by Tara Frejas
“Nothing much, really. Just...maybe you can drop by at the office from time to time, bring flowers, pick me up for dinner or something?” Dinner was enclosed in air quotes, punctuated with a shrug. “But really you can drop me off anywhere after that, and we’re good. I told Luigi you were so much better than he was, and frankly, I just want to annoy the shit out of him. It’s so satisfying.”
Pio made a face. “Hey, I’m all for annoying your ex, but wait. Pick you up for dinner”—he did the air quotes too—“but drop you off somewhere? What the hell is that? If I pick you up for dinner, we are going out to dinner.”
“It’s an option, okay? Who knows if you have somewhere else to go, something else to do...”
“Audrey, look.” He came to a halt beside a collapsible picnic table, lowered his voice so that other people couldn’t hear. “You asked me for this favor, and when I said yes, I meant ‘yes to everything.’ The whole package. You want me to send you flowers? I’ll send you flowers. You want me to pick you up for dinner? I’ll be there. We can hold hands, hug, kiss a little. Kiss a lot. You can introduce me to your friends, bring me to your family reunion or whatever—I don’t care. Just don’t tell me to half-ass this, because that’s not what I agreed to.”
Audrey’s throat dried up. She didn’t expect him to be this intense. “Wow, you’re really committed to this, aren’t you?”
“Hey, this’ll reflect on me too, you know.”
Of course it will. Once her family and friends find out she’s dating a celebrity, nothing can stop them from talking, gossiping, asking questions. What was he like? Was he really the charming gentleman his movies and TV shows paint him as, or was he a player? There were all sorts of things that could come out of this—he’s still a celebrity after all, subject to public scrutiny no matter what he does.
Like right now, when the female cashiers giggled to themselves as Pio approached the nearest counter and parked their cart there.
Which led her to thinking: What was in this for him? Why was he so willing to do this?
“Fine,” she said, helping him unload the cart. “And what should I give you in return?”
Pio beamed at her. “Your complete and undivided attention.”
NINE
“W hy’d you quit theatre?”
Audrey seemed to appraise him when, instead of replying, she took a leisurely sip of margarita and peered at him over the rim of her glass. Aside from setting the ground rules for their little arrangement, dinner conversation had so far been limited to work anecdotes, the unrelenting rainy weather, and Metro Manila traffic. Not to say Audrey didn’t have anything substantial to say about any of those mundane topics, but Pio wanted to scratch beneath the surface.
If he were to play Audrey’s boyfriend for three months—and play it well too—he should at least make an effort to get to know her.
“Well, you know how it’s not the most lucrative industry,” Audrey replied. She set her glass on the table, away from the small notebook that held their ground rules. They have now agreed on seven. “I graduated. I had to earn money for my family, so I went into broadcasting...which was also the wrong move, by the way.”
“Why?”
“Let’s just say they work you to death for a few cents, and if you don’t have someone to back you up, it’ll be close to impossible to get a promotion.”
He watched her pick up a huge nacho chip from their plate, dip it into salsa, and bring it to her mouth. She bit on the salsa-covered end and chewed with relish, the bit of red that lingered on her bottom lip swiped cleanly by her tongue. Pio found himself licking his lips too.
“Is that why you left and worked for SFM?”
“Yes. Same Feather Media was Lui’s brainchild, his dream come true. He was always someone who called the shots and it made sense that he wanted to run his own company instead of starting rank and file. Luigi and Ayo and Crissy were the pioneers, the movers. I’m just a saling pusa.”
“That can’t be true.” Pio shook his head. “I’ve seen you work, and you’re amazing. The industry needs more producers like you.”
Her eyes lit up as a lazy smile appeared on her lips. It was as if his words sparked and ignited a dying ember in her soul.
“That’s sweet, Pio. Thank you,” she said and picked up her pen to scribble something in her notebook again.
“Do you miss it, though? The theatre, I mean.”
