One afternoon, almost nearing sunset, Claire took a rest at one of the benches at the Fountain Park. She had with her a big backpack almost thrice the size of her regular one. She wiped her forehead with a light blue colored hanky and took a sip for her tumbler.
Across the park, almost the other end to where she was, she saw a familiar figure, his back only showing. Claire was sure it was Lance, who was with a beautiful lady - she has soft brown hair, curled perfectly up to a few inches below her shoulder. She was wearing a knee-length green dress, and white stiletto. The two of them were buying in an ice cream store. Upon taking their individual orders of coned ice cream, she crossed her arm over his, and took a selfie of them together with big smiles on their lips.
"I see." Claire smiled as she looked at how happy the two of them. "He also knew about me already." She then saw them waved goodbye to each other when a group of girls came for the lady Lance was with.
Claire already decided to leave when she felt her back had already taken enough rest to go to her next destination. She stood up and walked outside the park. Then she heard someone calling her. She turned back and saw Lance running towards her. He normalized his breathing before speaking. "How are you? It's been a week since I last saw you. Is your wound already healed?"
She saw how worried his expression was but she was more concerned about a white something on the right side of lips. "There's something on your face." She pointed a finger to it. "Ice cream?"
He turned red in embarrassment before he could get his hanky from his pocket. Just then, Claire handed him out a small, pocket size tissue. Lance took one sheet out and wiped the corners of his lips.
"Are you a kid?" Claire chuckled.
He felt more embarrassed that he just looked away. He also remembered a text message from Clarence almost just three days after he went back to the country:
"She's just very considerate. She thinks about you all as her brothers! You, as her younger brother."
He shoved that thought away. "Well, great timing," he said, smiling. "I'm going to your new place. Let's go together."
"Ah. Okay."
"That looks heavy," he said, referring to her backpack. "Let me carry your bag."
"No need," she refused, waving a "no" hand sigh.
"I insist," he said as he already took it from her back. "Even if you think you're strong, you must still rely on others," he said as he put her bag on his back. "Let's go!" he excitedly said as he walked off. Claire just followed.
"What should I bring?" Lance asked looking around the street of food shops. "What do you like?"
"You actually don't need to bring anything since you're our guest."
"What would Clarence like? Hmmm. Ah! Milk."
"I think he already bought that."
"I just remembered there's a newly opened store of Japanese cheesecake around here. I'll buy that."
"Doesn't it have a long queue?"
"Let's see."
When they got to that store, there was only one line and the serving was faster than they expected. They only took at least 15 minutes to get their order of soft, warm, freshly baked Japanese cheesecake.
After that, they rode a bus and got off at the 16th street where there were mostly tall house buildings or condominium. Tonight, they will celebrate Claire and Clarence's housewarming - their new condo unit given by one the Securities Agents' clients.
Three blocks away from the bus stop, they entered their building, rode the elevator and got off on the 4th floor. Claire knocked on their unit and Clarence opened it. He greeted them with his usual warm smile. "Good, you're both here! Welcome!"
Their unit is almost 50 square meters. You can smell the pizza, pasta and fried chicken. From the entrance, the kitchen and dining is on the right side of the two bedrooms. The CR/shower is on the left. The living room is also big enough and it now has a sofa set. Musica and Sora were on the living room and had already started playing a movie in a big flat screen. They were sitting on the carpeted floor.
Claire took her backpack from Lance. She entered the room on her left since her brother told her to choose first. Lance went to the dining area and put down the box of cheesecake he had just bought. Then he joined the three men on the living room.
They started eating dinner after Claire went out of her room.
They were watching a second movie already - the four men on the floor while Claire sat behind the long sofa. She looked uninterested in the movie so she decided to go outside, saying she would go to the grocery to buy some ingredients for soup since she wanted to warm her stomach.
Just right after the last scene of the movie, Clarence's phone vibrated. He took it and read a message from Claire.
