CHAPTER 6: A FORBIDDEN KISS

The doctor, who Lola insisted to check on my leg, said that I do not have any sprain, except that I have a bad case of bruise and a cut on my knee. He advised to just let it rest. And because of that, Lola insisted that we stayed over for the night.

During the dinner, Rodney and I were both quiet, probably because we were both thinking about the single room that Lola insists we should use, even though there are obviously many available room in the house.

"When do you plan to get married?"

Rodney and I looked at each other, waiting for one of us to answer the question.

He cleared his throat before answering. “Lola, we are not thinking about that yet.”

“When will you start thinking about it? You’re both no longer teenagers. And I am old, I want to see my great grandchild before I go.”

“You’re still strong, Lola. You can live up to a hundred!”

The old lady glared at him. "I'm not joking!"

"By the way, Gran, when will you go back to the States?"

"Who said I'm going back to America? I'm staying here for good. And do not try to change the subject. I want to see you married. I will not be in this world for long, Rodney. I do not want to leave you alone in your life. I want you to settle down so that I can rest in peace. "

"Lola, please don’t talk like that."

“If you don’t have a plan yet, then start making one now,” she insisted.

Rodney exhaled and did not argue anymore.

“By the way, you left your phone earlier when you went to the hot spring,” Lola said. Rodney instinctively reached for his pocket. It seems he only realized that he doesn’t have his phone now. That is true for me, too. I left my phone inside my bag and didn’t remember to check it.

"Someone kept on calling you, but I didn’t want to meddle with your personal gadgets so it just got drained ringing."

Rodney glanced at me.

"A certain ‘Babe' was calling," Lola’s eyebrow is arched as if making a silent question.

Rodney turned pale and I gulped nervously.

“Oh! Babe was calling!” I exclaimed in a voice that sounded too cheerful even for me.

Lola looked at me. “Babe?”

“Yes Lola. Babe is the Rodney’s college bestfriend.” I explained and turned to Rodney. “What could it have been about?”

Before Rodney could answer, a house help approached me.

“Miss, your phone is ringing inside your bag,” she said and gave me my bag.

“Thank you,” I took it and turned to Lola. “Lola, may I?”

“Go on take the call, Mira. It might be something really important.”

I checked who is calling and saw Shelley’s name. ‘I’m so dead!’

"Hello, Babe," I answered the call.

<Mira? Why are you calling me Babe??>

"Ah, yes. He's here with me. He left his phone earlier. Do you need something?"

<Of course I need update! Where have you been and why didn’t you bring your phone?>

"Oh, is that so? If it is confidential, then I will give the phone to Ney so that you can talk to him in private."

<Ney?? You call my boyfriend Ney?! Who the hell do you think you are?!> Shelley is fuming mad and I can almost picture her furious face.

I handed my phone over to Rodney. “She said it is confidential, so please talk to her.”

Rodney took the phone. “Thank you,” and then he looked into my eyes and I knew what he was thanking me for. He excused himself and left the dining room.

Lola was looking at me intently once we were left alone.

“I raised Rodney by myself ever since his parents died together,” she said after a while, looking somewhere in a distant past. “When I die, he will be all alone in this world without a family. I want you to marry him."

"But Lola, I can't force him to marry me. I don’t want to get ahead of him," I argued.

"But I can," she said with a mischievous smile on her lips. It seems I have to be nervous about what is running through her mind. "By the way," she said after a while. "Rodney told me before that you are staying together?"

My forehead creased. I didn't know that. And Shelley is not staying with him.

"Ah.. Y-Yes.." I acted embarrassed by the fact. But the truth is, I am unsure if that answer is the right response. But if Rodney said that, it shouldn’t be right for me to say otherwise.

"And you're not pregnant yet?"

My face turned red at the insinuation. Yes, I was fantasizing about Rodney to the point that I see him in my dreams sometimes, but..

...

Well.. I must admit that my imagination sometimes run wild that it may have reached ‘that point’.

“I can see from your reaction that you two must have not yet crossed ‘that’ line,” Lola mused.

“Y-Yes Lola, we haven’t.. You know.. That.” I covered my face with my hands.

Before she can start another conversation, Rodney came back, and I was able to breathe comfortably.

"How is she?" I asked him.

“She’s okay. We will just talk in person tomorrow when we get back to Manila,” he answered.

"Rodney," Lola called him in a stern voice.

"Yes Gran?"

"I confirmed with Mira that the two of you are living together, how can you do that to your girlfriend?? You should have married her first!"

Rodney turned to me sharply, confused. I paled at what Lola said. Could she have just bluffed me earlier?

