessica tries to find a hint of his old self but there’s none. He’s trying too hard to look younger, holding on to his evasive youth. 

Jonathan is chewing gum as he looks at her from top to bottom. “You really let yourself go, huh?” He taunts her with a grin. “Look at yourself!”

“You’re in no position to be the fashion police given that you’re dressed as if a clown vomited on you!” Jessica retorts. She’s absolutely disgusted by him and his mere presence makes her want to gag. 

“You still have that venomous tongue. No wonder we broke up!”

“I’m the one who broke up with you,” Jessica replies coolly. “Because you were cheating on me with one of your students.”

Jonathan failed at the academy so he had to drop out and started to teach college students privately. It was during this time, he met a nineteen year old and cheated on Jessica with her. This went on for months until Jessica found the romantic texts on his phone and threw him out of the apartment they shared.

Now that she’s seeing him like this, she realizes that she was truly blind to his faults. 

“You think you’re so mighty because of your job and your promotion?” Jonathan snarls. “You’re just a lonely and shabby woman of no value nor birth-”

SMACK!

Jessica slaps him so hard that his cheek starts to bleed.

“What the f*ck?” He squeals like a pig. “You little-”

Jessica slaps him again, this time even harder. Jonathan staggers backwards.

“You f*cking crazy woman!” He yells. “No wonder I cheated on you! You’re just crazy and-”

But Jessica isn’t listening because she’s once again hit by that addictive scent. Instinctively, she turns to find the gorgeous man from the bar. He puts his hand around her shoulder and pulls her close.

“Is he hurting you?” 

His words are low, almost like a whisper. Jessica holds her breath as his deep voice penetrates her soul, making her want to hear him talk more. The scent is undeniably his, as alluring and seductive as him. She can’t help but stare at him, her senses clouded by him.

“Who the f*ck is he?” Jonathan growls. He’s suspicious of them. They’re standing too close to each other, almost in an intimate manner.

Hearing his irritating voice makes Jessica want to slap him again but she controls herself. She puts her arm around the stranger’s waist.

“He’s my boyfriend,” she announces. “We’re together now.”

Jonathan stares in shock. “We’ve only been broken for a few weeks and you’re already seeing someone else?” He yells. “You sl*t-”

Before Jessica can react, the man walks up to Jonathan. His masculine aura is intimidating everything else around him, the command in his voice stronger than steel.

The man raises his hand and Jonathan cowers, expecting to be hit. To his surprise, the man takes out a handkerchief and starts to dab the blood on Jonathan’s cheek.

“Every word a man speaks is the mirror of his true character,” the man says with a slight accent. “And any man who cannot use civilized words to talk with a lady is no man at all, but leads a fickle existence of lies.”

Jonathan winces when the man presses the handkerchief hard on his skin. “You could not cherish her like a treasure,” he goes on. “But you are becoming jealous when someone else treats her like a Queen. I see your mind is as silly as the clothes you are wearing.”

“You b*stard-” Jonathan curses but the man’s sharp gaze makes him falter. Jessica watches in awe as the man destroys Jonathan with a few more words.

“The girl you came with,” the man goes on. “The one waiting on the dance floor for you. She must be around…eighteen? I wonder if her ID has been checked properly.”

Jessica is shocked to hear that. Eighteen? Is he dating another one? And brought her to a club?

“W-what the hell are you t-t-talking about-” Jonathan stammers. “She’s 22!”

“Let the guards decide that.”

Jonathan suddenly sprints off in fear. Jessica is about to run after him but the stranger grabs her arm and says, “Don’t worry. The girl is already under the custody of the guards and they’ll catch your ex as well. Let them handle it.”

“Y-you knew about him?” Jessica asks suspiciously. “How?”

The man studies her for a moment, a small grin playing on his lips. “I noticed that the man was following you to the ladies room. I also noticed that his partner was too young and simply alerted the guards before going after him to see what he was doing.”

Jessica is still suspicious. Her instincts as a detective are tingling. The man seems too observant. Is he a criminal?

“You noticed too many details,” she states curtly. “”Why? Why were you observing me? What do you want-”

“I found you exquisitely attractive and noticed every delicate move you made with ardent interest,” he says outright. “Which is why I came after you.”

Jessica is stunned and…flattered. Her heart comes to a standstill upon hearing his frank words and her brain is fumbling for words. People give her many compliments but this man’s words are making her wild with desire.

“I see I’ve made you uncomfortable,” he notes, a tinge of disappointment in his voice. 

“N-no!” Jessica stutters. “I…I was just taken aback.”

She tries to find something else to say.

“What’s your name?” She finally asks.

“I am Kai Vronsky,” he says. “And you are?”

“Jessica Marshall,” she replies with a smile.

“Jessica…”

He says her name with surprising tenderness almost as if treasuring it. “Would you like to have a drink with me, Jessica?”

At that moment, Jessica’s cell phone beeps. It’s a text from Amy. 

“Emergency assignment. Completely forgot about it! I’m heading home. Sorry!”

Jessica is in a dilemma. Should she go back home or should she stay here with this stranger? Her instincts are telling her to leave but she can’t seem to let go of her attraction. It may just be a brief one but it’s too strong.

Taking a deep breath, she decides to give in.

“Sure,” she smiles. “I’d love to have a drink with you.”