A Million Sunsets With You (A Boys Love Story)

CHAPTER 7

It was Sunday morning when Alex was still on his bed, sleeping so tight, hugging his pillows, and covering his body with a blanket. It was a sunny day when his phone rang. For several times that the phone rang, Alex woke up and picked up the call. "Hello, who is this?" He didn't notice who was calling him. He stretched his arms upward while still lying on his bed. "Hello, bro! It's Brent. Get ready now!" It was Brent, one of his teammates, who called him on the phone. Alex had no idea of what Brent was uttering. He was confused. He sat up from lying. "Oh, Brent! What did you say? I just woke up." Alex grabbed the other pillows and arranged them on the top corner of his bed. He opened the curtain, and the beautiful agonizing rays of the sunrise lighted his room. "Hey, Alex! Bro, did you forget? We planned to go to a beach. We're going to a place where the sunset is so beautiful to look at." Alex remembered everything. He immediately stood up from the bed, wearing only boxers. "Okay, bro! So what's the place called?" Brent replied, "We're going to Baclayon, Bohol." After hearing the place, Alex exclaimed. "Bohol? We're here in Talisay, Cebu, and then we're going to Bohol?" Brent giggled. "Why not? It's not that far. We only need to travel three hours and thirty-seven minutes to be there." Without any hesitations, Alex agreed. They both ended the call to pack up their things and get ready for their travel.

Alex took off his boxers and went to the bathroom to shower himself. He played rock music while inside the bathroom. He was in the bathtub while the water was in the shower, pouring drops of liquid on his body. He was still bothered because he didn't even ask permission from his parents or even his girlfriend. After taking a bath, he toweled his body. He went to his closet and found some clothes to wear. While wearing clothing, his phone rang. It was Claire who called him. He was so hesitant to answer the call. Putting the pants on, he went to his bed, where his phone was. He picked up the call. "Hello, babe! Good morning!" Alex was still standing and Claire said, "Good morning, babe! Are you done making the thesis?" He then replied, "Not yet, babe. Why?" While Alex was still packing his things, he was still waiting for Claire's reply. "Babe, I will go there. I'm going to your house, and let's finish that," she said in an angry voice. "You need to finish that already, Alex." Alex was dumbstruck. "Babe, we're going to Bohol today with my teammates. Will you go with us?" Claire interrupted Alex. "Oh, I see. You will do that first before finishing your thesis? Oh common, Alex. I need to go there to your house!" Because of that, Alex ended the call. He was so upset about the behavior of his girlfriend toward him. While packing up the things, he sat on his bed with disappointment on his face. He was facing the mirror and said, "Fuck!"

It was already 8 a.m. when his phone rang. "Bro, where are you? Blake and Cyrus were already there in the terminal waiting for us. Let's go!" Alex answered, "Yes, bro. I'm coming." He immediately went outside, closed the door, then locked the gate. He was about to leave when his parents called him on the phone. It was his mother. "Hello, son? Claire told me that you're going to Bohol. Is that true?" Without any hesitations, Alex replied, "Yes, mom. I'm going to Bohol with my teammates. It's maybe for team building." His mom permitted him to go to Bohol since he was already of mature age to decide. But still, something was bothering him-it was about Claire. He felt like he was not given any chance to decide for himself. It was Claire who was so manipulative. A tricycle passed by, so he hurriedly waved at it. It was such perfect timing that he was the only passenger going to the terminal. Ten minutes after riding the tricycle, he had already arrived at the terminal. There was a need for them to take a bus going to the quay. It took fifteen minutes to travel. Blake, Cyrus, Brent, and Alex sat at the back of the bus. Brent observed that Alex's face was a little sad. It seemed like something was bothering him. He asked, "Alex, why are you sad? Isn't it about Claire? Your manipulative girlfriend?" Cyrus interrupted Brent. "Shhh! Whatever that is, let's enjoy the view there, especially the sunset. When we get there, shout your problems out!" Alex bent his knee and leaned his body against the chair. "She didn't want me to go on this trip, bro. She was so angry at me." Blake said, "You know what, bro, you are mature enough to decide on your own. You are not a kid anymore, waiting for others to decide on your life. You must know the things that make you happy and choose the ones who make you feel comfortable." They did have a long discourse about what Alex had experienced with his love life when they finally arrived at the quay. Immediately, they went to the desk officer and asked for a ship ticket. After that, they were already inside the ship and ready to arrive at their destination.

