Mel:  You !

 “What?!”

 We were closing for the night when suddenly Mel was making all kinds of excited shrieks.

 Mel:  You slept with Gerald, didn’t you?

 “I am so going to kill Vince.  Then I’ll fire him!  Or maybe not…he’s a damn good chef.  Maybe I’ll just stick to killing him.”

 Mel:  Vince knows?  You told Vince and not me?   How could you!

 “No, I didn’t tell him…he walked in on us.”

 Mel:  You and Gerald let him watch while you were doing the nasty?!!

 “No!  Are you serious?  Of course not!  Mel!  We were just kissing in the kitchen when he walked in.  So anyway, if Vince didn’t tell you, how did you know?”

 Mel:  Well, Gerald was singing love tunes all day and that annoying “don’t worry about a thing…every little thing is gonna be alright…”  While you my dear lucky bestfriend, your cakes taste like the baker just had the most amazing shag of her life!  Besides, that after- glow on your faces is a dead give-away.

 “My God, you are worse than my mom!  You are going to make one scary mother and wife one day.  I feel so sorry for your future kids!  What the heck does an after- glow even look like?”

 Mel:  It’s pretty and perky!  It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.  You two were always whispering and you were in a permanent blushing state all day.  I have caught the two of you a few times glancing at each other and you have those knowing looks, as if you know something we don’t.  Finally!  About time you two got it on!

 “What do you mean about time?  He’s always been like a brother to me and you know that!”

Mel:  Actually Vince and I have made a bet for years about when you two will finally catch on with the love bug! 

 “What are you talking about?  The ual attraction between us only started very recently and there sure as hell no love bugging us!”

Mel:  Sure there is oh clueless one.  You’re just a little slow but don’t worry, Gerald comes to a very close second when it comes to cluelessness. 

 “It’s  so wrong though, isn’t it?  I mean, I’m like ing my own brother!  What could be more disgusting?”

 Mel:  Kimberly, he’s not your brother.  You two are not related so you are not violating any ancient rule of .  I don’t believe for one second that you have only been seeing him as a brother.  I think he means a lot more than that to you.  You’re just too afraid to face it.

“I don’t know.  I mean I miss Matt everyday like I miss mom and dad but not like the way I long for Gerald.  Lately I can’t think of anyone else that I would rather see everyday than Gerald.  I guess I’m getting my feelings all mixed up.”

Mel:  And here I am thinking I have such an awesome friend who looks forward to coming to work everyday to see me!  Geez this is just like the time when mom told me that Santa Claus is not real!

“Sweetie, of course, ikaw din!  That’s a given.  You know you’re the only woman I would ever go lesbian for okay?”

Mel:  I can’t believe I’m going to let myself fall for that again!  Man, we need to get me a new man. 

“Matt’s single!”

Mel:  I’d rather eat dirt.  You’re like my little sister so that makes Matt like my brother.  I thought you were against violating rules of humanity?

“If it’s perfectly okay for me to have ual relations with Ge, it’s perfectly okay for you to get it on with my brother!  You said so yourself, it’s not because our bloodlines don’t connect.”

Mel:  Finally you get the picture!  So now that we've established that it's perfectly legal, are you gonna keep riding Gerald's pony?

"Melissa ewww!  Couldn't you at least pick a less ty term?"

Mel:  I just want to know where you plan to take it from here? 

"I honestly don't know.  We're just having fun, I guess.  I don't want to think about the future just yet."

 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Something about being stuck right next to Gerald in the backseat of my parents SUV causes very unpleasant things to happen to my emotional state.  Here I am, trying to act as unsuspicious as one can while this conniving, sneaky, oh-so-hot lover is flirting with me in front of my brother and parents in the most deviant of ways!  Feigning sleepiness, his head had appeared to have ‘unconsciously’ leaned on my shoulder and what better time to mistake me for a teddy bear and wrap an arm around my waist! 

“Gerald! Ge!  Don’t think I’m not aware of what you’re up to!  There is not a single sleepy cell in your body and we both know it!” 

