Chapter 2

I THOUGHT I drowned in my dreams and when I woke up, I will be at ease. But it turned out that someone poured a dipper of water on my face. I was bedraggled like a dying plant in a garden. Great!

"What are you doing?!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

“What are you doing?” Rhyme mocked me. “Why are you paddling like a dog in deep water?” he teased me while containing his laughter.

I gave him a death glare and I didn’t give him an answer. That made him spoke again. "You’re not waking up and it’s already noon. I should be out to my work so how am I supposed to wake you up then?" Rhyme explained.

"Then leave!" I avered. "You are not required to ask permission or tell me when you need to. As if I gave you such obligation or rule." I tsk-ed as I rolled my eyes.

"I have to. You might get into trouble or accident if ever I leave you without giving a heads up or at least wake you up, you clumsy princess,” he reasoned out.

I smirked when an idea popped out from my pretty head. “Now I get it! So you’re doing this because I cooked and served for you last night? Okay. Okay. You can tell me. You are welcome. It’s not a big deal since you’re always bugging around.” His brows met and I just hummed as a response to his pissed expression. “What? Or maybe you’re greeting me a happy birthday?! It should be with a heartfelt message, right?” I grinned, closing my eyes again to rest peacefully on my wet bed, as I waited for his response but I just heard the click of my door.

Annoying ass. I tapped my forehead as I pursed my lips. Havoc, stay calm. You need to work on daylight. After convincing myself that I have to be productive, I stood and grabbed my laptop on the side table. I put it on the foldable wooden rest that I bought online. Few more clicks after my device opened, I finally got into the website I was employed to work. I checked the request tab and saw one notification. An assignment and the due date is the day after tomorrow.

Hello, Miss! I need a critique paper about the P*F that I sent. Can you help me?

File inserted: The Filipina's Breast.p*f (4.1 MB)

I immediately downloaded and opened it to check the first few pages since this seemed familiar to me. And I was right. I remember this lesson was tackled when I was in my third-year college in Art Appreciation class. Yes. This was our lesson 6.1.

Before proceeding to do it, I stretched my arms and neck. But before I could forget, I stood up and fixed my bed. I could not work with a mess. I made a chocolate drink then got back to the article that I needed to read. I bobbed my head as I read aloud the subtitle, "Savagery, Docility, and the Erotics of the American Empire." My schema told me that it's interesting so I read further.

The queer African American novelist James Baldwin once wrote that "history is written in the color of my skin." We could add that the violent histories of empire and capital are written on the bodies of Filipinas, on our bruised and bleeding hands, and our brown neocolonial breasts.

The last paragraph made me stopped. I would love to write the client the critique itself but we couldn't do it directly. No matter how much we love to write for them or how passionate we were with topics given to us, we could only help them understand it by highlighting lines, enumerating points, giving different perspectives, act as spectators, or just give them at least a clue words for them to proceed on writing their papers.

Hello, client! This paper is a good read. I agree that there are points that you will get drown with facts presented and the evaluation is given by the author is somehow confusing when you are not into it. I understand...

As much as possible, we act professionally but, at the same time, as approachable colleagues or teachers. Most of the time I told my clients how I comprehended the article without leaving any details and I put it on the endnote.

For future references or advanced reading, try reading "Ways of Seeing" by John Berger. Thank you!

I sent it. After few minutes, I also scanned pending requests that I already started. Some were Sociolinguistic and World Englishes. For now, I needed to create a reviewer for the client’s online class next month. This one was a big fish so I accepted the offer.

I stretched my back before I stood up. I looked at the wall clock. Six o'clock. Time flew so fast that I didn’t notice it. It was already dinner time. Luckily, I already prepared a viand earlier that I could just reheat. Rosemary chicken with baby potatoes. No rice since I never ate high carbs at night.

I smiled. Finally, I got to rest. I looked around and when I saw no flaw or mess, I headed to the balcony. Sunset already and now, I was ready to welcome the moon.

"Maybe I could put a good couch here," I whispered as I scrutinized this space. Hmm. However, I hesitated because it might get wet out of the rain. And when it’s too hot outside, the material of the couch might get weaker or brittle.

I rested my arms on the cold steel and chinned up to have a better view of the sky being eaten by darkness at the moment. I surrendered my thoughts. Ugh, I just wanted to clear my mind.

