Awareness of vulnerability

"So, what are you doing here? And where's your boss and colleague?" Ayana said as she carefully lifted Betty's arms off her shoulders.

"My boss and colleague?" Eric said with a puzzled look on his face.

After successfully laying Betty down on a bed of chairs attached, they both grabbed a seat as well.

"Yeah, that brown haired man and that woman wearing an ocean green cocktail outfit." Ayana said after catching her breath.

She never thought Betty would be this heavy.

They had been on the dance floor for so long that now her legs ached even when she sits. Thank God she was wearing sneakers unlike Betty, otherwise she would've twisted her ankle hundred times too by now.

"Oh that!...yeah, you can say that." Eric purposefully lied smoothly to cover his position.

"You know, I've seen him before too. But I never thought he would be CEO of this company!" She said as she turned towards Eric on impulse. But to her astonishment, Eric was even more surprised than her.

Could it be from that time in the office? But if so why didn't she recognised him? He wondered.

"WHAT?!!" He shouted in the empty cafe, he processed her words a little late.

CEO? Sebastian?! Pfft! Where did she get that from?! Eric so wanted to shout and burst into laughter, but his ego wouldn't let it be. The fun will be gone otherwise and things wouldn't be the same anymore.

He coughed at the other side and turned towards her with a poker face. "How..how did you know he was my boss and CEO?"

"Ah! My friend told me. She was very shocked at first as well but things later calmed down after our confusion cleared." She said while pointing at Betty's snoring face. She looked funny yet adorable.

"Confusion? About what?" He genuinely asked as he felt there was still something interesting missing as a piece in jigsaw puzzle.

But Ayana choked upon his unexpected bombardment of this unanswerable question.

"Ahem! Uh that's nothing important to be concerned about. The main point is that the confusion is cleared." She struggled as she hides her embarrassment.

But being a cunning fox, Eric quickly grabbed her hesitation. Indeed it was clear by now that something interesting was being kept secret from him.

"But I am concerned. It's about me and my boss afterall." He insisted as he leaned forward purposefully.

Ayana was taken aback upon his approach and gestured to stay away otherwise she might lose her balance on chair.

"Okay okay! But would you please stay back? I am about to fall!" She shouted with her eyes focused on floor.

Eric chuckled upon her panicked reaction and shifted back with a smirk. "Fine, now tell me."

Ayana was embarrassed for shouting so loud in front of him, especially upon him getting so close, that she felt as if he was toying with her.

"Jesus! it ain't even that serious. She thought the one who helped me at the bar was CEO boss, but in reality it was you, his assistant. It later made sense to me too since he looked so well dressed and more like a gentleman on appearance. I feel so ashamed upon not even knowing the CEO of the company I work in... " She said while scratching her head but someone was on verge to burst into laughter by now.

"Pfft!" He failed to hold his breath.

"Huh?! Are you laughing at me right now?!"

"What? No, no. I just remembered a joke. Anyway, it seems your friend didn't exactly pinpointed at the person you were talking about, so is appearance the sole reason why you thought I am his assistant?"

"Well yeah, it's clearly written on your face. Sure you are tall and have a stiff body n' all but you don't give that... authoritative vibes to me. I mean even from the first time I met you, you were drunk. Then at the cafe you were so clumsy and shy, and then earlier when you were standing outside, you looked so gloomy, as if you were forced to come here (like me)."

"Also last but not the least, why would a CEO of a multinational company bother to meet a common employer like me? It's common sense!"

Her series of explanation finally ended but to her astonishment Eric didn't said a single world. He was just frozen at his seat staring at her like a stone.

'Cr*p! Did I offended him in some ways?! Oh no! I should apologise!'

Ayana was afraid at the moment but she couldn't bring herself to break this silence. She had already spoken more than enough.

Or atleast that's what she thought because the other side was on a completely different page.

It was fun to notice how good she was at observing people, but to think she would be so accurate even regarding this evening's encounter, he was really shocked.

Strangely his heart pained more from her last words. She was correct about a CEO being too busy to spend his precious time upon a mere commoner. But if that's how it is, was she really that much amusing to set aside his work?

In Sebastian's, no, in everyone's point of view, Ayana was just a normal bubbly girl who could be seen on any random streets shopping with her friends and family. So what was so special about her?

Was he afraid now that she could frankly tell what he was feeling or was it the long desire of someone understanding him truly.

He couldn't clearly tell but a vague answer was still ready in his thought, that he had crossed the line he shouldn't have.

He wondered if that's what people call love, but aren't people close when they're friends too? Yes, it was more acceptable that way.

He could see Ayana nervously looking at him and waiting for a response but what could he tell except for revealing that he wanted to get closer to her. Just like her friend, he wanted to be involved in her group as well. He wanted to laugh and joke around like his co-workers. He wanted to have a normal family like everybody else.

He wanted to live a normal live...

"?!!"

"Huh? What is this?"

Eric smiled and touched his face as he looked at Ayana's shocked expression.

There were few drops of warm water dripping down his face. What they were called? he didn't wanted to say, but feeling his heart melt, strangely felt good.

There was a slight pain in his chest and he struggled to stop them with his bare hands, but they just wouldn't stop!

'Why?! It's so embarrassing! so stop leaking already!! I can't show such face in front of her!!' he hesitated to rub again as his eyes were now burning red. The cafe was echoing with him sniffing and low background noise of party music.

He was ashamed of himself for the first time in his life, so much, that he had already face away from her.

What was he even crying for?! The fact that he just don't look like a CEO and waste his time around according to a petty commoner? How foolish!

But little did he knew what he was calling foolish actually had more context to it.

As he cursed himself internally and forced to calm down, a gentle tap rubbed his back with a white handkerchief offered from behind.

"Here take this. It'll burn less."

Once again she had opened that lid of his jar. Eric saw a blue butterfly escape this time...