21 Days in the Philippines

3 - Dinner with Brylle (part 2)

"Lasagna?" he said as though it was a ridiculous joke. He chuckled. "It's carbs, darling. You shouldn't really eat that."

I saw Alex turn to me through my peripheral vision.

"What?" I said, too stunned to put on a show.

"You need to stay healthy, for God's sake," he lectured. "You're dating an actor, not an accountant, or, or, or a..." he trailed off as he eyed Alex before turning back to me. "You know."

"What are you talking about?" I scoffed. "Since when did you care about what I eat?"

"Since now," he said as though stating the obvious.

"Oh, and look who's humiliating who?" I snapped.

"I--ugh--look," he said, calming down so quickly. "Let's just have a happy dinner, okay?" he said, putting on an imperative thin smile. "And you can take the lasagna pizza."

I glowered at him before scanning the menu once more, this time, without paying attention to the classic swirly brown scribbles on the silk-smooth, glittery hardbound pages of the menu. Everything seemed like a complete blank golden page in my hands.

"I'm sorry, sir, but did you say that you're an actor?" Alex asked, breaking the tension that filled the now-seemingly small space.

Brylle looked up in interest. "Yes, why?" he grinned. "Do you happen to know me? Or, or, or have you seen me on TV or in a particular movie?"

"No, sir," he answered politely.

"Ah, I know," Brylle said, brainstorming another possibility about where he had seen or heard about him. "I'm on celebrity news, aren't I? I'm all over the news and actresses linked to my name, aren't they?" He chuckled as he shook his head disbelievingly. "Show business." He looked at me. "Now, you see? My life isn't as easy as you think."

"Uhm, no, sir," Alex answered once again.

I looked at him and I could read the thoughts in his eyes. Well, maybe because we both wanted the same thing and that is to stop Brylle from being a poser.

"Then, give me a clue!" Brylle mused, obviously enjoying this and assuming that somebody recognizes him.

"Uhm, I was just wondering if you have ever been in a movie or TV show? 'Cause I've never seen you before."

Brylle stared up at Alex in complete astonishment as if Alex asked for the answer to a two-plus-two problem.

"Oh." Brylle's face turned pomegranate, almost a red tomato.

Well, at least he can't blame me for humiliating him this time. As mean and unsupportive of a girlfriend as it would sound, I want to laugh at his face, completely swashing the extra humiliation that I've caused him tonight.

But then he might die in shame. So, never mind.

"Uhm," his Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he gulped. "I'm, uh, you've probably seen me play Darcy on "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies"," he countered. "It'll be in cinemas worldwide, I believe." He looked at Alex skeptically. "Are you going to watch that?"

"Most certainly, sir," he said, smiling that mesmerizing smile of his.

"Good," Brylle returned to his menu. "I'll have a chicken caesar salad."

Alex jotted down his order, then, asked him another question, "Uhm, have you been in any other movies or TV shows or..."

When Brylle looked up, Alex immediately looked stricken, probably saw the "I'm going to punch you in the face if you don't shut up" look. "'Cause I, I, I really love movies, sir. And TV shows but I don't really notice the actors so maybe I missed you there for a second. Sir," he mustered.