38. Talk About Rissa

Charlos and Reva walked from Kuta and through to Legian. The bustling shops and nightclubs are along the road.

They heard the sound of the song with a fast tempo to the street. Colourful spotlights form a constantly changing image. Sometimes in the form of flowers, then turning into spheres, then dots.

Reva bought him rum raisin ice cream. While they were licking ice cream, they saw several pairs of lovers from foreign tourists kissing on the edge of the club. Charlos noticed how nonchalantly and freely they were in their overflowing emotional excitement.

Suddenly, Reva kissed his cheek. Reva's lips felt cold from the ice cream.

"Rev..." Charlos returned a kiss on the lips.

Somehow, Charlos couldn't stop. Loud music and lights knocked him unconscious. The ice cream fell from his hand.

Reva seemed to enjoy this moment. Suddenly, loud applause from inside the club broke their kiss. Reva smiled, turned coy, and then took Charlos's hand away from that place. They walked fast quite far. After fifteen minutes away, they stopped for a break. The ice cream melted in Reva's hands.

"Don't do that again, Charl."

"You start it first!"

Reva smiled. "Okay, but I think we shouldn't do it so often. Kissing in the public?"

"I thought you liked it." Charlos teased Reva by stroking the back of Reva's hand.

"I do like it," said Reva. "It's just that I can't imagine if suddenly, there are the reporters."

"There are no reporters."

"We never know."

Charlos smiled as he looked up. Tonight, the sky looks full of millions of stars. Just like the beauty of the stars, Charlos's days seemed more beautiful than usual.

After exploring Legian, they returned to Kuta beach. Then, they stopped walking and sat on the sand. It's a bit dark in there. So, Charlos took out his cell phone and turned on the light, and Reva did the same.

"Rev, you know what, what made me dare to confess my feelings to you?"

Reva shook the head while leaning on Charlos's shoulder. The waves rustle slowly, and the foam almost hit their feet.

"There's someone who is support me," Charlos said carefully.

"Satria?" Reva asked.

"No."

Charlos and Reva were silent for a moment. Then after feeling safe enough, Charlos continued his story.

"She saw us together that time at the coffee shop. I was furious when she said that she saw us there. I was thinking too much. So, I ...." Charlos shook his head. "Well the point is, I was forced to tell her about you. And she said, one hundred percent supported me to express my feelings to you."

Reva looked at Charlos in disbelief.

"I just want to be myself. I want us to be together," Charlos said. His eyes were severe as he said that.

Reva smiled sweetly. "Thanks, Charl. I'm so glad you're being honest about how you feel."

Charlos ruffled Reva's hair.

"Stop it!" Reva tilted the head, and Charlos chuckled.

"You're so cute when your hair is messy."

"Come on, don't make fun of me. By the way, who is she?"

"Who?"

"The woman who told you that, Charl."

"Oh. It doesn't matter." Charlos moved his hands like he was swatting flies. Reva looked suspicious and looked at Charlos a little accusingly.

"Is there anyone else besides me?"

Charlos gasped. Reva's question made his brain turn on a dangerous signal for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"Then why didn't you answer? Is she your business partner or could it be that she's the one who on the internet news? The woman's name is Carissa, right? Come on tell me."

It turned out that Reva read the news. Of course, Reva will not be able to miss any information about him.

"Yes. I hope you don't misunderstand. I have nothing to do with her," explained Charlos.

Reva's face turned serious. Charlos began to feel an aura of tension between them. "I don't believe in gossip as long as you want to explain it to me. I'm ready to listen."

Charlos took a deep breath. "Okay. Her name is Rissa, just like you said. She's just a business partner. Nothing more than that," Charlos added.

"Oh. Then about the wedding invitations you said. Why did you get together with that woman?" asked Reva curtly.

"She's the representative of Kharisma. I met her by accident." Charlos looked desperate.

"Well, Kharisma. Does she work for Esther?"

"Yes, of course."

"So, you also met Esther there?" Reva continued asking.

"No. Esther was not present at the party, so Rissa took her place."

"Then why are you guys dancing?" Reva folded the arms across the chest with such sharp eyes.

"Because no one wants to dance with me."

"Nonsense." Reva looked away.

"I think we've gone too far." Charlos shook his head. "Don't you trust me anymore?"

"I don't know, Charl."

"Believe me. If you were there, I would definitely dance with you." Charlos pulled Reva's face, so they were facing each other. "Please, Rev. It's not looked like you think."

Reva seemed to be contemplating. "Okay. It's just that I don't want to imagine the faces of people when they see us dancing."

"Well, maybe we shouldn't have to talk about that again at all."

Rev huffed in annoyance. "Okay. Now, if that woman named Rissa had seen me, what would her reaction be about me? How could she immediately support you to confess your feelings to me?"

"I don't know. The point is she supports us. That's all." Charlos shrugged his shoulders.

"Very interesting. I'm so curious to meet that woman. Is she beautiful?"

"Rev, you are jealous, right. You really know that she's not my type. When we go back to Bandung later, I might introduce you to her. That's if you want to come with me."

"Why not? Tomorrow I will come back with you to Bandung," said Reva firmly.

Charlos was speechless. Reva didn't speak again after that. So, Reva turned off the light on the cellphone then got up first, and then walked away from Charlos.

The holiday is over. Charlos and Reva actually returned to Bandung the next day. Charlos's driver picked them up at the airport. Charlos felt a little sorry for telling Reva about Rissa.

Charlos felt very sad because his little heart said that his relationship with Reva might not last long.