Chapter 6: Jake's Back

The sun was already shining when Tiffie opened her eyes. She stretched her arms and rolled to the other side of the bed. Her head hit something hard. Her hand placed on her forehead to rub the painful part in order to ease the pain. Then, she heard Bobby’s loud snore. It made her a little bit disgusted so she got up from the bed. The white blanket fell to the floor leaving her barely-naked which made her scream. Bobby slowly opened his eyes and glanced at her.

“Good morning, Tiffie.” He greeted in his deep voice. “How’s your dream?”

Tiffie pinned him down. “How did I end up like this!” She saw Bobby turned red. “Why did you take advantage of me!”

“For your information, you’re the one who seduce me.” He grinned. “I couldn’t forget the hot kiss that we shared together.” He’s about to kiss her when Tiffie nudged him.

“I better go back to Las Casas with or without you.” Quickly, she wore her sandals and searched for her clothes in the bathroom. Then, she screamed again.

“Tiffie, please stop.” Bobby shouted as he picked up the blanket. “You might hurt your voice and create a commotion.” Tiffie did not answer. His mobile phone began to ring. He thought that it was the sound of his alarm. He let his phone rang twice then his eyes got widened when he saw his mother’s name in the screen. Hurriedly, he took his phone and wrapped the towel around his waist. Next, he slid the glass door open and walked towards the balcony.

 Tiffie opened the bathroom door after she finished a quick shower. Then, Bobby came back from the balcony holding his mobile phone. Quickly, Tiffie covered eyes when his towel dropped on the floor.

“Come on, Tiffie. You had already saw mine twice. Don’t worry. This will not eat you up.”

“Never mind.” She rolled her eyes and picked up the towel. “You better shower now or I’ll leave you here all alone.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Tiffie threw the towel at him. It landed to his face. “Now, you shall be punished.” He carried her to bed. They stared at each other for a while. “You must always remember that you’re already mine. No one will take you from me, Tiff.” He planted a small kiss at her forehead. His lips trailed to her nose and to her lips giving her a sweet quick kiss. Tiffie could hear him a cursed word when they heard his phone rang. He took his phone in the side of the bed and rushed to the bathroom leaving Tiffie dazed out.

---~~~---

Silence went between them as they arrived to her humble abode in Las Casas de Amore. They saw Elaine who’s standing in front of the gate. She’s holding her backpack and she rushed to see Bobby. When they front the Vespa near her, Elaine tried to throw the pillow at Bobby’s side. Luckily, the pillow missed his face and landed in the ground.

“Why are you here!” Bobby angrily shouted. “Don’t you know that might hurt somebody with your actions. Where’s your manners, Elaine Sophia Flurry!”

“I am supposed to tell you that, Bobby.” She folded her arms. “Now, our parents wanted to see both of us together with Lowell and Tiffie.” She glanced at Tiffie from head to toe.  Tiffie gave her a sweet smile but Elaine sneered. “Look at this.” She took her phone out of her pocket. Then, she scrolled down the photos in her gallery. “I hope that you can explain this to our parents.”

Bobby walked near her to check it. “There’s no problem with kissing your partner unless you’re not in love with him. Do you love Lowell, Elaine?” Then, Elaine scrolled the pictures again. He could see the tears coming through her eyes. “Come on, I don’t send those in Pantra.”

“You’re only my trusted friend plus your my brother.” Bobby pulled her away from Tiffie. Tiffie watched them talked from a distance.

Tiffie decided to go inside the house and wondered what’s going between the two siblings. She’s about to checked her wardrobe when Bobby raged to her room. Bobby grabbed all his clothes and put them inside his luggage.

“What’s going on, Bobby?” Tiffie asked curiously.

“You better pack your clothes too. My parents want to meet you.” He zipped his luggage. “Please you better hurry now, Tiffie.”

Tiffie had left no choice but to put her clothes inside her backpack. After few minutes, the red CR-V was parked in front of her home to pick them up. Elaine was the one who’s driving it while Lowell was the seated in the front seat. Both Tiffie and Bobby sat in the passenger seat. It took them 2 hours to arrive in the Batangas pier. They waited another hour for the ship to dock in the pier. Since the cabin suite was already fully-booked, they chose to get the tourist section. Bobby chose the upper bunk bed while Tiffie chose the lower bunk bed adjacent to Elaine and Lowell. The ship travelled for sixteen hours before it docked in Caticlan. Bobby switched with Elaine to be their driver. They travelled for another four hours before they arrived in Flurry residence.

