That Unexpected Feeling

Chapter 6

"Hey, you mind?" Erik inquired, popping his head around the door of Justin's bedroom. It was already late in the afternoon and the latter was too engrossed with a design he was working on to notice his friend come in.

"Hey man," Justin replied with a tired smile. "You're just the distraction that I need. What brings you here to my humble workspace?"

"Can't I check on a friend?" Erik chuckled, seating himself on an ottoman. "I wanted to see how you were doing. If you got home safely the other day," he continued. "Or if Alessa decided to drop you off a ditch somewhere."

Justin chuckled. He knew Erik only meant it as a joke, but he had to throw in something for Alessa's sake.

"Hey, she got me home in one piece," he said in her defense.

"I know," his friend responded swiftly. "She insisted on driving you home."

The look on Justin's face betrayed the surprise he felt at what Alessa did. Erik, on the other hand, looked like he was handed some candies for a job well done. "I know you two are friends and next-door neighbors but you're taking this whole 'looking out for each other' mantra way too seriously."

Erik had developed the habit of giving out cryptic statements recently. Mostly, it was an attempt to fish out a confession from Justin regarding the real score between him and Alessa. "You're reading too much into everything, bro."

"Am I? Rafa and Benj share the same observations I have," Erik countered. "But enough of your lovelife though. I came here to check if you're up for some laps at the clubhouse pool."

Justin laughed and stood up. "I'm in. I could use a little exercise instead of sitting here the entire day."

Erik was ecstatic. "Great! I'll call the others on our way there."

Rafa and Erik couldn't quite picture out what's wrong. They both agreed, however, that something was off about Justin lately. They had just finished swimming several laps at the village clubhouse and the guy never budged when he lost to Erik for the first time since they were fifteen. His happy disposition was becoming a concern although he was always the cheerful one among the bunch.

"Bro, are you sure you're fine?" Rafa asked as three of them walked back to the parking lot.

"Do I look sick?" Justin replied, checking his reflection on his side mirror.

Erik chuckled. "No, but you're starting to worry us. You've been unusually cheerful the past few weeks and you just threw a game earlier."

"No one ever wins against you in swimming," Rafa reminded his friend.

Justin merely laughed at their concerns. "Can't a person lose even once? Maybe today's my unlucky day," he said. As he unlocked the door of his car, he noticed something. "I haven't seen Benj around though. Is he still in Cebu?"

Erik shook his head. "He's currently in Dumaguete with Steffi to visit some relatives. You know how the Reynosos adore Benj."

"So how are things between you and Alessa lately?"

"We're doing fine," he answered, sounding surprised at Rafa's sudden interest.

"We noted. She was all you could talk about the entire afternoon." Erik teased.

Justin's body tensed. Did he miss the notice that this was 'gang-up-on-your-friend' day? "C'mon, guys. I was telling you what she did for me and Bianca this morning."

"You already like her," Rafa pointed out.

"And what if I do?" Justin defensively shot back to silence his friends.

"Then go and make your move," Erik suggested. "You've been pining for her since high school, bro. This is your chance."

"In case you forgot, she used to have a crush on Rafa here." He scoffed.

"Used to being the operative word," Rafa argued in his defense. "We both knew we would never have worked out."

"You're free, she's free. I don't see how that's supposed to be a problem," Erik chimed in. "And don't let her previous involvement with Rafa be an excuse."

Justin sighed. "Well for starters, I don't even know how she feels about me."

Both Rafa and Erik could only stare at Justin not knowing whether to laugh or be annoyed at his obliviousness.

As soon as Justin arrived home, he set off for the Valmores residence where he conveniently found Alessa lounging at the lanai. She was too engrossed with an e-book on her Kindle to notice him approaching.

"Hey," he greeted. "Manang Susan said I'd find you here."

"Oh," Alessa looked up and was surprised to see Justin's towering figure hovering over her. "I didn't notice you come in, sorry. Did you run into Daniela again?"

He shook his head. "Why do you always assume I only come here when I have problems?"

"Because only Daniela drives you crazy enough to do stupid things," she said. When he didn't jump to his ex's defense, she continued to ramble. "Did you ever introduce her to your family?"

She knew they were sneaking around after school but she was never privy to his dating life back then. Bianca was right, she never really saw any girlfriends visit Justin at home since they became friends. They would either spend hours talking at the school cafeteria or go watch a movie at the mall.

"She never liked my friends," he answered without a hint of regret that made Alessa's heart skip a beat. "When we were dating, she made it sound like I had to choose between her and my friends. My parents were against that kind of attitude so I never extended an invite for family dinners."

"That must've been hard," Alessa's tone was sympathetic.

"It was," Justin confirmed. "But I held on because I was the outsider who fell in love with a popular girl."

There was a deafening silence as neither knew what to say after opening a can of worms about that past relationship. Justin looked like he couldn't care any less. Alessa, on the other hand, was conflicted.

"I wonder why she's running after you again?" It was an innocent question she wanted to get out of the way. "Did she break up with that basketball player?"

"I don't know," he answered, sounding uninterested. "Daniela always does the unpredictable when things don't go according to her plan."

She placed her hand over his in assurance that he will always have her support as he gave her a grateful smile.