Palawan Strangers (CharDawn)

Six

*Story is not age-sensitive

Richard pulls her and wraps her in his arm. He places a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Later. Let's finish it later, okay?"

She gazes up at him and pinches his nose.

A long-buried part of her felt a rush of happy adrenaline. The other part wanted to run, she realized what she did and it was an indiscreet and shameful act. She wanted to drown herself in cold water to cool the humiliation inside of her.

But does it still matter at this point? It happened already, there's no undo button. He kissed her back. And, she enjoyed it. So. Much.

She stayed in his arms and it lasted longer than she'd intended, and by the time they separated, she was working on the table to prepare the utensils for their meal.

"Let's eat?" he tells Dawn.

She only nods, composed but clearly tensed. She seemed bothered, her expression was obviously strained. Richard had no idea what she was thinking at the moment. Did he upset her? He turned her down mid-kiss. But no, she seemed to be cool about it earlier but now she's acting weird it's as if he had done something that made her unsettled.

"You alright?" he asks as they sit together in thick silence.

Realizing that Richard is waiting for a response, Dawn tightens her lips as she glances away and then back and meets his eyes. "I'm sorry about earlier. I'm –I'm not that kind of woman. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to do it"

He wrinkles his nose and his lips twitch with laughter, "You didn't mean to do it? Talaga? Di mo pa sinadya yung ginawa mo kanina? So what would I expect if you really intended to kiss me?"

Dawn fought to stifle her smile, "Basta, I am not that kind of woman. It's just that –you know –you–"

"–what? Irresistible? Very tempting?" his gaze flicked to her, and he smiled in a way that promised wickedly good times, "Sanay na ako. I always hear that"

WOW!

Dawn throws her head back and lets out a peal of laughter, "Ang lakas ah?"

He shrugs, "Yeah, they always say I'm very irresistible, I'm gwapo, I'm hot, I'm pogi. So... what happened earlier was normal"

"Normal?" she continues to laugh, "'di ka naman masyadong humble, Doc"

Her happy face magnified her beauty, it melted his heart. All he wanted was to see her happy.

----------

The food he prepared was a feast, Dawn was eating with a smile. And when he caught her eyes, it only lit up more. When they finished their meal, they sat back and chattered amicably.

Richard takes her free hand, and she lets him. Dawn was beaming at him. The touch and entwining of their fingers was the whole world to him. He has been longing to do it. He likes Dawn and he would do anything to spend time with her and make her happy.

"Tell me about your children, twins right?" he tells her. She turned bright-eyed. She squeezes his hands.

"My children? Well... I'm the luckiest, a boy and a girl. So gravida 1 lang, 1 labor lang. They're adults now, 27. My boy is an accountant, he works in New York. The girl is also a Nurse, she's in London. So... yeah, we're an 'independent' family. We live far from each other" she says with a laugh, "My sweet boy is the sweetest, he's malambing and such a gentleman. Her girlfriend is so lucky! We call him Kuya even if they're twins. It's because he was delivered first. My girl, my god, my girl is a one-hell-a woman –very independent, very smart, fun to be with, goofy, carefree, straightforward, and high-spirited. Parang ang cool niya lang sa lahat ng bagay. She handles things easily. And when she's at home, everyday party –diyos ko! I actually have two younger sisters. And my daughter, her character is the combination of my two younger sisters. Hindi ko alam saan siya nagmana. Her dad is such a gentleman, sobrang bait and all. Me naman, I can say, I prefer to be proper at all times. But, whatever their characters are, they have a good heart, they are good to other people. I am very proud of them because they grew up as good people. That's the most important to me."