One of the maids opened the brass-styled gate for them. The CR-V stopped in the entrance of the modern Venetian style house. There was a vegetable garden at the side of the house. The old couple who’s wearing farm clothes greeted them. The old woman hugged Tiffie tightly while the old man stared at Lowell from head to toe.  Tiffie thought it must be Bobby and Elaine's father since he truly Bobby's physical features. However, his fair complexion and blue eyes were inherited by Elaine. He's probably a foreigner since he had a good American accent.

“It’s already lunch time.” The old woman said. They could smell the sweet aroma coming from the kitchen. She smiled when she heard their stomachs grumbled. “I think my dish is almost done. Bobby, why don’t you lead your guests to their rooms. Elaine, can you help me to set the table?” Elaine followed her to the kitchen.

Bobby led Tiffie and Lowell in the second floor. He gave the room key to Lowell near Elaine’s room then he led Tiffie to his bedroom. Then, he set her backpack in the side of his bed. Tiffie sat in the bed and laid herself comfortable. Bobby laid beside her and held her hand.

“Is this will be my bedroom?” Tiffie stared at the ceiling. “I like the design of the bedroom wall. It’s elegant and simple.”

“Too bad, this is mine.” He opened the secret door near the bathroom. “If you will walk upstairs, it will lead it to your bedroom.”

“Ok, fine.” She grabbed her backpack and followed his instructions. The stairs led her to the attic. It’s kind of dark. She could not find the light switch. Sweat dropped throughout her face because of the hot temperature. “Bobby…” She shrieked when someone held her from her waist. “How could you! I almost punch you out.” She shrieked again when a rat passed between her feet. She jumped to his arms.

“Fine, you’ll stay in my bedroom.” Tiffie kissed his cheek. Then, they heard his mother calling them for lunch.

Tiffie followed Bobby to the first floor. They turned left and reached the dining room. The long presidential table was made with narra wood. It was located in the center of the dining room. It was lighted with a small antique crystal chandelier connected in the ceiling. There were ten chairs surrounded the table. The older Flurry was sitting towards the west end while his wife was sitting next to him. Elaine and Lowell chose the middle side while Bobby led Tiffie in the eastern side. Mrs. Flurry took the bell and rang it. The two maids entered the dining table and carried the silver platters. They carefully placed it at the table. The silver platter contained pork bean soup and grilled sliced blue marlin. Each maid poured the soup in each of their soup plates and filled their glass with fresh fruit juice before they left.

Tiffie sipped a spoonful of soup. It’s refreshing and tasty that made her finished the whole soup in just one sitting. Bobby gave his soup to her and she finished it again.

“It’s good that you loved my recipe. Is it your first time here in Visayas, young lady?” Mrs. Flurry crossed her fingers.

“Ma, her name is Tiffie.”

“No, it is not my first time.” She gently wiped her mouth with the table napkin. “I went to Cebu and Bohol last two years.”

“I see.” The old lady smiled with amazement. Then, she turned to Bobby. “Why don’t you take her somewhere after this, Bobby?”

“Is there any beach near here, Bobby?” She took her camera. “I can’t wait to create a vlog while I’m here.”

“How about you take her in Mararison Island?” Mr. Flurry suggested. “I heard that your cousin Weine recently bought an island resort there. You can tour her there or you can choose the cold spring in Pandan.”

“I can’t wait to visit all of them.” Tiffie’s eyes sparkled. “Can you please take me there, Bobby…” She glanced at him with puppy eyes.

“Fine, after we finished our lunch.”

---~~~---

Elaine and Lowell chose to stay in the Flurry residence. It gave them a chance to have a time together. Bobby borrowed his father’s red Ford Raptor to take Tiffie in the cold spring in the town of Pandan. After three hours, they reached their destination. The clear bluish water greeted them. Because of excitement, Tiffie went out of the car first. Then, she took a video about the entrance then the whole place. Bobby could see the amazement into her eyes. Then, she pulled him to say “hi” from her viewers. Shyly, he waved his hand at them and told her that they needed to pay for the entrance fee. Tiffie left him for a while. Then, he felt nervous when Tiffie jumped to the spring. She waved her hand while pulling herself inside the water tube made of old rubber tire.

“Hurry up, Bobby!” Tiffie shouted. “You better join me here.” He could see her body shaken because of the cold water.

“I’ll just watch you from here.” He sat in one of the huts in the side of the spring. Then, a lady wearing a white shirt and denim short approached him. They shared a small conversation. Later on, he found it out that it was one of his classmates in high school. After few minutes, Tiffie already went out of the spring. Her teeth were already chattering and her legs were trembling. “Oh dear, you better change your clothes now.”