Alex asked, "How many hours do we need to travel from Talisay, Cebu to Baclayon, Bohol? Will it take 2 hours?" Greg, one of his teammates answered, "It takes 3 hours and 37 minutes of travel bro." Alex nodded his head. "Oh, thank you, bro." On the other side of the window, Brent was just looking at his cellphone, scrolling and finding something. He immediately moved close to Alex and showed him a picture of what Baclayon, Bohol, looks like. It was a photo taken by a famous photographer, capturing the beautiful seashore and seawater reflected by the sunset. It was so beautiful to look at. Alex was so astonished and astounded by the picture shown to him. He felt so excited to be there and see the view. "Oh, it's paradisaic! I wanna see that in person! Who told you about this place?" Brent replied, "It's me who suggested the place. It would be my second travel here to this place. When my mom died, we went here together with my sister to ease my pain. It's so amazing!" After hours of chinwagging, there was an announcement about the safety protocols for the passengers. They listened to it, and after that, they were all ready to go. Brent was at the window, looking at the sea. "It's so beautiful, bro." Alex, sitting at the left corner, went to Brent and said, "Bro, if you are in my shoes, will you still keep the relationship even if it is already not healthy?" Brent tapped Alex's right shoulder and replied, "You know what, bro? If I were you, I need to talk to my girlfriend about this issue for you to have proper discourse. I would suggest that both of you have a very deep conversation." Alex sighed. "Thank you, bro. She is always chaining me. I couldn't decide on my own. I just don't know what to do." After a very emotional conversation with Brent, they were interrupted when Cyrus came bringing snacks. He shared the food with them as well as with their teammates. It was a long travel from Cebu to Bohol. After a while, they took a nap. Alex was in the left corner, putting headsets on and listening to music. He fell asleep. After traveling for hours, an announcement woke them up. They have already arrived in Bohol. Brent immediately picked up his things and woke them up. They were bringing baggage with them.

"Oh, nice to meet you, Bohol!" Alex exclaimed. They all giggled and after that, they needed to take a tricycle going to Baclayon, Bohol. A tricycle driver approached them and asked, "Sir, where are you going?" Alex answered, "We're going to Baclayon, Bohol! Can you take us there?" The driver immediately nodded. "Yes, sir. Let's go!" They rode a tricycle. The place was not that far from the terminal. When they got there, there was a beach resort. It was so nice. It was already 12:56 in the early noon. They went inside and asked someone there about the resort and how they could book rooms there. But Brent interrupted, "Wait, guys! I've already booked rooms here. All we need to do is pay for the bills." A resort staff approached them, "Hello, how may I help you? Are you new here, sir?" Brent replied, "Yes, but I've already booked rooms here." He showed the receipt to the staff and guided them to the desk officer. After that, they were already inside their respective rooms. Every room is good for two people only. Brent and Alex were in the same room. They were so hungry, and they were accommodated by the resort staff to get their free meal. It was a 2-day stay there. They were already in the venue to get their free meal, sitting on the chairs. After eating their lunch, they decided to go to the seashore. There were lots of tourists visiting there. The view was so nice, with clear and blue water and fine and white sand. It was so astounding to look at.

Alex sat on the sand, wearing only a sando and Taslan shorts. He was seriously building a castle there when Brent interrupted and ruined it. "Hey, bro! What's with that face?" You know what? Let's just wait here when the sun sets." Alex stared and laughed at Brent. "You know what, bro? Instead of interrupting me, why don't you try to help me build a castle here? "Like kids, they were building a castle. Their other teammates were also there, helping them to finish the castle before the sun sets. Cyrus was just standing, taking photos of them. "Smile, guys! This is for documentation! "He giggled. Someone approached them and offered to photo them all. It was a nice day, traveling for hours, and they did experience one of the beautiful resorts of Bohol. They were so excited to see the sunset.

When they already formed the castle, the others were swimming, while others were just watching them. They were called to swim, but they chose to be on the sand, watching the paradisiac view. Alex was so astonished and open-mouthed.

"I'm so excited to see the sun set. Get ready, camera!"