Of (Heart)Beats and Bylines [Completed]

Chapter 47- The Vacay

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain has turned off the Fasten Seat Belt sign, and you may now move around the cabin. However, we always recommend to keep your seat belt fastened while you're seated."

Beside me, RJ did just as instructed. He then slouched on his seat and yawned. It's 6 a.m. and getting on this flight meant we had to be at the airport two to three hours earlier. In effect, the two of us are currently sleep deprived.

It has been a few weeks after our graduation rites and RJ and I are now flying out for a trip abroad. This is our first time to be in a foreign land as boyfriend and girlfriend. And if in the past, it was for work, this time around, it's purely for rest and relaxation. Tomorrow, we will be meeting his parents and sister Angel, who after three years, are finally coming back to the Philippines albeit just for a brief vacation.

There is no direct flight from Wellington to Manila, so the family chose-- surprise, surprise!--Singapore as the venue for their connecting flight. As a treat for all the hard work in the university, RJ decided to buy us airplane tickets and meet them here.

His family and I have conversed countless of times over online video calls. They have even chatted with my family; still I'm nervous about meeting them face to face. I was about to voice this out loud to RJ but when I looked over my shoulder, he was already fast asleep. I just ended up studying his face and admiring his apparition-like visage. Three years down the road and I swear, his handsome face still takes my breath away. I let my eyes roam his features, from his broad forehead; his deep-set eyes with thick lashes that fan over his cheeks; his fine, straight nose; his semi-full, cherry red lips; his masculine chin with the day-old stubbles; and his overall, smooth, clear skin. Sigh. I kissed his cheek before shutting my eyes to get some sleep myself.

~~~~~

Just as RJ teased in the past, I'm giving him a personalized tour of Singapore this afternoon. It is my third time here, and RJ's second. But during RJ's first, he missed the city tour and since the trip then was for the ASEAN Summit, he only saw the venues for the meetings and the attractions where we squeezed in our nightly rendezvous.

After extensive research, I stumbled upon this tour service where we get to explore the city at our own pace. It's called the Hop On, Hop Off Tour where sightseers ride an open top, double decker bus and get to go down at attractions they feel like exploring on foot.

The Hop On, Hop Off Tour has two routes: the Red or Heritage Route or the Yellow or City Route. For today, we chose the latter and for tomorrow, we will take the former together with the rest of the Faulkersons.

The Yellow Tour passes by the more modern side of Singapore and at the moment, we are exploring the Singapore Botanic Gardens. It's Singapore's first UNESCO Heritage Site and with 82 acres of beautiful landscape, it's perfect for lazing around. I purposely chose this place to spend most of the afternoon in since I thought the foliage could inspire RJ some more. In its more than a hundred year history, these Gardens have played a key role in shaping Singapore in its image as a green city state- it's a rousing setting for a legal practitioner like him, who chose environmental law not just as his focus but as his advocacy.

It's almost 4 p.m. and after an extensive tour, RJ and I laid out the picnic blanket plus the snacks and drinks we bought from the stalls located all over the Gardens. I also served the pastries I baked from home.

"You have gotten so good at baking! But in spite of your numerous recipes now, these are still my absolute favorite," RJ said while wolfing down an oatmeal cookie in just one big gulp. He then licked his fingers. I laughed. He's always had a sweet tooth.

The recipe I used here is my original blend, borne out of my own mix and match experiment during a school break in college. But since RJ and I became a couple, I've added to my repertoire of baked goodies. Plus, I've learned how to cook actual dishes too, with an emphasis on his favorites.

"I'm sure they would all be so thankful," RJ commented on the boxes of pastries I've also brought for his family. "Your cookies are something that they have come to look forward to every Christmas." This is true. Whenever the holidays roll, RJ and I always make sure we include something in their package that gives a taste of home, like dried mangoes, and something with a personalized touch, like my pastries.

We spent the next few hours just basking in the greenery and peacefulness of these gardens. In a few more minutes, we would head off to one of the stages in the gardens to catch the Singapore Symphony Orchestra for some mind-stimulating music. It is the perfect way to cap our first day back in Singapore-- a country that will always be dear to our hears, as this is the place where we started dating.

~~~~~

A quick dinner later and RJ and I chose to retire early. We barely had any sleep the night before and only caught ultra-quick, interrupted naps in the plane.

RJ and I are in separate albeit adjoining rooms. We have always been discreet with our sleeping arrangements. We have never been in solo jaunts; they are always either with my family or with our friends. Neither is this trip exactly a solo jaunt either as we will meet RJ's kin tomorrow.

Both our families are somewhat conservative so to not risk offending any sensibilities, we have always been on the safe side and choose separate sleeping quarters. I suspect though that my family knows RJ and I sleep together; they just choose to not say anything about it.

Then there's this thing about abstinence which I so boldly voiced out last year after my pregnancy scare. We have never spoken about it but after that incident, whenever things got steamy, I'd clam up. RJ would sense this and he'd immediately stop. It's like after a car accident when every time you drive to the scene of the collision, you tense up. I feel, or felt, the same way about sex. It was something that we put at the backburner since we were both giving our final year in the university one big push. With my comprehensive exams and thesis and RJ's extremely tedious coursework, sex was easy to set aside. But now that everything's settled, it's a different story. It's been almost a year and a half, Maine.

"Hey," he greeted when I opened the connecting door after two knocks. "Are you about to sleep?"

Pa-simple ka pa! "Nope. I still want to relax some more. It's only 8 p.m. anyway."

"Uh. Mind if I stay here?" he asked tentatively.

I rummaged through my luggage for my own set of toiletries. Yes, the hotel's bathroom supplies are something I hardly use. "No, I don't," I said after a few minutes. I literally saw him breathe out in relief. Then his eyes widened, "What are you doing?"

"Preparing for a bath," I said as I undid my outerwear. "Join me?" I asked, squinting and giving him a sideways glance. "But only if you wish," I added as I stripped off the rest of my garments and stepped inside the bathroom.

Barely a minute later, he I felt his weight in the water as he joined me in the tub. "Who am I to say no to that?" he commented in a husky voice.

Photo credit: Pinterest of S. Yee