Tiffie pretended that she could not hear him. “Who is…she?” She asked as jealousy appeared within her eyes. Bobby did not answer question so she asked him the same question.

“Bobby and I are classmates since high school.” The lady said then she turned to Bobby. “Who is she, Bobby? Is it Samantha or Clara?”

Tiffie raised her eyebrow. She was already confused when they talked with their unique native dialect. It made her feel that she’s already left out. She decided to go back to the spring. Because of her wet feet and the slippery floor, she slipped to the deeper part of the spring. It made her difficult to swim in the shallow area. Bobby saw what happened and removed his shirt. Quickly, he jumped to the spring to rescue her. Luckily, Tiffie was not in the farther part and the water current was not that heavy. It was easier for Bobby to take her away from the water. He gently laid her to ground. He checked her pulse and breathing first. Next, he knelt next to Tiffie’s neck and shoulders and performed the cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR. After a minute, Tiffie coughed out the water. Then, Bobby hugged her tight

“You’re too careless.” He breathed deeply and exhaled.

Tiffie could see the hot liquid formed into his eyes. Carefully, she wiped it with her fingers. “At least, I am still here safe and sound.”

“What if I lost you here and now, Tiffie!” He poked her forehead. “We should go home now.”

“No!” She protested. “My vlog is not yet finished.” Then, she walked near the lady. “Do you think that we could… search further… the place…”

Her teeth began to chatter as the cold mountain breeze flowed into her and penetrated her soft skin. She folded her arms to give her warmth. However, it didn’t work out. Soon, her shoulders began to shake. Bobby rubbed his both hands and pressed it to her both cheeks.

“Enough now, Tiffie.” His lips reached hers. Tiffie closed her eyes to feel the passion within. Then, Bobby broke the kiss and put the towel at her shoulder. “You better change your clothes.”

“Why don’t we take a picture together here?” Bobby wrapped his arms around her. Then, she clicked the camera as both of them made a couple pose. Her hands trembled. Her camera slipped at Bobby’s lap. Without any hesitation, her hand went between his legs. Then, her cheeks turned red when she touched something hard. “Uh-oh.” She gulped. “Sorr---” She did not finish saying her sentence when Bobby kissed her again. “Do you love me, Bobby?”

“Yes, I do.” He planted a kiss on her forehead. “Why don’t you believe me?”

“I shall believe you if you’ll prove that to me.”

“Then, give me time to prove it to you.” He smiled. “Do you love me, Tiffie?”

“If you promise me, that you’ll not leave me in the future?”

“Of course. You’re mine now, Tiffie.” He kissed her again. “Now, better change your clothes now. We’ll go somewhere.”

Tiffie followed Bobby’s instruction. They both changed their clothes as they left the cold springs for good. Bobby contacted his cousin Weine first before they proceeded to hire a pump boat going to Mararison Island. It took time for them to negotiate for a cheap price. The place was a worth of their money when they arrived. The powdery sand was just like in Boracay. Plus, it was not a peak season so they can have their private time there. Weine offered them a small hut near the beachside. The warm sea breeze tempted Tiffie to go near. Her feet could feel the calm waves going back and forth. She closed her eyes as she could breathe the sea breeze.  Unlike in the Manila, the air was somehow polluted because of factories and cars.

   The sea was clearer than in Batangas. Later, the sea breeze began to mix with the sand. It caused her to lose her eyesight temporarily. She lost her balance and fell into something hard. She could smell the familiar masculine scent. It’s a mix of a little bit spicy and musky.

   “Tiffie, are you alright?” Bobby asked.

   “Something went inside my eyes.” She kept on rubbing her eyes then Bobby held her hand to stop her.

  “Let me.” Tiffie tried to open her eyes and Bobby blew the foreign object from her eyes. “Can you see me clearly now?”

 “Y-yes.” Then, she frowned. “Sorry, I let you soak your shirt again.”

“It’s fine to me whether I get soak or dry, Tiff.” He patted her head. “Let’s go inside now. The sea breeze might hurt your eyes again.” He accompanied her inside.

---~~~---

Weine permitted Bobby to use the resort’s kitchen for their snacks. Bobby took all the ingredients out of the kitchen counters and the refrigerator. He was concocting a plan for cupcakes surprise for Tiffie. He made the ones with the chocolate sparkles with the help of Weine. Then, he began working with the red velvet flavor cupcakes with vanilla filling. Weine started to fill the cupcake on his own.

