Tres Marias

"PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEBBBBBBB!!!!"

"Bro!" Lorraine yanked my sleeve, almost getting me hit by a car.

"Hey! Watch out, kid! You were deep in thought!" The driver wasn't mad, just concerned.

"S-sorry bro. My bad," I said, bowing my head in apology.

"Alright, just be careful," he replied. We let the car pass as our apartment was just around the corner. I was on autopilot again. Lorraine and I rushed inside, locking the gate and door behind us. We headed straight to the kitchen to unload the groceries for Jessica. She wasn't awake yet, so we knew she was still in her room. Lorraine led the way upstairs.

"Ha ha ha ha!!!" Lorraine tried to stifle her laughter.

"Hey, bro, Jessica's sprawled out in her sleep!" she giggled.

"Eh, whatever! I've seen Jessica like that before. Just fix her up," I said.

Sure enough, Jessica was sleeping with everything on display. I felt a little thrill seeing her that way. I was definitely attracted to her. How many times had I fantasized about her? I grabbed a blanket and covered Jessica's nakedness. Then, I turned on the ceiling fan, which we hadn't used overnight because it was chilly.

"Let's chill in the living room and let Jessica sleep," I suggested to Lorraine. We sat where they had been drinking the night before. There was a long silence. I noticed Lorraine fanning herself with her hand. She was sweating.

"Hold on, let me get the electric fan from upstairs. It's hot. There's cold water in the fridge; help yourself," I said, heading upstairs for the fan. When I plugged it in and aimed it at Lorraine, I sat back down.

"Tok tok tok tok..." Someone knocked on the gate. I wasn't expecting anyone. Could it be Dadoy? My brother? The person didn't say anything, so I opened the door.

"Oh, K-Kate? What are you doing here?"

"Aaahhhh Kate! You little minx!" Lorraine shrieked when she saw her friend Kate.

"W-Wait a sec, Kate, let me get the key."

"Hey, you said you were going home to Bulacan! You crazy fuck!" Kate scolded me. This tiny firecracker!

"Hey! Good thing you came back! Did your mom let you?"

"Yeah. I told her I was visiting Christopher."

"C-Christopher?"

"Yeah, that's the name of Arcy's brother."

"Same name as your Dad?"

"Yeah..." Kate and Lorraine continued their back-and-forth.

"Kate, come on in. Have you eaten?"

"Yeah, I already ate," Kate said, sitting down. She was freshly showered and looking great. She wore a fitted plain white collared shirt tucked into blue acid-wash jeans and flat shoes.

"Dressed up, huh? Where you headed, girl?" Lorraine teased Kate.

"I said I was going to Tutuban to buy a bag," Kate replied.

"You're up early," Lorraine said.

"Of course, traffic! And Divi gets packed!"

I just sat there like I wasn't there, letting them talk. Their conversation was full of playful banter.

"Hey, why are you still here? Did you sleep here? Did you sleep next to my boyfriend?"

"Oh! Your boyfriend? M-My bro?" Lorraine was shocked.

"Yeah! I introduced him to my parents yesterday! He was at our house talking to my dad!" Kate explained. This girl was something else.

"Wow! Congrats, Kate and bro! You're official! Awesome!!!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on... hold on, you guys. Wait, wait, wait!!" Lorraine darted to the room near the dirty kitchen.

"Uh, what's up with her?" Kate asked.

"Uh, maybe she needs to pee. We were drinking last night. Jessica's in Arcy's room, sleeping," I lied but quickly corrected myself.

"Where's your crew and Arcy?"

"My brother went back to Bulacan. They left together to go to the corner."