“It isn’t right for you to live with her without marrying her first. Well, since you have been living in, anyway, we should plan your wedding pronto,” she ordered.

Rodney sent me a questioning look and I just gaped back at him helplessly. I bit my lower lip.

"Lola, I-I'm okay with our arrangement. I cannot ask Rodney for more," I tried to dismiss it.

"Gran, we will marry when we feel ready."

"When will you be ready?" Lola raised her brows.

Rodney just shook his head and did not answer. I also chose to remain silent to avoid making matters worse.

After a while, Lola smiled.

“Now I don’t wonder why you’ve got a good physique now. Someone is taking care of you at your home,” then she turned to me. “So you prepare his breakfast and dinner?”

"Y-Yes, Lola." No, I don’t. Of course I don’t. I do not even know how to cook!

“If that is the case, then maybe you are good at cooking. One of these days, I might be visiting you. Would you cook for me too?"

Lola, I can only prepare the table.

I couldn’t bring myself to respond. What if she takes me up to it and really showed up in Rodney’s place?

“You don’t want to cook for me?” Lola pouted when I didn’t answer.

I glanced at Rodney to ask for help. He would know how to respond to this request.

"She will, Lola. Mira loves to cook," he answered for me.

I gaped at him. How can he say that when he knows that I don't know a thing about cooking?

I hid my concern by smiling at Lola. “Yes Lola, of course I will cook for you if you come by.”

Ugh! I will just cross the bridge when we get there. I just hope she will not remember this conversation when the time comes.

When we were done with dinner, we headed to the room that was prepared for us. I was still feeling restless as I was thinking about this charade we are playing. Our lies keep piling up one after another just to keep up with this farce. But what if Lola really shows up in Rodney’s house? Do I really need to sleep in his place? How about Shelley?

Before I realized, we are already standing outside our room. Lola left us in front of it and proceeded to go to her own room. Once inside, Rodney locked the door. I twitched when I heard the ‘click’.

“Mira,” his voice was calm but formal. I turned around to face him. "Why did you tell Gran that we are living together?"

I bit my lip.

"I didn't exactly ‘tell’ her. She said that you told her that we are living together, so I thought I should just go along with that. I said yes," I explained. What have I gotten myself into?

He sighed. "I'm sorry, Mi. I'm dragging you into this too much."

"It's okay Ney. I agreed to this, so there is no sense in me blaming you for anything that will happen because of this. It’s not like you forced me to it."

“Thank you Mi. You should rest. I know you were tired, and your knee is still hurting. There's the bathroom, you can clean yourself," he gestured at the door at the far side of his room.

I looked at myself. I am wearing the clothes Lola lent me earlier. I was contemplating when he broke through my thoughts again.

"How stupid can I be? I forgot that you do not have sleepwear. Would you mind using my old t-shirt?" he scratched his nape and smiled awkwardly. Gosh! I didn't know he can still get more and more handsome.

“Is it okay for me to use your shirt?” I returned his question.

“There’s no problem with me, as long as you are comfortable.”

He walked to his closet and pulled out an oversized shirt. At least, to me it is oversized. He looked for a short but when he found nothing, he looked back at me.

"Is my boxer short okay with you?"

Fortunately, the light inside the room is dim. Otherwise, he would have surely noticed that my whole face is red with embarrassment.

"Y-Yeah.. That will do."

I avoided his gaze and pretended to look around the room. I even tried to concentrate on the prints in the wallpaper of his room.

If this already feels uncomfortable, what will happen when we sleep together on that bed? How do you expect me to sleep peacefully?

I felt him striding towards me and I felt my knees buckling at his nearness. I slowly let out my breath. I am too affected by him, this is no longer tolerable. ‘Control Mira. Control yourself.’

"Here," Rodney offered his shirt and boxer shorts. I promptly took it and headed towards the bathroom. I need as much space as possible.

Inside, I looked at myself through the mirror for a few minutes, trying to come up with a plan. Maybe I should just sleep on the floor.

Once I've made that resolution, I proceeded to take a bath. When I was about to wear the clothes I borrowed from Rodney, I realized that I have no undergarments to wear. Mine was still with the house help who took it to their laundry area.

My breast was not so obvious earlier because the clothes I was wearing has thick fabric and a towel was draping over my shoulders. But Rodney’s shirt is cotton. And I can see in my reflection that my buds are pointing visibly against the thin fabric.

I pulled the towel that I used earlier and draped it back over myself.

"Your turn," I told Rodney when I came out of the bathroom. Thankfully, he also avoided looking at me. Maybe he was as uncomfortable as I was.

