Just Because You Are

Chapter 13 (Part 3) - Playing Second Fiddle?

The music may have stopped,
but my heart beats to another tune,
this rhythm called love.
– A.C. Van Cherub

Raffie, stunned and bewildered, seemed to find her feet frozen when Quino held her hands to his chest. She could very well feel the loud pounding of his heart as he leaned towards her, and instinctively, as if in response to the inevitable moment, she felt her blood flow rapidly in her cheeks.

She closed her eyes as he kissed her in a dazingly sweet and entrancing moment. His lips felt so soft and gentle…and seemed to perfectly fit in her own soft, supple lips.

It was such a gentle but passionate kind of kiss, and she could not help but feel so overcome with mixed excitement and confusion.

For a brief but magnetic moment, Raffie felt like she was being transported to a surreal world where only the two of them exist.

And what surprised her more was that she didn’t seem to have the heart to pull herself away from him, nor to draw her hands away from his gentle grasp. She liked the feel of his touch. She liked every bit of that moment with him.

“Raffie…”

The affectionate, tender tone of Quino’s voice made her open her eyes. Still, everything around her seemed dreamy-like. She realized that he was now looking closely at her, his forehead resting on her own forehead. He was still holding her hands and it seemed as if neither of them wanted to break that very very close contact.

But something at the back of her mind was commanding her to draw back.

Immediately.

Now.

But why wasn’t she heeding that command?

“Good evening, everyone! The presentation will begin in ten minutes. We hope you will enjoy the musical play we have prepared for all of you.”

Louie’s loud announcement was like a gunfire that signaled Raffie and Quino to go back to reality.

‘Oh my goodness!!!’ she thought, very much alarmed as her heartbeat thudded triple times faster than its normal rate.

Head bowed and cheeks flushed with mixed embarrassment and tension, she finally pulled out her hands from his grasp and stepped away from him.

“Sir Quino…I’m…I….this is….it’s a…it’s a mistake…” she stuttered under her breath while shaking her head at the same time. Then she turned her back and started to walk towards the other end of the backstage, avoiding his eyes.

“Miss Raffie, wait…” Quino called to her, looking equally tensed. Raffie stopped walking although she didn’t turn to him. So he immediately strode towards her and went on with all earnestness, “I’m sorry you regretted about it…sana huwag mong isipin na…na nagtake-advantage ako-”

“Siguro nga hindi pa kita ganun kakilala...but don’t worry, hindi ko yan iniisip,” Raffie said with a note of tenseness in her voice, immediately cutting short Quino’s statement.

Still, she didn’t dare look at him as she continued, “Let’s just focus on the show tonight…excuse me.” And with that, she pursed her lips and finally left Quino standing behind her.

****************

Kiss today goodbye,
The sweetness and the sorrow,
Wish me luck, the same to you,
But I can't regret, what I did for love,
What I did for love.

Took me by surprise,
The gift was ours to borrow,
It's as if we always knew,
What I did for love,
What I did for love.

Love is never gone,
As we travel on,
That's what we remember.

Kiss today goodbye,
And point me t'ward tomorrow,
Thinking, what we had to do,

Won't forget, can't regret, what I did for love,
What I did for love,
What I did for love…