I am so hoping that the music is loud enough that Matt cannot hear what I am whispering about.  I am so going to kill Gerald.  How can he torture me this way?  I was a messy combination of a nervous wreck and a giddy, darn , backseat passenger.  Doesn’t he realize that the electrifying touch of his skin causes every muscle in my body to stiffen? 

“Hoy!  Gerald!”

Dad:  The poor guy’s tired.  Leave him alone Kimmy.

“Daddy, he’s bugging me!  His huge head is crunching the bones on my shoulder!  And he won’t move his arm, it’s cutting circulation off my uterus.  You want to see grandchildren someday right?  I will soon have reproduction problems if he doesn’t get off me!”

Matt:  Puhleeeze princess!  Dad you should really stop babying her, she’s beating mom to the drama queen title!

Mom:  Hey!  That’s it!  You are stripped off your inheritance! 

Matt:  By drama queen I meant someone with an amazing beauty, talent and grace that only you can pull off mom.  Did I mention how grateful I am to have inherited your good-looks genes? 

“Hello!  Doesn’t anyone care that my bones are getting crushed?”

Man, this is bad…so bad…Gerald is breathing heavily against my neck causing goose bumps all over.  I could have sworn I could hear my buttons popping open with every, slow, treacherously , breath.  If the heat on my cheeks (and other parts where the sun don’t shine) are to go by, I was on a shocking shade of red. 

 After having to endure two hours of restrained state of , we finally reached the camping grounds!  I can breathe at last! 

 “Where did you get that?”

 Gerald:  I hired this boat from the lake house so we can go fishing.

 Dios ko po!  He’s taking out the big guns!  The man had been blatantly flirting with me all day…creeping up behind me and whispering sweet nothings in my ear whenever we were at a safe distance from my family…deviously touching at ever chance (I’d like to proudly mention how he felt me up under water while we were swimming at the lake)…and can I just say, those eyes have malice written all over them! 

“I don’t want to kill some poor, unsuspecting, defenseless fish.  Why don’t you take Matt instead?  Where on earth is he anyway?”

Gerald:  At the lakehouse.  By fishing, I don’t mean I intend to hook up a fish…

I knew it!  Iba ang plano nyang sisirin! 

Gerald:  I was hoping I can hook up with you hun.

 “And how do you intend to do that loverboy when my parents can see what we’re up to?”

 Gerald:  We’ll be out of sight.

 Oh God!  I am so ashamed to admit that as he took my hand and we ran towards the boat, I was tingling with excitement with all hopes for a love escapade!

Gerald:  So…

 This is so the work of the devil.  How is one supposed to resist a hunky temptation with smoky bedroom eyes and a dashing, devious smile to boot?

 The minute he stopped rowing, I knew I ran out of excuses not to give in to my urges.  Oh heaven help me!

“So...”

 Gerald:  Alone at last.

 “You’re stressing me out.”

 Gerald:  I know a good way to get you all relaxed.

 His gaze made it too hard to hold on to my resolve.  Every muscle of my body tensed as he moved his face another centimeter forward, his lips just barely touching mine.  His fingers brushing my hair made it impossible for me not to melt.  I was a stiff, nervous, melting mess.  Then I felt his lips kissing mine and I was in another world.  His lips were gentle yet firm and commanding.  With his lips so soft and his downright aggressive tongue expertly dancing with mine…I had no choice but to let my head fall back in helpless surrender.  I was submerged in a world full of Gerald-induced giddiness and I had no intention to let go of such heavenly feelings just yet. 

 Thirty minutes and a thousand groping, and nibbling moments later, we were soaking wet, panting from both treading water and our make-out session.  Apparently we were too busy to notice that we had rocked the boat a little too vigorously causing it to capsize and throw us overboard.

 “Kimmy, are you okay?”  He managed to say in between out bouts of laughter and frustration as we made our way back to our capsized boat.

