The Painful Kiss of Augustus
Chapter 11
Once I sent the message to my driver, I immediately sauntered my way out of the campus. The usual odor of some neglected classrooms— that had not cleaned for so many months assaulted my nose as it made me conjure of some disgusting images. I opted to walk on the less crowded hallway in which I had to struggle through this unpleasant smell. I hope the school would do something about it. Not because there was no students lurking on its perimeter, they will neglect their duty to facilitate it.
The 12:00 p.m. sun started to send twinge to my skin as I stepped out of the shade of the building. The clamor of students outside the hallway, under the shade of a Mahogany tree, made the vicinity lively. Laughter and strung of a guitar from somewhere made it like a broken melody through the incoherent voices around. Some students called my name. When I turned to look at them, I could barely recognize some of them. To show some politeness, I beamed. Though, the beamed suggested otherwise to them. They asked me to join their group but I excused myself and said I had to attend some important errands. Some of the students in that circle were familiar to me. Probably, I met them in some gala lunch which our family held?
As I passed the throng of students, the silence of the path I was taking encroached in every corner. The searing sun was brightly blinding as some clouds scattered throughout the sky. Swearing under my breath, I strode briskly to the gate. A guard asked where will I be going and I said that it was urgent. Thankfully, they let me get out. I didn't know what was the purpose of the tight security since we were all grown up and other schools let their students get out during lunch time. Not thinking too much, I emerged from the campus, meeting the shade of a Nara just in front of the gate. Bullets of swear trickled down to my face and it briefly hung on my chin before it fell down. I languidly wiped my forehead with the back of my palm.
When our car stopped just in front me, I instantly went in and exhaled heavily. The smile on my face did not falter, nor did it weaken. As my eyes lingered on the screen of my phone, reading the message from Ivy, the presence of exhaustion vanished. As oblivious as I was, I was totally clueless of what was this weird feeling. Or maybe, it was just a normal thing since Ivy was the first girl who became my friend. This was different since in my entire childhood, I was already crowded with male friends.
The car came to a halt once we reached the restaurant we agreed to meet on. It was Richel's. The restaurant was near the beach where vacationers opt to stay before they buy some sun. The ambiance was as the same as Megan Grill's— the restaurant near the pier. Cars were parked accordingly as the thick and heavy wind passed through me when I stepped out of the car. The restaurant was made of woods. It was adorned with shells and some things you can see in the sea. It was an open place in which the salty breeze from the ocean can be felt once you enter inside. A car stopped just beside our car. The familiar SUV halted in front as the door slid open, Ivy jumped out silently. With her usual hallmark, it made me smirk as she wandered her eyes around.
"I've never been in this place." She admitted.
I smirked, "That's because you are the Cortez princess."
She scrunched her nose up to disgust, "I'm not,"
"What pleases you, then."
"You're annoying," she playfully punched me on the arm.
I chuckled and wrapped my arm around her shoulder and ushered her inside. Momentarily, I was glimpsing at her while we were pacing our way to the restaurant. Her face was directly looking at the restaurant while I was smiling like a dog in front of her owner. When we finally reached entrance, the sultry breeze from the ocean scattered through my face as the mouthwatering aroma of the seafoods wandered through my nose. I guided her carefully to the table near the barricade where we can overview the panorama of the sea. The wide stretch of the ocean with a lingering heat, some of the tourists nonchalantly enjoying the view and some surfers professionally played with the waves. We got the perfect spot to kill the boredom once it struck us during the wait of our food to be served.
"This place is amazing," she whispered, looking straight at the surfers.
"You wanna try surfing?"
"How? We have class after this,"
I shrugged, "We can try it on weekends,"
"As if I got enough time?" She giggled and shrugged, "No need to try it. It's no of use to our company."
My forehead creased, "Successful businessmen are also having a good time. Having some fun to release some stress. Believe me, that's how it goes."
"Businessmen got their time. Doctors not. They are required to stay active and awake for their patients. The longer time spent, the more chances you lose your patients." She uttered darkly and looked down.
I scoffed and tousled her hair, "Just to remind you, you are not a doctor yet."
"Engaging to your field at your early age is better. Your knowledge today and experience today would be of great use to understand the things in the future." She mumbled and backed her attention to the sea.
"There is no harm of getting ready but if it harms and affect your life as a young woman, then stop it. There is a better way to learn the things to prepare for the future and it is not the way you know."
She looked at me curiously, "What is the better way, then?"
"Enjoy. You're missing something essential."
Before she could speak a word, a waitress hovered to us, "Excuse me sir, may I take your order?"
"Uh, pan fried scallops," Ivy uttered and smiled courtly to the waitress.
"How about you, sir?"