"Lance? Can I ask you a favor?" Clarence said as he stood up.
"Yes, sure."
Clarence bent over a big box and saw two umbrellas - one foldable and the other one - a bigger regular type. He took the latter and handed it to Lance. "Claire said she couldn't go back yet since it suddenly started raining. Can you pick her up? It's just two blocks from here, on the right side."
He nodded and took that long umbrella.
It was really raining heavily outside. He waited for the rain to at least stop but he was worried she would wait for long. He decided to step outside the building and went his way.
He went inside the grocery and immediately saw her. Her eyes widened when he saw his lower legs and his shoulders drenched.
"Why did you come?" she asked him. "I told brother I would just wait for the rain to stop even a little."
Lance wiped some rainwater off his face and grinned. "It's okay."
Seeing his expression, she didn't say anything anymore. Just then the heavy sound of the rain started dying down. They immediately went outside. He opened the umbrella to cover the two of them and walked on the danger side of the road. He was a bit conscious that he stood beside her and their shoulders were almost touching each other. He knew it just him thinking so much about this.
They were already just one block away from their building but the rain started pouring heavily again. But they continued going home.
Lance was the most drenched between them. He stayed on the entrance/hallway inside their unit while Claire hurried to her room. She went out and gave him a towel.
"Sorry," she said.
"Like I said, it's okay," he said as he wiped his face, his head and his arms.
"Thank you," she told him. "But you should take a shower." She walked towards the bigger space and told Clarence to lend him some clothes, then she proceeded to the kitchen.
Lance, with the towel over his head, stepped forward to go back to the living room, but he stopped and looked at the right side. He stopped for almost few seconds looking subconsciously on that area.
"She'll melt, you know," Musica said, who was already in front on him.
Lance was startled. "What?"
"I said, if you keep staring at her, she'll melt," Musica teased in a lower voice.
He blushed a little and shook his head. "I'm not!"
The older guy put his arms on Lance's neck. "You're so obvious, man! Hahaha!" He dragged him. "Brother will surely approve of you! Don't you, Clarence? But let's just talk over after you take a shower!""
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Lance came out of the shower room wearing a red shirt and below the knee shorts. He went to the dining area since the three men where there eating the cheesecake, and sat down on an empty chair beside Musica. Claire was not with them since she was already in her room.
"So," Musica started with a teasing grin. "Do you have a crush on her?"
Lance didn't answer that, showing them an innocent look. He took a bite of the cheesecake. "Wow! This is good. It's so fluffy it melts in your mouth." He obviously wanted to change the topic.
"So, you really like her, huh?" Musica said.
Lance knew he was cornered. Sweat beaded on his face but he just continued changing the topic, until Clarence spoke up.
"Well, do you like Claire?" Clarence asked seriously but with his gentle smile.
Lance put down his plate and fork and looked down, not meeting their eyes. "I really didn't mean to stare at her. It's just that I'm really not used to her being treating me warmly and nicely today. She looked at me worriedly and I can't help it. After all that she said..."
"What did she say?" Musica asked, sipping his can of light beer.
Lance told them that he had already met her before, two years ago in a coffee house. "There was a buy-one take-one offer on specialty breads that she was not aware of. I was next in line and she asked the cashier to just give it to me, though I knew it was just random. But for me having a limited allowance, that meant a lot!"
He also told them about their first date last year, how he forced her into it by cooking contest, how after that she didn't respond to his messages anymore, how he suddenly asked her to make her boyfriend and that night he stayed at her place. The part where he had a cold yet sensual dream, he didn't mention to them. "And she said to just forget her for my own good. And so I decided not to pursue her anymore. That I won't say such things again to her. And now I also decided to finish my studies first."
When they heard that, they remained quiet at first and then burst into laughter. Lance looked in awe of them.
"You're approach is bad!" Musica said. "Let me teach you!"
Lance felt his face hot. "Like I said I'm not pursuing her anymore!"