The look on Audrey’s face turned wistful. “All the time. I used to see plays and musicals with Lui at least once a month,” she replied, her smile suddenly fading. “And then I learned he really wasn’t into it—that he was only tolerating my hankering for a good stage production every once in a while. At first, I thought it was sweet of him to endure the things I liked, but I realized that that wasn’t enough. I stopped asking him to come with me...and then I stopped going completely.”
Lightbulb moment.
“Then how about a musical date tomorrow night?”
“Really? Oh, I’d love to go! What are we watching?”
“It’s a surprise. But you’ll enjoy it, I promise.”
Some days, Pio knew to pin the blame on ambient lighting when he saw a sparkle in a woman’s eyes. Some days, he’d say they could only be “a little intoxicated.” The last time he had seen someone look at him like this, he was so sure he had something special in the palm of his hands.
That was a bust.
“I’m game. Let’s do it.”
“It’s settled then.” He pulled his phone out and quickly keyed in a reminder—Friday, 8PM. Musical date with Audrey—thrilled at the prospect of seeing her again in less than 24 hours. “I’ll pick you up from SFM at six-ish?”
Audrey’s eyes were fixed on him, but she didn’t say anything. Not yet. And while Pio was used to getting stared at a lot, her gaze intimidated him somehow.
He leaned back on his chair, deciding to joke about it. “Like what you see?”
“What is it Pio?” she finally spoke. “Why are you doing this for me?”
“Because you asked?”
She clicked her tongue. “So if anyone asked you to be their contract boyfriend, you’d say yes? Anyone?”
“Of course not.”
“So why are you really doing this? What’s the catch?”
A number of excuses ran through Pio’s head as he took his time emptying his beer bottle. Saying he liked playing Good Samaritan every now and then wouldn’t sound right, or true. Indeed, he had offered to help her, but she was right to assume he wasn’t going to do this for just anyone.
A little honesty wouldn’t hurt, right?
“There’s no catch. I like you, and I want to do this for you.”
She didn’t look convinced.
“I like you. I think you’re beautiful and smart and sexy.”
“Also older than you.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Pio shrugged. “You’re probably not looking to jump into a serious relationship soon, but you threw me an opportunity, and I took it. Date you for three months, no strings attached? I’d have been stupid to refuse.”
She blinked.
“You keep on surprising me, Pio Alvez,” Audrey said and clinked her margarita glass with his beer bottle. “Friday gala then.”
Rule #3: Both parties are allowed to initiate physical contact (i.e., touching, holding hands, hugging, kissing) in public as long as they are done with prior consent.
Audrey looked at him as if he had said something weird.
“What?” Pio looked at the hand he offered her. “I was just saying...if at any time during the program you feel like holding my hand, go for it. It’s okay.”
“Thank you.” A small, hesitant smile appeared on her face. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
A flurry of people watching the 8:00 p.m. Friday gala of Hanggang Ulap entered Teatro Lakambini’s main theatre, among them Pio and Audrey, who were ushered to their seats at the front row. While waiting, Audrey browsed through her playbill and stopped when she saw
a photo of Pio on one page.
She pointed at it. “Oh, hey! This guy looks familiar.”
“Handsome fellow, isn’t he?”
“Looks like a player.”
“Heyyy…”
Audrey flipped the page and found more production photos from the musical’s first run. “Why aren’t you doing the show anymore?”
“I wanted to, but there was a conflict in the schedule and I didn’t want them to wait. If I had known my schedule would free up just like that, I’d have said yes again.”
“That’s too bad.”
“You can always request a private performance,” Pio teased, leaning closer to whisper, “I’ll ask Cleo to give you a discount on my TF.”
She shoved his face away and laughed, stopping when the house lights dimmed. Audrey’s eyes sparkled when the stage was illuminated, and Pio couldn’t wait for her to see how magical everything was going to be.
“Hey,” he whispered as soon as the warning chimes sounded. “Do you wanna tour the set after the show?”