I took a deep sigh and closed my eyes. I let the sound of the busy streets at the ground of this high condominium filled the air. I was used to this ambient but it's too dragging. Sometimes I wanted to hear noises that could distract me, although I'm not into parties. I mean, everyone wanted to hear a different kind of sound. Mine? I want—

My mind stopped from thinking when I heard someone singing from where I was. I knew the song just by hearing the first verse and it started with "You're just too good to be true."

Fast yet lovely rendition. The voice was smooth but the tone seemed manly enough to cause an eargasm. Couldn't help but commented 'wow' in my head.

The man, who sang first in acapella, started to play the guitar he was holding. His physique and gestures seemed familiar. His messy hair, his broad shoulders. It was kind of dark at his place and he was leaning sidewards so I could barely see his figure from my perspective.

I mean, I was curious because his voice was amazing. But I felt like I knew that voice, I felt like I always heard it singing the same song.

I was staring still at how he played the guitar. Until I almost jolted in place as he turned his position. That’s when I realized why the voice was so familiar.

Since childhood, I’ve been hearing that voice but probably this was the first time I hear him sing seriously.

Thick brows met trimmed at the edges. Well-defined Greek nose. Almost dark pink lips that he always licked. The always messy pitch-black hair inside his gray bonnet which complemented with his warm ivory skin tone. Then his silver ring standard lobe piercing.

That's Rhyme.

After comfirming it, I stayed still listening to the second verse. I bit my lips upon hearing more from him. I suppressed a cheeky smile and tried to focus on his too good to be true runs. Those were too lovely, I guess.

And when the chorus arrived, he suddenly gave so much passion with his singing. "I love you, baby. And if it's quite alright, I need you, baby. To warm the lonely night. I love you—Havoc?!"

Our eyes got bigger as we gazed upon each other. He was shocked to see me and so I was after hearing how the last lyrics he sang turned out.

He quickly put down the guitar he was playing. "Why are you there?!" Rhyme hysterically addressed.

"I think I should be the one to ask you that," I rebutted. My brows got higher as I crossed my arms.

He didn’t reply. His eyes roamed around until it landed on his side, and when I followed his gazes, I saw a camera. He handed it up to show me. "I need to work," he reasoned out then shrugged as he put it down. "I just finished and I decided to take a break and have a chill. Yeah. That's it," he explained further.

"Why does it need to be on the unit next to mine?" I issued again.

"Hey! Don't be an assuming brat. It just happened," he answered. "If I know, this is what you want. I just did you a favor. So you won’t miss me anymore," he added.

"Arrogant dumb-ass, as if I would miss you!" I reacted. "Why would I miss you then, if you don’t stop pestering me on daily basis? I just even labeled us as best friends for you not to feel embarrassed since you always follow me wherever I go. I feel like people always pity you. Duh.”

"You're not feeling well then." He palmed his chin as he looked at me like he lost his appetite. "I always follow you because I am concerned that you will go crazy for missing me so much. I would take a bet that you would cry when I leave you. You would always look for me even in the tiniest dirt you would find,” he reasoned out.

"Yuck! I think I would catch a fever just by hearing your delusional assumptions," I commented. "Just go home. I feel like vomiting just by seeing your ugly face!"

"If I’m ugly, so does Meter. So why do you like him?" He smirked. His gesture implied like he's not giving up on this conversation.

“Even if you switch fashion style and perfume, I would still know who is Meter. You’re different. He is not you. He will never be,” I disagreed with his statement.

"Your voice is starting to rise again. You’re always annoyed and mad, aren’t you?" He laughed. I just rolled my eyes. "You go inside as well. Take a rest early. I will bring you home tomorrow," he instructed me.

"Huh?"

"In our house, I mean. I will introduce you to my Mom," Rhyme explained.

"Tita Doms already know me."

"As a girlfriend," he casually uttered.

"What?!" My heart skipped a beat and I was sure it was out of disgust.

"Of my twin brother. You don’t like it?" he continued.

Annoying ass.

"Stop joking," I firmly said.

"Why?" he asked as if I said something wrong. "You think it’s not possible? I thought you like him?" He kept asking intriguingly.

"Of course, I do!" I responded immediately. "Honestly, I am hoping. But I know that it doesn’t mean you like something, they could love you back." I just shrugged. Then I smiled as I glanced at the farther side of the dark sky.

"You're right," he agreed and that sounded sincere. So I gazed back at him—looking at the sky at this moment.

I suddenly wondered. How did he say so? Did he have someone in his mind now? But I couldn’t think of someone since he always played with girls.