We were already enjoying our sweets when Ara suddenly waved her hand vigorously. We both looked up and followed her eyes. In the doorway, Maezy appeared in her tight-hugging dress. Behind her was a man in his business suit. My heart suddenly skipped a beat as I realized that the man was the old man Maezy referred to--her newly-wed husband. The man who gave me one of the most unforgettable experiences in my life!
"Hi, everyone!" Maezy ran her eyes towards us, her dimple showing as she smiled. Then she looked up at the man towering above her.
"Kim, these are my friends. Ara, Tim's girlfriend; Yen, Ara's best friend, and?" Maezy stopped and smiled, looking at Zed.
"Zed, Zedreck Ramos," Zed also replied while he stood up and extended his hands to Maezy's husband.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Kim Mori," Kim introduces himself using our vernacular language, leaving me gaping at him.
He seemed to notice me, and he smiled--a smile that sent butterflies on my stomach. He stood tall, lean, and stunningly handsome with his eyes that reduced into a slit when he smiled.
"My family and I used to live here since she is a Filipina, but since dad focused on his business, he took us all with him to Japan. Since then, we live there, but now that Maezy and I have found our ways to each other," he paused and chuckled, fixing his eyes on me, "I come home every now and then."
I then wondered if he still remembered that I had a moment with him in that cottage a few months ago. And a sense of thrill immediately coursed through my system like I was lifted to the moon and back!
"Darling, we are neighbors now. Yen and Zed have just moved in a few months ago. Remember that house near the corner?"
Kim's brows knitted together, but then his eyes lit up as he recalled. "Ah, yes. I always love that location. Since it's a corner lot, you can make a wider garden at the side."
"Yes, actually, we're working on it. A few more touches, and it's finished."
"Since you're hooked, what about joining them?" Maezy slipped a hand around Kim's arm, smiling at him sweetly.
Kim ran his eyes at all of us and hesitated. "We'll be disturbing them."
"Not at all. I know these ladies won't mind." Zed answer with a smile; he was the one inviting us anyway. I smiled with a poker face and no one knew how I was fighting with a welling emotion deep inside.
Maezy and Kim pulled a chair, and while waiting for them to settle down, my eyes fell unconsciously at Tim. He seemed to be in a bad mood while scrolling down his phone. He didn't interact with us, and I got scared in thinking that the reason for his behavior was Kim's presence.
Our chat went lively that evening. Kim raised interesting topics that Zed blended along well with him as if they had already known each other for so long. Zed had many things to say about anything, being the highest-paid motivational speaker in the city.
"What do you do, Miss Yen?" Kim's voice broke into my reverie, and I jolted from my seat.
He chuckled, and a captivating smile broke on his face. "Daydreaming?"
I seemed to melt into his gaze, and I hated myself for reacting this way. Zed was stunning himself, especially when he was talking before a big crowd. Yet, there was something special in him that always quickened my heartbeats.
"I'm sorry," I said, wearing a smile but with an embarrassed expression.
"I was asking about what do you do?"
I laughed softly before I answered, and I felt Kim's piercing gaze on me. "I work in the finance department of-"
"Really?" Kim cut me off, and my mouth hung open. "I need an overseer, Miss Yen. If you are interested, I am sure your rate will be five times your current salary."
I glanced at Zed before looking back at Kim. Ara gasped in excitement, her eyes wide as the moon outside the wall of the restaurant.
"Think about it, Miss Yen. I'll give you three days to decide. However, your job requires you to visit all the branches, including the ones in Japan."
It was my turn to gasp aloud. If my colleagues looked up to me as the head of the finance department, how much higher would be my position if I have to visit local and international branches?
"Thank you, Mr. Mori-"
"Kim. We're neighbors, right?"
"Sir Kim. The position is too high."
"Just Kim."
I got tongue-tied for a moment while staring at him.
"K-Kim."
"Are you a CPA? Do you have masters?"
"Yes."
Kim chuckled, sticking his eyes on me that I fidgeted. "Miss Yen, I do remember seeing you one time."
My heartbeats immediately accelerated. I recited a silent prayer right away. He should talk about the intimate moments we had in front of my husband.
"My company hired a resource speaker during our teambuilding activity. And you were the speaker for the Marriage Encounter."
I laughed to ease the awkwardness. I gave a lecture about sexual fulfillment between married couples, but there I was, troubled with something slacking in my sexual aspect.
"It's such an honor to be remembered, Mr. Kim." Just not that heavy petting we had...I admit I had never felt fulfilled that way with Zed.
"Because I was there behind the curtains. I wanted to hear what it takes to 'sexually fulfill your mate' from a woman's perspective."
I felt something crawling at my back that I stiffened. Damn it. I became more uneasy.
Ara burst out laughing, mocking me. She knew that that lecture was purely theoretical and that I, myself, needed to learn from it. No one else in the crowd knew that I was a technical virgin for four months, except her and Zed!
"Something seems fishy!" Maezy looked at me with a wide grin.
I picked up a watermelon seed on my plate and threw it on Ara's face, making her giggle louder.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kim, but when Yen lectured about sex, she was still a virgin at that time."
I gasped. Kim had even kissed me down there! He wouldn't surely think I was still a virgin at that time.
Everyone burst out laughing, and Zed wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "It's alright, love. We're all friends here."
I felt I shrank into a smaller size, too ashamed that Maezy seemed to know about it. Kim was kind anyway; he quickly shifted the topic into the food the waiter had just served.
Later into the night, several hours after we all went home, I stood by the terrace, thinking about Kim's offer. Zed had long gone asleep, giving me the chance to escape. The night was dark except for the lamp posts by the roadside. Not far from me, I saw a car parked under the tree.
I narrowed my gaze when I saw movements inside the car. I didn't know why I suddenly thought of grabbing my binoculars. I ran inside the room and went back to the terrace right away. Focusing the lens on the windshield, I saw a couple kissing passionately--the man's hands were squeezing the woman's breast. To my horror, it was Maezy and Tim!