All Bets Are On のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 9

“Bro, I gotta hurry for work. Ate Esther texted me, said she’ll drop by later to collect the rent. I left my share on the table, under the coffee jar, alright? Gotta go!.” Alexandra didn’t even hear the other person inside the apartment respond. Just like that, Jacob, the man talking from the door of one of the apartments that her cousin Ate Esther is leasing, rushed through the gate of the apartment compound. She’s usually at her cousin’s house during her free time to take care of her young nieces and nephews, when she’s not at the university. Aside from the apartment compound that her Ate Esther is leasing, she also has a shoe store in Alabang, which makes it hard for her cousin t

Since he just finished reading “The Big Sleep” by Raymond Chandler last night, Jacob is staring at his stash of new books to read, trying to decide what to read. Flipping through the three new books on his hands, Alexandra’s angelic face flashed in his mind’s eye. In those few seconds that she looked up to him this evening,  he felt as if she was trying to look right through him. Like she was trying to find something in his eyes but was not able to.  Although being on a joking term with her is somewhat far from impossible, Jacob thinks it must be nice to at least be on smiling terms with her. Those kinds that when you see each other on the road, and instead of frown, she’ll greet you with a smile. That doesn’t sound so bad either. Such a fine thought, but he doesn’t want to bother himself too much. The bet?  He couldn’t really car

It was Saturday evening, Alexandra has just finished taking a bath when her father called her downstairs. “Alexandra! You have a visitor”, her father called to her. Only four names came to her mind when her father said she has a visitor. It could only be Albert, Ronnie, Marlon, and Carlo. The four of them are relatives. Albert and Ronnie are brothers, while Marlon and Carlo are their cousins from two different siblings of their father. Aside from having the same surnames, they are all Alexandra’s suitors. They are even famous throughout the neighborhood for courting the same girl, despite being relatives. A fact that Alexandra is honestly embarrassed about. During their childhood, Alexandra and the other children in their neighborhood are always playing out

After exchanging gaze with each other, Alexandra saw Jacob's eyes looking down to where her mouth was. Slowly, his stare still locked to her lips, his face grew closer to hers. Nervous, but Alexandra felt as if there was something within her that wanted to be let out. And only he has the key to its freedom. With anticipation, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and braced herself for the upcoming kiss. She rested her lips together, not puckering, but ready for his landing. Their nose has touched already until their moment was disrupted by the sound of the keys trying to fit in the doorknob. Alexandra's supposed to exhale the air she stuck in her chest a few seconds ago, until she felt his lips touch the cheeks at the edge of her lips. She opened her eyes gently and saw him intently looking at her as if waiting for her reaction.   Meeting his eyes, Alexandra breaks into a smile as if to t

Alexandra waited for Jacob’s car to turn and until it’s out of her sight before she decided to open their gate. As soon as she pushed the door open, she halted as she heard her name being called by a very familiar voice, Albert’s.   “Alex!”   “Oh? Hey Albert! What’s up?” she turned as she saw Albert walking towards her.   “I was thinking… do you have plans for tomorrow?”   “Ah, yep. I have. Why?”   “Well, I was thinking of asking you out. Haha! Like, you know? Go to a movie, eat outside, or something, Haha!” Albert said in a declining tone. The more he reiterates things to do, the more his voice sounded to fade.