CHAPTER 2: DUKE

I know I love Lady, but I can’t help myself not to see Candy. Candy is a sweet girl, caring, pretty, and she is younger than Lady and me. She is Lady’s opposite. If Lady loves reading. Candy loves watching movies with me. If Lady wants to take photos of events. Candy wants to record and take photos of our moments together because she wants to treasure every moment we are together. I am happy with Lady, but I am also happy with Candy. Lady didn’t know about Candy, and Candy didn’t know about Lady. I know Lady will get mad if she finds out about Candy, and same with Candy. I don’t want to lose Lady, and I also don’t want to lose Candy. I am standing between them. Right now, I lied to Lady just to see Candy. I know that she is alone waiting for me at home but she will not know about this. She doesn't need to know about Candy and Candy doesn’t need to know about Lady too. Right now I will go to Candy because she is alone too because her brother, the police, is not always home to be with her. That is why I told Lady that I still have work, but the truth is I will go to Candy to be with her. I know it is bad to cheat on the woman you love, but here is the woman who loves me. Waiting to be with me. Waiting for me to come. I am like in between “I am a fool if I said that I don’t love Candy but I will be a liar if I said that I love her” and I feel like I am torn between two lovers.

“Duke,” She said with a smile when she saw me. She runs to me and hurriedly opens their gate to let me in. She hugged and kissed me and I know for sure that she misses me. Like Lady, she is also wearing the bracelet that I gave her. She always wore it because she told me that every time she wears the bracelet. She feels like I am holding her hand. That is how sweet she is, that is how she loves me.

“I miss you so much,” She said with a smile with an excitement on her face and pinched me on my cheek that made it red but that is okay. I am used to it.

“Me too,” I said, and I hugged and kissed her.

“Come on, Let’s get inside” She held my hand, and we went inside together.

We went inside the house and liked Lady. She cooked food for me, a buttered chicken and a beef steak. I am just right in time because I am already hungry. I didn’t eat what Lady cooked for me because I would eat with Candy. I didn’t even bother to check what she cooked for me anyway. Tomorrow, I will go home to her, and I will make up for her, but as of now I will enjoy my time with Candy. I know she hasn't eaten yet because she is waiting for me. That is why we eat together the food that she cooked. She made a juice for us too with a cucumber that makes it more special.

“Do you like the food?” She asked me while looking at me with a smile. Sometimes she acts like a kid, which makes her more cute.

“Yes, I do,” I answered. I really do because the food is delicious. The taste is great and just right. Not salty which makes me like it more. 

“That was cooked with love” She said

“I know,” I answered, swallowing the food inside my mouth and drinking the juice that she put in my glass. 

“Where is your brother?” I asked even though I don’t have a plan to meet her brother because I know that this is all temporary even though she is dreaming about her “forever” with me.

“He will not go home again”, She answered while we were eating together. Later she will play a movie after we eat and we will watch it together. 

“How’s the juice that I made?” She asked me

“It tastes good and I like it,” I answered. She came closer to me and pinched my nose and that turned it red like rudolph; the rednosed reindeer.

“I love you… I love you and I love you so much” She said with a smile and kissed me on my cheek that made me smile. Candy is like Candy, she is sweet and Lady is like a Lady, she is a fine lady and I can’t help myself not to think about Lady whenever I am with Candy, and I can’t stop thinking about Candy whenever I am with Lady. I know it is funny and weird, but it is happening to me. Though I never expect this to happen, I will be stuck in the middle of the two women. Candy was my co-worker before. At first, I thought I only felt pity for her for losing her parents. Her father died five years ago because of cancer, and her mother died two years ago. She has nothing, only her brother, who is always busy working away from her. At first, they were just teasing me with Candy. That we are perfect for a couple. I don’t mind them at first because I have Lady. Until I couldn’t stand a day without being with Candy, she resigned because she got depressed from her mother’s death, and I got affected. I always want to see her, to be with her. I thought it was just only for a friend but time passed. I didn’t realise that we've been together for two years now. I know that she loves me, and I can feel it. She is dreaming about marriage, children and building a family with me, but I can’t promise her because the woman I love is waiting for me at home, and that is Lady.

We are watching a Romeo and Juliet movie. While she is lying on my lap and holding my hand. She is taking photos of me, of us, because she wants to look at it every time we are not together. She said our photos and videos together helped her ease the loneliness that she felt every time I am not with her. That is how she loves me. That is how sweet she is. She went close to my face and kissed me. First on my cheek, then next on my lips. I kissed her back, and like before, we made love. We make love on the sofa, bathroom, on her bed, in the kitchen with a camera on. We make love and fall asleep to each other’s arm wearing nothing; only a blanket covers our naked body.

I didn’t notice the time and I needed to go home. I slowly stood up not to wake her up and put on my pants and shirt because I need to go now. It is already seven o’clock in the morning. I know Lady is already waiting for me. I didn’t know if she slept or if she stayed awake all night waiting for me. I know I hurt her again by leaving her but I know she will forgive me once I come home for her. 

