Chapter Five

Hawk danced with the women. They were all beautiful. Most were available and some were in a complicated relationship. He was not interested in any of them. He was just glad that several were his age.

"Hi, Hawk! Long time no see. Remember me? Sonia?" A woman with heavy make-up and be-ringed fingers batted her eyelashes as she talked. Her big breasts were confined in the tight bodice of her long black dress. Her hips were ample. She was a short woman with borrowed height from skyscraper heels.

"Sonia. I remember you. I heard you got married. Belated congratulations," he acknowledged formally.

"Oh, it's condolences. Actually, Pablo died in his sleep a few months ago. Poor man," Sonia purred while her eyes sized him up.

Hawk knew Pablo Echalas. The man was one of his late grandfather's friends. Poor old man, indeed.

"Care to dance?" Sonia whispered. A naughty smile played on her lips.

Hawk inclined his head. "Sure." He let Sonia wrap her soft body around him. She danced almost indecently. Her hands crept up to his neck suggestively. But he felt nothing. He just felt irritated.

When he held Jade in his arms, it felt like heaven. They could dance the whole night. Her hand was smooth and soft. Her waist was small. Her hips just a little bit rounded. And her butt... his caressing palm itched to go down there.

He closed his eyes to relive the moment. Oh, Jade...

His hands could do short work on her long skirt. He could bunch it around her waist and let his rampant desire conquer her.

"We could go somewhere, you know." Sonia's voice penetrated the fog in his brain. "I know what you want, lover boy."

He snapped his eyes open. They were behind a divider, made of stained capis. She was tiptoeing in front of him to kiss him on the mouth. Her arms went around his neck. Her breasts were flattened on his chest. Her embrace was too tight.

Sonia took his hands and guided them to her breasts. She mauled her softness, still holding his hands. Another man would get really excited but not Hawk. He remained still. But he wanted to forget Jade. He had to work hard to let himself feel the scene. He pinched Sonia's nipples. His palms kneaded her body. He cupped her buttocks then pulled her to him.

She seemed to like it. She mewled and sighed and groaned aloud. Her hand had crept towards his front zipper.

"Don't be loud," he reprimanded her.

He closed his eyes once again, trying to drown himself on the French kiss that Sonia was giving him expertly. He could taste her lipstick. Her perfume was cloying. Her breath smelt of stale cigarette smoke and coffee. The kiss was full of saliva and definitely distasteful.

He stepped back suddenly. His hands disentangled her arms around his neck. He took a deep breath. It was useless. Sonia was not Jade.

Jade's body had the firm softness of the young. Sonia's body sagged and the curves were too heavy.

"My mother needs me. Excuse me," he muttered while zipping up his front.

He walked back towards Alicia while pulling out a handkerchief from his pocket. He surreptitiously wiped the lipstick stain from his skin.

Hawk kept an eye on the clock as he made small talk with his mother and her other guests. His mother noticed this.

"We should dance, Hawk. It's been a long time," Alicia said suddenly.

"I thought you forgot how to dance," Hawk quipped, earning a sad smile from his mother. "I promise to call you more often." He whispered when they were circling the polished dance floor.

"Oh, Hawk, please do. I missed you," Alicia sighed. "It's so lonely here. If not for Jade, I might die because of loneliness. Jon always made me laugh..."

"I miss you, too, Ma." Hawk was guilty. Their work was mostly complete. The bridge was complete. They were cleaning the edges and building small structures for the night watchers. He could leave the natives to get the job done.

"Jade brought her friends here to abate our loneliness. Many times, she makes us busy with the garden," his mother continued. "I am blessed because God gave me a daughter like Jade."

His mother had no idea her words were like rocks hammering at him. His guilt tripled over and over.

"Ma, I love you. Don't forget that," was all he could utter. He could not tell his mother the truth. It was too shameful. Too private. A sinful secret...

"I love you, too, son..." Alicia managed to smile tremulously before bursting to tears.

Hawk comforted his mother by pulling her close. He let her cry while swaying gently on the dance floor. He maneuvered them gently until they reached a secluded area with chairs. He let the older woman sat down, still crying. His handkerchief, which he used to wipe off Sonia's lipstick earlier, was already wet and crumpled.

"What happened to Mommy Alicia?" Jade suddenly appeared beside them. She knelt before Alicia. "Mom Ali?"

"I—I'm alright now. I just remember Jon. I think he's happy now..." Alicia sniffed and mopped her tears. "Oh, Jade, your father would be proud of you. You've grown up into a fine lady!"

"Y-yes, Papa would be proud..." Jade turned to look up to him. Her chocolate eyes were full of questions.

Hawk were still trying to read them when her lashes flicked down to hide the confusion and awareness. She was blushing. Her satiny cheeks and smooth neck became rosy.

But he was not confused. Women had something in common. They flirt with their eyes. His heart started beating slow and heavy. She was getting aware of him!

The discovery had affected him differently. Instead of trying to turn away from her, he was magnetized. His sharp eyes followed her all through the night.

Hawk would often find himself getting green with jealousy. When somebody held Jade, he'd like to punch their face and turn Jade to his arms.

Sonia remained at his perimeter. Observing him. Studying him. She was surrounded by admirers also, like Jade, but she had the hots on him.

Sonia was the only reason why Hawk kept his distance from Jade.

His whisky in the flask had dried out. He requested the waiter for a refill. He knew he should stop drinking but his left knee was hurting from prolonged standing. He carried the flask with him for that purpose. It was a bullet wound that needed another operation and proper recuperation. Hawk promised the doctor he would have those after the conflict.

The second flask was half-empty when the storm reached the area. A loud clap of thunder deafened them, followed by sharp fingers of lightning.

