"Jake, let's meet tomorrow."
"Huh? We see each other everyday, what's new?"
Beep.
Call ended.
......
The sun started to rise in the pier of Sta. Monica as soon as Zed reached the road near the beach. The brash noise of engines from the fishing boats harmonized with the raging water and the chirps of countless seagulls on the shore.
It was the usual scenery in the early morning of Sta. Monica, and then a loud roaring sound of an engine came in, and the harmony was abruptly broken.
Zed drove his black Ducati like a Philippine eagle catching it s prey. Whenever there was a chance, regardless if its another motorcycle or a huge dump truck, Zed raced himself against it.
By the time Zed reached a small alley towards a cracked building, he immediately slowed his pace, and went into a 20 km/ph speed as he turned.
Getting closer and closer to the apartment that he used to sneak over, he couldn't help but smile and thought of Aeiou's reaction when he sees him there early in the morning. He stopped in front of the building where there was a tent and tables inside it. The eatery was still closed.
Zed parked his motorbike beside the tent and by the time he removed his helmet, a cracking sound behind him echoed. Zed turned his head to the back and saw Philip carrying a silver food container.
Pushing the door with his bum, Philip groaned. Suddenly, when he turned two hands took the silver food container on his hands.
"Uncle, I'll take care of this."
Once Philip noticed a tall unfamiliar kid, he was visibly confused. But he let go of the silver container on his hand and asked, "Oh, hello. Are you Aeiou's classmate?"
Zed held the container with both hands on the handle, inside it was smoking Menudo. Zed guessed it just got off the fire. The smell of pork and ketchup; it smelled so damn good. Zed just wanted to dip his fingers there and have a taste. Regardless, Zed composed himself and forced a smile, his once deep and cold voice was pleasant and sweet when he spoke to Philip. "Uncle... how do you know I'm Aeiou's classmate?"
"Your uniform, son. It's same as Aeiou's."
Zed chuckled sweetly. "I know where Aeiou get his smartness now. Hahaha..."
"Hahaha... enough of that. Let's put this there on the table and then I'll wake Aeiou up."
So they did. Philip told Zed to sit on one of the plastic chairs and wait for Aeiou before Philip walked back to the door where he came from.
The leather jacket, the Ducati, and the skin that Philip was sure he only seen in soap commercials, convinced Philip that that kid was not someone like Aeiou's gangster friends.
"Uncle!" An exuberant yet respectful voice echoed behind Philip before he enters the house.
Upon hearing the other kid calling for him, Philip turned his head to the back. He saw Zed run to him with a box with transparent plastic on top. From there, it looked like there was a cake inside.
Zed transferred the box to his left hand and touched Philip's right hand with his free one.
Philip was stunned.
Quickly before things become awkward, Zed bowed forty-five degrees and pressed Philip's right knuckles against his forehead.
"This is for you, Uncle. Cheesecake."
Philip was surprised. The other kid's face was tainted with foreign features yet the kid do know how to show local manners.
A bright smile spread on Philip's face. "Oh... you didn't have to do buy this."
"I made that."
"Really? Wow! So thoughtful of you. Hays... I wonder where Aeiou got a friend like you." Philip smiled. He was visibly overcome with astonishment. Never did he see such a kid with a strong physique yet carries humbleness and respect to the elderly. I bet he never talks back to his parents!
"Uncle, my name is Zed by the way."
"Nice to meet you, Zed. I'm Philip."
Philip had always seen Aeiou bringing gangsters or girls to their eatery and introducing him to them while Aeiou has bandages on the face. In short, all that Aeiou brought there for the first time was all trouble. All those those friends and girls were nothing but eye sores to Philip. But this time, Aeiou got really lucky. This Zed was something else.
"I really don't know what flavor of cheesecake fits your taste so I tried to make every flavor and put it on one product."
"You did? Isn't that too much workload?"
"No. Not at all." Zed managed to say those sentences with both pride, confidence, and humbleness altogether. His expression was both bright and pride.
Hearing that, Philip became more interested. He removed the lock/pin and took his glance on the inside of the box. His eyes widened before his face was filled with joy.
"Wow. We can eat all of this inside. Come, eat breakfast with us and let's share this."
Breakfast — as Zed heard that word, his stomach rumbled strongly. Zed nodded.
Philip directed Zed towards the door.
Zed lead the way and acted as if it was his first time. But truly, he was used to it. The fragrance of bay leaves, the wet air and cold floor, and the sound of a nearly ragged fan on the salas. Nothing was change when Zed last came here. This apartment still brought back memories back when Zed was still with his mother.