“I loved it. Every second of it was amazing,” was what Audrey told him after curtain call that night. She probably said something else after that, but Pio wasn’t able to catch it on account of her lips being soclose to his ear.
Who knew proximity could impair someone’s hearing?
When everyone else had filed out of the theatre, Pio held Audrey by the wrist. “Let’s go sneak backstage.”
Enthusiastic chatter welcomed them as they stepped out into a chaotic Teatro Lakambini lobby. People lined up to buy official merchandise or have their photos taken with the cast members. He tightened his grasp around Audrey’s wrist as they wove through the crowd, stopping when a couple of fans recognized him and asked for photos and autographs.
Pio obliged, but he also wore an apologetic look on his face whenever a fan would hand Audrey a phone and ask her to take the photos.
“Sorry about that.” Her hand was in his now as they slipped backstage.
“It’s really fine. What’s a photo?”
“Yo, Alveeez!”
Pio spun on his heel and saw Jericho Abueva approach them, an easy grin on his face. The wavy-haired musical director pulled Pio in for a hug, prompting the actor to let go of Audrey’s hand for a moment. “I thought Fridays are for parties?”
“Not tonight, apparently.” Pio patted Jericho’s back. “Congrats. Great show, as always...”
“Holy shit.”
Pio blinked when Jericho let him go and set his eyes on Audrey. “Ho—ly shit. Aji, is that you?”
Aji...who?
“The one and only,” Audrey replied, her voice laced with warmth and familiarity. “Hi, Jer.”
“Ajiiiiiiii!” The way Jericho uttered the two unfamiliar syllables made it seem like he had won the lottery. The next thing Pio knew, Jericho’s head of locks was bouncing toward Audrey’s direction as he gave her a bear hug. She let out an oof! and a giggle. “How long has it been?”
“Eight years...give or take?”
“My god, I never realized how much I missed you until now!” Another squeeze, and Jericho pulled away, putting an arm over her shoulder instead. “Alvez—do you know that Aji here is the absolute best when it came to Diwa’s set designs? Y’know there was this one time wh—wait. Wait.”
Jericho’s eyes darted from Pio to Audrey and back again. “Hang on, are you two...?”
Before either of them could say anything, a pair of sneaky arms hugged Pio from behind. “Look who’s here on a Friday night!” Erin Javier teased, thumping her fingers against his ribs. He twitched and tried his hardest not to laugh.
Pio turned his head in time to see Ramon Figueroa join them. Ramon made a joke about Pio being a “party animal” before bro-hugging him like Jericho did. “You’re early for tomorrow’s class, Alvez,” he added with a chuckle.
“I wanted to show someone our theatre,” Pio replied and held his arm out to Audrey, who disengaged from Jericho to step closer to him. He put his arm around her waist. “Anyway—guys, it’s great you’re here because Audrey wants to meet you! Audrey, this is Erin Javier and Ramon Figueroa, also known as the two amazing people who slayed tonight’s performance…”
“Hello, Audrey!” Erin said, waving a little wave. Ramon tipped his head in a slight bow.
“Erin, Monfigs—this is Audrey. My date.”
TEN
“I ’m sorry—I know I’m probably talking your ear off by now, but that set was fucking genius. I don’t know whose idea it was and who made it happen, but I already love them and I’d marry them in a heartbeat.”
“Okay, first of all...” Pio laughed. “You’re not talking my ear off. Secondly, you can’t marry the set designer. He’s already married.”
“Crap.”
It was almost two in the morning when they arrived at her apartment complex. Audrey had originally planned to come home early tonight so she could sleep a full eight hours before heading to her parents’ in the morning, but fuck plans. She hadn’t been able to step inside a theatre in years.
She could’ve stayed there all night, and Pio’s friends from Teatro Lakambini seemed like they would be willing to keep her company. Theirs was an awesome kind of friendship that reminded her of her Dulaang Diwa contemporaries—talented, passionate, and warm people who loved expressing themselves through their chosen art form. Audrey missed being part of something like that.
