On the morning his life changed, Alden was furiously swimming the wide expanse of the pool in non-stop laps, trying to shake off the burning image of a half-naked Maine inside his mind and spectacularly failing. He waded through the water aggressively, as if by doing so he could extinguish the overwhelming heat that was spreading across his groin.
Faulkerson, ayusin mo. Kingina, she's way too hot for you.
But her shoulders and legs—I'M SCREWED.
"Mr. Faulkerson!" Maine's voice echoed in the air, snapping him out of his reverie. He rose above water, taking in the sight of her now wearing white shorts, a black baseball cap and floral-printed sneakers. Underneath her unzipped black hoodie jacket, she was still wearing his tshirt. It amazed Alden, how spending minutes underwater didn't drown him but just looking at Maine so easily took his breath away in an instant.
I AM SO SCREWED.
"I hope you don't mind. Sobrang comfy eh. I missed wearing t-shirts," she reasoned out, as if reading his mind. She was also out of breath and panting heavily from running towards the hotel, taking a quick shower and running back to Alden as fast as she can.
"My shirt looks better on you," he replied out of sheer honesty, mentally smacking himself afterwards when he realized how possibly perverted and too intimate it sounded.
The sliver of a smile on Maine's face dissipated his worries. Alden found his way to the edge and climbed out of the pool. A few seconds of silence ensued when they were standing face to face again. Alden found it so adorable to see Maine's eyes purposely looking somewhere else to avoid staring into his exposed chest.
"I brought your towel and change of clothes," she told him, breaking the tension in the air.
Minutes later, after he had changed into the yellow oxford shirt and black denim jeans that she picked, Maine finally handed him back his room keycard and his cellphone.
"Oo nga pala, uh...there was a call earlier. Valeen?"
"Did she leave any message?"
"No, I didn't answer the call. I'm sorry. I didn't want her to misunderstand or anything..."
"Valeen is my secretary. I have no girlfriend." Alden smiled.
"Ah." Maine nodded, unaware that she was also smiling back at him.
Maine's cellphone rang and she immediately pressed on ANSWER, grateful for the interruption of their brief moment of awkwardness. Alden's brows furrowed when he caught a glimpse of a guy's name on her phone lock screen.
"Hello? No, hindi pa ako nagbebreakfast. Cancelled? Okay... No, I'm good on my own. Yes, tomorrow at 11. Sige. Bye." She ended the conversation in under a minute and shifted her attention back at Alden who was intently watching her.
"Your boyfriend?" he asked her, trying with all his might to feign nonchalance even though the jealousy still leaked from the way his voice quivered.
"That was Jerald, my handler and manager. Wala akong boyfriend." She gladly explained.
She's single, I'm single...
The smile returned on Alden's face, making his dimple become more prominent, and Maine had to suppress a secret gasp at how handsome he looked in that moment.
"So wala bang magagalit if I invite you to have breakfast with me?" he finally asked her.