While he was taking a shower, I took the opportunity to put on a lotion and brush my hair. And to avoid any awkward moment of argument about who will take the bed, I pulled the comforter and spread it on the carpeted floor. Surely, Rodney has another blanket stashed somewhere, so I also took the blanket and a pillow. I flopped down on my makeshift bed and started sleeping even when my hair is still damp. I covered my body with the blanket and just let my head out of my makeshift cocoon.

Rodney was surprised when he saw me once he got out of the bathroom.

"What are you doing?"

"I-I'm.. Err.. going to sleep." He is wearing a thin shirt and a boxer short himself, almost mirroring what I am wearing. I didn't know that his bedroom look could exceed my imagination. I swallowed several times and forced to peel my eyes away from him.

"I'm taking the floor. You will use the bed," he said in a serious tone.

Rodney the gentleman.

"No, I'm fine here. This is your room, it's not fair to push you out of your own bed."

"It's not appropriate to deny a proper bed to a lady," he insisted.

I looked at the ceiling. This is what I wanted to avoid.

"I am not complaining-"

Tok! Tok! Tok!

We looked at each other. We heard Lola from outside the door.

Rodney pulled me up quickly and put back the comforter over the bed. Then he went over to the door.

I was pretending that I was busy making the bed when Lola came in.

"Gran, why?"

"Oh! I see Mira already has something to sleep in. I was planning to give her this." Lola is holding a paper bag in one of her hands. "But never mind. You two look cute together wearing couples shirt and short."

I gave her a shy smile, also it feels like a grimace to me.

"How does your knee feel now, Mira?" Lola came over to me and sat beside me on the bed. Then she turned to Rodney. "Please turn the lights on."

I wanted to shrink in shame when the white light flooded the room. It made me more visible.

Rodney also came over and picked something from the side table.

"I was just about to put on the ointment that Dr. Henry gave earlier," he said. He was referring to the ointment given by the physician who inspected my wound earlier. He said it was to avoid infection and to avoid having a permanent scar.

Rodney knelt in front of me and inspected my wound. He released a small amount of ointment on his finger and was about to apply it on my knee when I stopped him.

"W-would that hurt?"

He smiled gently. "I will erase the pain."

He applied it gently. I felt the sting on my wound, as if peppers have been sprinkled on it, but I stopped myself from making any reaction by biting on my lips hard. I am not a child anymore, these things should no longer bother me.

Rodney saw me biting my lips, so he brought his face closer to my wound. A moment later, I felt his warm lips on my skin very near the wound.

I was paralyzed and all my senses zeroed in on that lips touching my skin.

“Is it still hurting?” he asked me afterwards.

I shook my head mechanically. How can I even think of pain when all that my senses are aware of is the fact that he kissed me on my knee and how that simple body contact sparked throughout my veins?

“You take some rest now. Do not pull on the blanket over you for a while, it might wipe off the ointment,” he instructed afterwards. I followed him like a robot.

"In that case, I'll go ahead and rest, too," Lola said and stood up. "Goodnight, Mira," she bent towards me and kissed my hair. The gesture sparked nostalgia within me that made my eyes moist.

"Goodnight, Lola," I only managed to whisper as emotion threatens to choke me.

Rodney went to see Lola to the door and kissed her cheeks before locking the door. I tried to wipe my eyes but he returned before I can compose myself.

"Mi! What happened? Does it still hurt?"

I shook my head but when I couldn’t contain it, I burst out crying.

He quickly came over and sat beside me. He cupped my face on his hands.

"Then, why are you crying?"

"I-I'm.. I just miss my Dad..I'm sorry, I'm such a softie." I continuously wipe my tears while explaining. I know what’s happening to me is homesickness.

"No, no. It's okay. Cry it out."

Rodney gently pulled me to himself and put my head on his chest. He let me cry out while rubbing my back.

His embrace is warm. It's been a long time since someone embraced me in such a way.

Slowly, my nerves calmed down. And slowly, I am becoming more aware of his nearness, of his embrace and of his cheek that is pressed against my head.

"Mi..?"

"W-Why?"

"Your hair is not naturally curly, right?"

I tensed. How could he have known?

"W-Why did you ask?"

"Your hair regrowth.."

I reached for my hair and felt it. There's about two to three inches of straight hair from the roots.

I did not answer him.

"Why would you like a kinky, messy hair?"

"Ah.. It’s just that, I didn’t know it will turn out this way when I tried perming my hair. It makes no difference, anyway. I still look.. awful."

"You don't look awful."

I looked up at him and met his eyes.

"Not at all.." and as if hypnotized, his lips descended on mine.