"I promise to always protect you. Stop crying." Hearing this from Carlos made Alex cry more, not because she was moved with these words but because she can't believe how this man still tries to pretend that he is concerned about her even without his parents and granny. She realized that he really can't be serious, and she shouldn't trust him.
Alex let go from him. He went back to his seat opposite to Alex's and stared at her, again smiling.
"Do you feel better now?" He asked.
Alex didn't answer. She sipped her coffee and grabbed at bite of the cake in front of her. She wanted to run away from him, but she doesn't have the energy to do so. She is now very confused, and she doesn't have any idea what to do with her problems. How can she tell her granny that she really can't marry this man? Aside from she is a lesbian, she also cannot accept to be spending more time with a human as selfish and insensitive as him.
"Let's get married. You have three months before your graduation. We have enough time to get to know each other so we won't look awkward in front of our families. We can stay married for two or three years or until everything is settled. Then after that, if you don't fall in love with me, which I think is quite impossible, we can have a divorce, if you still want to get a divorce." He said without any look of hesitation on his face. Alex thought that he is not only selfish but also a narcissist.
"I don't want to get married with you. I'd rather die than to be married with someone like you." Alex said with determination which makes Carlos surprised.
"Are you sure about that? How about your grandma?"
"It's already none of your business."
“Don’t you know that there are many women who want to have a date with me? Many women want to spend a night with me. You’re lucky I chose you.”
“Whatever! I’m not a woman.”
Carlos was quiet for a moment. He lost the smile on his face and tried to analyze the situation.
"Look, I know I was harsh on you sometimes. Maybe, I've gone too far. But we both know that we don't have a choice but to accept this marriage. I promise I won't get in the way with whatever you want to do. You can meet girls even we are already married. You can even meet boys if you want to. We can support each other. Let's start from the beginning, okay? Can we be friends?" Carlos said who is now looking serious. Alex is now satisfied. She can finally talk to him in a serious manner.
"I'll think about it."
"You don't have a choice. We're stuck to each other whether we like it or not. Luckily, it's not forever."
Alex realized that he is right. They actually don't have a choice.
"Are you okay now? Can we enjoy our coffee and cakes?" Carlos asked. He is smiling again like nothing happened.
"We can enjoy our coffee while talking. We have to set some terms on this agreement."
"Like what? Ah, yeah. You're not allowed to touch me." Carlos said confidently.
"What the heck! I never dreamed of touching a man, especially you."
"You're still a woman. I'm sure you have some hidden desires. I might not be able to control myself if you start seducing me. A man can never back down when a woman undresses in front of him."
"You wish! I think I should be the one who should be worried from you and not the other way around. You look like a sex offender to me. You’re the type of man who would grab on every opportunity you can have to get laid."
"Excuse me? I'm choosy. But I have to admit that you are my standard. Big butt, nice boobs ..."
Alex slapped him on his head before he could continue what he wanted to say. "Stop it. You're disgusting."
“Don’t you ever plan to remove that boobs of yours. Most women would envy you because of that. Never ever think of getting rid of it!”
“You’re pervert!”
"Haven't you had a crush with a man before? I have some lesbian friends and you are quite different from them. In their case, they look really masculine and tough, but you, you look very feminine to me. For me, you're just a woman who is hiding her weakness, so you decided to be a lesbian. I know my charms will work on you. Actually, it's already working." He winked to Alex after then he smiled sweetly.
Alex couldn't help but laugh to what she heard. She can't believe how confident Carlos is for thinking all women, including her, would fall for him. He is cute, funny and not boring to be with, but she is Alex Lopez, the famous Alex who is being chased by many women in her school. She is known to be the charming varsity player who would never ever have a relationship with a man.
"See? You can’t hide your feelings now. If you really like me, then I guess you have to start courting me now. I warn you though, you might have a hard time. I'm not easy to get, you know." Carlos continued.
"Stop it! Anyway, talking about rules. Let's make some and this time, I need serious rules. First, no touching!"
"Unless of course you touch me first."
"That won't happen so forget about it. Second, no lies. If you have a plan to do something or maybe something that you want to tell my granny or your grandpa, you have to tell me first. Our stories should always match."
Carlos started eating cakes. He looks bored but Alex didn't care.
"Third, we should never sleep in the same room after we get married. If ever we have to put a show, you sleep on the floor and I sleep on the bed."
"You're also a man, right? Don't you think that is unfair? It should be alternate. You also need to sleep on the floor sometimes. And why does someone have to sleep on the floor, we can ask for a sofa in the room. That will be more comfortable."
"Okay! Fourth, we won't tell anyone about this. I mean, we can get married secretly. I have a reputation to protect and if they found out that I am married, no woman would choose to go out with me anymore."
"Do you think that's possible? I'm sure your granny will announce to everyone about our marriage. And our families are not the common type, if you know what I mean. They wouldn't agree for us to have a simple wedding celebration. They might even invite the whole town for that event."
"I already thought about that. We can ask them to make this as simple as possible. We can tell them that we don't need a big celebration now. We'll have a civil wedding and only our close relatives would know. We can tell them we can have the grand celebration after I graduate university. I'm sure they will listen to us."
"Your call. I will just follow whatever you want."
"Finally, we should respect each other's privacy. You can do whatever you want and so am I. We can meet anyone we want, have a date, go anywhere and the other should never interrupt that. You can meet as many women you want, have sex with them, the hell I care. And I can do the same thing. I guess that's fair enough, right?"
"What if I want to have sex with you? You will be my wife and that is one of your responsibilities. Or what if you want to do it with me? Can we sometimes break those rules?"
