Adria's Choice

Chapter 5

I was about to ask how she was when I saw her smile at someone behind me and shake her head. I looked behind me and saw a guy smiling back at her, miming with his hands that he wanted to buy her a drink. I looked around Starbucks surreptitiously and noticed that several men, even those who were with their girlfriends, were glancing at Lexie when they thought their companions weren't looking.

Seriously? She was just sitting there and guys were already offering to buy her a drink or risk the wrath of their lovers just to check her out? I decided then and there that I would spend more time with her and befriend her, and find out her secret.

I wanted to move on from Tom, but I hadn't been catching anyone's eye for the past six months I'd been single. I was ready to mingle, and if being like Lexie was the way to do it, then so be it.

I got down to business and broke the ice by talking about the Buenavistas and their likes and interests. Slowly, the awkwardness between us melted away until we finally became comfortable enough to start walking around to buy the gifts we talked about.

We finished shopping after six straight hours. We kept coming across men (and some women, even) who would smile at her appreciatively. Sellers were very solicitous when we entered their stores, although they concentrated more on Lexie than me. And every time, I would study her discreetly, how she smiled, how she interacted with them, and how she responded to everyone.

In those six hours, I realized she was quite polite and had different smiles. She had this genuine smile, smiling with her eyes when she talked to me. She had a polite smile, for people who were nice to us. A small smile, when she was feeling shy, one that didn't quite reach her eyes. A frigid smile for those who leered at her. But she never, ever glanced at any men who looked at her while with their girlfriends. Huh.

We just finished buying a gift for Karyl, and were standing outside Mango. I was getting ready to go home when she looked at me with that small smile. "I want to thank you for coming along with me. You didn't have to, you know. But thank you so much." She then flashed that genuine smile of hers I'd come to enjoy. "I would like to repay your time and effort with dinner. May we?"

I almost said no, but the hopeful look in her eyes stopped me. With a shrug, I finally said yes. I figured this was a good time as any to get to know her even more.

— OoOoOoO —

We'd been having dinner at Super Bowl of China for an hour, and surprisingly, I was having a blast. In between feasting on dumplings and digging into our newly-discovered shared favorite, honey lemon chicken, she told me about her life growing up, how they were barely making ends meet if not for Tito Alden, and how she had to get really good grades because her mother would spend her allowance on beauty treatments. She had a pretty sad childhood, with her mother bringing home a man every so often, and with each man she would promise Lexie that they would finally be rich. Turned out, it was a scam her mom had been operating, and the one that resulted in her getting pregnant with Lexie. Lexie hated it so much; she started spending more time in the school library and burying herself in books. This turned out to be good for her because she started excelling academically and eventually got a full scholarship to one of the most prestigious universities in the country, graduating cum laude to boot.

"Why did you need to have a scholarship if Tito Alden was providing for you anyway?" I asked in between eating scoops of gelato. We had since moved on from Super Bowl to the nearest ice cream parlor, Sweet Shoppe. It was like a throwback to the fifties, with red and white walls and even a bumper of an old convertible sticking out one of the walls. They served malt drinks, root beer floats, ice cream, and milkshakes.

We both had chocolate with almond topping—another favorite we had in common. She took her first bite, and closed her eyes in bliss. "Well," lick, lick, "dad was pretty honest about his financial difficulties at that time. Tita Kria has been great about my existence, but they were really tight on money since they were putting three of us—Karyl, me, and Rico—through college all at the same time. I didn't want to be a burden so I really worked hard to get that scholarship."

She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. I couldn't imagine how hard it must have been for her growing up.

She was paying the bill when I finally had the courage to ask something that has been on my mind since October. "How come you've never mentioned any other friends of yours? And on your birthday, you didn't even invite any of your friends. The Buenavistas would have been cool with you inviting some."

She blushed. "I...I don't really have any girlfriends. I just have Andrew, Andrew Pestales, the brother of...of...an old friend," she whispered without meeting my eyes. She immediately covered her mouth and looked like she wanted to cry.

Hell. "What do you mean you don't have girl friends? With the way you look, you must be pretty popular. In fact, you look like you got everything going for you. I mean, you managed to lure my loyal man straight into your arms!" When it slipped out, I wanted to take it back. The look on her face made me feel like the world's biggest bitch.

"You know what? Forget it. Let's just go home," I said while arranging my things.

She covered my hand with her soft ones. "No, wait, you deserve an explanation." She bit her lip. "I...for some reason, girls don't like me all that much. It must be because in high school I strived so hard to be perfect and to be the most admired woman. Pretty soon, I had a lot of guys asking me out, even though they were in steady relationships."

My face hardened. So I was dealing with a pro, huh?

She saw my scowl. "I didn't say yes to any of them. The attention I was getting was enough for me. I felt wanted." She touched her temple with her fingers, like she was massaging a headache. "I never felt truly wanted for myself before Tom came along," she whispered.

I wanted to hate her. I did. Instead I pitied her and wanted to hug her and comfort her. She looked like a broken doll, furiously wiping the tears from her eyes, but I felt that she didn't want any sympathy from me, or from anyone else, for that matter.

The smeared mascara running down her cheeks ruined the perfect doll image I'd had of Lexie since the first time I saw her picture. That decided it for me. I went to the counter and ordered two cups of coffee for take-out. I figured it was going to be a long night.

"Let's go," I said, nodding towards the door as soon as my order arrived.

"Where are we going?" All traces of her tears were gone, but she still looked so vulnerable.

I wanted to forget my sudden idea, but I hated the thought of her being all alone in that cramped apartment right after I wrenched such a confession from her. "You're going to sleep over at my house."