Hawk was instantly alert. He remembered her mother's phobia against loud thunders. She had sufficiently recovered from her crying bout and was again circulating among her friends. But she crumbled instantly after the first clap of thunder.

"Hawk, I can't stand storms like this! Please, assist Jade with the guests. I-I must go to my r-room." His mother was trembling with fright.

"Mommy Ali, I'll go up with you." Jade said determinedly. "You need to take off your dress."

"But the g-guest—"

"I'll take care of them, Ma. Go up with Jade." Hawk said decisively. He heard the slight slur in his speech so he turned away from the two women.

Most of the guests were ready to leave. They wished Alicia and Jade 'goodnight' and 'happy birthday' through Hawk. The last ones to leave was Sonia—and the boyfriend.

Hawk let Sonia pulled him to one side and became very private with him. Unsurprised, he waited for her to say something. He remained still when she rubbed her breasts against his arm.

"Hawk, meet me at my home. The door will be open for you," she purred against his ear. "We'll continue the party on my bed." The suggestion was clear in her action. She pulled a calling card from between her breasts.

He took the card without a word. He planned to discard it later.

"I won't say goodnight, lover boy…"

Hawk just nodded and watched her walk away, but she seemed to changed her mind and turned towards him again. Her eyes were teasing but shrewd.

"On second thoughts, I don't want to be a stand-in for your lust." She tiptoed once again to whisper to his ear. "Give it to your beloved stepsister!" she hissed.

When Sonia left, he was stunned. He didn't know that he was that transparent. That someone had read his intense attention to Jade.

When he turned toward Jade's boyfriend, the man was staring at him unblinkingly. Hawk was a bit unnerved. It seemed the stare was full of awe and adoration. He frowned because there was something not right.

"Jade should be here any minute. Care to have a nightcap?" Hawk decided to know more about the enemy. It was laughable of him to treat the boy as his equal. The fellow was tall and slim but still wet behind the ears.

"I… yes." Jade's boyfriend smiled nervously. What did Jade saw in this fellow? Hawk asked himself as he led the way towards the bar.

The caterers cleaned up fast and were ready to leave. "Mr. Luna, we will come back the next morning." The leader, who was a woman of thirtyish, said goodbye.

"Okay." Hawk escorted them to their van. When he came back, Jade's boyfriend was waiting for him at the bar.

"What would you like to drink?" Hawk asked but he was already opening a bottle of whisky.

"Whatever you're having." The boy smiled, although his eyes still followed Hawk's movement. His sharp gaze was assessing.

"Whisky on ice for you. Your name is—?"

"Ponz. My friends call me Ponz."

Hawk downed his whisky in one gulp. "Why are you looking at me like that?" He asked a direct question.

Jade had asked him the same question earlier. But Ponz seemed undressing him…

"I--I--ah--ahh… I knew you… I just noticed some changes…"

Hawk got intrigued. "You knew me? What changes?"

"I lived at the house next door. I knew you before Jade. I was still a teenager and you were already a—a man." Ponz turned red after taking a sip of the whisky. But he started to blabber.

"You're the son of Mrs. Conchita." Hawk nodded. He remembered 'Ponz'.

"Yes… You're leaner and you got a limp. Did you have an accident?"

"Sort of," Hawk replied tersely. "I'm glad Jade has found a friend who lived nearby." The words almost gagged him.

"Jade and I became very good friends from day one." Ponz swallowed the remainder of whisky from the glass. "May I have another one, please?"

Hawk didn't answer. He just poured another round for both of them.

Jade found them on their third round. Ponz was already half-asleep on the bar seat. Mumbling to himself how much he loved Jay. He kept sighing and moaning about 'Jay'.

Hawk was gritting his teeth. 'Jay' meant 'Jade'.

"Ponz, you're drunk!" Jade exclaimed. She was wearing a loose dress. It was respectable, with long sleeves and below-the-knee skirt. But the material was gauzy. It left anything else to the imagination.

He would bet his whisky flask that she was not wearing a bra. Just a pair of panties…

Jade moved and the lights from the garden created a silhouette. Her breasts were unfettered and swung freely with her body. Hawk swallowed his whisky.

She was wearing a pair of rubber slippers. Her toe nails were painted white on the tips. Hawk frowned. How could he notice her toe nails when his problems would be how to resist looking at her?

Jade swayed with the wind. Her clothes clung to her figure one way and then the other. He could see the color of her panties. Something dark.

He also noticed that she was not looking at him directly. Though she glanced at him under her lashes. Frequently. Was she flirting…?

No. He shook his head mentally. He drank too much...

"Noh, I'm nhot!" Ponz said defensively. "I 'aven't drink dis…" He squinted his eyes on the half-full whisky glass.

"C'mon, don't worry. I'll drink it for you. You must be home by now. Your mother will be worried for you." Like a mother hen, Jade pulled away the whisky glass out of reach. "There's a storm, just in case you forgot."

Another loud clap of thunder, followed by a very bright lightning, vibrated through the house.

A muffled scream was heard. Alicia was awakened.

"It's Mom Ali!"

Hawk was galvanized into action. "I'll look after her. You sort out your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend—"

"Jhay, I missh yhou…" Ponz wailed mournfully.

"Let's take you home before it rains." Jade spoke sternly. She pulled Ponz's arms to help him stand up. "C'mon, march! There are five steps. Oh, what will Tita say? You should not touch alcohol! Your asthma might attack again!"

Ponz didn't move after he stand up. He embraced Jade and whispered to her ear. She answered back but her voice was muffled.

Hawk heard Jade scolding Ponz. He felt guilty. He didn't know Ponz's asthma. He hoped drinking didn't affect the condition.

At Jade's urging, he started walking. They swayed on the way down but managed to reach the pavement across the garden.

The image remained in his mind, as Hawk turned away. Those two were close to each other. He was envious.