Chapter 2 - Who Are These Guys?

On the day of our date, I fussed around, not knowing what to wear. What should a girl wear to meet an attractive guy? And at a high-end mall, moreover. I ended up wearing a dress that made me look slimmer and high heels. At least I wouldn’t look so bad compared to him, I thought. But boy, how wrong was I.

I arrived earlier than him and chatted him up, informing him that I’d arrived at the mall. Waiting for him was nerve-wracking as it had been quite a long time since I last dated.

As I seldom went to the mall of his choosing, I told him that I would wait for him in front of the Chanel boutique.

We were supposed to meet in front of a restaurant to have lunch, but I got lost in the mall. I couldn’t find the restaurant, so I gave up and just waited for him in front of the Chanel boutique as my feet started to hurt.

Yes, I was terrible with directions that I could even get lost in a mall. It would take me at least twenty times visiting a place for me not to get lost in that place, depending on how big and complicated the place was.

I was looking at the mall’s directory on my phone when suddenly I heard my name being called by a deep voice of a man.

“Hey, Kat. So sorry for being a bit late, and I hope you are okay with me bringing my friend.” I figured that was Damian who spoke.

Since I’d never seen his face clearly, I felt my jaw drop.

Who are these guys? They are so tall (I found out later that Damian was 1.88m tall, and Rai was 1.82m tall). And oh-my-Gawd, the vision of them walking toward me was a sight to behold. Long legs, lean muscular bodies with to-die-for facial features.

Both of them wore long-sleeve shirts, the sleeves rolled up to their elbows, just as I loved how a guy should dress. Damian had shorter hair, parted sideways, the side was shaved, the top long. And his friend, Rai, had longer hair, parted in the middle, the front long, up to his chin, something like the 90s bowl cut, but thinner and neater.

They were so handsome. Topped it off with the deep, husky voice of Damian, and the deep, smooth voice of Rai, making them oh-so-sexy at the same time.

And their eyes.. oh Gawd, their eyes! Stunning! Damian’s eyes were light goldish-brown. Amber? They shone brightly, the color popped out from the rest of him, making him look wicked. Rai’s hazel eyes - a combination of gray, deep brown, and green, made him look all the more elegant.

They do not look like they were Chinese-Indonesians. Well, I don’t look like Chinese-Indonesian myself, but they are simply too.. different. Everything about them is.. gorgeous!

Damian introduced me to Rai, and we shook hands. After we shook hands, Rai looked at his hand and then at me with something in his eyes. Confusion? I didn't really think about it.

Damian was all smiles, but Rai was the cool type. Not cold, just calm, and his movements were somewhat elegant. Looking at them standing side-by-side was simply heart-stopping. While both of them were oh-so-handsome and oh-so-sexy, as I’d stated earlier, their auras were contrastingly different.

Rai was sexy, but he was gentle and soft. Damian? He was sexy, with sharper, more chiseled features. Rai reminded me of a prince charming, an angel. Damian was, well, I wanted to say he looked like Rai’s bodyguard, but it didn’t feel fitting seeing him being so handsome as well. Maybe the cousin of a prince charming who was more flamboyant, if I might say so.

The oppositeness of their auras was simply spell-binding. It was like looking at a breathtakingly beautiful angel and a very devastatingly handsome devil standing side-by-side.

I couldn’t believe they were still single. It was impossible for girls not to notice them - or even men! - especially when they were together. I was even dumbfounded looking at them together, and I could sense all the women passing us by taking a second look at them.

Luckily, Damian broke the spell they put me under by leading us toward the restaurant. I quickly apologized for not meeting them there once I found my brain and could speak again. I told them how I got lost, and Damian laughed at my story. He was really charming, I thought to myself.

Once we sat down, I asked them about their backgrounds, their jobs, etc. Just the usual topics you asked when you first met someone new.

