Some Bali to Love [Preview - ADULT ROMANCE]

Chapter Two

They had been English classmates, the six of them. Tori and Ava Bonifacio were fresh off of their small high school. Gabbie Chan, daughter of the shipping magnate, was seated next to Ava that first day, and they quickly became friends when they bonded over Gossip Girl. Mon Mendoza, grandson of a former Supreme Court Justice, seated next to Tori, was dragged into the conversation when he asked them what to do if you already lost your school ID on the first day. Charlie Navarro, whose family owned the biggest TV network in the country, had showed up, introduced himself, smiled, and won them over.

Then there was Scott Jose Sabio, whose name had been on everyone's lips from the moment Ava arrived on campus. Did you see him win Megastar Idol last month? Did you see his movie with Emily Aguilar? Yes, he's as handsome as you think the son of Linda Galvez would be. Sobrang charming pa! He's a theater major? Of course he would be.

The moment he walked in the classroom, the room went quiet, all eyes on him. It was the kind of attention that would have made anyone squirm. But he didn't flinch, didn't seem taken aback, or tired of it. He simply tossed his hair, and smiled.

"I know, right?" he said. "Handsomest guy you've ever seen."

Then he told a joke about a shark while Ava was drinking water. Which of course made it shoot out of her nose when she laughed, and Scott had seen it, and started laughing, too.

The rest, as they say, was history.

Ava had been doomed from the start. It had been easy, falling in love with him. Too easy, now that Ava was older and knew better. She never told anyone that Scott had been her first love. Not even as she and Scott became close those four years in college, as they spent more time together, told each other things that they never said out loud to anyone else.

They were friends, nothing more. Friends that had said everything to each other. Now, nine years later, here they were, out of things to say.

"When did you—" she said at same time he said, "I was—," and it was too awkward to continue.

A thought suddenly occurred to Ava. Gabbie had said earlier that Ava owed her a song and a date. Was this...was this actually...?

"Are you my date?" Ava asked him.

"Am I?" Scott echoed, sounding as confused as her. "Your date?"

"Guys." Mon said, approaching them. Ava didn't miss the caution with which her friend approached them, his observant eyes checking for tension. Ava smiled to reassure him that they were fine, everything was fine. If Scott's return was a surprise to him, Mon didn't let it show and said, "tawag tayo."

They walked around the stage toward one of the standing tables off to the side where the others had already gathered. People seemed to give them all a wide berth, and Ava kind of understood.

Scott was a superstar, after all.

He left Manila and was apparently scouted in Hong Kong. The next thing they knew, he was in a food documentary series for a huge streaming service. which catapulted him into a pseudo celebrity foodie influencer career that he was successfully navigating, with thousands of followers, collabs, all that jazz. All eyes were on him, but he was looking at...why was he looking at her?

"What?" she asked. It was unnerving, the way he was looking at her.

"Nothing." Scott assured her, the roundness of his baby cheeks highlighted when he smiled with no teeth. "I guess I was making sure that I wasn't hallucinating you, either."

Then he walked ahead to where Tori was yelling, "Scott Sabio, come here and hug me, my prodigal son!" without a care for the rest of the party. Ava sighed and smiled fondly at the sight of the two of them hugging, laughing as Tori accosted him for being gone for so long. How was it so easy for them to just...let him back in? Was it supposed to be that simple?