Taking Chances

You and Me and All Other People

Matt sat among the thousands of adoring fans, feeling both nervous and excited for Sarah to come out.

He had to remind himself to cough once in a while to show his seatmates at the Upper Box just why he needed to wear the ridiculous face mask, and also to make them feel that he was contagious and therefore must be avoided.

Rather than watching from the VIP area where his presence would no doubt spread like wildfire, he thought it smarter to blend in with the unsuspecting crowd. He was enjoying himself so far, watching the fans sit in wait for their idol. He was overwhelmed to see and hear just how many people loved Sarah.

Of course he wouldn't have done this if they already went public with their relationship. They carefully thought about it, weighing the pros and cons of making the announcement now. She was ready to come out, while he wanted to keep it a secret at least for now.

"Pag umamin na tayo, di na natin kailangan magtago." Sarah said as they jogged up the hill, surrounded by a pretty view of Metro Manila, just when the sun was about to dawn.

Matt wanted to make sure that Sarah was in shape for that concert. Apart from singing her lungs out, she also had to dance and jump from one costume to another in a matter of seconds. The concert in itself was an athletic feat.

"Pwede na tayo magsine, pwede mo na ko samahan sa events kesa maghintay ka sa kotse, pwede na kita dalawin sa taping!!!" Sarah said in between breaths.

"Tsaka isa pa, alam ko na nahihirapan ka rin."

Matt admitted that it was not that simple to find opportunities and places where they could be together without stirring up a commotion. But he really did like the challenge. He enjoyed planning the details of every secret date. Plus he knew that no matter what Sarah said, he scored thousands of pogi points for himself for all of his efforts.

"It's not that hard... I think it's actually fun."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "More than one year ka ng nagpapaka-James Bond! Di ka pa ba napapagod?"

"Wala yun no. Basta ma-solo ka lang."

"Sira..." Sarah said, looking a bit embarrassed.

He stopped her from running when he noticed that her shoelace was coming undone. He knelt down to tie it.

"Just give me two more months. Selfish ako pagdating sayo eh. I don't want to share you with the world yet." He said, thinking about the tireless interviews and excessive fanfare that will surely follow as soon as they step out in the limelight.

He wasn't ready to put her through that yet.

He got that wrong with Maya. It was hard to maintain a relationship when so many people who didn't matter kept on coming into the picture. He couldn't get it wrong this time.

And this was better, being with her and doing nice things for her with no one else watching. It was really why he wanted to keep them a secret for as long as possible, that they could live in their own little world without caring about what anyone had to say.

He finished tying the knot and stood up. "I'm really happy that you're willing to admit na boyfriend mo ko sa buong Pilipinas. But first, I wanna make sure that when we face them, buong buo na tayo. Kahit anong gulo ang dalin nila sa buhay natin, hindi tayo magpapaapekto."

One day, Matt will hold Sarah's hand and tell the public proudly that their princess was now his girlfriend. Until that day, he was determined to make sure that relationship will be strong enough to weather the intrigues that will be thrown their way.

Sarah put her arms around his neck and rested her chin on his shoulder. "Ano ka ba proud ako sayo no... Pero naintindihan ko at thank you." She said, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "For always protecting me... For protecting us."