This is what home is. Compared to the huge mansion where people were barely interacting with each other, this small apartment made the people in it interact everyday.
At that very trivial moment, the fear that the accident from 11 years ago would happen again, had gradually vanished out of Zed. He made sure months ago that this building was safe from fire.
When Philip saw Zed roaming his eyes around, he spoke, "Sit on the sofa come on. I'm going to wake Aeiou up. That kid is a hell of a deep sleeper, it's embarrassing."
Zed was aware of what kind of a sleeper Aeiou was. That boy won't wake up even if Zed was beside him. Philip would definitely send him out of the apartment once the father discover that Zed used to sneak on Aeiou's room every night.
Zed bowed his head and sat on the sofa.
Philip knocked on Aeiou's room which was just beside the sofa where Zed was sitting. "Aeiou! Your friend is here!"
Zed smiled. Aeiou's brown eyes gauged out of shock and Aeiou's curvaceous lips to go widely apart. It was Aeiou's way of showing displeasure that Zed find really adorable.
If Zed was this thrilled with Aeiou's pissed expression, one could only imagine how Zed felt once Aeiou started showing his pleasured side.
I wonder how he moans.
"Aeiou..."
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The knocks sent Zed back to reality,
On Philip's tenth call, the door abruptly opened and Aeiou's topless figure came out of it. "WHAT????????"
Scratching his hair, Aeiou's expression was similar to a bear who just came out of the cave after the winter season. Because of Philip's figure blocking the way, Aeiou wasn't able to see Zed sitting on the sofa, whose jaws were dropped.
Gazing at Aeiou's six pack abs and brown nipples, Zed gulped. His eyes went south and Aeiou's morning wood greeted him with a salute. Zed gulped a little harder. His throat went dry as if he just ate sand and he needed something long and thick to scratch his throat. That something was definitely Aeiou's cock.
Zed stared at Aeiou's cock for a minute. He wanted to stand and reveal himself already to Aeiou with a devious smile but something inside of him was telling him to stay still there and enjoy the view of Aeiou's naked body and monstrous cock.
This was the first time Zed had witnessed Aeiou's topless body and erection under a good lighting. Aeiou's muscles were not as broad and big as Zed's, but they were lean and defined enough for the muscles to show under Aeiou's tan skin. And as for Aeiou's cock, it wasn't as thick as Zed's, but it definitely was long. It should be between seven to eight inches.
"Hey, don't be like that. Your friend is here."
Aeiou's eyes squinted. "Who's friend?"
Philip pointed to Zed. And when Aeiou saw the prince sitting on the sofa staring at his cock, his eyes gauged out of shock. "AH!"
Zed was sent back to reality after that scream and decided to stand and greet Aeiou with a smile. With a sweet tone, he said, "Good morning, bro! I see you got a very HAAAARD head whenever you father wakes you up."
Philip sighed, "Right?"
Zed nodded with an awkward chuckle. "Haha... right." He turned his head to Aeiou and winked.
That sentence about walking up with a hard head was nothing to Philip but it was very sly to Aeiou. Aeiou knew that the head Zed was pertaining to was not just his upper head but the lower head as well. Aeiou pulled the long blue curtain hanging on his door and wrapped it around his body, hiding his vulnerability to Zed.
Zed was amused. "Hahaha..."
Aeiou pouted and cursed. "Pa! Why did you let him in?"
"Hey, he's your classmate. Have some manners!"
"That's not the case, Pa!"
Philip squinted his eyes. He stared at Zed then he brought his gaze back to Aeiou. Then he moved closely to Aeiou's ear and lowly asked, "What's the case then? Are you guys not friends?"
"We...!" Aeiou stopped. He could tell right now that this guy manhandled Aeiou, bullied Aeiou, sneaked in this house without the permission of Aeiou, and... kissed Aeiou. Aeiou did not say all of those things to his father. He gave a side gaze to Zed, then he looked at Philip. The two had just met and Aeiou could feel that Philip already trust Zed so much. The father never let a stranger in their house that fast, and Zed was now an exception. Maybe Philip saw something this Aeiou never see.
Aeiou inhaled deeply, "He is a friend alright. But he's my least favorite one so get him out."
After those words were spoken, Philip hit Aeiou's head once. "Don't talk like that! What kind of friends do you want? The gangsters ones? If God will give me a friend like him I will never ask for more!"
"He's worse than a gangster, Pa!"
"Shut it!"
"PA!"