"But your face lies!"
"Is it because I told you that she only thinks of you as a younger brother?" Clarence asked.
"What!?" Musica looked furious at Clarence. "Why did you tell him that, you dumb?"
"It's better to be honest right away," Clarence innocently said.
Musica just shook his head in disbelief. He then looked at Lance with burning eyes. "Listen, my boy, women will play hard to get at first, then when you stop giving them attention, they will miss it, and they will show you their true colors. They will start messaging you, calling you and even touching you. Then you can either grab that moment or play hard to get this time."
Lance looked up as if thinking. "Hmmm. Messaging, calling, touching me. I actually texted her when I get back here last week and three days after that. She didn't reply, as I already expected. Calling? That seemed never to happen. Touching? None."
"Well, she really looks the tough one," Sora commented. "I really think she just thinks equally of us."
Musica became furious again at his point. "Shut up too, Sora! You're not helping! But Lance, do you want to give up now?! Just because of that? You should act more manly, so she won't see you as just a brother. Be like her knight in shining armor. Whom he can depend upon."
Lance just laughed and shook his head. "I know what you're trying to say, but I'm already contented as how we are now."
"Or you're saying that because you already knew her past? Or what is she really?" Clarence said.
Lance looked silent as if that were true. "Well, to be honest, it was really shocking. But like I said, I believe it, though just not fully, yet. But really, I'm already fine with now. And I really want to finish my college swiftly. I'll be graduating next year." He said with a smile that looked genuine, yet sad.
They looked at him and felt his words were really true.
"So, can I hit on her instead?" Musica said all of sudden. He looked serious this time.
"WHAT?!" both Clarence and Sora blurted out in disbelief.
"I'm 101% certain she's not your type!" Sora said, still in disbelief at Musica. "You like hot, sexy women, with big chest, and wears skin-revealing clothes."
Musica cleared his throat. "Well, you're right. But I had my last girlfriends, I mean girlfriend, two years ago. I want someone totally opposite my previous ones. For new experience." He then blinked at Clarence and Sora, as if telling them it was just a bluff to see Lance's reaction, whose face looked blank now. "Plus, based on Jane's story, she seemed she didn't any love experience yet, so I think she's still a virgin. So, that's a big point for me."
Lance flustered, his face turned red. "Eh?! That's so...!"
Musica frowned. "You're not below 18, right? I don't believe you're innocent to these things."
"I'm already 21. I just don't engage in such topics."
"Have you ever watched any adult/mature films or saw some magazine?"
"No! I'm doing my best to look away. I don't even watch films or series if I saw it's rated 18+".
"Really?! I don't believe you."
"I'm protecting my mind," Lance said with conviction.
"Musica," Clarence called out. "Our new and youngest friend is not used to this, so let's stop okay?"
"Alright, my bad," Musica apologized. "Sorry. I will be careful next time." He then looked back at Lance. "Well, back to the original topic. Is it okay to take her away, Lance?" he teased but Lance didn't respond. "Well, are you ok with me for her, brother?"
Clarence crossed his arms on his chest and gave him a darting and threatening look that made Musica and Sora nervous since he was a gentle soul. "I'm not really against you. But I know you, Musica. If you force her, I might forget that you're my friend and brother."
"Relax, man!" Musica said, trying to calm him who didn't get his purpose of saying those. "I might die first before I can even touch her!"
"It's already late. I'm going home now," Lance said with a smile.
"I'm just joking, Lance!" Musica said.
"It's okay, Musica. I got your point already. I've already given up on her. Whoever she chooses, I'll be happy for them."
They looked at him and felt that he really didn't want to talk about her anymore.
Clarence just smiled and nodded. "Understood, Lance. We won't force you anymore."
Lance drank water from his glass then stood up. "Well, thanks for inviting me, Clarence! I'll just return your clothes within the week."
"No worries. You can have it."
"Really? Ok, thank you!"