“Tell me Bobby, how did you meet the pretty social media influencer?” He asked while carefully filling the piping bags with strawberry jam.

“Determination and luck.” Bobby hardly worked to shape one of the cupcakes with a heart-shaped cutter. Working with his hands, always eased Bobby. Ever since he was little kid, he loved to play with everything he touched especially in the kitchen. Later on, he placed each cupcake in the tray. “Why do you eye on someone already?” Weine did not give him any reply. He saw the jam almost filled the rest of the cupcake to Weine’s hand. “Oh, I guess that you need to improve that.”

“You’re probably right, cousin.” He laughed.

“Good to hear that my playboy cousin has finally chosen somebody to love.” He tapped his shoulder. “Who is she? When are you going to introduce her to us?”

In order to avoid the topic, Weine volunteered to carry the cupcakes to the cozy dining room. It was a smaller than the dining room in the Flurry residence. It had the same room size with the dining room in Tiffie’s home in Las Casas. The two ladies gathered to get a cupcake. The other lady had a darker complexion than Tiffie. She was shorter than Tiffie too. Plus, her fashion-sense was kind of old-fashioned.

“By the way, this is Summer.” Tiffie introduced the lady who’s wearing a floral off-shoulder dress to them. “She’s the owner of this resort.”

Bobby glanced at Summer. Summer avoided to look at his direction.

“I’m the owner of this resort.” Weine corrected. “I had already bought this resort last month.”

“Oh really?” Summer folded her arms. “Still, you’re telling nonsense lies.”

“I think we need to leave them alone.” Tiffie took one of the cupcakes and playfully placed the white creamy filling at one of Bobby’s cheeks. “You’re cute.”

“Let me see.” He placed the white creamy filling at the tip of Tiffie’s nose. “This is much better.” They both laughed as they captured their sweet moments together with Tiffie’s camera. Their favorite picture was when Bobby kissed her cheek while Tiffie closed her eyes and smiled. Weined joined them in the pictorial while Summer remained in her position watching Bobby from afar.

The clock struck 6 in the evening. Bobby and Tiffie watched the beautiful sunset in the beachside. They tossed their glasses with fruit juices and ate the rest of the cupcakes. Then, they shared a conversation about the next topic for Tiffie’s vlog. Bobby took acoustic guitar that he borrowed from Weine.

After few minutes, Bobby’s phone vibrated several times. That made their conversation to cut short when he walked away. Tiffie stood up when her red brimmed hat was caught with the wind. She tried to chase it but it kept on flying and flying. Tiffie sighed as she held her knees. Her red brimmed hat finally fell in between someone’s rubber shoes.

Tiffie’s eyes widened when she saw the unfamiliar face. He picked up the red brimmed hat and walked towards her direction. She thought to hide herself from him. But her tactic did not work out when he was already in front of her. His wearing an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt that exposed his broad chest. She could smell his familiar masculine scent which almost similar with Bobby’s.

“It’s good to see you again, Tiffie.” He removed his sunglasses. “You never changed at all for a month.” He playfully touched the strands of her hair. Then, he put the red brimmed hat at her head. It made Tiffie’s heart pounded fast. She could not even move her legs. His divided lips went near her ear. She could feel his minty breath that made her trembling with anxiety. “Did you miss me…” Then, his eyes stared at her. “I miss you dearly.” He placed his right hand to the tip of her chin.

“Please stop it, Jake.”

“You cannot stop me, because, I am here to take you back.”

“You cannot have her back!”

 Bobby rushed to their direction. Without wasting anytime, his closed fist landed to Jake’s face. Jake punched Bobby back. Jake pushed him that made Bobby lost his balance. Tiffie let a loud scream and went to his direction. Bobby spitted the blood from his mouth. Then, Jake charged to his direction and they rolled to the sand. Few tourists were looking at them. After few seconds, Summer and Weine arrived to stop them. Weine held Jake him by his arm while Summer attended to Tiffie and Bobby. Tiffie took her handkerchief and wiped the blood from the side of Bobby’s lips.

“Enough now, Bobby.” She helped him to stand up.

“Let me finish him, Tiffie.” He glared at him. “That guy has no right to be given a second chance for your love. He did not deserve you after he had done to you.” Those words hit Tiffie straight to her heart. Tiffie did not respond instead her arm held him tight.  

“This will not be Tiffie!” Jake pushed Weine away. “You will be mine again.”