Rayne grimaced at the sight of the long line at one of the public market entrances. So many people. She thought. When the city began to loosen its restrictions on its residents and outsiders, it was gradual from going to the city proper for five hours once a week to having a weekly schedule per district. Currently, all communities are allowed to go out every day except Sundays. This was a relief for most residents, but it sometimes became a little too crowded.
It has been quite some time since she went to the city proper to buy produce and vegetables. She could have gone to SM or Robinson's Supermarket, but she refused, as she preferred her food fresh and cheaper. She walked toward the two POSD officers and showed them her market pass. They let her through, and she was inside the market within seconds. She made a beeline towards the various stalls of vegetables, fruits, and souvenir goods, as well as local delicacies such as strawberry jams and preserves.
Rayne found the stall she was looking for and bought two jars of garlic peanuts, ube jam, and peanut butter. She also bought three pieces of panusta, a Philippine peanut brittle shaped in a large or small circle. It has been her favorite snack since she was a child. The stall clerk was pleased with the fact she bought something from them that Rayne felt terrible for them. They were one of the hardest hit sectors in this pandemic, next to the student dormitories and food joints near the various universities in the city, and to see them struggle was painful.
Although they are slowly recovering since tourists started coming in, it was on a limited number only. Rayne thanked the sales clerk and walked away, now going to a vegetable stall near the salted fish section.
An hour later, Rayne was inside a taxi, taking off her face shield but keeping her mask on. She always hated wearing the face shield as it had obscured her vision due to her breath fogging it. She looked out of the window, and she winced. It had begun to rain, not a downpour but more on the delicate raindrops, which one can ignore and even think it was not even raining in the first place.
She paid her fare and got out of the taxi despite the rain, which from a fine shower, became torrential. By the time she got inside the condominium, she was soaking wet.
"Hrrgh." She muttered. "Damn rain."
"Whoa, you look like a drowned rat."
Rayne turned and saw Harold half-jogging towards her. He was dressed in a pair of gray jogging pants and a black men's tank top, with a dark blue towel slung over his shoulder, making it obvious he had just come out of the gym.
"Thanks for stating the obvious." She said dryly.
Harold ignored her biting tone and took the two eco bags she was carrying. "Let me take those." He said.
Rayne wanted to protest how she was more than capable of carrying two bags' worth of produce and food, but she knew that would fall on deaf ears. Harold had always been helpful, and who was she to turn down a friend's help?
"Thanks." She said instead as she began to use the hem of her shirt to dry her hands and arms.
"What are you doing? That's not going to help. Here use this." Harold said as he took the towel from his shoulder and offered it to her.
Rayne eyed the towel then him. "You sure?"
"Take it, or I will wipe you dry myself."
She snatched the towel and rubbed her hair dry. He heard her muffled thanks as she dried her hair, then she draped the towel around her neck. "I thought it was going to be a sunny day today, so I didn't bring an umbrella." She muttered.
"Given how unpredictable the weather these days, you should always be prepared."
"I know that now."
The two entered the elevator, and Harold pushed the button to go to their floor. He peeked at the contents of her bag. "You're such a snack freak." He said as he pulled out one large panutsa. "Wow, this thing is huge, and you plan to solo this? You got a death wish?"
"Will you stop that!? I never question your meal preferences." She scowled at him as she tried to take the peanut brittle from him.
Harold held it out of her reach, which made Rayne even more annoyed and more determined to get back her sweet treat. She was a tall woman, but Harold was much taller than she was, meaning she would have to jump up to get the candy.
Rayne made one more jump and managed to snatch the panutsa from Harold, but she also ended up losing her balance and colliding with him. Harold dropped the bags he was carrying and grabbed her by the waist to steady her. He winced when he felt his back hit the elevator wall, but he kept a tight grip on her.
The impact created a loud banging sound inside the elevator. They did not notice as they were too focused on each other. Brown eyes meet brown eyes, and Rayne swore she could feel the heat radiating off Harold despite her wet clothing. On the one hand, she was holding the panutsa while the other was on his chest. She could feel his strong heartbeat.
