Are We Really Over???

Chapter 3

"No, no, no," Iain said firmly. "I better give you a ride. It's gonna be next to impossible to find a taxi ride at this time."

So in the end, both Perth and Saint accepted Iain's offer to drop them off at their individual hotels.

Iain however said that if both Perth and Saint didn't mind, he would like to drop off his birthday present to his mom first. Perth and Saint had no problem with that.

Iain's mom was surprised to see her son coming into the house with two foreign looking young men in tow.

"Mom, I'd like you to meet my two Thai friends," Iain said. "This is Perth and this is Saint."

Both Perth and Saint clasped their hands together and bowed to Iain's mom in greeting. Iain's mom was happy to meet such well mannered friends of her son.

She told Iain to make Perth and Saint comfortable while she went to fetch some cold drinks for them.

Iain turned to Perth and Saint.

"You both don't mind if you stayed here for a while?" he asked. "My mom always likes to offer snacks and drinks to anyone who comes into the house."

"We don't mind at all," Perth and Saint answered in unison.

"Mom," Iain called out to his mom, "do you need me to help you fix the drinks?"

"No need, son," she replied. "Stay with your friends and make them feel comfortable."

Saint wondered why Iain did not introduce Perth to his mom as his boyfriend but he kept the question to himself.

Iain motioned for Perth and Saint to sit on the luxurious brown leather couch in the living room.

"So I know that both of you were together as love partners in Love By Chance," Iain said as he sat himself between Perth and Saint.

"Yes, that's right," Perth confirmed Iain's statement. "Would you like to see some pictures of Saint and myself during the time that we were filming the series? They're all here on my phone."

"Yes, of course!" Iain said excitedly, and leaned close to Perth to get a better look at Perth's phone.

In his excitement, Iain was not aware that his cheek was almost touching Perth's cheek.

Saint leaned close to Iain to also take a look at the pictures on Perth's phone. In doing so, Saint's chest was touching Iain's back.

So when Paolo let himself into the living room, that was the intimate scene that he surveyed, his boyfriend Iain being flanked by two young men, one of them had his cheek pressed against Iain's cheek and the other's chest pressed against Iain's back.

Without a second thought, and before Iain even realized Paolo's presence, Paolo had set down the tray of steaming hot bowls ofginataan on the coffee table that was right in front of the couch.

"Ganito ka pala kapag nakatalikod ako, walang hiya ka!!!" Paolo screamed at the top of his lungs. And so that the two young men who obviously looked like foreigners could understand what he had said, Paolo decided to translate his words into English. "Ahah! So while the cat is away the mice will play!!!"

And before anyone else could say a word, Paolo bent and picked up one of the bowls of steaming hot ginataan and hurled it directly at Iain.

Iain ducked just in time.

Unfortunately, it was just at that moment that Iain's mom walked in behind the couch,  carrying a tray with the drinks meant for Perth and Saint.  The bowl of hot ginataan hit Iain's mom, making her scream in pain and dropping the tray that contained the drinks.

Iain's mom stared in shock at Paulo a split second before grabbing a bowl of ginataan and hurling it at Paolo who ducked just in time. Perth who had been standing behind Paolo yelped in agony as the steaming hot ginataan seared his skin.

A very angry Iain sprung from the couch and picked up one of the bowls of ginataan and hurled it at Paolo.

Unfortunately at that same moment, a very frightened Saint had jumped up from the  couch and was walking towards the door, so when Paolo ducked, the hot bowl of ginataan hit Saint, making the hot contents spill all over Saint's shirt.

'So this how you want to play' Perth thought angrily as he walked to the coffee table and picked up a bowl of hot ginataan and hurled it at Paolo. Paolo stood paralyzed unable to believe that a foreign guest would do that to him. Paolo stood still, just letting the ginataan drip down his forehead as he surveyed the war of ginataan around him.

Iain looked at everyone's face as they stood wet and bedraggled in utter shock. He started laughing at everyone's misfortune.

Seeing that her son had gone unscathed in the melee, Iain's mom scooped a handful of the ginataan and smeared it on her son's face, scalding her hand in the process. Iain grimaced as the bits of jackfruit and yams dribbled down his face.

"You see what you have done?" Iain hissed angrily at Paolo. "You have embarrassed and humiliated me in front of my guests!"

"But I thought Perth was your boyfriend, not your guest," Saint said from behind Paolo.

Iain's mom screamed hysterically when she saw her son fainting into a crumpled heap on the living room floor.