True to what I said to my friend, I stayed inside the restaurant buffet until noon. I worked, read a book, and watched a couple of movies while I was there.
I fixed my schedule for the following weeks, especially my bookings. I got booked by a senator, a famous celebrity, a few tycoons, and a few military men. The military men booked the dates while I'm still here, of course. Some of them even offered a higher price, which I gladly agreed to.
Hindi ko na napansin na umalis na pala sina Cyrus at Ethan dahil masyado akong abala sa mga ginagawa. Hindi na rin naman sila nagpaalam sa akin, hindi naman sa may pakialam ako sa kanila.
I expressed my gratitude to the hotel restaurant's staff before finally leaving the facility. I genuinely appreciate the security guards, waiters and waitresses, and all the people who provide services to us. That's why one of my pet peeves is when people are being rude to these employees. It's one of my major turn offs and red flags.
Papasok pa lang sana ako sa hotel room namin nang may tumawag sa akin mula sa likuran ko.
"Rhian," Cyrus called.
I turned to him, giving him a questioning look.
"Why are you here? And how did you know my room?" My eyes were like daggers as I watched him.
I was irritated because I hate it when random people just come and invade my personal space.
"Dorothy told me, just in case Ethan's interested." He raised both of his hands as if he's surrendering.
I groaned because of my friend's recklessness and karupokan. She gladly told literal strangers our room number! How dare she!
"Why are you here, then?" I raised my brow. I'm calming myself a little because I don't want to be rude to him. I guess I'll just talk to my friend later about this.
He inhaled deeply before he spoke.
"I figured... getting your breakfast for you and apologizing isn't enough to truly pay for what I did to you."
"So?" I probed.
"So... I was just wondering if you'll like it if I tour you around the city," he said, very hopeful that I'll agree to his peace offering.
I crossed my arms as I looked at him.
His offer is nice, especially that I haven't toured around the whole place because I have no one who's willing to come with me. Dorothy's mind was filled with fantasies of Ethan, the reason why she couldn't think about me.
I nodded at the handsome brute.
"Hmm, pwede rin. Pero... hindi ba kukulangin ang kalahating araw para riyan?" I asked him.
It's already noon time and if he's going to tour me around today, our time won't be enough.
"Then let me tour you around for the whole duration of your stay here."
Nagulat ako roon. Okay lang naman sa akin dahil kung may trabaho ay sa gabi pa naman iyon. I have nothing else to do during the day time so his offer is really enticing to me.
"Aren't you busy with your work?" I asked.
"Well... hindi muna ako kasama sa field work. Sa intelligence muna ako. I'm gonna be on call so I'll let you know beforehand if I can be with you or not, " he said as if he's so convinced with his plans.
"Sigurado ka ba na gusto mo lang mag-sorry sa akin? This is too much effort considering that we're talking about a few weeks of touring around." I smirked at him.
For a military man like him, this offer is too much. A lot of time and effort will certainly be exerted. He's also going to be spending a lot because my cheapskate ass won't be paying for anything on our tour.
"I guess... this is how I say sorry, then? I put in too much time and effort so you'll really forgive me." He chuckled.
"Okay." I nodded, finally agreeing to his proposed idea.
"Okay."
"Magbibihis lang ako," I said as I closed the door and let him wait for me outside.
Pagpasok ko ng silid ay tulog pa rin si Dorothy. I left her a note saying that I went out with Lieutenant Marquez. I'm still annoyed by the fact that she gave our hotel room number but I don't want her to worry about me and my whereabouts.
I changed into my faded jeans and a plain white sleeveless bodysuit. For shoes, I wore my Dior sneakers.
I fixed my hair a bit and re-apply my face powder. After a few touches, I immediately walked out the door.
"Let's go?" I asked Cyrus.
He looked at me from head to foot before I saw a ghost of a smile on his pink thin lips.
"Gandang-ganda ka naman sa akin," biro ko at nginisian siya dahil sa pagkamangha sa mukha niya.
"Syempre," bulong iyon pero narinig ko. Tumawa na lang ako.
Umalis kami sa hotel at sumakay kami sa BMW niya.
Cyrus seemed well-off, not just because of his luxury car but also because you can tell just by looking at his clothes and his other stuff.
I'm very familiar with luxurious things because my clients are always the wealthy ones. I can quickly tell if a man is rich, in the middle class, or poor.
His car stopped in front of a park. "People's Park", the name says. The paint of the walls of the establishment is mostly on the scale of yellow. I've actually heard of the place, especially when I researched about Davao and some places to visit in the city.
"Ang kuripot mo naman," biro ko sa kanya at humalakhak. He seemed confused with my sudden impression of him.
"I did my research about the place, you know. And it says on the internet that there's no entrance fee here. The place is free for the tourists to visit."
"I'm not after the free entrance, Rhian. I want to show you the whole place, the whole city. I won't definitely miss this gem. Kahit na libre ang lugar na 'to, maganda pa rin. It's worth it to be seen," he explained so I nodded. There's still a hint of smirk on my lips, though.
I love how the place is so open for changes. Recently, the rainbow community has been celebrated, and they celebrated through painting the whole floor or walk path of the place the color rainbow. Cyrus and I also visited the giant eagle that everyone who went here has been raving about. We also fed some pigeons. Overall, the visit was fun and enjoyable. Cyrus was fun to be with, if I'm being completely honest.
I was filled with euphoria the whole entire day until the time that we're about to get back to the hotel.
"Shit!" I groaned in pain when Cyrus accidentally stepped on his big foot on my Dior white sneakers.
What the hell.
"Oh, shit! Sorry, Rhian!" He apologized and bent on his knee as he swiftly pulled out a white handkerchief in his pocket. He wiped off the mud that got stuck on my now dirty white shoe.
"Marumi pa rin," I pointed out.
I am annoyed. I'm very meticulous and careful when it comes to my things, especially my designer ones. I worked so hard just to get my luxurious things and because of his carelessness, he ruined one of them.