Damian was Chinese-Indonesian, just like me, but grew up in the US. Every year he’d come to Jakarta, Indonesia, to have a long holiday. He was able to speak Bahasa Indonesia, although not so fluent, not as fluent as when he was speaking English. His parents owned a few private villas in Bali that they remodeled to be hotels. Damian himself did not really have any job. He just helped his parents to manage their hotels, and he was into investing and trading in the stock markets.

Throughout our meals, Damian was funny. He liked to laugh, he was playful, he was flirtatious, and he was cocky. But every time he was being cocky, I rolled my eyes and laughed out loud because he became cute and very adorable, at least that was how I saw his cockiness.

Rai was older than Damian by a year, so he was 28 years old. Rai was also Chinese-Indonesian, and just like Damian, he grew up in the US, but he couldn’t speak Bahasa Indonesia since he didn't spend as much time in Indonesia as Damian. He was just visiting, and since his parents were in the US, he preferred to stay at Damian’s place. His parents also had hotels in Bali, which was how they became friends; because of their parents’ connections. Other than hotels, they also have a few restaurants, both in Bali and Jakarta. Rai was also into investing and trading.

Damian told me that they had been best friends since elementary school - the reason they were inseparable.

Rai was quiet, somewhat mysterious. There was only a soft smile adorning his face, but oh boy, was he beautiful. I kept peeking at him and realized that he wore a set of earrings. Rai realized that I kept staring at his ears and asked me if there was something wrong with them.

Damian told him that I disliked guys wearing earrings. Then something unbelievable happened. Rai took off his earrings and told me that he was sorry for making me uncomfortable.

“Oh no, Rai, you don’t have to do that,” I told him quickly.

He just smiled gently and put the earrings in his wallet. I looked at him, thinking what a gentleman he was. Most guys would not do that, even those I had known for a long time. My ex-husband wore an earring, and he only took it off on our wedding day, just so it would not appear in the wedding pictures. Rai took his off just so I would not feel uncomfortable. If he was not a gentleman, then I did not know what he was.

After that, I didn't think much of Rai since Damian made me laugh throughout the whole meal, and Rai, although he contributed to our conversations, was mostly quiet. Though every time I took a peek at him, he was already looking at me with a soft smile. I always blushed whenever I saw him smiling. I had never in my entire life blushed because of a man, so to blush every time Rai looked at me and smiled, must have said something about how beautiful he was.

I asked them about their eyes, and Damian told me they were natural. His eye color is called Cognac, like the fine brandy. No wonder it looks more orangey than Amber. I, myself, wore gray contacts as I don’t have a 20/20 vision. I was envious of their natural eye colors.

Somehow my already low self-esteem dropped even lower while being with them. I don’t want them to feel embarrassed when they are with me. They are gorgeous, while I’m only cute, courtesy of my short frame. I quickly brushed the thought away. I shouldn’t overthink. But I couldn’t help myself from wishing.. if only I looked as good as them, then I wouldn’t embarrass them.

We finished our meals, and although I insisted on paying, even just for my meal, they wouldn’t allow it. They really were gentlemen.

While Damian was paying for our meals, Rai accompanied me to the lobby to wait for my driver. We didn't talk, but it was not an uncomfortable silence.

I was going to tie my hair up when I realized that my hair was tangled with my necklace. I tried untangling it, but it was kind of difficult. Suddenly a pair of hands shot to my hair. It was Rai’s.

“Let me,” he said softly. I let him try to untangle my hair. He looked so cute, being serious and all.

“Some of the hairs are stuck. Will it be alright if I break them? I’ll try not to make it painful, but let me know if it is.” He said while untangling.

I could do nothing except nod.

“All done. Did I hurt you?” He said after he finished untangling.

I shook my head, and he smiled softly, tucking my hair behind my ear. I instinctively reached to check it and our hands brushed.

“Thank you, Rai.” My heart was pounding because of his nearness, his slight touch, and the fact that our hands brushed.

I didn't realize that Rai was keeping an eye on me and that he noticed every little detail about me. Thankfully, Damian came to my rescue before I did something stupid and embarrassing, like maybe kissing Rai on the spot.

That was the end of our first date. I felt comfortable around Damian, but I was intrigued by Rai.