9 A Walk On The Beach

[Johan's POV]

Despite the awkward rift between them, he could not deny his request. Not when his blue eyes were silently pleading.

After grabbing a black shirt and a pair of loose army-printed trouser shorts, Johan accepted Adrian's invitation for a walk. They ended up taking a scroll at Subic Beach, side by side, arms lightly brushing against each other.

Johan had his flip-flops on, unbothered by the lukewarm seawater occasionally splashing his feet. If anything, it was the watching eyes of his companion, that agitated his heart.

Adrian had removed his shoes, his tight-fitting jeans rolled up to his knees as he shuffled onto the wet sand. "There are so many people out here."

"Yeah," Johan agreed. "It's summer, so it gets crowded around this time of the year."

The sun had only sunk an hour ago, and Johan could still see a faint streak of orange across the horizon. Both locals and tourists loitered at the coast. Their laughter lingered in the air before the sloshing of waves drowned it as it crashed onto the shore.

"Mom said she met my father on the beach," Adrian said. "He's German."

"Oh."

Johan had figured Adrian's not a pure Filipino from the day he transferred to their department a couple of months ago. It's quite rare to find a natural blue-eyed blond in a tropical country like the Philippines. Unless they dyed their hair and wore contacts.

"How about you? Are you also a Half?"

"Yeah," he confessed, subconsciously covering his eyes with his hair. "My mother's Chinese, and before you ask, I don't know Mandarin."

"I'm not." Adrian laughed, soft and musical, but not like the taunting he received when he was younger. It's a beautiful sound that warmed his chest.

A hand reached out to sweep his hair away, stopping Johan from walking. "W-what?"

"Your eyes." Adrian stepped in front of him. The height difference made him look up, and the blond answered the question that's been lingering on his mind without asking. "I had to see them again. That's why I'm here."

His body made an involuntary shiver. Johan looked away as his face grew warm. It's always his eyes wherever he went. "It's nothing special. Stop flattering me. I told you—"

"I'm sorry," Adrian cut him off, unzipping his beige hoodie. He took it off and draped it around Johan's shoulders. He must have mistaken his quivers were caused by the cool wind blowing in from the seafront.

"I'm not cold. And what are you sorry for?"

"For how I acted that day," he said, hands insisting he'd wear the hoodie when he tried to remove it. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, and I'm sorry if I keep doing so."

Johan stopped struggling and let the article of clothing hang on his shoulders. He shook his head at Adrian's apology, guilt twisting the insides of his stomach. "Don't be. I'm the one in the wrong. I should be the one apologizing. You're just trying to be a good friend."

"I'm not."

"What..." Johan wanted to question what he meant, but his words died in his throat the moment Adrian closed the distance between them, arms slipping to both sides of his body for an embrace. He stilled.

Adrian nuzzled his nose to his nape. "Honestly, I have other intentions in trying to get close to you."

The pathetic squeak that escaped his mouth was muffled through Adrian's white shirt. Blood pulsed to his ears, his cheeks, and to the lower region of his body as the musky fragrance invaded his nose.

Adrian pulled away a little, his stubble grazing his skin, tickling him. "I want to kiss you, Han," he confessed, his minty breath wafting across his lips. "Can I?"

"... No," Johan whispered. But the inviting warmth had him frozen. He should back away, however, his body betrayed him. There was a magnetic pull that kept him in place. Johan gulped. "Someone might see us."

"No one's around."

True. They have reached a secluded part of the beach. With the waning moon hidden above the clouds and the shade of the coconut trees, even if someone saw them, it wouldn't matter.

"You have a girlfriend, Adrian," Johan managed through clenched teeth. "It's not fair—"

"Just a kiss, Han. I won't... I won't ask for more."

The hint of desperation laced in Adrian's breath melted him, and whatever resolve left in his body crumbled to his feet.

"... J-just a kiss? Nothing more, a-alright?"

"Just a kiss."

When Adrian pulled both sides of the hoodie on his shoulders, and his lips closed around his own, the flimsy line of friendship they had shattered. And there's no going back. The kiss started slow, with Adrian taking the lead. Johan could sense the faint taste of cognac in his lips. He had been drinking before coming to see him.

"You should stop... doing that," he said after breaking the kiss, breathless. Before Adrian misunderstood, he spoke again. "I-I meant driving when you're under the influence of alcohol."

Adrian smiled. The disappointment in his eyes when he cut the kiss short disappeared. "I didn't come here with my bike, but sure. I don't want to worry you."

"I'm not..." Johan trailed off when Adrian pulled away from their embrace, his warmth leaving him. Adrian held his hand and pulled him off the shore.

