“Kim!” Gerald called out, flashlight in his hand. “Kim!”

     Her parents were flying to her villa to check on her, because she didn’t want to pick up her phone. It was now 2:00 in the morning and he was worried sick. He ran to the park where Kim first met Nina, hoping to find her there.

     He was slowly losing hope of finding her as he made his way to the park. He didn’t want to see her half or maybe even dead and be the one to tell her parents, especially that it was his fault in the first place.

     As he stepped foot onto the park, he lifted up is flashlight. The first thing that the beam of light found was a park bench; with a giant lump on it. Gerald stepped closer, shining the light on the lump on the bench; he realized that the lump was none other than Kim.

     “Kim!” he yelled in relief. “Kimmy,” he said running up to her and lifting her in his arms. He squeezed her so tight that Kim couldn’t breathe for about a second or two. “Thank God you’re all right!”

     As he placed her back down on the bench, he sat down next to her and placed his hand over hers. “Don’t ever scare me like that again.”

     Kim stared at him with a look of utter disgust. “Who are you to tell me what and what not to do?” Her usual frown was back again.

     “Kim, please. Please, just give me a chance to explain what happened,” Gerald said. Kim heard in his voice that he was desperate.

     She looked at him, and Gerald’s eyes shone with hope. He took both of her hands in his. “Nina was an old friend of mine,” he began. “I met her a few days after my mother died. I was 12 then and she was 9. Like me, she was alone. So it was like it was me and her against the world. I treated her like family; like a little sister. That’s all I ever thought of her and that’s all I ever will.”

     “But after 4 years—when I was 16 and she was 13—she finally told me that she had fallen in love with me. I tried letting her down easy, but she took it pretty hard. I haven’t seen her since.”

     He looked at Kim, looking for a slight sign belief, but couldn’t find one.

     “Kim,” he said looking into her eyes. “Please. Please, tell me you believe me,” he begged, almost in tears.

     ‘Should I?’ she thought to herself. But then she saw the tears in his eyes and she just couldn’t take it anymore. She loved him too much to torture him any longer. Slowly, Kim nodded. Gerald’s eyes overflowed, but this time with happiness. In a heartbeat, his lips were on hers and the stayed that way for a long, long, long time to make up for the ones they lost.

     “Thank you, Gerald!” Kim’s mother exclaimed when Gerald called them at around 5:30 A.M. They’re back home now and Kim was sound asleep in her room. “Now that we know that Kimmy’s safe, we don’t think we want to go home just yet. After seeing her villa, we feel like taking a vacation in our own.”

     “Okay, ma’am. I’ll make sure to tell Kim when she wakes up,” Gerald said politely.

     “And Gerald—“

     “Yes, ma’am?”

     “You can call me ‘tita,’” she said.

     “And I ‘tito!’” he heard Mr. Chiu add in the background.

     “Okay po, tita,” Gerald said with a smile. “You and tito enjoy your vacation. How long do I tell Kim you’re going to be there?”

     “Two months minimum,” her mother said, laughing. “By the way, Gerald,” she added. “We also sent all of the maids and drivers home so it’s just you and Kim at home for the next few months. You guys will be fine, right?”

     “No problem, tita. I can take care of the both of us,” he said, reassuringly.

     “Remember, iho, you and Kimmy have our blessing,” she reminded him.

     “Alright, tita. Thank you po,” Gerald said, as Mrs. Chiu hung up the phone.

     He let her sleep for a few more hours, knowing that she was still tired from the night before. But at around 2:30, he went into her room, taking advantage of the fact that the locksmith still hasn’t come.

     He snuck his way to her bed, took off his slippers and joined her under the black and red covers. He put and arm around her and nuzzled her neck trailing small, soft kisses up to her lips.

     Kim was shocked. Her eyes opened wide and elbowed Gerald in his gut. He grunted at the sudden pain in his stomach and released Kim. She turned around and found him grimacing in pain.

     “Oh, goodness, baby, I’m sorry! I forgot my locks weren’t there and I didn’t know it was you,” she said rubbing the spot where she hit him.

     “Man, Kim! Looks like I had nothing to worry about!” Gerald chuckled, holding her hand, going at the same pace as she rubbed his stomach.

     “I am so sorry,” Kim said, kissing the spot. “What were you doing here so early anyway?”

     “Here,” Gerald said. “Let me show you what I was doing.”

     He started over from when he lay down beside her. He kissed her neck all the way to her lips as Kim released a small moan. The he next thing Kim knew was that Gerald was on top of her, his lips on hers.

     “Mmm-mm,” she said, pushing him away. “Not yet.”

