“Okay,” Kate says, hoping Layne is all right. Secretly though, she wonders whether there really is an emergency, or if Layne was just giving her some space.
We will never really know.
“Kate? Is there something I should know?” Kate turns to Jane who just asked the question.
“I don’t know what you mean, Jane,” Kate feigns innocence.
“Layne. You and Layne hit it off. It’s like you’ve known each other for a long, long time.
Kate smiles. “He seems like a nice guy.”
“He is. The real deal. Initially people thought he was just a shallow player, but he is actually the sole breadwinner to a mom who’s sickly and three school-aged younger sisters. He never really goes out unless it is company mandated. He drives the same second-hand Honda CRV for as long as anyone can remember. He frequently travels as part of his job, and they say that’s when he can enjoy himself since he can charge his actual expenses. People initially thought he was gay, but there’ve been girls who swore he wasn’t. So he’s not a monk either. Never really dates anyone for a long time—but he does get some action. Women are drawn to him. Just never committed.”
Kate sighs.
He’s the real deal.
“What about Kev?” Kate asks to change the subject.
“Oh, he’s a lot like Rob. The old Rob, I mean.”
Rob.
Suddenly Kate feels the pull back to earth.
Rob.
The universe has given her a chance for closure with Layne, so she can live happily ever after with Rob.
And we will never know.
“Kate?”
Kate looks at Jane who called her name.
“You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” Jane looks at her concerned.
Am I that transparent?
“Yeah, little sis, I know that,” Kate says with a smile.
“I just wanted to put it out there. If you want to talk, I’m here.”
Kate smiles at her little sister.
Layne is on a bus to Manila. He knows he couldn’t stay and let Kate slip through his fingers yet again, so he leaves out of respect for her decision to marry someone else. And to save himself from further pain.
He remembers watching Kate taking pictures and feeling a palpable regret at no longer being able to have a chance to tell her how he really feels. He loves her. He loved her then starting in Mumbai, and now he has known the real Kate in her normal environment, he loves her more.
But she is engaged. And he has a feeling it is because of his own stupidity.
5
The Decision
The group does more sight-seeing in Laoag before driving through Paoay. That night, they reach Vigan and check in to a hotel.
As they walk into the lobby, Kate feels a commotion among her group and then she realizes what the fuss is all about.
Rob is lounging on the couch at the lobby, looking unimaginably gorgeous with his tan and his lime green button-down shirt and khaki shorts and loafers.
“Robbie!” Jane squeals and runs into Rob’s embrace.
“Janey!” Rob exclaims.
Kate smiles. Rob becomes surrounded by the tour group as Jane introduces him to everyone. Everyone seems to be in awe of him—he had that effect on people, even on straight men. As the introductions are happening, Rob continues to stare at Kate with a lazy smile. Kate stands back and let Rob have the limelight.
Jane realizes Rob’s focus was on something other than the people she was introducing him to and she looks at her sister staring at her fiancé intently.
“Excuse me,” Rob says, and in a few strides, he closes the distance between him and Kate. He takes her into his arms and gives her a long, hungry kiss.
Kate feels weak in Rob’s arms and she just drowns in his kiss.
After what seems like forever, Rob pulls away and says, “Hey, beautiful, miss me?”
“Not really,” Kate answers breathlessly.
Rob laughs. Then his eyes start to go back to the group.
“He’s no longer here,” Kate whispers.
“Damn, I wanted to meet the guy who made you cry,” Rob whispers. “I’m pretty sure he was also in Mumbai and probably China too, right?”
Kate closes her eyes.
Rob is definitely not stupid.
Kate realizes the universe has thrown her another curveball. Layne has left, and Rob is here. How much more obvious can the universe be?
In Rob’s room—of course, he would have one of the best rooms in the hotel, and of course, there was no question where she is sleeping tonight—Kate unpacks. Rob watches her.
“So how was Miss Pinky?” Kate asks lightly, trying not to sound jealous.
“She’s based in New York now. Oh, and she has a kid already,” Rob answers.
“Really?”
“Yeah, although she was in Boracay with a group of her girlfriends, so I didn’t see her with the kid, but yeah, she has a kid,” Rob says. “How’s Number Six?”
“Rob...” Kate had been waiting for that question.
“You asked, I answered. I asked... you know how this goes,” Rob says softly.
“He’s fine. He is an officemate of the guy Jane has her eyes on.”
“You mean Jane likes that Kevin?”
“Yes, Jane calls him her Rob.”
“What?” Rob laughs. Then he turns serious. “So how did it go?”
“It was awkward at first, and Rob, no one knows, okay? Not even Jane, and I’d like to keep it that way. There are too many common acquaintances.”
Rob nods and waits.
“We just talked. He saw the ring, so he knows I’m getting married.”
“And?”
“And that’s that. We already had our chance before and it didn’t pan out.”
“Do you regret it?”
Kate sits next to Rob on the bed. She needed to talk, and Rob was her best friend.
“I will be honest. Yes, there is regret because, I guess, I will never really know because we never had an opportunity to take it further.”
“Do you want that opportunity?”