"How about we take a seat? I felt awkward kissing you while holding my shoes."

Adrian led him under the shade of a coconut tree, using the jacket he placed on his shoulders as a blanket. He dropped his shoes on the sand and plopped down, patting the space beside him.

"If a coconut drop to your head and kill you, I'm burying your dead body in the sand."

Adrian chuckled. "No, it won't. Look." He pointed upwards. "The tree is slightly crooked. If a fruit dropped, it will be on the other side. Now sit."

Johan complied and took a seat beside Adrian. His heart was still thrashing loudly across his chest. They just kissed. Fuck, he kissed Adrian!

"Don't think," Adrian said, cupping his face. "Right now, it's just you and me."

"We will pay for this." Johan looked around, trying to find if there's someone nearby. None. "Karma is—"

"Shssh..." Adrian's thumb caressed his lower lip to silence him. An arm circled around his waist, and he was pulled to sit between Adrian's legs.

Johan had to place his legs on top of Adrian's left thigh so he can face him. The waning moon shone through the coconut leaves, and while it seemed cliche, the moment was somewhat perfect. Even in the dark, he could still outline the smile across his handsome face.

"I've wanted this for long," Adrian admitted, resting a hand to his waist. "But you're so elusive I was beginning to think I'll never be able to."

"I didn't know you have that keen interest in me."

Adrian lightly squeezed his waist. "I've been sending you signs that I'm interested. You never picked them up. Or were you purposely ignoring it?"

'Because you have a girlfriend,' he wanted to say, but couldn't. He blocked the thought away, letting the gentle sloshing of waves calmed his mind. "I don't want to assume," he told him instead.

"I know. If I hadn't heard it coming from your own mouth, that you like me, I would have given up and find someone else."

The idea of Adrian fooling around with other men made his chest tightened. Rhia was okay. She had him first, and she's a girl. Still, they shouldn't be doing this. Why was it so hard to refuse?

Adrian grabbed his chin when he stopped responding and dipped in for a kiss. Compared to earlier, the kiss was more fierce. He nibbled on his lower lip, teeth pulling lightly, sucking on the flesh with fervent need.

Johan gasped, and Adrian took it as an invitation to invade his mouth with his tongue. He groaned, heat pooling on his lower abdomen as the kiss deepened. For months, he only fantasized about this. He didn't know Adrian would be this good at kissing, but he guessed being in a long-term relationship can make a person an expert at pleasing someone with their mouth.

Yes, that's right. He just agreed to kiss a man who's already in a relationship. It was wrong! Yet, at the moment, it felt so sinfully right.

Adrian grabbed his inner thigh, inserting his hand through the wide hem of his shorts, squeezing the heated skin.

Johan moaned. He was ticklish, especially at that part. He squirmed and pushed Adrian off. "You said... just a kiss..."

Adrian moved to his neck. "Yeah. Just a kiss," he assured, his thick voice ghosting over his adam's apple. True to his words, Adrian didn't move his hand further, but he kept it there, pinching, massaging, as if he's a baker kneading a piece of dough.

The ministrations aroused him, and his shorts tightened. The noise that escaped his throat was sultry.

"Don't make a noise or someone might hear us," Adrian ordered. He trailed back to his mouth, catching the whine he emitted.

The authoritative voice only made him stiffened inside his trousers. He was sure he's already leaking in his boxers. Add to that, they're on the beach. He'd be lying if being out in the open didn't thrill him.

Adrian pulled away, a string of saliva still connecting their mouth. "Han?"

Johan was still gasping for air, but he managed to stutter a reply. "Y-yeah?"

"I'm hard." Adrian grabbed his hand and placed it on the bulge in his pants.

Blood rushed to his cheeks as Adrian made him grope his growing erection. Oh, fuck, he's huge!

"I know you're hard too," he said, caressing the front of his trousers. "Wanna continue this in your apartment?"

Johan removed his hand on top of the pulsing organ beneath Adrian's jeans. He swatted the hand fondling him and scrambled to his feet. "No. You said only kissing. That's it."

Adrian raised his hands in surrender, pushing himself to stand. "Alright. I'm not going to push my luck tonight. Maybe next time?"

"There's no next time. Whatever happens here, stays here."

Johan wanted to be resolute with his decision. But as Adrian swooped in for another kiss, hand grabbing his hips to press their erection through the material of their clothes, his determination dwindled.

Adrian's kiss was like a poison to his mind, but an aphrodisiac to his body. It eroded his reasoning, making him succumb to desire.

Despite his resistance, this marked the beginning of their affair.