He inched closer towards her as if in slow motion. She just watched him as he came closer towards her until he was so close she could hear him breathing. Her eyes widened as he stood there before her their faces almost touching. He stood so close that she thought he was going to kiss her and she stumbled as she tried to take a step away from him.
“Uhm, wh- bakit uh...” she stuttered as she dropped her umbrella onto the floor, the rain now falling directly onto her.
She couldn’t tell because of the rain but he had tears running down his cheek. His heart ached for her and even if he just had one of the worst years of his life because of her he was happy to see her again. He said no words. He could hardly believe his eyes and a part of him thought that this had to be a dream, he couldn’t have possibly been so lucky as to have by chance bumped into her. Thus he stood there memorizing every inch of her face just in case this was a dream; he wanted to remember how absolutely perfect she looked.
As if his mere presence wasn’t enough to make her feel uneasy he had to stare at her with those gorgeous eyes of his. He stared at her so intently she felt like he was undressing her in his mind which really set her aback. This moment felt so long and the silence was becoming deafening. She wanted to speak up, to say something, anything, but no words would come out. They both just stood there, soaking wet, in the rain.
Then he moved a little closer as if wanting to hug her which startled her and caused her to almost fall. But before she could hit the ground he grabbed her by her waist and held her close to him. Her arms were held tightly against her chest and they served as a barrier between their bodies. She quickly pushed him slightly and pulled away from him. As she stepped back she picked up her umbrella and held it over her head again.
“Maybe we should, uhm, seek shelter from the rain. You’re soaking wet na. We could, uhm, grab a coffee inside.” She said as she pointed back at the coffeehouse not too far away from them. But he didn’t respond. “Or, I guess, since we’re both soaking wet we could head back to my apartment, I uh live just a few blocks away.”
He smiled at her and let out his hand signalling for her to lead the way.
Neither of them said a word the whole walk to her apartment. There really was no time to say anything because he was having so much trouble trying to keep up with her. She power walked so fast it was as if there was some criminal chasing after the both of them. It wasn’t intentional but she felt like she couldn’t control her feet. Her mind was racing and her feet were moving just as fast. She kept her eyes straight ahead and she didn’t dare look back at him not once. There was a part of her that hoped that he couldn’t keep up with her and that he would choose to quit following her. She wasn’t prepared for this. She hadn’t the slightest clue as to what was going to go down tonight and that frightened her.
****
Once inside she handed him a towel and excused herself as she headed towards her bedroom to change clothes. He stayed standing in the kitchen not wanting to get her furniture wet and just looked around at the small but comfortable one bedroom apartment she called home. Nothing in this apartment spoke of her life back in the Philippines. Looking at this apartment you’d never know that here lived a multiplatinum recording artist, a multimillion endorser, and a box office queen. But when he observed her apartment he saw the person he had fallen in love with, the heart behind the celebrity. He loved how this small space reflected her simplicity and warm heart, the qualities he loved and adored in her.
In her room she paced the floor back and forth talking to herself.
“Sarah, relax you’ve got nothing to worry about. I mean what could go wrong?” she stopped and paused for a moment then sat down onto her bed and buried her face in her hands “What could go right? This shouldn’t be happening; he wasn’t supposed to find me not now at least.” She looks back up and stares at her reflection in the mirror as she takes a deep breath in and out. “Sarah, just stay calm it’s just another bump in the road the past year has been full of them but you’ve remained headstrong and look at where you are now. Calm, cool, and collected you’ll be just fine. You just have to get through tonight, worry about tomorrow when we get there.” She gives herself an encouraging smile and walks towards her closet to get a change of clothes.
He was standing still in the kitchen looking at a textbook that was lying on the counter when she walked out of her room. She looked at him briefly before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She then slowly made her way down the hallway towards the kitchen. She stood on the other side of the counter and handed him a pink robe.
“Sorry that’s all I have that will probably fit you. I have oversized shirts that I wear to sleep but I have no pants or shorts that will fit you. I’d dry your clothes for you in the dryer if I had one but there’s only one dryer on each floor and I heard people in the laundry room when we passed by it. So, I guess I’ll have to hang them up in the bathroom and let them dry there. I know this won’t be very comfortable but it’s really all I have so I’m hoping it will do. I mean hey it’s better than wet clothes right?”
He watched her as she spoke marvelling at the person who was standing before him she exuded a confidence that he had never seen in her before and this new found confidence only made her more sexy and beautiful in his eyes.