"Salmon roulade,"
"Is there anything else, sir?" Waitress asked.
I glimpsed at Ivy who immediately shook her hear. I motioned none to the waitress as she ambled out of our sight. Silence rose between us, only the clinking eating utensils made the atmosphere at slight ease. Ivy was imbued by the view she was staring at. When I followed her line of vision, I saw that she was looking at the little girl with a 7 year old boy playing on the sand. The entire periphery was sunlit with definite tranquility. The boy and the girl were probably siblings. And I suddenly realized that maybe, that picture of that siblings, assaulted her mind with montage of her memories with her brother. Regret consumed me as I stared at her blank expression. The way she looked right now was the same as the first time I met her.
"Oh! Our order is coming!" I chirped delusively.
With that, I caught her attention. She smiled at me and looked at the waitress wheeling to us. I tried to will away the thought that bothered her. Never did I try to be a talkative person, blabbering wasn't my thing actually, but when it comes to Ivy, I was willing to try things out of my element. I tried to crack jokes— totally lame but seemed to make Ivy smile even a tad bit.
As the wind blew softly, some wisps of her hair swayed in front of her. She carefully gathered it all the wisps in front of her face and tucked it on her left ear. The aroma of freshly cooked food invited my senses, so as with Ivy. As we began to eat the food served to us, I surreptitiously peeking at her. She was silent again, absently looking at her food.
"What did it say?" I asked, propping my elbow on the table as I buried my chin on my open palm.
"Huh?" She looked at me with perplexity on her eyes.
"What did your pan fried scallops say to you?" I uttered jokingly.
"What are you saying?" She retorted as though I was crazy.
"God," I laughed, "I was joking,
She bit her lower lip but her control wasn't strong enough. She burst on laughter and she pointed her finger at me. Her cheeks turned bright red as she laughed genuinely in front of me. I was supposed to stifle myself to smile but the tingling sensation lingered on my stomach wasn't easy to handle. As the smile crept on my lips, the laughter subsided. I wanted to watch her laugh more.
"Sometimes you're funny but most of the time your jokes are a bit lame." She informed as she wiped the side of her eyes.
"You can't just catch up with my jokes." I pouted.
"Okay then. As what pleases you." She shrugged and smirked at me.
"You're learning on me," I winked and she giggled.
After we are our food, we spent some minutes on our table. The sultry wind started to crawl through my skin as it howled like a lullaby in the middle of the scorching sun. As the surfers started to made stunts, Ivy's eyes were focused at them as though she was too amused of what she was looking at.
"I think you really want to surf," I whispered as she reluctantly averted her eyes from the surfers to me.
"I am just kind of amazed of what they are doing,"
"You can do it,"
She shrugged, "I don't think so."
"You can practice. If you want, we can go here on weekend?"
"Who's going to teach me if ever?"
I scoffed and shoot my brows, "I will teach you,"
"You know how to surf?"
"I guess you need to learn lot of things about me." I suggested cockily.
Even though I wanted to stay for a little longer with her, I could not just balk the need to attend my class, so as Ivy. She went to the bathroom to freshen up while I was wandering in my field of reverie. As the silence sat in the atmosphere, I mentally noted the things I needed for the upcoming weekend. I knew that she was reluctant in my plan for weekend but a little push and she'll agree with it. There was an extreme pull inside of me— I needed to take her out on fun adventures since she was burning all her time with her responsibility as the sole heiress of the Cortez.
When Ivy was done and went out of the washroom, she ambled to my part. My eyes were instantly fixated to her face. She was indeed a beautiful young lady— that was certain. With her jet black hair cascading down to her back, her deep and almond shaped eyes, her narrow upturned nose, and bowlike lips. She beamed at me and patted my shoulder when she reached my part.
"Let's go,"
I was pulled out of the reverie when she spoke. Swearing under my breath, I frantically stood up. Her brows creased but did not bother to speak. After I paid our bills, we both emerged from the restaurant. The searing sun welcomed us but neither of us seemed to bother about it. Ivy was smiling while we were walking straight to our car. A sudden fog of sadness permeated when realization settled in. The time I got with her seemed short— it wasn't enough. What I felt was a bit confusing. I didn't know why I was feeling this way. Heaving a sigh, I walked her to their car. Once their driver opened the door of their SUV, Ivy glimpsed at me and she smiled.
"Thanks for the treat," she beamed and moved forward as she tiptoed to kiss me on my cheek, "I've enjoyed a lot."
My eyes widened and my heart made lots of aggressive and stentorian thuds against my chest. Her lips brushed softly— like a feather— on my skin. After she kissed my cheek, she waved her hand and jumped in their car. As the car moved, I was left, stunned of what just happened.
