Encounter

Aleia ( Present Time)

“Teacher!” A voice from one of my pupils made me go back to the present. Two years ago, I volunteered to teach pre-schoolers because I saw their need to be nurtured. I saw myself in them when I was their age.

They crave attention and love. And I love being with them. It gives me the feeling that I was needed and have a purpose in this life of mine.

When I looked at them, they looked at me with such worried faces until they came to me one by one.

“Teacher Ale, Are you okay?” Vienna said. I tapped her head and nodded. I smiled at them, assuring them that I was okay. Viena is one of my most intelligent and well-mannered pupils.

“I’m fine. I just remembered something. Are you done with your seatwork?”

“Yes, teacher.” They answered in chorus and handed their papers to me.

“Okay, see you tomorrow then.” They left the room one by one. I fixed my things and headed to go. But I was nailed to where I was standing as I was watching Zach near the door. He was leaning on the doorway with his hands in his pocket. He looked so sexy that I could not take my eyes  away from him. I immediately looked away when he glanced at me.

“Did I surprise you, Teacher?” he said and gave me a teasing smile. My heart leaped a bit. That was the smile he gave me the first time we met. I strolled to him.

“Yeah, how did you know I was here?” I asked as we walked out of the classroom. Walking side by side, his manly and addicting  scent mixed within the air. I so loved his smell. I swallowed. ‘My goodness! What am I thinking?’

“I asked that little brat, Cleofe.”He laughed. “You were out for so long. And I was freakin bored. Ohm, you looked cool, though!” I looked at him, confused. He was smiling from ear to ear.

“What do you mean, cute? In what way?” He bit his lip and raked his hair.

“When you were with the kids,” he answered shortly. “I never thought that a badass woman who rides in a motorbike like a man can be as soft as that.”

“There are always two sides of the story, mister. Would you like to have a cup of coffee?”I asked him. We were about to reach the school gate.

“Are there any coffee shops nearby?” he asked while we were walking. I don’t usually use my motorbike when going to school.”

“Yupe! I’m sure you’ll love it there”. I smiled. The coffee shop is located near the cliff just above the shoreline. Below the coffee shop is the beach, free for tourists to enjoy.

When we reached the coffee shop, the sun was ready to set already. Its color ranges from red to orange. I sighed. I just remembered something.

“Anything wrong?” Zach asked. Then I noticed him taking pictures of it.Material © NôvelDrama.Org.

“Nothing. I just remembered something,”I answered, my eyes still looking at the sun.

“Hey! Come take a look at this,” he mumbled. I moved closer to his side to see what he meant.

Wrong move! It looked like I was leaning on his chest, inhaling his addicting scent. I cleared my throat and tried to pull away. But he held me closer and whispered.”Just stay like that so that you can see this.” He pointed the picture on his phone.

I was amazed. It was, I thought, the most beautiful picture of a sunset I have ever seen. Mom would have loved it. My heart ached. It was mom’s favorite scenery.

“It’s perfect,” I said.”She would have loved it.”

He nodded and said. “Absolutely.” I looked up to see him. I froze; he was not looking at the picture. He was staring at me. I felt the tension because of our position. I moved a bit to give some space. Then a soft voice interrupted. It was the waitress giving us our coffee.

“Thank you,” I said and took a sip.

The waitress smiled. “Maam, today is our anniversary and we are giving some promos to our customers.”

“What kind of promo?” Zach asked.

“For two sets of order, just like yours. You will only pay for the price of one. Only if-”

Zach’s brows furrowed. It was his way of showing that he was annoyed or not glad at all. “Tss! Only if? Do you mean there are conditions? What kind of promo is that?”

“What would be the condition, miss?” I asked.

“Only if you are a couple, and you’ll let us take a picture of you while you kiss.”

My jaw dropped. Nonsense! How can we do it when we were not a couple in the first place. Zach wouldn’t agree to that.

“Miss,” I paused, thinking of the right words to say. I don’t want to ruin their event. But it was impossible. “we will just  pay the full price. I mean without the promo.”

She nodded. “No problem, Ma’am. Enjoy your coffee.” She left us, but then Zach called her. She came back to us with a big smile.

“Ohm… about the promo? What kind of kiss do you accept?” he asked.

My eyes widened. Is he serious?

“Zach,”I called him, but I did not say anything. I just gave him the ‘we cannot do it glare.’

“Just any kiss, Sir. But we will post your photo on our gallery,” she said and pointed to their gallery that was hanging on the wall.

“We’ll do it,” he declared.

“Okay, sir. I will get the cam.” She stormed out right away.

“Hey, what are you trying to do? We cannot do that, okay?” I said.

He leaned closer, showing me a bit of his masculinity. I tried to look away, but he moved closer. “It’s just a kiss-nothing to fuss about. And besides, I want to do it for fun. Adventure!”

For fun? Is kissing someone a form of entertainment? What about my feelings? I was afraid it would just worsen my feelings for him. I will be left broken when he marries my sister.

“No. I mean. I can’t do it.”

“Maam, Sir, are you ready?” the waitress said, ready to take a shot, with the cam on the position already.

“No. Wait!”I said and turned to Zach, but instead, my lips met his. It seems that his lips were on standby waiting for mine. We didn’t move, and we just stayed still for a couple of seconds with our lips still glued. Our eyes also met, sending various emotions that our mouth can’t utter.

“Perfect!” It was the waitress. Then we let go of each other, trying to look away. Both feeling awkward and tensed. I couldn’t look at him, for God’s sake.

-“Thank you for your cooperation. Anyway, our manager said that you don’t need to pay even a single penny. It’s all for free.” She left us feeling confused about everything and maybe including our feelings.

It was my first kiss. The one that I always dreamt of, ever since I’ve developed feelings for Zach. I did not expect it to happen here in’ Stay Safe, a coffee shop with my mom’s favorite thing to see, the sunset. By just looking at it, Imagined mom was there, watching her daughter being kissed by the man she loved. It was one of the things she would love to see if only she was here.

My happiness vanished when I recalled Zach was only doing it just for fun. No feelings involved.