The International Lover

Time to Cross the Border

Throughout the morning, Annabeth, her two guards, and I remained at my hotel room, ordering room service for breakfast.

"Are you okay, princess?", one of the guards asked.

"Yes, I am exhausted even I just woke!", Annabeth answered. "Now, I will have some haters for disrespecting that crowd"

"You should have told us you would sneak", the other guard was about to reprimand her, but the other guard defended her, saying,

"Carl, you don't have the right, for she has the right to do it because she needed and still needs some personal space!"

Carl breathed.

"You're right, James", he replied. "I'm sorry, princess"

Annabeth just nodded. Few moments later, I called her.

"Annabeth"

"What?", she asked.

"I took care of you not because you're a famous person, but it was the right thing to do"

"I can see that"

"No, actually-", I breathed. "Like I told you last night, I came from Philippines, but there is something I never told you yet: I already know you", I confessed. "At least in Quezon City or the entire NCR, you are famous. Aside from being a politician, I am a business man. I am managing many companies, and one of them is a cologne enterprise; furthermore, we have a picture of yours hanging at the wall not for stalking but for decoration and-"

"A picture of a model being advertised in a cologne company is a great combination", Annabeth finished the statement for me. "I understand. To be honest, I never heard about a country named Philippines until last night", she confessed.

"Wow", I commented. "Anyway, what I really want to say is-"

"You have feelings for me, and you want a clarification about what I said earlier about our status"

I nodded the told her about my mission and my experiences from the two previous countries.

"Jose, the truth is I'm not ready to be in a relationship not only because of my career but because I don't know myself yet. Being a famous Canadian actress is external reputation, but how about my internal reputation? Am I going to live and to die as this?"

I hugged her.

"You will truly know yourself just don't stop", I said.

"You will find her just be patient", Annabeth replied. "Now, what is your next plan since clearly, I am not her?"

"I will cross the border now", I answered.

Therefore, I bid farewell to Annabeth, James, and Carl, giving my hotel room to them, and I rode a bus from Vancouver to Seattle.

Lesson # 4: it did not seem much, but I learned that a boy and a girl can remain as friends.