Kate looks at Rob and says, “What? No! No, Rob, that is already a closed book.”
“Are you sure?” Rob cocks an eyebrow.
“Rob!” Kate hits Rob on the chest.
“Kate, I might have waited too long to tell you I loved you. If I had been more forthcoming earlier, you wouldn’t have had to go travelling on your own, maybe we would have travelled together. You wouldn’t have needed to have a Number Six. But I screwed up, and you had your Number Six, and now I have a feeling you’re still not totally convinced you’re over Number Six.”
Kate looks at Rob strangely.
“If we get married, Kate, I want it to be a hundred percent commitment from both sides. I am selfish that way. If there is any chance you have doubts, I want to you to have the opportunity to dispel them... or prove them. Whatever.”
“What are you saying?”
“I am saying that from now until the day we get married, should you feel the need to know, then you have my permission,” Rob says.
“No.”
“No?”
“Don’t do this to me.” Kate wails.
“Don’t do what? Give you a chance to weigh your feelings and decide on what you really want to do?”
“But I’ve made my decision, Rob!”
“That’s the thing, Kate. I don’t want to be a decision. I want to be the only choice in the end, just like before, when you knew in your gut I was the man in your life, damn all consequences. I want that again.”
Kate stares at Rob. She can’t read his eyes.
“No,” Kate says again.
“You’re scared, aren’t you?” Rob smiles gently.
“C’mon, Rob, just stop. I love you and we’re getting married.”
“We are... that’s not going to change, unless you tell me otherwise,” Rob says seriously.
“I won’t.”
&
nbsp; “I’m just saying, any time before then, and you need to do something to make this ‘decision’ the only ‘choice,’ then you have my permission.”
Kate looks at Rob and tries to read his face. Then something clicks in her head.
“Well, I won’t give you the same permission, Rob, if this is what this conversation is about,” Kate says seriously.
“What? I’m not—“
“I refuse to discuss this further. You may have given me your permission, but I’m not giving you my permission to fuck around before our wedding day.”
“Whoa—,” Rob says.
“You’re mine, all mine, and I am not waiting until we say ‘I do’ before I claim what is rightfully mine!”
Kate pushes Rob on the bed and she straddles him, the sundress she is wearing hikes up to her upper thighs. Kate rips Rob’s shirt apart, the buttons popping out. She runs her fingers on his tanned chest. Then she bends down and whispers in his ear.
“Once you told me you would wait for the time I would fuck your brains out. Well, surprise, surprise, tonight is your lucky night,” Kate taunts.
Kate unbuttons Rob’s shorts, and she tugs at it till it reaches Rob’s knees. She slides her fingers into the elastic of his boxers and slides it down as well.
Rob is ready for her. She takes him in her hand and she hears Rob gasp. She maintains eye contact as she moves her hand expertly up and down repeatedly. She watches Rob’s eyes darken with desire.
When Rob finally closes his eyes, she bends down and takes him in her mouth. Rob gasps in surprise, but then he starts moaning. For the first time in all the time they’d ever made love, Rob is totally in Kate’s control. He is helpless. Kate works on him with her mouth, her tongue, her lips, and even her teeth, and she feels Rob’s body respond; she hears him groan and moan louder. She looks up and sees his beautiful face given up to pure ecstasy.
She is overwhelmed by desire as well, so she rips off her underwear and straddles Rob anew, her hand still holding on to his length. Rob opens his eyes and Kate stares at him darkly. She positions herself over him and slowly eases him into her. Rob tries to grab at her but Kate holds both his hands in her own. She starts slow and then her movements become faster, more frenzied. She is matching Rob’s moans with her own.
When she feels Rob about to reach his climax, she slows down her movements and Rob opens his eyes.
“Please, Kate, please!” he whispers hoarsely, totally helpless.
Kate smiles. She takes her time and prolongs Rob’s agony. Then she moves faster and faster and faster and as she holds Robs hands in hers, they reach their climax together. Kate screams and Rob grunts. Kate collapses on top of Rob and her sundress is drenched with her sweat. They both gasp for air.
After a while, Rob holds Kate’s face in his hands and looks into her eyes.
“If this is how you are whenever you see Number Six, then I would allow you to see him often, as long as you shower all your pent-up sexual frustrations on me,” Rob says with his lopsided smile.
“Shut up, Rob! If I knew any better, you were thinking of Miss Pinky as well when you closed your eyes,” Kate says with her own sarcastic smile. She didn’t even try to contradict what Rob said about her sexual frustrations after seeing Layne.
Rob’s eyes cloud over and Kate continues to stare at him.
“Are you sure nothing happened in Boracay?” Kate asks.
“I - Why do you have to ask that?”
“I know you, Rob. I don’t think you came here because you were worried about Number Six. You have this tendency of running away.”
“Well, let’s just say I would rather run away from temptation than stay around and succumb.”
“If you hadn’t already.”
Kate and Rob stare at each other.
“And you?” Rob asks.
“Nothing happened,” Kate answers.
“You sure? You’ve never fucked like this before. He affected you.”
