4 | Helen's Kiss

Caden was fresh from shower. His wet hair was slicked back, his muscle still sore from busting the gym after his encounter with Gianna.

He suddenly felt elevated knowing she was still in town. That there was a friendly face he could see, a familiar warmth he could turn to. He had never been excited in three years, and for the first time, Caden felt like a boy all over again.

“Sir?” Wency walked on the living room, his face looked frustrated. “Sean’s keep busting my phone asking for you. Said you’re not picking up his calls.”

That was when Caden realized he didn’t have the phone with him.

“I must have lost it,” he mumbled. “Is he on the line?”

Wency handed him the mobile phone and quietly walked out.

“Hey, Sean- “

“Finally, Caden! What’s going on? What the hell’s wrong with you? I told you to contact me ASAP when you arrived. And that was yesterday!”

He let out a sigh. “I’m fine.”

“Well, I’m not!” his manager replied. There was a moment of silence. “Don’t do that to me again, okay? You know where I’m coming from, right?”

Caden nodded. “I know. I’m sorry, Sean.”

“Yeah. So how was your place?” he asked, now sounding cheerful. “Do you need anything? Do you want me to come over and- “

“Nah, I’m good here,” he said, cutting him off. “I like to keep the peace in here.”

“Are you saying I’m nothing but chaos?”

“I’m saying you like to nag and I already have Wency to do the part, so no, thank you. I’m fine here.”

“So, where did you go yesterday?”

Caden shook his head. He knew Wency would not say a word about what he was doing. “I just roam around. Getting inspiration from Helen’s Kiss.”

“Helen’s Kiss?” Sean repeated over the phone. “Your song?”

He snickered. “Yep. Listen, I gotta go. I’m ordering food and probably going to start setting up my equipment.”

“Uh, sure. Keep out of the limelight for now, okay? The boys said hello.”

“Yeah. I’ll see you guys.” He then pressed the end button.

Wency appeared, like a ninja. “Helen’s Kiss, huh?”

Caden bit back his smile. “Shut up.”

“Where’s your phone?” he asked. “Because if you lost it, we gotta try to locate it or what.”

“I guess I forgot it at the restaurant.”

Wency nodded. “I’ll go get it.”

“No, I’ll get it.” He cleared out his throat. “We just need to be there before they closed in.”

****

“Sorry, we are already closed,” a boy said, blocking Caden’s path.

The rockstar lowered his ballcap. “Is Gianna here?”

The boy threw him a strange look. He looked away, avoiding eye contact. The door to the kitchen swung open, as Gianna made her way out.

She was wearing white sleeveless blouse tucked in her caramel shorts. Her legs looked longer than he remembered, still slim and fair. She had her long hair on a messy bun, her pensive eyes instantly casted toward him.

“Cad- “ she bit her lip. “What are you doing here?”

“I forgot something.” Caden muttered.

“I know you.” The boy crossed his arms over his chest, watching him closely. “Orange Sky.”

Caden felt his stomach tensed. He had forgotten what it was like to be recognized by a stranger in public.

“Holy shit! Orange Sky! The pianist- “ He snapped his fingers as he thought hard. “Caden!”

“Apollo,” Gianna rushed toward them, hushing the boy. “Get a grip, will you?”

Caden smiled at the boy’s enthusiasm. He nodded at Gianna, letting her know it was okay.

“No shit,” the boy said, unable to contain his grin. “Sorry Ms. Gianna. I just-  I just love the band.”

“Well, thank you,” Caden said, offering his hand for a shake.

Apollo animatedly wiped his hand on his pants before taking Caden’s. “Can you sign my shirt?”

“That’s your uniform,” Gianna commented, shaking her head.

“Apollo, can you do me a favor?” he asked, firmly shaking the boy’s hand to get his full attention. “I’m trying not to be found here.”

He nodded eagerly. “Gonna zip my mouth and no soul will know you’re here in town. I swear.”

“Thank you,” Caden said, clapping his back gently.