     Gerald chuckled. “And why not?” he asked, kissing her neck again.

     “Because I’m hungry,” she said trying to get up.

     “Well I’m hungry, too!” he said, gently pushing her back down. “Hungry for you.”

     “Mama and Papa might hear us, though,” she said.

     “Well, lucky for us, when your parents checked your villa for you, it made them miss their own. They won’t be back for another few months,” Gerald said knowingly.

     “So,” Kim said, thinking. “You mean to say that we have the whole house—“

     “—mansion,” Gerald corrected her.

     “—to ourselves for the next few months?” she asked.

     “That’s exactly what I mean sweetie,” he said looking lovingly down at her.

     “What about the maids, and the drivers?” Kim asked skeptically.

     “Ah, my dear Kim, your parents have sent them home for the next few months, leaving us to fend for ourselves. But don’t worry honey, we’ll be fine. I promised your parents that I’ll take good care of you,” he said tracing a line around her beautiful face with his index finger.

     “So we’re completely alone?”

     “Uh-huh.”

     Kim looked up thoughtfully and then looked into Gerald’s beautiful, brown eyes and—pushed him off of the bed! She started running while laughing down the hall in her black tank top and black short shorts, Gerald trailing behind her. She ran into his room and tried closing the door, but Gerald was too fast, he pried door open while she tried to push it closed. Both tried very hard, but eventually, Gerald got it opened. As soon as he stepped foot into his domain, he grabbed her by the waist and lay her on the bed, following her as soon as possible.

     “We don’t have to do this, okay?” Gerald said. “I won’t pressure you to do anything you don’t want to,” he reassured her.

     “Are you sure?” Kim asked with a giggle. “So you won’t mind if I just got up and left you here?”

     “Well, I said we don’t have to do it,” Gerald said, almost disappointed. “I mean—if you want to—I mean—I won’t have a problem with that either.”

     “Of course you won’t,” Kim said, lifting her head up for her lips to meet his.

     Gerald released a small moan as he felt Kim’s tongue slide in between his lips and meet his own.

     “Mm, Kimmy. I missed you,” he moaned.

     Kim giggled. “I’ve only been gone a few hours,” Kim said her lips still against his.

     “So just imagine what I’d end up being if I lost you,” Gerald said kissing her even deeper.

     After hours of their make-out session, they finally came downstairs to have some food. What was supposed to be ten minutes of cooking lasted for an hour and ½ because they kept playing with the utensils and ingredients.

     The happy couple headed for the terrace, warm bowls of food in their hands, making themselves comfortable on the couch. Gerald pulled Kim on his lap almost immediately after he sat down and kept his powerful arms around her tiny waist.

     “Here,” Kim said, feeding him a spoonful of her adobo. A dish her yaya Pokwang taught her years ago.

     “Mmm! Baby this is delicious!” Gerald exclaimed.

     “What’d I tell you?” she said proudly.

     “Okay, I definitely don’t mind marrying you right now,” he told her.

     “So you minded marrying me five minutes ago?” she feinted anger.

     “No, no. Baby, I didn’t mean it that way,” Gerald said tightening his grip around her, almost as if afraid to lose her again. But Kim continued her act. She faced the other way with that frown upon her face. Gerald, however, took it more seriously than she expected him to.

     “Kim. Kim, please. Look at me,” he begged as he turned her head to face him. “Kimmy, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way.” Kim saw worry and panic in his eyes—terrified to lose her. “Please, baby, I’m sorry.”

     She lifted her hand up to his cheek and caressed it. Then she moved her head closer to his for their lips to meet for another electrifying kiss. “It’s okay,” Kim said after pulling back.

     Gerald sighed—out of relief, of course. His eyes once again became gentle, his grip on her waist loosened, but not enough for her to feel it, and his body relaxed a bit. It was only then that Kim saw how much she really meant to Gerald.

     “Thank you,” she said, holding back tears.

     “What for?” he asked, confused.

     “For loving me the way you do,” she said.

     “What?” he asked with a smile.

     “You’re the first person to ever actually show interest in me. To ever actually care if I’m mad or sad or upset,” she said looking back through her life. “You’re the only one.”

     “Shh. Don’t say that,” Gerald told her. “I know that even if your parents failed to show you that all these years, they love you and they care about you. They were just too busy to notice those things, because they were trying hard to give you everything you wanted.

     “Yeah,” she said wrapping her arms around him. “I guess you’re right. Thanks, Ge.”

     “No problem,” he said. “I’ll always be here for you, Kimmy. I love you.”

     “I love you, too,” she said.