 “We must have pissed off the mommy fishes, putting up an R-rated show in front of their poor little innocent fish kids and all…”

 Gerald:  Or maybe they are more crossed when they realized that daddy fishes have not given them a lovin’ this good huh?  Hey, how about we give the fishes a very exclusive ed lesson?

 “Hmmm… Tempting… but the thought of our privates being nipped by some sea creature really kills the mood for me.”

 I could hear continuous grunts and grumble as we rowed back to shore.  He really was a sorry, funny, sight…I just had to laugh. 

 “You okay?”

 Gerald:  Let’s see…We lost our sandwiches, drinks and blanket…your dad is going to kill me in my sleep tonight when he finds out that I lost his fishing rod...we couldn’t finish what we started…you have no idea what that is doing to my groin!...your shirt is now see through…I’m as hell and even a dip in this cool lake is not going to cut it!  All in all, I’d say everything is just so peachy!

 “Oh come on!  You’re talking to the queen of dating disasters here.  Trust me, I’ve had worse.”

 He sighed and leaned in close.  I held my breath as he cupped my face and sweetly kissed my lips, sending tremors to my abdomen. 

 Gerald:  You’re right.  I’m here in this beautiful lake with the most gorgeous woman.  I’d say, I couldn’t get any luckier!

 “Quit doing that.”

 Gerald:  Doing what?

 Man, that killer, devious smile gets me everytime!

 “That!  Looking at me like I’m the most desirable woman around!”

 Gerald:  Honey, you ARE the most desirable woman around!

 “Does that have anything to do with the fact that we are the only two people in here and I am the only woman around?”

Gerald:  No sugar…it has something to do with the fact that you really are the most desirable, above and beyond stunning woman on earth!

“You know, it’s such a shame.  Gwapo ka sana…too bad you are far too cheesy for my taste.”

 Gerald:  Damn! Somebody needs to write explosive on you, because baby, you are the bomb!

 “Ewww!  Even if they put a gun on my head, I am so never going to admit that I once slept with someone as corny as you!”

 Gerald:  I must be a snowflake, because baby I've fallen for you. 

 “God!  Where is that shark or crocodile in this lake when you need it!  I swear Ge, one more geeky, gross line and I am so going to drown you!” 

Gerald:  ‘Girl you’re my angel, you’re my darling angel…’

 “Just so you know, in case you were thinking about it, you have just lost any chance of getting laid with me!”

 Gerald:  Oh honey, you don’t mean that!  Besides, like I keep telling you, you are going to eat your words.  You know very well you have fallen to my charms.

 “Have not!  And wipe that cutesy smile off your face!  It’s not working for me okay?”

 Gerald:  You’re blushing gorgeous.

 Arrrgghhh!  Granted the guy had delivered exquisite pleasure to every cell in my body…it doesn’t make him any less irritating!

 “Too bad we have reached shallow waters because I really want to drown you right now!”

 Gerald:  Drown me with love?  Why, honey!  You’ve got it bad!

 Matt:  Hey!  Where have you two been?

 “To hell!”

 Gerald:  Kimmy wait!  Sorry na oh!  I couldn’t help myself…you’re too cute when you’re all wound up.”

 Matt:  What did you do this time?  Push her off the boat?

 Gerald:  Of course not!

 Matt:  Oh right.  That’s something she would do. 

 I don’t know why I got so worked up about all this talk about love.  I guess it has a lot to do with the fact that I don’t want to fall in love with Ge.  I have known him long enough to know that he’s not the type to fall in love.  He has dated around but I have never seen him get involved beyond just the physical reasons.  He is certainly not the type to get emotionally attached to a woman.  Besides, there’s no need for all this love talk.  We’re just having fun, right?  We are two single people who have needs.  We’re just fulfilling those needs. 

Despite knowing that this could all end in heartbreak and a possible loss of a good friendship (If one can categorize constant bickering as friendship), I still can’t help but get involved.  I know better and yet… here I am, starting to develop deeper feelings for him!  One day he is going to turn to his next object of attraction and could pester me all about the fact that I was once foolish enough to fall for him. 

