They're Playing Our Song

Dearest Nora

After all the tranquil beauty and the grey rains of Caliraya, driving back to Manila always felt like willingly waking up on Mondays. Celie had tried to pray for bad weather to keep Nora and Leo there, but alas, the boatman came for them, and they crossed Caliraya Lake to get back to Manila.

Nora learned that Leo was a man incapable of being quiet for a very long time when he was nervous, because five minutes into the drive, he was already asking if she knew Maureen's part for Take Me or Leave Me from Rent.

Now, several kilometers later, when Leo was singing along to both parts of Les Miserables' Confrontation by himself, anxiety gnawed at Nora's stomach. They were fast reentering Manila. What was the arrangement going to be when they got to his hotel? Were she and Leo a couple now? Was he going to stay in his hotel room? Was she?

She couldn't voice her issues now, not when Leo seemed to be having such a good time playing carpool karaoke—Broadway edition with her.

"Hey, you're pretty good at singing," he noted, as they finished Only Us from Dear Evan Hansen. Nora laughed and shook her head.

"Only in cars and showers," she told him without thinking.

"Showers, huh," he said, his eyebrows waggling.

"Why are you so obsessed with shower sex? I don't think it's going to happen for us."

"One day."

Soon enough, there was no time to talk, because they had arrived. Nora inhaled sharply as she hit the brakes, looking at the hotel's fancy facade. Leo sprung into action like he knew exactly what was going on. Then he walked toward the door without so much as a goodbye to Nora, and now she was completely confused.

He must have realized something was amiss because he turned and shot her a confused look.

"Aren't you coming up with me?" He asked.

"I don't know, I don't recall being invited," Nora said casually, like two valet guys and a bellboy couldn't hear them.

"Oh. My mistake," Leo said, and he started to do that thing where he began to ooze sex appeal and walk toward her like she had something he wanted, and he was going to do anything to get it back. It was the same look, she realized, as the one he'd given her that night they met.

He put one knee on the passengers seat and leaned so his face was close to hers.

"Come up with me dearest, dearest Nora?" He asked, grinning. Nora shuddered, and she didn't care that they were blocking the driveway, that everyone and their mother could see them. Nora didn't want to admit how nice the little pet name sounded coming from him. She'd never been called dearest before. It was a simple word, that could have easily sounded cheesy, but...it fit. Like the name had belonged to her this entire time.

Dearest Nora.

"Buy me lunch first," she said back, kissing him before she undid her seatbelt and followed him into the hotel, his hand in hers.

And even if people were staring at them, wondering how the fat girl got the man who looked like he belonged on a Netflix series, she didn't care. Never again.

***

The next week became and exercise in blissful business, which Nora really enjoyed. Folio was so excited about the concert they wanted it to happen at the end of the month, so there were venues to book, schedules to make, parental permissions to arrange and programmes to choose.

To Leo's credit, he stepped into the role of conductor with the ease and confidence he had in all things. The combination of his Broadway credibility, affable charm and five star island status on Animal Crossing made the kids immediately take to him like ducklings to their mother, and everyone was getting along swimmingly so far.