Was Harold this handsome up close? In addition, was he always this warm? His arms around her waist made her feel…secure. Her eyes landed on his lips, and she wondered if it was that luscious. What was she thinking?
As if Harold could read her mind, he slowly lowered his face to hers; their lips were about to meet when…
Ding! The elevator doors opened, revealing a shell-shocked Mrs. Gonzales.
They must have been a sight to the building manager. A man and a woman intertwined in each other's arms, with eco bags on the ground and Harold about to kiss Rayne. The only thing that perplexed the older woman was Rayne holding a panutsa.
Mrs. Gonzales loudly cleared her throat. "Please be mindful of your behavior." She said.
Rayne jumped out of Harold's arms like a startled rabbit. "Uhm, sorry!" She screeched. She grabbed the bags from the ground and ran out of the elevator. Harold stared after her and then noticed that a head of lettuce had fallen out of the bag. He picked it up and ran after her, but not before murmuring an 'excuse me to the now confused building manager.
Mrs. Gonzales stared after them, then at the empty elevator, scratching her head. What is going on with those two? She wondered.
* * *
"Meow!" Bubbles let out a startled meow when he saw his human barging inside her apartment.
Rayne dumped the bags she was holding and stared at her cat. "Sorry, sweetie." She said as she gave him an absentminded pet on the head. "It was raining outside, so I had to rush here."
If Bubbles had eyebrows, he would have raised one skeptically. Instead, he headbutted the hand she petted him with, then began to weave himself along her legs, rubbing his head.
Rayne smiled at the cat's antics. She crossed her arms across her chest and felt something soft and thick. She grabbed the fabric, and her eyes widened. She remembered that she was using Harold's towel earlier to dry herself. The scene in the elevator played in her mind, and she buried her face in the towel and let out a scream.
What was wrong with me? She thought. Why did she feel so self-conscious when she was close to Harold? This was not the first time she was physically close to him. She made it a point to put a hand on his shoulder, smack his arm, lightly punch his forearm, and tug his arm like a child. So what was different about this recent close contact with him?
He nearly kissed you, you idiot. Her inner voice said sarcastically.
Rayne sighed. While she never lacked dating experience, she always lacked attraction to the opposite gender. She does acknowledge the person's looks and personality, but other than that, she was mainly indifferent to men who had asked her out during college and then her early days as a call center agent.
Dating her was a chore, especially if she hardly knew the person and was forced to go out with someone because of peer pressure.
Her friends complained that she was too picky with men; one even asked if she was made of stone. Rayne had no idea. As far as she had remembered, she rarely nursed any affection for a person she met unless she became close to him, which was even rarer.
When they do become closer, and she starts nursing feelings for that man, he never felt the same way as she did. It would hurt, but she was able to move on from one heartbreak to another. Now that she had begun to work from home, her dating life had become nonexistent, and she became comfortable in her solitude with Bubbles as her companion.
Meeting Harold was just one of those random occurrences in her life, and having him as a friend was a bonus for her. However, she panicked and ran when he started getting too close for comfort.
She stared at the towel still around her neck and sighed. She would need to wash this towel and return it to Harold, meaning she would need to face him whether she wanted to or not. Sighing again, she tossed the towel on the couch and went to the bathroom to take a hot shower.
Much later, Rayne, now dressed in much dryer clothes, sorted out the food she had bought in the kitchen, most of which she placed in the refrigerator. She heard a knock while putting away the eco bags she used earlier. She set the bags aside and went to the door, peeking at the peephole. She gasped and jumped a little at Harold holding a head of…lettuce?
Puzzled, she opened the door and stared at her neighbor and the lettuce. Before she could open her mouth to ask about the lettuce in his hand, Harold beat her to it.
"You dropped this," Harold said.
"What?" She stared at him blankly.
"You dropped this." He repeated. "You were in a hurry that it fell off your bag."
"Oh. Okay. Thanks for giving it back."
Harold handed her the lettuce, and she took it. "No problem."
Rayne was about to close the door when she opened the door wider. "I washed your towel. If you want to wait for it to dry…!"
"It's fine; I'll get it when it's done." He cuts her off.
"Sure."
Harold gave her a slight smile and left. As she watched him go, she felt bereft for some reason.