The Day After

What's on his mind?

WARNING: Sex and Mature Content

Dumbfounded, Archie gazed at Roxy as she entered the taxi, still catching his breath from their intimate encounter. A whirlwind of thoughts stormed through his mind:

"What the fuck did I just do?" he pondered as he stepped out of the car, his mouth sore, and his legs still trembling.

He reached for his phone and attempted to contact Roxy through Messenger, only to find that he had been blocked.

"Fuck, fuck fuck," he muttered while checking all social media platforms, discovering with disappointment that he was blocked on every channel. He attempted to call her using her number, but it just kept ringing.

On his fifth attempt, he was met with the infuriating prompt: "The subscriber cannot be reached; please try your call later."

"Fuck!" he exclaimed, tossing his phone aside. Frustration etched across his face, he placed his hand on his forehead, taking a deep breath.

"You're so stupid, Archie, stupid! Stupid!" he berated himself in his thoughts, exhaling deeply.

When did he realize he had a petty crush on her? Was it during their discussions about the collab project, where her witty retorts amused him? Or perhaps at the Governor's ball, where she looked magnetic in her dress? Maybe it was during those nights watching her live selling, marveling at her hard work.

He picked up his slightly damaged but still functioning phone and called Gino:

"Hey, dude," Gino answered.

"Yow, san ka?" Archie inquired.

"I'm here in the condo, man. You know I can't go out with all this stuff going on, right?"

"I know. Puntahan kita," Archie said, heading back to his car.

"What's wrong? Is this about Z?" Gino asked.

"No, no. It's something else. If I don't talk to someone about this soon, I'll go crazy, man," he confessed, starting his car.

"Fine, fine. I'll be waiting for you up here," Gino said before ending the call.

Archie threw his phone onto the back seat, resting his head on the steering wheel as he glanced at the passenger seat. He reminisced about her tear-stained face, how he wiped away her tears, and the way she kissed him back.

He still felt the imprint of her nails on his back and the grip of her hand in his hair as he pushed himself inside her. The echoes of her restrained moans lingered, along with the memory of how she trembled when they both reached climax.

He thought if he had approached it differently, things might have turned out better. Knowing she was vulnerable, he should've held back. Maybe just a kiss would have been enough, especially since she was in pain.

He had one chance, but he messed it up. "Classic Aguerro."

He started the car and drove away. Despite the lingering ecstasy from being with her, he couldn't ignore the reality that it might have been a one-time opportunity, and he might never get a chance like that again.

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"Damn, Tita Sasha really has the guts to do that," Gino remarked, taking a gulp from the beer bottle.

He awaited Archie's response, but Archie just stared blankly into space, ignoring the ice-cold beer in his hand.

"Dude?" Gino tapped his shoulder. "Are you alright? Are you high?"