A Slight Ego bruise

Kal's POV

I am still in the car, trying to lock my doors which have suddenly decided to be dormant. I make a mental note to take it to the mechanic once I am free with whatever I am doing.

Achilles, sounding impatient calls from where he is standing behind the car. "Dude, what the hell is keeping you in there? It's about time we left the lot."

I call back in an irritated voice and that's mainly because my lock is giving me issues. "Chill, man. I am trying to lock my doors. Stop sounding whiny like a kid who hasn't seen their mother in days. It's just Susanne you're meeting."

"It's Susan, not Susanne." Achilles sounds like he is rolling his eyes.

"Whatever." I mutter under my breath. Just then, I hear a click. "You just had to."

I unlock it again before opening the passenger door and stepping out into the open air. Today is quite chilly and I can feel it at the entrance of my nostrils. I shut my door and use the remote control to lock my car door.

"So, who are we waiting for again?" I ask, walking towards the car trunk where Achilles is leant against. His jacket is off his body and bot slopped lazily on one shoulder.

Turning, Achilles replies. "She's on her way. Can you calm the fuck down? Don't know why you're being salty all of a sudden."

I ignore him and go ahead to ask about Bells.

"Well, we'll know that today," Achilles replies and crosses his feet over the other. "She already texted that she'll be here soon."

"Alright, then." I reply, leaning on the car's trunk, beside him.

After a few seconds of silence, Achilles whips his head to look at me. "How about your girlfriend?"

To that, my brows furrow deeply. "Who is that?" I ask, my voice thick with confusion and disdain for whoever Achilles thinks is my girlfriend.

"Allegra of course!" He replies, laughing real hard.  "Who else if not Allegra?"

"Allegra is not my girlfriend, what the fuck." I glower at my friend who is still amused by how annoyed this is getting me.

He shrugs. "She's always at your office and you both seem to be the power couple to every one of your employees. The charisma and air of arrogance. You both getting married would be like mixing two chemical explosives."

"Allegra is just a fuck buddy. Nothing else. We don't even love each other or think anything is going to go on apart from a fling or whatever relationship we have going on."

Achilles' eyes are far away and he chuckles. "Does Allegra think the same as you do?"

"That is none of my damned business," I reply, my voice conveying nonchalance. "She can believe whatever she wants, I do not care. It doesn't matter."

"But, she goes around telling everyone that you both are an item. Everyone in the company thinks that you both are going to announce a sudden engagement party out of the blue."

I immediately peel off my body from the car's trunk, staring at my friend in bewilderment. "What the fuck?! Allegra is not my girlfriend or fiancee! We are nothing apart from fuck buddies and thst is all we would ever be. Just sexual attraction, that's it."

"That's how they all are till they fall in love." Achilles chortles and honestly, I want to wrap my fingers around his neck and strangle him till he is out of breath.

His phone beeps before I am able to reply and Achilles turns to me with an unsure look. Like he is about to relay bad news to me. I already know that he's about to tell me that we're parked in the wrong lot. No wonder there's no noise coming from anywhere. This lot is silent, void of any music or party noise apart from the sound of cars coming into the lot and people snapping their car doors shut.

"We're in the wrong lot," Achilles mentioned. "she already texted telling us to drive towards the art faculty."

I don't spare him a glance as I walk back to my car, silently hoping that the lock doesn't stop malfunctioning.

And it doesn't. I sigh in relief and pull the driver's door open, shutting it immediately I am in. Achilles shuts his right after.

"I am sorry, bro. I totally forgot that we were meant to park in the art faculty lot. This school is quite huge." Achilles explains and I nod in understanding.

"You've always been a dumbass," I say drily. "I am not surprised. And also, it is also contributed by the fact that you're head over heels in whatever with that lady."

"At least, I am not denying that fact. I am also not denying the fact that I like some lady I met at the strip club."

"Shut up." I reply, laughing genuinely this time. "I never said anything relating to having feelings for Bells. We were both talking about Allegra and not Bells. Still burns down to the fact that you're dumb. "

We're both laughing as I swerve out of the parking lot, with the aid of the monitor and soon, we're driving out of the lot into another avenue, flanked by pine trees rustling in the wind.

"I think I can see the faculty. There's an embossment signifying that we're there already." Achilles points out.

I can see it too. It looks quite magnificent; the large tall building. The embossment seems to be carved in gold and against the afternoon sun, it glints. I accelerate a bit till we get to a U-turn. Following the trail, I slow down and soon, we're cruising to a stop at the side of the building. This area is noisy with whirry industrial fans.

"Oh, this is the place," Achilles says, clearing his throat. "but, I can not hear anything that informs us about the show."

"Still a dumbass, always a dumbass. The fans are muffling the noise. Let's do well to get out of here before our ears gets blocked."

Achilles steps out of the car before I do. His phone is ringing and he immediately picks it up and shuts the door. I can't hear who he's speaking with but I believe it has to be Susan.

I groan when my car doors refuses to lock again and when I try to lock and unlock the door, it clicks alive. I unlock the doors again and step out before relocking it.

I see Achilles' dark mop of hair from where I am standing and I go around and behind my car to meet him.

"They're here already?"

Achilles nods. "We'd see them in a bit."

"Alright."

"Here they are." My friend says, his tone light with cheer. "And wait, isn't that Bells? She's with Susan."

Immediately I hear her name, I immediately stand upright and squint my eyes to see them better.

There she is, looking like she's coming out from a volcano. Seething and melting everything in her path.

It's how she's dressed casually and still looking like a runway model that gets to me. And how does she know how much I love leather skirts?!

I nearly groan in pleasure.

Bells knows how to get to me without even having an idea. I find leather skirts sexually appealing and I already have a hunch that her butt would look amazing.

Something to smack.

The thought alone drives me crazy and immediately, I banish such thoughts from my mind and put up the facade of a gentle man.

Which I am not.

They're both advancing and Bells hasn't seen me. She's busy saying something to Susan who is nodding.

Just then, Susan's eyes widen a bit and she mutters something, causing Bells to immediately look in our direction.

I know she has seen me, because immediately she does, she turns on her heels and begins to hurry away.

I look at Achilles in confusion and he shrugs.

"I'm guessing you should go after her." My friend advises.

"But the reason she is turning away from us is because of me." I say to my friend, already getting annoyed and frenzied. The fact that she's avoiding me at every chance we have to talk bothers me.

I have to admit that right now, my ego is wounded. I have never experienced a woman turning away immediately, when she sees me. All my women come to me.

Why is Taleela different?

Deciding, I tell myself that I will not go after her.

But, when Susan gets to where we're standing and throws her arms around Achilles to kiss him, I decide that maybe I should go after her.

I can't stand these two kissing and becoming all mushy with each other while I force myself to watch the show when I can't stop thinking about the reason Bells has decided to run away from me like I am a plague.

I wait for the two lovebirds to release each other before asking Susan about Bell's whereabouts.

"Oh, she must have gone to the library or back to the show. I advise you to go to the bleachers. If you do not find her there, she's definitely at the library."

"Thanks." I say quickly and hurry off to find this lady and know why I am being avoided.