But returning to that world wouldn’t be practical, would it?
“Thanks again for tonight, Pio. I had a really great time.”
“You’re welcome. And it was my pleasure.”
She unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. And maybe their choreography was off again this time—or in another perspective, maybe not—because Pio turned his head slightly just then, and for a quick second, their lips touched.
Audrey’s throat dried up. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she mumbled and stepped out of the car in a rush. Pio called out her name a few times, but she didn’t dare look back, too embarrassed to even look at his face again.
Mumbling a litany of expletives, Audrey ran up to the fourth floor as fast as she could. It was almost as if she believed that as soon as she stepped into her apartment, the fact that she and Pio had kissed would be erased.
Audrey—why are you embarrassed about this? You’re of age. You’re both single—he’s fair game!
Nope, let’s not think about this tonight. Let’s sleep on...
“Shit,” she hissed, realizing that in her haste to get out of Pio’s car, she had forgotten to grab her purse from the console. With a groan, she caught her breath and marched down the stairs.
He was standing outside his car when she got there, her purse in one hand, phone in the other.
“Are you okay?” he asked, handing her stuff over.
Girl. Stop staring at his lips. “I’m fine, thanks. Good night.”
“Audrey, I—”
“I don’t want to talk about this now.”
“—took your sister’s call a few minutes ago.”
“What?” She fumbled with her phone and saw Vivien’s number on top of the Received Calls list. Why did she call at this time of night? Was there an emergency?
“I’m sorry. It rang for a while and I wasn’t sure when you’ll realize you left your stuff in the car,” Pio explained while Audrey hovered her thumb over the Call button. “Anyway...she wanted to ask if you could bring juice packets for Bella’s birthday party later.”
“...what?”
“Juice packets. Zest-O...I guess, or something.”
Audrey breathed a sigh of relief. Not an emergency.
“And I...may have inadvertently gotten an invite to said party.”
“What did you say?”
Pio shrugged, as though the answer was a no-brainer. “I said, ‘Sure!’”
“Why would you say that?”
“Um...because we’re dating and it’s only normal for the guy you’re dating to meet yo
ur family?”
A headache knocked on Audrey’s consciousness. No. Pio cannot meet her family. This wasn’t part of the plan. “Pio, we’re not really dating, remember? This is just...an arrangement. And I can’t inflict my family on you.”
“Inflict? What the heck, Audrey—you make it sound like your family is a disease or something.”
“They’re not. They’re my life, okay? It’s just...when everything is said and done, when they learn about what’s been going on with me these past several months, they will feel sorry for me. And then they’ll see you, and they will instantly love you because you’re you and they’re going to think at least their precious first born has moved on and found someone new, someone hopefully better than the boy they’ve always warned her about.”
Pio’s stared at her like she was speaking in tongues.
“You don’t need that kind of burden, Pio. And they don’t need another heartbreak when they realize that this, what we have, is a sham.”
“Okay.” His tightly knitted brows relaxed as he stepped closer to her. “Relax. There’s no need to get all riled up.”
He reached for her shoulders and ran his hands over her arms gently, soothing her. “Look. If it’s a burden like you say, then it will be mine to bear,” he said softly. “And don’t you think you’re jumping the gun about breaking their hearts? It’s not like we’re going to tell them we’re getting married. If they ask, I’ll say we’re at the ‘getting to know each other’ stage, and who knows where this’ll take us. Managing their expectations is key.”
“No.”
“Hey, look at me. Are you invoking Rule #4?”
Rule #4: No means no.
She couldn’t look at him, was the thing. Even in this dimly lit part of the complex, Audrey was afraid Pio would see how her eyes wavered. Her saying no was but a flimsy attempt to hide how she dreaded coming to a family gathering without Luigi. No matter how well-meaning, she didn’t think she could survive a slew of questions about her lovelife (or the lack of it) without suffering an emotional breakdown.
