"A friend of mine is also a great believer of Karma. He gave me a book on essays about it as a half gift, half joke," Alden told Maine the moment they got out of the grab car.
"Nakita ko nga," Maine casually affirmed his claim. When she saw Alden's eyebrows furrowing in confusion, she explained, "In your hotel room, when I got your towel and change of clothes. I saw it at your bedside table."
"Ah, oo nga. I was already halfway into it and it's a really brilliant compilation so far . There was already a newly-released second volume of it actually,"
"Is that why you picked this bookstore as our next destination?" Maine asked as they entered through the glass door.
"Yeah, sort of. But also for something else that I'd rather keep secret for now. Basta," Alden cryptically smirked.
"There's something so romantic about bookstores, no? Like, in an old school kind of way. I'm a little guilty cause I mostly read e-books on my kindle these days, but there's something so nostalgic and sweet with reading actual books-oh, sorry, I was rambling," Maine shyly paused.
"Don't be sorry, I totally agree with you. I prefer holding books too. The physicality of it will always be incomparable to anything digital nowadays. I don't just like to read and see things with my eyes, Maine. I like feeling things with my hands. I love touching. I'm good at it, too. Uh-reading, I mean."
They stood awkwardly for a few seconds, averting each other's gaze until they finally compromised to go separate ways for the mean time while they strolled the book store on their own.
After about a half hour of going back and forth, Alden finally located the aisle for books and subjects beginning with the letter K and was surprised to see Maine at the end of it, atop a ladder and trying to reach for a book at the topmost shelf. He motioned to walk towards her to help but she signalled that she was fine, so he retreated back to the shelf he was looking for, scanning the titles for the second volume of the book he was in search of.
He absent-mindedly let his fingers run through the book spines as his eyes wandered on Maine's beautiful legs from a distance. Unknowingly, he picked a random paperback but before he could even see its title, a loud crash startled him. Maine has fallen on the floor, being rained on by books falling from the shelf. Alden rushed to shield her and saw that a small papercut gash was bleeding on her thigh.
"I was also trying to get a book on Karma. Sorry for my clumsiness," she smiled to assure him she was okay.
"I've found the book I was looking for, too-" he showed her the book he was holding but abruptly paused in shock when he realized he got the wrong book.
Kama Sutra: The Ultimate Guide to the Secrets of Erotic Pleasure
KINGINANG BUHAY TO, Alden cursed inside his mind.
He felt his cheeks go hot, but it burned even fiercer with shame when Maine threw her head back in laughter. He fought down a smile but it was impossible. When Maine recovered, she struggled to keep a straight face as she asked him:
"So what's your favorite position?"
Alden's ears turned red and his heart started beating rapidly-a feeling he's read about countless times in books and seen in movies, a feeling he's always dismissed as juvenile and cliché. And yet here he was, experiencing it first-hand, and it was all kinds of strange, and...beautiful.
"I don't know, what would you like to try? I mean-uh...what would you like to recommend?" he replied.
It was Maine's turn to blush.
