23 Something Unexpected

The man stared at Justyna curiously, insistently, but not intrusively, as if he wanted to confirm whether he saw the person he was thinking about or someone else completely. And if two people looking at each other have the impression that you've seen each other somewhere, then it probably was.

"Allan...?" Justyna Fieldorf asked herself softly. The man, however, twitched as if he had read the word from her lips. He smiled radiantly and stood up.

It was Allan! Yes, it was definitely him, Justyna rejoiced in her thoughts.

Allan was a young but world-renowned playwright whom she met two years ago through her father, a theater critic. Kacper Fieldorf had the best opinion about the young American playwright, whose Neon Loneliness was, in his opinion, a true masterpiece of modern theater.

Allen had dinner at the Fieldorfs' house twice and was said to have had a good time. It was certainly not easy for him to find himself in a foreign country, away from his family and friends, on the threshold of his great career. That is why Kacper Fieldorf hosted him as if he had a prodigal son at home, who returned years later.

Justyna also liked this young American, although absorbed in the fact that Damian's work had just been adapted for anime, her thoughts were with her boyfriend, not a foreign guest.

Nevertheless, they both knew each other and had quite good relations, so when the young playwright approached their table shyly, Justyna greeted him with a sincere and radiant smile.

"Justyna?" He asked. "Justyna Fieldorf?"

"Allan, is that really you?" What a surprise! What are you doing in Italy? Father said you came back to the States."

“Yes, yes, I was in the States for a year, but now my new show is playing at the National Theater CheBanca! on Via Giordano Rota. I came for promotion and premiere and stayed a few days."

"Your new show?" Justyna was honestly surprised. "Father didn't tell me anything."

Or maybe he mentioned something, only she wasn't interested in it.

"Step Into Yourself." If you have time tomorrow, I invite you and your friends...

Allen, invited, joined their table. The conversation continued and no one noticed when the sun had completely gone down and the last flight to Warsaw had departed long ago...

***

As if nothing had happened, Rafał Brylski was standing next to the beater and his eyes expressed a kind of almost childlike helplessness. Only he was standing, because the three teenagers in strange positions either sat or lay on the ground.

Wait a minute, what exactly happened here? Damian Radosz was looking at the whole scene and he didn't really understand anything. According to his predictions, Rafał should lie on the ground, and these three boys should stand over him and - God forbid - kick him and punch him.

How did it happen that it was completely the opposite?

“Are you okay?” Brylski asked, looking at the boys, clearly concerned and still very helpless. “Anyone need to see a doctor? Because I think an ambulance is an exaggeration, but if you...”

“Man, who the hell are you? A professional soldier of special services? Do you have a black belt in some martial art?” One of the teenagers asked in a respectful voice, but he was reluctant to get up.

"All respect," added the second. “I didn't even notice when I was on the ground.”

“But are you really okay?” Rafał wanted to make sure. “I'll help you up.”

Brylski in turn gave the hand to each of them, picking them up from the ground and at the same time explained:

“I only have a yellow belt, because then I stopped doing taekwondo in school, so I gave up trying to get a higher level. And I'm not a soldier. I am an actor. You may have heard that a series is being shot in your city. Well, I play there.”

“Seriously?” Asked the boys who, despite cheap sweatpants and scarves, did not look so dangerous anymore. Now it was just ordinary teenagers who happened to meet someone famous.

“Wait a minute” one of you suddenly remembered something. “Aren't you Lieutenant Prix-sama?”

Rafał smiled embarrassed. He made a slight gesture with his shoulders, as if he suddenly became strangely intimidated.

“Bro, I'm your fan!” The same boy exclaimed and suddenly began to apologize. Others also apologized.

Rafał Brylski, completely red (not only from burns but also from shy) smiled helplessly trying to stop them. He seemed to be embarrassed by their expressions of admiration and respect.

Damian suddenly realized that he himself was smiling too. The sight of Rafał and those three teenagers who turned from a situation where guys pound each other with fists into a fan-idol relationship was very interesting. Moreover, the sight of the intimidated Brylski was extremely sweet and heart-warming. And yet Radosz knew that this sweet, charming man had knocked three large attackers to the ground.

At this point, Damian's and Rafał's eyes met. The pupils of Brylski's green eyes widened in surprise and the actor blushed even more. Radosz felt horses suddenly galloping in his heart.

Wow Brylski was just amazing!

Rafał finally freed himself from his three fans and approached Damian. Strangely intimidated, a bit clumsy, absolutely not giving the impression of someone who a moment ago was able to take down three attackers in no time.

"Forgive me for not waiting in the place indicated," he said apologetically. “Something came out.”

The uniqueness of Rafał struck Damian with redoubled force, although Radosz was not able to define exactly what it consisted of. He only knew that the sight of Brylski's face, the sound of his voice and, above all, the closeness, evoked a strange, previously unknown pleasure in him, as if suddenly his body was starting to release a double or triple dose of the happiness hormones.

Damian also discovered that his throat was dry. He swallowed hard and asked.

“Yeah, I can see, but ... Are you okay? Neither of them hit you?”

“No, no, everything is fine” Rafał quickly assured. “We had a taekwondo trainer at school and I learned dodging. It's not easy to hit me.”

“That's good.”

For some reason Damian couldn't help but grin on his face. The helpless and naive lamb he thought Brylski was for, however, had small horns and quite hard hooves, and he was not afraid to use them, which was even more interesting.

“So let's go for a walk, or are you fed up with impressions for one day?” Damian asked with all his heart, hoping to hear the declaration of the walk.

“Now I'm even more excited and I will definitely not fall asleep” Rafał announced and in Radosz's heart the horses jumped up happily. “So the walk...”

The horses in Damian's heart began to prowl and neigh happily, which was a completely new experience for him. He did not feel such joyful excitement even when he was about to meet his fiancée, whom he loved.

That's because the guy needs the company of a guy, Radosz explained to himself. With a woman, a guy always has to be careful about what he says and how he behaves, and with another guy, he doesn't. Women are just different. No, not worse, not at all, just different. They are beautiful, sexy, absolutely lovable, but with them a guy cannot take it completely at ease. When dealing with guys, a guy can just be more of himself.

And I think everyone needs to be sometimes one hundred percent themselves. That's why and that's what buddies are for. Rafał gave the impression that he was excellent buddy material for Damian, even a friend, because their personalities seemed to really attract each other.