Hanap-hanap

Chapter 7

                 

"So ... she forgave you?"

He took a swig of beer, grimacing as the bitter taste hit the back of his throat, and shrugged. "Something like that."

His friend shook his head before lifting his own bottle to his lips and taking a quick sip. "I don't know how you did it, pare. Just a few weeks ago she was ignoring you and deleting your pictures, like some weird version of thou shalt not darken my doors again, and I'd have sworn the next tabloid article would be saying something like, 'James Reid and Nadine Lustre, Tinapos ang Tambalan'. Then the next day you're all good?" He put the bottle down. "You must have done something, and you're just not spilling."

James' mind flashed back to the kiss that he and Nadine shared, and the memory, though almost a month old by now, was enough to heat his face and make him smile. Sure, he had kissed her a thousand times before, on cam, but that unintended one was ... something else entirely. He only had to close his eyes to recall every single vivid detail: her lips soft and pliant, her soft intake of breath sexier than it should be, her vulnerability shaking him to his very core, making him want to scoop her into his arms and carry her somewhere safe. She made him feel ... something he had never felt before.

He didn't know what it was, exactly, but he was determined to find out. "And even if I did, I'd know better than to tell you, Andre."

Andre leaned forward, peering so closely that James had to lean away from the smell of beer on his breath. "Hah. Look at your face, bro. I can frigging cook an egg on that." He sat back with a triumphant smile, pointing at him. "I knew I should have checked up on you earlier! So what, did you finally fess up to her?"

James shook his head. Once he got going, Andre was the equivalent of Boy Abunda with hair and testosterone, and he wasn't willing to say anything that would jeopardize the fragile situation he had with Nadine. She had forgiven him, that was true, but she was a long way from trusting him, and he could not fault her at all for it – even though he had to admit that her continued resistance against his idea was beginning to chip away at his resolution to give her space and time to think. "What would I fess up about? Nah, dude. Like you said. I groveled, she relented. End of story."

"So why is she taking off to Korea for her birthday, huh? Without Tito Dong or Tita My?" Andre wagged his finger at him. "And don't tell me it's a birthday-with-friends-trip thing, because if that's what it is, then why aren't you part of the entourage?"

"You seriously think her folks would let me?"

"What, a guy friend can't be trusted? Why's Jhelo there, then?" When James merely lifted his eyebrows at the statement, he threw his hands up in mock surrender. "Ah, well, yeah. Okay."

James chuckled. "Besides, you can only imagine what everyone would say if she did." He shook his beer bottle, which was now almost empty, and glanced at his friend's. "Want another one?"

"Nah, I'd better get going. Not that I don't like bonding with you, pare, but I can't drink too much if I drive." Andre stood up and stretched, looking around the veranda just off James' kitchen. "When's your grounding ever going to end, anyway? Easier if we had drinks somewhere between your place and mine."

"Dunno." He shrugged. "Don't really care."

Funnily enough, that was true: he still needed to expend all his excess energy most nights, even when taping for the series had become hectic in preparation for the few days' worth of vacation that Nadine was able to wangle from management, but he found that it was a lot easier to stay within Veron's rules nowadays – it kept him out of trouble, gave the bashers and the paps no reason to gang up on him, and best of all, kept him in Nadine's good graces. A win-win on all sides.