I wish I could just stay away and resist his charms…but it’s easier said than done.  You try standing in front of a delectable body with a gorgeous face to go with it, seducing you, luring you to an earth-shattering shag and then tell me I’m weak!  Great notwithstanding, I really must put an end to this foolishness.  One more day.  As soon as this camping trip is over, I swear, I am going to be all mature about this and tell Gerald not to ever tempt me or even kiss me ever again!  In fact, I will get a restraining order that he is not to get within groping distance from me.  That way I will forever be safe from touching, unclothing, nibbling any part of his yummy self! 

Ge sat next to me during dinner, up, serving me food and drinks, but I kept my vow of silence…refusing to admit that there is some truth to what he said about me falling for him.

Gerald:  Kimmy, smile naman dyan!

 “I have nothing to smile about.”

 Gerald:  Sure you do!  You are surrounded by people who love you, there’s plenty to smile about!

 “Don’t you know there are kids starving in Africa?”

 Gerald:  Do you want to go for a walk after dinner?

 Mom:  Hey, you kids are not getting out of our singing session.  No one is breaking tradition this year!

 Matt:  Shoot me now!

Oh what joy!  My parents’ idea of an ultimate family bonding is to sing geeky songs of their era around the bonfire.  That walk in the dark with Ge suddenly sounds very inviting…noticing his smug grin as I shot him a glance though made me think otherwise.  Something in his eyes spell mischief and I refuse to be caught up in that dilemma…again! 

I cringed as dad took out his trusty guitar.  His idea of showing off his ‘cool dad’ side is to sing painfully out of tune renditions of Air Supply songs. 

 “This is totally inhumane!”

 I looked at Ge while I was making my protests known.  I haven’t noticed him talk to me since I rejected his offer of a walk and it’s kinda making me a little less happy.  I made a few more little comments but he seemed genuinely so into his tragically off-key singing mode.

So, it’s not that important to him that I am talking to him again.  So what, right?  Why should it bother me if he doesn’t treat me as special as I’d like him to?  There’s no need for me to feel all crummy.  There’s no need for me to suddenly develop a strong longing to scoot closer to him.  And there is definitely no way I am going to imagine the two of us cuddling up by the fire getting all nice and cozy!  I am so not going there!

“Jesus!” 

I was jolted out of my inner-self discussion as I felt something warm land on my shoulder.

Gerald:  You seem cold.

Aw!  He cares after all!  He cares enough to notice that I was starting to feel the chill.  He cares enough to put a jumper around my shoulders!  The very thought startled me so that by the time I said my thanks, he had sat next to Matt discussing God-knows-what!  Damn!  I was so looking forward to slightly brushing my hand against his arm along with my thanks.  (Any excuse for contact and to get close.)  Too bad I was too slow on my maneuver. 

Suddenly I felt so alone.  Ge and Matt were into their brotherly bonding moment while my parents were grossly oogling each other, no doubt re-living whatever caused that glow in their eyes.  Eww.  I shuddered at the thought.

“Okay guys, I’m gonna head off to bed.”

I know I am only going to a tent just a few feet away but is it too much to ask for his world to be shattered that I am about to disappear from his sight?  His blatant disregard really just gutted me. 

Matt:  Are you okay baby girl?

“Need to catch up on my beauty sleep.  It’s a beautiful people thing, you wouldn’t understand.”

Gerald:  Well then, by all means princess, don’t let us keep you.

Honestly, I expected him to have sensed my sadness and run after me, or cheer me up, or even pester me…anything!  Why am I so cranky and emotional all of a sudden?

I have never realized the extent of my loneliness until now.  Maybe it’s the fact that we’re in the jungle where TV and internet are out of reach and the sound of crickets and mosquitos are all I have to mask that lonely, empty feeling inside.  I could really use a good cry right now…but it’s so not the right time to look all pathetic and wimpy.  I am sharing the tent with Matt and Ge and there’s going to be hell to pay if I let them see me cry.