Siren Song

Ignoring the man seated to her right Chang took a sip of her iced lemon water while perusing the menu and almost choked. As she was sipping, she felt a hand reach out under the table to gently stroke knee. As she coughed a little into a napkin she threw a dirty look to the culprit and gave him a swift kick to his shin.

"You got me to sit down already, do not push me too far now ok?"

The man seemed to take the hint and did not touch her anymore, but his eyes all over her were almost as distracting. Quickly the food they ordered arrived and she fixed her attention on the salad she has ordered, trying not to think about the man beside her. Justin couldn"t help exclaiming saying how beautifully arranged it was and took a few pictures of the food.

"Well, he is happy, I guess it is worth it." Sitting beside him she found herself becoming more aware of his looks and flitted her eyes to see him staring straight into hers. Embarra.s.singly she missed her mouth with her forkful and made a mess on her cheek before dropping it.

Liang Jian Amal instantly rubbed her cheek with a napkin, cleaning her up with a loving tender look in his eyes. Meeting his scorching eyes she just about jumped out of her seat and headed to the restroom. As she made her way her hand was clenched tight over her rapidly beating heart.

Locking the door she leaned against it and put her head in her hands feeling like tears would attack her again. His words from earlier kept playing over and over in her head, like a broken record. When she closed her eyes all she could see were his unusual eyes haunting her. With her mind at war with her heart it felt like she was being torn apart a little inside.

"Calm down Chang, it is just a simple meal, just treat it like a business thing, you can get through this." Standing in there for a moment she did some calming breathing before she returned to the table, unaware of the plotting and scheming that had occurred while she was away.

Once she returned she did not have much of an appet.i.te anymore and had the waiter bring her a to-go container and sc.r.a.ped her half-eaten salad ignoring the two pairs of disapproving stares beside her. After securing her food she went to split the bill to find that Liang Jian Amal had already covered it while she was in the restroom. she shot him a surprised accusatory glance that he ignored with a content smile on his face.

"Thank you." Concealing her chaotic emotions, she gave him a polite, appreciative smile and rose to leave. Before she could grab her coat hanging on the back of her chair, Liang Jian Amal grabbed it and held it open and out for her to put on. Standing with his hands in his pants pockets he gave her a warm smile as he watched her b.u.t.ton up the front of the long, black double breasted coat dress.

"It was my pleasure." She gave him a wan smile and turned to leave when she heard Justin smack his forehead and exclaim like he forgot something important.

"Ah Chang you won"t believe it, he was telling me when you were in the bathroom, but it appears this guy lost his wallet in the taxi cab earlier! What a blunder! Can you believe it?" Snickering Justin came up to her.

"No I really can"t. How did you pay for all that?" Turning from Justin she looked at the tall man still looking down at her with a gentle smile and gave him a confused frown.

"I had some cash on me, just in case." The man shrugged his shoulders as if it was of no consequence.

"Wait, had? What do you mean by had?"

"I used the majority of what I had to treat us to lunch."

Shocked at his nonchalance, Chang slapped her palm to her face. "Now, why would you do that, what are you going to do now? How much do you have on you now."

"It was worth it. I have around 40 Euros, I will figure it out, I can get the cards replaced in a matter of days."

"What does he mean he will figure it out, is he really going to be ok? 40 euros is nothing, he can maybe stay at a hostel for a night but after that.. I don"t like the idea of him being out in the elements, what if something happened to him? He is here because of me too.." Despite her words to herself and his words Chang found herself fretting over him.

"Hey I know how you feel, but could he stay with us?" Justin whispered to her in a quiet voice speaking as if it would be like bringing home only a harmless puppy instead of the wolf he was.

Seeing her wavering as she cast furtive looks at Jian, Justin drove the nail in with a swift hammer strike. "Plus what if something happens to him out here, I know you said he"s pretty strong or capable but if you"re sleeping on a bench you can"t dodge a knife."

"Fine for a few days only, but no more than that, just until he gets his stuff replaced." Looking up at Jian she took a deep breath and tried to steady your heart and repeated her words even though he had already heard her.

"Since you don"t have anywhere to go or much to help you, you can stay with me, in my other guest bedroom. Don"t think too much into this now, ok, it"s only for a few days until you can get your cards and ID replaced."

"Are you sure, you don"t have to offer this." His eyes probed hers, hesitant to accept the offer, unsure if she had really said what she had said.

"Just say yes, don"t make me over think it and rescind my offer Jian."

"Thank you for your kind offer Miss Dumont, I shall take you up on it." Taking her hand he kissed it with a devilish grin while looking her dead in the eye.

"I feel like I have already made a mistake."