To Color Your Life

It took Kelly a few seconds to realize who was in front of her. She turned away, wiping her face with her palms at the same time.

"What do you want?" The question was asked in not the most friendly tone. And obviously, it wasn't the most sober either.

See? It was this reaction that Barkens expected. From the very beginning, she reacted to him like a bull would react to a rag. Although he preferred to wear black. Unlike her.

"Emily asked to find you, she was worried about you."

"Thanks for the information. You can go. I'll go back to the hall now." The girl got up from the bench, straightened her dress and took a step.

"Where are you going looking like that?" the man caught her by the elbow. Kelly stumbled from the sudden movement. "Look, you can't even stand on your feet properly!"

"I can!" She objected and kicked off her shoes. "See? Now get out of my way." She pushed the man in the chest, but he remained motionless. Is he made of stone? It felt especially strange since by his looks he was as thin as a stick.

Gregor pulled the girl by the elbow and sat her back on the bench, then he sat down next to her. "Just look at yourself, the makeup is all smeared, the head is a mess. What were you doing at all? And what could you cry about?" He pulled a cotton handkerchief out of his jacket pocket and began to wipe Kelly's face. But this was of little use.

"You... you... did you... just spit on it?!" The girl's eyes widened with shock when the man moistened the cloth of the handkerchief with his own saliva and continued to wipe her cheeks from the flowing mascara.

"Yes. Any problems? It's not my fault that you have such long-lasting cosmetics."

Kelly grimaced but didn't resist. Either she no longer had the strength, or it no longer made sense.

"Hmm, Gregor Barkens has slobbered me all over. You can't even dream of this in a nightmare."

"Don't get deluded, Ohara. If I was really slobbering you, it would look very different," the man replied with an indifferent expression on his face.

With one hand, he was holding the girl by the chin, and with his eyes, he checked to see if all the makeup had been erased.

As soon as the handkerchief was moistened, the ink turned out to be less resistant. A few touches of skin and Kelly's face was clean. What the girl, of course, could not know about. Therefore, Barkens spat on the handkerchief several more times and continued his "noble" action.

"Yes? And how should it look like? Can you show me?" Her huge eyes, combined with red hair, stared at the man.

A witch. Well, she is definitely a witch.

The handkerchief fell gently down the cheek, outlined the outline of the lower lip, slightly pulling it down.

"This cocky little mouth has drunk too much wine today, so it says all sorts of nonsense. Don't do what you might regret later, Ohara."

Gregor ran his thumb along the outline of the girl's lips, fighting the urge to put it in her mouth. This red-haired devil has clearly drunk too much today. However, he too.

The man exhaled and moved aside, straightening his trousers, which had become tight.

Kelly followed his movement with her gaze, noting the obvious bulge between the man's legs, which Barkens was not in the least ashamed of. On the contrary, he leaned back on the bench and spread his legs wide, demonstrating the effect that the girl's provocation had on him.

Since when is he so outspoken? Last time in the cafe, he also did not hesitate to show her how "glad" he was of her return. Kelly hadn't noticed this before. Or was she just not trying to notice?

She was used to this kind of reaction from men. In the end, it was only natural given her appearance. But…

"What's wrong with me?" she asked.

Gregor looked at the profile of Ohara, whose gaze was directed somewhere into the void.

Here it goes. It's right about to start. The same notorious heart-to-heart talk.

Barkens scratched an eyebrow. He had no choice. "What do you mean?" He stepped on the dark side, what is more commonly called "the women's logic".

"Men fire up from one look at me. But in the end, after two weeks, at most a month, everything fades away. Either for me or for a man I'm dating. I always thought that the problem was with them, that I came across frivolous guys. But today I realized... maybe the problem is in me? Can't all men around be the same? So, it just means, it is me who has problems? As one of them, can you answer the question?"

So, now it is clear where all these tears and mascara smeared on the cheeks came from.

Gregor mentally counted to ten, preparing for the explosion. Because his answer will clearly not be what the girl would prefer to hear.

"You're right. It's all about you."

"Ha?!"

He had already seen the fire of indignation ignite in the eyes of the red she-devil, and her mouth gradually widened to deafen him with a wild cry of indignation.

"What did you want to hear from me? No dear Kelly, you're just an angel. These are all your boyfriends, the last scoundrels who are unworthy of such an innocent and noble girl. Something like that?"

"What?!"

"Oh, would you please not make a scene just now?! You wanted an honest answer - you got it! If you are not ready to hear the truth, then don't ask at all!"

It was difficult for Barkens to piss off his temper. No wonder he was called a cold-blooded boa. But this woman did an excellent job with this task. What an enviable skill!

Kelly jumped up. She was slightly led to the side, but she managed to stay on her feet.

"You could not express your thoughts so harshly! And it turns out that I am to blame for everything! You only say that because you hate me!"

She jabbed her index finger into the man's chest, towering over him like an angry lioness. Or a street cat whose tale he accidentally stepped on. Barkens has not yet decided on the extent of this under-threat.

. . .