Fanboy

Chapter 5

Richard

"Everyone is fussing about Maine Mendoza's mystery guy for the past week. Well, it turns out he's not a mystery guy after all. The phenomenal star Maine Mendoza was caught kissing Richard Faulkerson Jr. Still don't know who he is? Richard, or RJ, is the son of Richard Faulkerson Sr, the owner of Ricardo's Restaurant Chain. RJ seems to be a quite known bachelor among the circle of entrepreneurs for his youth and good looks. He manages one of the restaurants of the said chain and reports say that he is to have his own branch and that he soon will be the company's chief operating officer. We also heard that he happens to be a fan of the country's most popular star at the moment. It is not clear how the two met but it looks like he's more than just a fan now that..." he runs his hand through his hair in exasperation as he reads the article about them in today's newspaper. It's been a week and media people are still at it.

He has been pacing back and forth for minutes, only stopping when Direk Pat reprimands him.

"Umayos ka nga dyan," she says as she closes the door. "Ang OA mo."

"I'm sorry, Direk Pat," he scratches the back of his head and plops down the couch. "Can you blame me? Hindi ko alam sasabihin mamaya when I face her manager."

"Ate Pat na lang," she says as she sits on the other end of the couch. "Can you blame me? Eh sino ba naman kasi hahalik-halik basta basta sa isang artista habang-"

"I know, I know," he props his elbows up on his thighs and holds his head between his hands. "Sa tingin mo galit si Maine sa'kin?"

"Ikaw, sa tingin mo?" she challenges.

What is it with her and answering questions with only the same questions?

He closes his eyes and tries to remember the night they kissed. He didn't know what got into him but it's as if someone was whispering to his ears, telling him to grab the chance or else it would be gone forever. He knew it was wrong but it just felt right. Since he saw her up close, the thought of kissing her never left his mind. He has always wondered how her lips would feel against his. If he were to enumerate his favorite parts of her body, her lips would definitely be among the top of the list. Aside from her eyes, it's what captures him the most. Just looking at her lips makes him drool. He's always thought they were plump and full and soft and damn was he right. He has proved it to himself firsthand.

He unconsciously touches his lips and recalls how soft her lips were when he nibbled on them, when their lips moved together, when she smiled as they kissed...

"Tigang ka ba?" Pat lightly slaps his arm with the newspaper, bringing him back to his senses. "Tinatanong ko kung sa tingin mo, galit ba si Meng?"

"Ah, sorry po," he chuckles, trying to mask his embarrassment. Just remembering the feel of Maine's lips against his own makes his mind fly. "Uhm, paano ba?"

He remembers how her face looked when they pulled away from the kiss. Her eyes had a certain spark making him want to drown in them forever. She had a smile on her lips and a serene look on her face as she touched his forehead with hers.

Everything felt perfect. He thought it was a start of something new but he guesses he was wrong.

The day after that, he tried to contact her, recalling the promise that they made and broke that night. He tried to message her a couple of times but she never replied to any of them. He couldn't concentrate on his work since then as his eyes were sometimes glued to his phone. Even just a single dot would suffice but he got none.