You completed the vision
Now I feel like I'm living
You're so one in a million
The hot sun was beating down on her face, the air was thick with the cheers and screams of the thousands of people below, the float that they were riding on was jerking back and forth because of all the stops and starts, and the Chuva Choo Choo song that was on repeat was making Nadine's ears bleed. But she kept a smile plastered on her face as she waved down at the crowd, the presence of an arm around her waist keeping her steady, his voice in her ear drowning out the noise.
She wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead. "Grabe, ang init," she complained. "I forgot to bring sunblock. Masusunog ako nito."
James looked down at her in concern. "Just wait," he said.
He left her side and despite the heat, Nadine immediately missed the warmth of his body pressed against hers. She tried not to think about how he would be leaving in less than forty-eight hours and reminded herself that she needed to keep smiling despite the heaviness in her heart. James came back with an umbrella that he positioned over her head.
"Better?" He asked, smiling down at her.
"Thank you." She leaned her head against his shoulder briefly, wishing that she could kiss him. Now that would give the crowd below a show.
The parade crawled by slowly and all the while Nadine smiled, laughed, waved, and gamely answered interview questions despite the fact that she could barely hear herself talk over the screaming and the music. Through it all James was by her side, an arm around her shoulder or a hand on the small of her back. With every jerking motion of the float, he made sure to protect her with his body pressed against her back and an arm around her shoulders.
"Hey," James said in her ear. "I'm still taking you home after this, right?"
"Of course. Ate Ca picked me up this morning to go to the Embassy so I don't have a car. But I need to go to the mall. I still have presents to buy and stuff for our US trip. Ngayon lang tayo may free time, I don't know when I'll get the chance again."
"Okay, I'll go with you."
She looked up at him in surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah, why not?"
"James...may makakakita sa atin sigurado."
"So what? Friends can shop together, right? We've done it before."
"James, we talked about this. Don't be careless. You know what people are going to say and that fans will start assuming..."
"They can assume what they want. I just want to spend time with you."
Nadine looked up at him, making the mistake of looking into those eyes that made her insides melt. He would be gone soon and she just wanted to spend every second of their remaining time together by his side. She gave a quick nod and turned her attention back to the crowd.
It was quick but Nadine could swear that James had pressed a kiss to the top of her head. He made up for it by detaching himself from her and Nadine turned her head, hoping he wouldn't go far. He was by Coco's side now and he gave her a wink when he caught her looking. Nadine blushed and kept waving to the crowd. How could she not be used to him by now?
That was the question she was still asking herself when she watched him strip off his polo shirt, leaving him only in a white sando. The crowd below was going wild and Nadine couldn't keep the smile off her face. There were loose threads on his shoulder that she quickly brushed off. Scream all you want but he's all mine, she thought.