Zed interrupted. "Maybe we can sit down first?"
Hearing those words, Philip was touched. "Okay okay, you sit down. Aeiou go prepare three plates for us."
"WHAT?!"
"Yes." Philip walked to the kitchen.
Zed looked at Aeiou, then a cunning expression spread out of his face.
Aeiou gritted his teeth. "You..."
"Me." Zed smiled.
"What are you doing here?"
"I brought your father a cheesecake just like promised."
Upon hearing those words, Zed expected Aeiou's expression to be repulsive at the very moment.
However, when Aeiou heard those words his eyes softened for a second.
"Told 'ya. Your father deserves a whole one."
A warm subtle feeling enveloped Aeiou's chest. His guard was evident from the shaking on his voice when he spoke again, "You didn't have to do it. Go on. Sit. I'll just fix my bed."
Revelderio family did not have much of space in their apartment, so the chairs where they sat to eat where two long chairs that could fit two people around a small wooden table.
Aeiou came out next with a body towel across his body. His boner was completely gone.
Philip had to leave the boys and get the food outside. Philip had the urge to get the most finest dish he was so proud of that he made that day, Adobo.
Zed volunteered to help Aeiou but Aeiou stopped him. "Just sit there." Aeiou just told him to sit and wait there while Aeiou was quiet picking up the plates.
Suddenly, Zed realized there was something strange with Aeiou's movements. His movements were slow when he browse the plates and his mind seemed to be floating somewhere. What's he thinking?
When the sound of the bells hanging on the door ringed, which indicates Philip's arrival, Aeiou quickly moved and walked to the table with three plates on hand and three spoons on the other.
Philip put a bowl of rice and a bowl of Menudo on the table. He sat across Zed.
Zed moved a little bit to give Aeiou some space to sit. "Here." He tapped the space beside him. Aeiou sat and Zed thought he went crazy when he smelled Aeiou's scent. It was woody and musky and Zed didn't know whether he like to eat Aeiou or the Menudo. However, Zed was sent back to reality when he saw that Aeiou's face was cold. Aeiou would never wear a cold expression given that he wanted girls to be always around him.
Aeiou's aura was totally different.
Zed couldn't help but think, Was it because I show up uninvited?
"Okay let's eat!"
He plastered his shoulders on the table. And just enjoyed Aeiou's scent wafting strongly on his nose. Truthfully, only if he was not in the presence of Aeiou's father, he would've pulled Aeiou's boxers down already to tease the guy. Honestly, who would dress with only a boxer and towel with a visitor around? He did not even bother to get a t-shirt!
By the time they started eating, Philip started interviewing Zed, it was first about the prince' social life. Philip was astonished at first, but his expression gradually changed when Zed started turning the topic onto Aeiou's school life. Zed revealed everything that he learnt from Aeiou.
All the girls that Aeiou had dated in the past six months, Zed knew all of their names and the physical features that every girl have. He described each girls to Philip in the most vivid yet repulsing ways. He spilled every single bad attitude the girls have and even described how they made Aeiou's head hurt. It was to the point that Philip would instantly dislike the girl.
Aeiou wanted to fire back, but even before he could even speak, Philip would scold the shit out of him for being a womanizer. Aeiou couldn't justify his philandering actions so he just gave up.
Unfortunately for Aeiou, Zed knew a lot of things about him. He wasn't aware that Zed was watching him for that span of moth Even the slightest information that Aeiou continued to flirt with a lot of girls can get him into a big trouble with his father.
However, when the topic was about the incident when Aeiou passed out. Philip's expression changed, and he instantly stared at Aeiou worriedly.
Seeing Philip's reaction, Zed was touched. It was his first time seeing a father look at his son with those disquieted eyes. He was not expecting it from Henry anymore, but he was happy that Aeiou was receiving something he may never get.
Thinking that Philip would just get more worried, Zed spoke, "That's why I'm here, uncle. Since I happen to live just nearby, I will stop by every morning to pick Aeiou up to school so he won't need to walk."
Philip was in the middle of his disquieted mind, but when he heard those words of Zed, his expression softened. "Thank you so much, Zed."
"It's nothing worth mentioning."
By the time that the three had finished eating, Philip continued bringing the food out to the eatery. Aeiou and Zed offered their help but Philip refused, telling Aeiou to take a bath so they won't be late for school.
Philip was about to leave the house when he remembered something, "Oh the Cheesecake! I forgot! Let's eat it this afternoon. When the two of you got home!"
"Yes, Uncle."
"Okay..."