“Maybe,” Kate admits. “But now he’s gone. And here you are.”
“Here I am.”
Kate feels Rob’s hand on her lower back, then she feels Rob move quickly and suddenly she is pinned under him.
“My turn. And this sundress has got to go,” he says with a half-smile.
Rob rips the sundress off Kate.
The tour then goes to Baguio, where the group stays two nights. Rob and Kate enjoy the sights and the food together. They pick strawberries and vegetables at the strawberry farm, tour Camp John Hay (which used to be an American military camp), the Philippine Military Academy campus (where the country’s military men are trained), Burnham Park (the main park of the city) and other Baguio must-sees together. On their first night there, the strawberries are used for another purpose altogether, with cream, and wine. On the second night, Kate is sated and happy. The few days with Rob have cleared her mind and heart.
She hardly thought of Layne at all.
Yeah right, she thinks, knowing fully well thoughts of Layne invade her head when she least expects them.
No matter, she has made up her mind. She will return to Manila prepared to get married to Rob in a few months.
6
The Dedication
Kate is in a book launch and signing event. It is held in a small venue, packed with romance readers and authors, mingling and engaging in different activities. Kate’s books enjoy brisk sales—she has three out now—and she is busy signing books.
“Hi!”
Kate looks up and sees a pretty, young girl beaming at her. There is something familiar about her face and she is holding her three books for signing.
“Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m actually talking to you in person! I just love your books!”
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Sophie,” the girl answers.
Kate writes short dedications to Sophia on each book.
“The guy on your cover for Behind the Wall looks a lot like my Kuya. I tease him a lot that although he has no time for love, at least his likeness made the cover of a romance book,” Sophia gushes.
“Your Kuya?” Kate’s antennae shoot up. Then it clicks. The resemblance, the name.
Then there is a commotion at the entrance of the venue, and Kate hears the sound of a multitude of ovaries exploding and she knows Rob has entered the room.
Rob makes a beeline for her and gives her a deep romantic kiss, much to the chagrin of the owners of the shattered ovaries.
“Hey there, beautiful,” he whispers, and Kate feels her own ovaries explode.
Damn this guy.
Since the Holy Week, Rob had been a fixture in all of her writing events. He has even been asked to pose for some covers and he happily obliged.
Kate’s latest book, Friends No More, had half of Rob’s face, and parts of his neck and shoulder and chest on display.
Rob is being asked to sign the books as well. Kate sees Sophia also in line for a photo opportunity with Rob. Once it is her turn, Sophia asks Kate to join in the picture. Rob and Kate squeeze Sophia between them and the picture is taken with their natural smiles and laughter.
Kate knows somehow, Layne will see the photo. She sighs. Although it is only a small tickle in her brain these days, the thought still bubbles up.
We will never know.
A few hours later, at the Sto. Domingo home
“Kuya, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong.”
Layne is quiet, and he is drinking beer. He never used to drink at home outside of celebrations. Gidgette calls Sophia and Portia into the kitchen.
“Something’s up with Kuya,” Gidgette shares with her sisters.
The three girls peer into the living room. They have never seen Layne so... sad.
“What happened before he started drinking?” Portia asks.
Gidgette shrugs her shoulders. “He was just working on his laptop just like always.”
“Did he look like that while he was working?” Portia probes.
“Nope. But he had been a bit sad ever since Mom’s emergency last Holy Week,” Gidgette says.
“Mom has had episodes before and this time was not so serious. There’s something else. What was he doing before Mom’s episode?” Portia asks.
“He was on that road trip with Kevin,” Gidgette answers.
Portia nods.
“But what caused him to start drinking?”
Sophia speaks. “I arrived from this book event and I showed him my signed books. Remember the book I had that had a cover of someone who looked like Kuya?’
“Yeah, that was hilarious,” Gidgette says laughing.
“Well, he browsed through the dedication on that book and he became serious. Then I showed him my pics from the event and he just... I don’t know.”
“Show me the book,” Portia demands.
Sophia hands her the book. Portia looks closely at the cover.
“You know, Kuya has this same shirt and he did go to Great Wall, remember? See how the guy’s ears look a bit uneven? Same as Kuya’s.”
“What are you saying?” Sophia asks.
“This is Kuya.”
“No!” Gidgette gasps.
“Who took the picture?”
Sophia browses through the credits.
“The author took the pic.”
Portia looks back at the book.
Kate Borromeo. She flips to the dedication page.
Sophie,
When you find the one for you, take a leap of faith. Don’t let fear prevent you from finding your happy ending.
Kate
“Show me the pictures of the event,” Portia asks Sophia.
Sophia lends Portia her phone. Portia flips through pic after pic after pic, until she gets to the pic of Sophia with the author and her fiancé.
“Oh my, what a gorgeous guy!” Portia exclaims.
“I know, right?” Sophia says. “He looks even better in person!”
“Let me see!” Gidgette asks.
Rob is the first they see, then they focus on Kate.
Portia gets her cellphone and makes a call. She walks into the kitchen as she talks to the person she calls. After a few minutes she comes back.
Kate, Finally Page 12
