Muse & Escort

On The Road Again

The drive home was unbearably quiet. Rafa thought it would be a piece of cake to carry out all his plans but now that he just found out things about her that she never really quite expected – he was suddenly lost. How on earth did his staff missed those information? Sure, they were not professional sleuths, but they were not necessarily stuff that's hard to find.

Not that he minds. Part of him was thankful Marla made herself better known to him at just the right time. His godmother Betty and her husband Celso, who happens to be close family friends, adored Marla. That is despite the fact that she was a bit hesitant when he asked her to act as someone he has been dating constantly and getting to know better. She said she will do things, her way, and that he is not supposed to speak on her behalf. He obliged, although there were doubts.

He was actually nervous when the old couple started asking her questions, but eventually breathed one sigh of relief after another when each answer she gave just made their two dinner mates more interested.

He was also worried about her not being able to be consistent, because he thought at first she was just making things up. But when she gave him that look that told him everything she said was real, he became unnerved. And even a bit frightened.

He planned on uncovering her layers piece by piece, because in ways he wanted to save her from the world she was in. But now, sitting beside her, iron grip on the steering wheel as they cruised through the late night traffic, he felt like he is the one who needs rescuing.

"You really are a law graduate? A dean's lister at that. And you're just awaiting the bar results..." he finally blurted out.

He could see her raise a brow from his peripherals. "Yes, is that so hard to believe? It took ages for me to get to this, twenty-nine na nga ako nung makatapos ng college... pero sa awa ni Lord, nagawa ko naman." She sounded wistful.

"It's not hard to believe. I was just surprised." He sighed. He, a hot shot lawyer, suddenly felt like this wannabe attorney could see through him, and he felt helpless.

"Your spies were amateurs." She said, matter-of-factly.

He turned to her. Can he even deny? "Apparently, yeah...but, you live in a small bungalow? You own a mansion."

She chuckled softly. "Kay Tita ang makasalanang mansion. Ipinagpagawa nya ako ng bungalow sa likod nung pumasok ako ng law school. Para daw hindi maingay at walang istorbo kapag nag-aaral ako. It has been home for the past six years."

"I see... and you put yourself through school by working as a legislative staff for the Senate."

"Tama!" she beamed, sounding as if enjoying this.

They stopped at an intersection. He took a deep breath, he wanted to ask, make sure of something, but he couldn't get the words out of his mouth.

"it is okay to ask, Rafa. Hindi ako maiinsulto dahil sa totoo lang, kanina ko pa inaasahan yan." He could feel her eyes on him.

He turned to her. "So, what is the answer?"

She laughed, her eyes were twinkling, looking totally amused. "Sneaky."

He raised a brow. "Well?"

She shook her head, then looked away. "What if I'm an escort girl, Rafa?"

He never took his eyes off her. It was a good thing traffic was slow, and they're all stuck in the intersection. "Then I'm just happy that you're about to be escort girl no more because you will be a lawyer soon."

He doesn't know if those were the right things to say. Time seemed to have stood still as he waited for her to say something, anything.

Then she turned her eyes back to him. They were unreadable, she looked as if she was contemplating on what he just said. Then she nodded. And smiled.

The lights turned green, and suddenly, traffic was a breeze.

He smiled back before driving off again.