Gianna waved at her employee, motioning for him to go. The boy shook the singer’s hand one last time before slowly walking away, still amazed and shocked.

When he finally exit the place, she turned toward him.

“I think I forgot my cellphone here.” Caden smiled at her.

“Yes, my brother found it on the couch.” She quickly pulled it our of her bag and handed it to him.

Caden trailed behind her when she made her way to exit the café. “You have plans tonight?”

“Yes, I plan to sleep,” she answered.

“Or we could go grab dinner. I’m hungry.” Caden angled his head to her.

But Gianna looked away. “A midnight dinner?” She sighed. “Look, Caden… I don’t know why you’re doing this.”

“’Cause I’m hungry.” He tried to stir away the mood from getting gloomy. He was never a fan of drama.

“That’s funny,” Gianna murmured, shaking her head. “You’re never serious.”

Her words seemed loaded with so many unspoken words. Caden swallowed the lump forming in his throat.

“I just want to catch up. Would that be so bad?” he asked.

She kept her silence. He hated it when she was intentionally trying to distance herself.

He tried not to show his smirk. The Gianna Antonio he knew would push him away whenever she felt like she was falling to him. Twelve years have passed, still, some things never changed.

“To be honest? I don’t know why you’re doing this too, Yanna. Are you trying to avoid me now because we end up sleeping together yesterday?”

She went rigid for a moment. “I thought we’re going to forget that.”

“I don’t remember agreeing with you.” Caden stepped back, giving her space. “Look, I’m just happy to see you again.”

Gianna nodded, fumbling with the keychain of her bag.

“See you around.” Caden looked away and headed toward the sedan where Wency was waiting.

****

If there was one thing Caden had not lost since he mentally shut himself down from his passion, it was his persistence. Growing up poor and had nothing to lose, he worked hard to prove everyone wrong about his dream being an artist. He always have love for music, the only language he was fluent at when it came to pouring out his emotion.

Caden would not forget the first time someone cried for his music. He just turned seventeen when his grandma decided to settle in South Ganuela. That meant new school for him, and he enrolled late that the school almost did not take him. He was the new kid in town and all eyes were on him. Except Gianna.

He liked to joke around and she was always serious. They were opposites. And like a magnet, he was attracted to her. And by some chance when he was practicing piano in the empty music room, she was there, listening.

She was his very first audience. His very first fan. The first to believe in his dream and silently supported him.

Caden picked up his mobile phone and dialled a number. He waited and waited.

“Yes, hello?”

He cleared out his throat. “Gianna.”

There was a moment of silence. “Uh, who is this?”

“That hurt. You used to say I have a distinct voice.”

“Huh. So, how did you get my number, Caden?” she asked on the other line.

Caden paced around the living room, unknown that Wency was watching him from the dining area.

“Well, I gotta keep my source confidential.” He clicked his tongue, holding out a menu flyer from her café. At the back was where her number was written, thanks to Apollo.

“Well, I could only think one,” she muttered.

“How about dinner at seven?” he asked, suddenly sitting on the sofa. “With me.”

She laughed. “I already ate. Sorry.”

“Dinner tomorrow at seven,” he said, his confidence melting away. “Just one dinner with me.”

“Caden, seriously.” She sounded tired. “What do you want?”

“I just want one dinner. What’s it gonna hurt?”

“Oh, I don’t know? But the last time you asked me for dinner it hurt me so damn much.”

Her words stung. Hard. She had a point.

“I am sorry,” he whispered. “Look, I am not in my best self that night. And fuck, I’m not in my best self the past couple of years. But I’m trying. I’m trying now.”

“I know.” Gianna’s voice was quiet. After a moment of silence, the line cut off.

Caden tossed his phone on the couch, running his hands down his face. He felt his chest heaved, as if something inside him would about to explode.

He wanted to rewrite everything bad happened in his life, turned the nightmare into dust, turned the dreams into reality again. He knew things weren’t always easy. Finding his way back into his passion was not something he could do in a snap of a finger.

Just like in his song Helen’s Kiss, Caden was thrown in a deep hole. Now he got to work his way up.