"Never. It will never happen. Serious consequences will be the effect of breaking any rule. I will put everything in writing tomorrow and we both should affix our signatures." Alex said firmly.
"Okay. I think it is now set. We can tell our families about our decision tomorrow. I'm sure they will be very happy."
"I have a question. Why does your grandpa want you to get married with me? Don't you have a sibling? Does he also do that to them?"
"I have an older brother. Regarding your last question, the answer is no. My older bro can choose whatever he wants to do with his life. He is now an engineer. My family loves him so much." Alex could sense sadness from his tone now. She didn't ask more questions.
"You will get to know me more once you meet my family. I'm sure they would be happy to tell you who they think I am." He said looking serious.
Alex became more curious to know about him because of what he said. Maybe he is the black sheep of his family, she thought.
Alex's hope of spending intimate moments with Carlos was reincarnated. She would be spending the whole third floor with him which means they could spend the night together without feeling awkward to their parents. The two were quiet while they were inside the elevator going to the 3rd floor.With Carlos pulling her luggage, Alex couldn't find any way to hide her happiness. "What were you thinking?" Carlos broke their silence. He also couldn't hide the smile on his face."Nothing." "Hahahaha! I know what you were thinking, but sorry, none of the things you have imagined will happen on this trip." He said teasing her."What are you talking about? I wasn't planning on doing anything."Carlos opened the room on the right side. "This is your room. And you don't need to lie. Lucy told me everything. Haha!""How did you know her? I didn't introduce the two of you!""This is your room. Do you need my help in unpacking your things?" Carlos offered. He tried to change the topic. "My family is
Lucy and Alex went shopping the next day as planned. She bought everything Lucy has recommended. "Don't you think you're already spending too much for your trip? I haven't seen you buy lots of clothes before." Lucy said. It's true that Alex didn't enjoy shopping much before. She has her own preference of clothes and she knows where exactly she could get them. She buys a pair of jeans and shirts only twice or thrice in a year."Mom said I can buy anything I want. And besides, I am using my savings for all my purchases today. You know, my credit card is only a supplementary one. They will get the receipt whenever I buy something. I don't want them asking me what exactly I bought.""That would be too embarrassing." Lucy replied. "Imagine your dad seeing all these sexy lingerie and dresses you bought. He might have a heart attack.""I'm sure he would love them. These clothes really prove that I'm totally a woman now.""You have a point. Why don't we buy some cosmetics as well? You know,
"What's your plan now?" Alex asked. She is confused. Dirty things start popping up in her brain. Although she thinks she is too young to make love, but hello, it's now the 21st century, many of her friends are not virgins anymore. She even knows someone who lost her virginity in middle school. She is old enough to do that stuff. But they are in her house. Her parents are probably downstairs waiting for them to go down. She heard some girls talking about how painful it was when they did it for the first time. Will de be able to handle it? Is she ready?"How about we go somewhere this weekend? Like a vacation. Your test is done and you need a break. I already told your parents about it and they agreed." Carlos explained."Holiday? That's what you're thinking?" Alex asked. Disappointment can be sensed from her tone."Don't you like it? I can cancel it if you don't feel comfortable. I didn't make any hotel reservations yet anyway. You don't need to think about it.""No, I like the idea."
It was already dark when Alex woke up. She could feel a slight pain on her head. She remembered putting her phone in her school bag. She checked for any message before arriving home, but there was none. She wants to sleep again and forget whatever is bothering her. She is supposed to be celebrating and planning for a trip with her friends since their exam is over but here she is, being miserable and overthinking.It's to quiet outside. She’s sure it’s not yet too late because her parents never allowed her to skip her meals. No matter how busy she is, they always make sure that she eats her meals on time. No one woke her up, so she’s guessing it’s only before 7pm.She forced herself to get up and headed for the light switch. She had to drag her steps, eyes still half closed.“Missed me?” A man’s voice made her leap.AAAAAAAAAAA! She let out a thunderous shout seeing a man sitting on her sofa. It’s Carlos.“What are you doing her? When did you come in?” She asked, looking annoyed with h
The next three months passed by so fast. Alex became very busy with her preparations for the university entrance exam. Being in a relationship and focusing on her studies are two things that make her so stressed. She wants to spend more time with Carlos, her boyfriend, but she has to prioritize her studies first. There are times that she wants to take a break and just spend a day or two with him, but she was always being pushed away by Carlos. It hurts her feelings at times, but she knows that he is doing it for her. He wants her not to have any regrets later. As he always says, "You always have me and we can do all the things we are supposed to do later, but this exam determines your future. I know I can provide for you later, but it's still different to accomplish something for yourself." It makes her feel that she has now two fathers who are telling her what she has to do. Carlos, on the other hand, is not as busy as her. She doesn't even know what he is up to these days. There were
Alex and Carlos didn’t meet that day. She didn’t receive any call nor text from him. She tried to reach him many times by calling and sending messages but there was not any single reply from him. Alex went home that late afternoon feeling confused. A part of her is mad at Carlos for making her wait but there is also a part of her that says maybe he is busy with something, or maybe like last time, there was an emergency that he has to attend to. Or maybe Carlos, like how she was to her ex-girlfriends is not serious in having a relationship with her.When she arrived her place, she walked to her room immediately. She doesn’t want to talk to anyone. Her parents were surprised to see her home. They tried to ask her a question, but she ignored them and just headed for the stairs as fast as she could.“Do you think they fought?” asked Mr. Lopez who is now in the living room with his wife.