“Are you going now?” She asked me while scratching her eyes. She just woke up with the blanket covering her naked body. We slept late last night because of the love that we made. 

“As much as I don’t want to leave but I have to” I answered.  I packed my bag, combed my hair, brushed my teeth, put perfume all over my body and bid Candy goodbye. I can see the sadness in her eyes because I will leave her again.

“See you later, Love,” I told her. She hugged me tight and kissed me and smelled me with her eyes closed.

“Your perfume fills my whole room that makes me imagine you while you are out for work” She said while her eyes were closed. With a blanket still covering her naked body. I can feel her soft breast but it is time for me to go now.

“When can I see you again?” She asked while looking at me and still hugging me with her legs wide open and still with her eyes closed.  As if she doesn't want me to go.

“Because I will miss you”, She said as if she was not going to see me for a long time. I am always visiting her almost every day of the week because I want to see her too. I feel like I am not complete if I don’t see her and if I am not with her. 

“Maybe later I will try to come here again”, I answered. That makes her smile and her eyes wide open because of the excitement that she is going to see me again.

“But why maybe?” She asked like a kid and gave me a frown that made her look cute.

“Don’t frown, you look cuter when you do that” I told her and came closer to her. I leaned on the bed and pinched her cheeks that made her smile.

“I will call you” She said while watching me refresh myself but I didn’t answer because I am not sure about that. I am with Lady and for sure I cannot answer her call.

“Because I don’t know my schedule yet, I have work”, I lied just to divert the conversation about her calling me later, but the truth is I will try to make-up with Lady. I know she is upset with me because of leaving her last night.

“Just take care because I love you so much and no other woman please” She said and I pretended that I didn’t hear her.

“Kiss me again first, please” She begged like a kid and pulled me closer to her. I leaned again and kissed her with her closed eyes. She is feeling my kiss again. Very gentle and very passionate.

” Okay, I love you so much,” She said with a smile after I kissed her. Her soft lips that touched mine and her smile that I avoided to linger in my head until I went home because I will be the one that I loved and it would be unfair for her to think about Candy after I left her and let her sleep without me by her side.

“I love you too, but I have to go now” I said. Even I am not sure if it is true because I have Lady and we are planning to get married next year. We are planning to settle down, to build a family with our kids together. I want a twin or a baby girl first. That is why I can’t promise Candy anything yet. I can’t promise her anything, but I can’t leave her and that is the hard part of this. I can’t promise her anything but I can’t leave her. I know this is wrong that I am playing with their hearts, but I am careful. I can’t leave Candy alone, but I can’t break up with Lady.  I am happy to have them. I am happy to be with them. Sometimes I wonder how long would I be like this? I don’t know because it is hard to choose between the two of them. They were both perfect for me. They are both making me feel special. If only I could marry them both but I can’t so I need to choose and I will choose Lady.

She hugged me again for the last time and she whispered in my ear “See you later, love” and then she kissed me on my forehead, nose, cheeks and then lips. “I love you so much” She reminded me again. I smile. Hugged and kissed her back and left.

Maybe I need to enjoy the time while I still have both of them because I know soon I need to choose between them, but as of now, I will enjoy the moment standing between the two women who love me. I might be “just” lucky to have them. Call me selfish, but I don’t care as long as I am enjoying having both of them and I will keep both of them a secret. If I could hide both of them forever. I would do it because I am enjoying their company and they are completing me.

I will go home now to Lady. I check everything inside my bag just to make sure because I don’t want to leave any evidence that she might see and find out about Candy. I know she will get mad at me and I don’t want that to happen. I don’t want to cause her pain.

I know Lady is my childhood best friend and she loves me so much and I know I love her so much too but I am confused between her and Candy,  I’ve known Lady for the rest of my life. I also had a girlfriend before her, but it didn’t work because I already loved Lady since I was a teenager. I know her family and her family knows me too.  Even though I have Candy I know I can’t live without Lady because she is everything in me. My best friend, lover, childhood friend and partner in crime. We have known each other for a long time. That is why her parents know me too and my parents know her as well. My parents like Lady for me. That is why I know for sure that even them will get mad at me if they find out that I am cheating on Lady. Not just my parents but also our friends because we have the same circle of friends and like my parents. They like Lady for me and they said that we are a perfect couple. That is why we are really close and yet here’s Candy which I don’t know how to explain to them if they found out.That is why I really need to keep Candy as my secret and why I have Candy if I already have everything with Lady? I don’t know. Having Candy is just an accident and it was out of hand. I didn’t expect that I would be stuck in this situation having two women at a time and I know it would be unfair to Candy for staying with her without an assurance in everything but she will not be going to know about it that is why I need to be careful. She doesn’t need to know about Lady and same with Lady. She doesn’t need to know about Candy because I know they will both get mad at me and I have a fear of losing them, especially Lady. Because I know Lady is the one that I want to be with until I grow old and right now I will come home for her. I know she’s waiting for me to come home and I am excited to see her, to make up with her. To tell her that I am sorry in advance even if she doesn't have a clue. To tell her how much I love her even though I have another woman.