After packing some sunblock, towel, tissues, shades, and my phone inside a waterproof bag, I hurriedly got out of my room as the guide had been checking if I was ready since thirty minutes ago. Worried that everyone was waiting for me, I rushed down and saw that indeed, other tourists have already gathered but there was one figure that my eyes automatically searched for.

“Good morning!”

I almost jumped when a girl suddenly popped beside me with a huge smile on her face.

“Were you looking for me?” Suzy stuck her tongue out.

I flicked her forehead and told her, “You wish.”

“Ehh. You were looking for me, turning and elongating your neck like a giraffe!” she argued as she rubbed her forehead while mimicking my actions earlier.

Instead of arguing back, I put my arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer to me as I said, “Come on. We need to take the front side of the boat.”

I was expecting her to remove my arm but instead she just laughed and allowed that physical contact to last much longer. I carried her bag as she cheerfully made her way towards the boat, battling with the soft waves of the sea. She held out her hand in order to help me climb up and we shared a high five as we successfully occupied the front row of the boat. In celebration, she took a picture of the both of us and then we wordlessly sat beside each other while enjoying how the wind seemed to carry away all our worries.

“Yah,” she called my attention and I immediately glanced at her direction. She asked, “So how’s your sleep?”

“Short but good. Yours?”

“Same,” she beamed, sighed shortly then added, “Since this is our last tour together here… let’s take lots and lots of pictures and have lots and lots of fun.”

With a small smile, I nodded and my hand seemed to instinctively ruffle her hair. As I mess her fringe, she teasingly glared at me before effortlessly fixing her hair again. I stared at her as I wondered how spending a day with her made me feel like we already knew each other for years.  I suddenly remembered how those few novels I’ve read used to narrate conflicting emotions and I used to dismiss it as unrealistic sentiments that writers made up just to make their stories interesting. But now, I am experiencing it – that conflicting feeling when your heart feels so familiar to someone who’s foreign to your mind. Then, I started wondering where the familiarity is coming from. Perhaps we knew each other in our past lives… but that thought is just too imaginative for my mind to accommodate.

“You’re staring for too long, you know,” Suzy halts the trance I was in as she playfully brushed her hand against my eyes.

I smiled yet again. Perhaps, in the short while that we’ve been together, Suzy had already infected me with her hobby of smiling. Without thinking, I asked her, “After all these… would you miss me?”

Without hesitation, she shook her head and said, “No.”

“Ouch,” I faked pain as I held my chest or maybe I didn’t fake that pain.

“Because I can’t,” she argued.

“Why? I’m allowing you to. Just miss me whenever you want. It’s okay,” I playfully convinced her.

“No, not that kind of ‘can’t’,” she chuckled. I then saw how her eyes shone with a little bit of sadness as she said, “It’s just that… even if I want to, I wouldn’t be able to miss you. It’s not an option for me.”

I pondered on her words and even before I could ask her a question for clarification, she drifted away from the topic as she pointed forward and said, “Oh. We’re here. The helicopter island which looks like a fried chicken in a different angle.”

I laughed as I shook my head because the guide said exactly the same thing afterwards.

Suzy remained true to her words as we didn’t waste any opportunity to take pictures and we also dedicated time for swimming. Sometimes, it was not just mere paddling in the water. We fought and played, splashing water onto ourselves and laughing to our hearts’ content. It was unfortunate how we skipped the Hidden Beach because there were too many boats on the shore making it impossible for our boat to stop by. However, it bought us more time to spend with the breath taking view at the Matinloc Shrine. Maybe breath taking is even an understatement to put it – the rock formations and the view of the whole sea from above was magnificent. With Suzy’s beauty to complete the scenery, I think the picture I took was beyond perfect.

No matter how many times we did it, our skin ships would still send tingles to my body. Most of the time, we were holding hands because there was always an urge in me to help and guide her, be it in swimming or in walking. We must have shown too much intimacy towards one another because every now and then, I could see people grinning at us with remarks such as:

“Ang cute nila oh [They look cute.]”

“Malapit na atang tumamis yung tubig dito dahil sa kanilang dalawa. [These two could seriously make the sea sweet.]”

“Nakakaingiit! Pero bagay naman sila. [I envy them but they do look good together].”

Hearing those side comments, I would often find myself smiling.

“What did they say again?” she asked as we sat on the sands of the Secret Beach.

“I didn’t want to tell you because I thought you might feel uncomfortable,” I started. “But the people around us keep mistaking us for a couple.”

But instead of getting shocked or annoyed, she just chuckled and asked, “And you’re enjoying it?”

“What makes you think so?” I asked back with a poker face.

“Because you were smiling,” she argued back.

“But you smiled just now too when I told you about it so you’re enjoying it too?” I fired back the question at her.

“Well, as long as we’re not cheating on anyone, then it’s okay,” she shrugged. She then squinted as she asked, “We’re not cheating on anyone, right?”

I then raised my hand and replied, “I promise I’m single… as of the moment.”

“Such a playboy, you are,” she laughed as she splashed water on me once again and then, we were back to playing. Then I realized that when I’m with Suzy, I tend to forget my age because I didn’t want to worry; I just want to make the best out of our time together.

Sometime during the trip, she informed me that her flight was on the next morning and knowing that we would part ways anytime soon, I didn’t bother to sleep after the tour. Instead, I started thinking of a place where we could spend some more time and a way to ask her out but Suzy beat me up when she knocked on my door and asked if we could spend the afternoon drinking some alcohol.

“Alcohol?” I asked. “Really? Before our flights in the morning?”

“We won’t get drunk,” she retorted. “We’d just get tipsy enough for us to have a good sleep before the early morning flight. Besides, I kind of feel bad that you weren’t able to drink last night because you accompanied me.”

“Hmmm,” I hummed but without giving it much thought, I nodded. It was not like I have another brilliant plan a