“Americanong americano ka na kung magsalita...” he says with a smile as he takes the robe from her.
“Sorry nasanay lang...” she replies with a faint smile.
“Pero hindi lang sa salita pati sa pananamit, sa pamumuhay...”
She looks around her apartment and then down at her clothes (She was donning an L.A. Lakers t-shirt and a pair of shorts) and then softly replies “It was time for a change...”
There was a brief moment of silence. He watched her as she fidgeted and avoided to make eye contact with him. He bit down on his lip and smiled a little seeing that even with her new found confidence her little quirks still remained.
“Ahm nagugutom ka ba? May natira pa akong pasta from lunch sa fridge kung gusto mo? Or pwede kitang ipagluto nang...” she says as she turns her back at him and opens the fridge.
“Marunong ka na palang magluto?” he interrupts.
She turns around and smiles at him “Kailangan eh wala namang magluluto para sa kin dito. Kung kakain ako sa labas araw araw mababaon ako sa utang.”
She had matured in so many ways and he couldn’t help but think that she wasn’t just girlfriend material anymore she was wife material.
He laughed as he said “Sige nga patikim nang pasta mo.”
She heats up the pasta for him and places the plate in front of him. As she turns her back to grab the juice from the fridge she says “Akin na yung damit mo isuot mo na muna yung robe ko para masampay ko na sa washroom.”
He started to unbutton his shirt and to her surprise when she turned around he was shirtless.
“Ah sorry di ko naman alam na dito ka na mismo maghuhubad...” she says as she turns around again, blushing, a pitcher of juice and a glass still in her hands.
He chuckles and says “Okay lang pwede ka nang humarap sa kin...”
She turns around and sees him in her robe that was just a tad too small. She bites her lip trying her best to contain her laughter. He sees the smirk on her face and then looks down at the robe he is wearing and then starts to laugh. She finally lets out a big smile and says “Akin na yang damit mo para matuyo na agad yan at makapagpalit ka na nang damit.”
He hands her his clothes and she walks off into the bathroom to hang his clothes. She walks back into the room and starts to gather some of her things as he ate.
“Pasensya ka na sa kalat hindi pa kasi ako nakakapaglinis sunod sunod kasi yung mga assignment ko sa skwela, tapos nagtratrabaho pa ako...”
“Yung sa coffeehouse?”
She turns around and faces him leaning onto the kitchen table. “Hindi libangan ko lang yung pagkanta sa coffeehouse...”
He smiles at her and says “Hanggang dito pala sobrang busy nang sched mo...”
In her head she’s thinking “Kailangan para di kita maisip...” but she doesn’t dare say it. Instead she replies “Hindi kasi ako mapakali pag walang ginagawa, hindi sanay yung katawan ko...”
He nods his head and continues to eat his food. Once she had collected all of her things she looks over at him and says “Pagkatapos mong kumain ilagay mo na lang yung mga pinagkainan mo sa lababo bukas ko na huhugasan yan. Kailangan ko na kasing magpahinga kailangan ko pang magising nang maaga bukas para simulan yung paper ko na kailangan kong isubmit sa Tuesday. Maglalabas na lang ako nang kumot para makatulog ka sa sofa...”
“Sarah okay lang kung matutulog ka na aalis na lang ako malapit lang naman yung hotel ko dito eh.”
“Don’t be silly. Gabing gabi na tsaka ang lakas pa nang ulan. I insist dito ka na magpalipas ng gabi.”
****
Sarah lied in bed staring at the ceiling. She couldn’t sleep. Part of her wanted to go out there and talk to him to find out what he was doing in the city and what this all meant to him but another part of her was telling her to go to sleep because she did what she had to do, she got through the night. Unfortunately for her the part of her that needed answers was stronger than the part of her that was satisfied with getting through the night. She quietly walked out of her room and into the dark hallway that led to the living room where he was sleeping. It was pitch dark in the entire apartment the only light coming from the moon shining through the window in the kitchen. She sat down on the ground behind the wall facing the kitchen, her back towards the living room, out of his view, and whispered “Gising ka pa ba?”
She heard a little bit of a shuffling. “Ba’t gising ka pa?” he asked as he sat up and faced the kitchen.
“Ever since I saw you standing in the rain by the coffeehouse I’ve been avoiding the topic of us but no matter what I do I can’t get it out of my head. Bakit ka ba nandito?” she asks allowing herself to be weak, something she worked so hard not to be especially with him.
TBC
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