The Travel Buddy

Chapter 24 - Surprise

"I was sooooo stupid!" I covered my face with my hands as my elbows rested on my knees. I was seated on his office sofa and he was left sitting on his swivel chair with a bemused smile on his face.

          The kiss that had just happened felt so liberating, filled with passion and longing. I have deprived myself of fully enjoying my time with Enzo thinking, or rather overthinking, about unnecessary things and stressing myself out over a lost love because of someone whom I thought is coming between us.

          "Baby, you did not ask. You don't even want to hear about her." He leaned back on his chair.

"Then why is the little girl calling you 'Dy-dy?" I looked at him.

He got up and walked towards me. "Mattea is calling me Dy-dy because I stood as her father-figure since she was born until she attended preschool due to the absence of my stupid cousin. She is a bright girl and she asked why her mom's family name is different from hers when she was learning how to write her name. So I told her that we have the same surname and that I can be her dad while her real papa is busy abroad." He grabbed me to lean on his chest as I listen to his narrative. "But the real score is, Luis chickened out on his responsibility. We just told Mattea that he's still sorting something out in Italy."

"Then why is she named Mattea? Melissa could have named her as Luisa." I looked up to face him. He had his arm wrapped around me and he was finger-combing my hair.

"Well, it was Melissa's way of thanking me for helping her out..."

"So you lived together in the US?!" I cut him off.

"No, Bee." He paused from what he is doing and looked at me. "They have their own house. Her mom was there with her. I just came and visit every now and then." Oh... I guess I have never paid enough attention on Melissa because I was just angry at her. Maybe this was what Micah had been trying to tell me.

"How... how did she and Luis meet? I thought you were an item back in high school."

"Remember when we came back from Gensan? I knew you were trying to avoid me at that time. Then you overheard me and Kyle talking and you asked me about it." I was back to being wrapped in his arms again. "I said it was Melissa but we were actually talking about you. I told him about what happened in Gensan. Kyle had a hint of my feelings for you somehow."

"So that's why he kept on teasing us!"

          "And he didn't even sprained his leg for that Gensan trip, Bee."

          "What?!" I jolted upward and turned to face him. 

          "Remember when we went to Bohol?"

          "Yeah... y-you left me to be with Melissa." I leaned back on him with my lips pouting. "Who wouldn't have thought nothing is going on between you two? You've been together always during high school days. You were the talk of the campus..."

"Oh, Bee." He hugged me tight from behind. "Melissa and I were never together in high school! You were avoiding us so much that you didn't know that it was Luis and Melissa who were dating each other."

          "What about in Bohol? You two were alone together."

           "Baby, at that time, her relationship with Luis is going on the rocks. But then we talked more about you. She asked me if I was so sure about my feelings for you because you were too young then. And hurting you might also hurt my relationship with Kyle." Oh! I didn't know she was that concerned about me.