The gents went to the bar for a drink. It was Sage who invited Hans for a drink.
He was feeling rather stuffy and uneasy with what he saw in the event. Reality dawned on him, that with the public, she's Elle and not Alex, and there would be a lot of the same incidents such as these to happen while he's inside the military and that thought made him gulp one shot of brandy bottoms up.
"Hans, I am envious of you."
"Me? Why?" Hans retorted after he took a sip of his drink. He let Sage talk first. Hans knew that Sage just needed company, so he remained silent the whole time, waiting for him to finally spill the tea. Sage wouldn't ask him out for a drink for nothing.
"Aira could flaunt her engagement ring whenever guys tried to show motives on her..." Sage replied simply while looking at his glass intently.
Hans was silent for a moment. He understood Sage's worries. For a guy who is about to enlist in three months, seeing your girlfriend being eyed by a bunch of men would trigger your insecurity.
Good for him Aira is already engaged to him but with Sage and Alex being a celebrity is different.
Hans heaved a deep sigh before he responded, "Well, you know how much Alex loves you, and that's all that matters right?" He could only say those lousy words to him because he cannot say anything else.
After all, their set up is different from theirs. They are just an ordinary couple while Sage and Alex are celebrities who are dating privately and should not be known in public.
"I know, but as a man, there are things I can't help myself. I can't just be angry at her. I'm becoming uncomfortable with what I saw earlier and what I will be seeing in the future, but I understand that's a part of our job. I trust her but I don't trust these men to always keep their distance knowing that they think she is single. I, for one, seized an opportunity for myself when I heard that she was single again." Sage once again took a sip of his drink.
This reality of them being celebrities has only dawned on him that day. Their "honeymoon stage" in Alex's apartment is over and this reality has already crept in. He is not angry with Alex but he is angry at himself for feeling insecure despite him understanding her predicament as well.
Hard liquor helps him calm himself. He doesn't want to go straight to Alex when his mind is still clouded with negative thoughts. He'd rather have his time alone than to lash it out to Alex because that would be unreasonable. Alex is not the problem. It was not her fault.
Sage knew that this is a battle against himself. He should control his jealous tendencies because this will never be the first time.
Hans could only accompany his friend and wait for his uneasy feeling to subside before they go back upstairs to call it a night.
Suddenly, Hans's phone rang.
It was Aira.
"Hello...we're at the bar. I'm with Sage...No girls of course...you can sleep ahead...okay, goodnight. I love you."
Then, Hans dropped the call. Sage also checked his phone to see if Alex was looking for him but there was no message.
"Maybe she's already asleep." He thought to himself as he drank the last glass of brandy and they went back to their suite.
Both men were ready to sleep in their suite because they reek of alcohol but to their surprise, Aira was in their room sleeping soundly, so technically, Alex also was alone in the other room waiting for him.
When Sage got inside, he thought Alex to be sound asleep like Aira but to his surprise, she was sitting on the bed, leaning on the headboard, waiting for him. She was wide awake. When she saw him get inside their room, she smiled.
"I missed you." As she extended her arms towards him for a hug. Sage obliged and gave it to her, then joined her in bed.
"Why are you still awake? Aira is already in dreamland." Sage asked as he put her arms on her shoulders.
"I was waiting for you to come back. We did not talk all day and this is the only time that I get to spend time with you. So you drank with Hans?" she replied as she leaned her head on his shoulders.
"Yep, just a couple of drinks, nothing much. I showered before I came here, which I think was a good call." He explained while rubbing her arms gently as if soothing her.
"Want to tell me what's wrong? You haven't drunk in a while and I know something is up. I will listen if you want to talk about it but if not, it's fine."
Sage was silent for a moment. He was having a battle with himself whether to tell her or not. He's a guy and the last thing that he would admit would be his insecurity. But Alex knows her too well. She would surely know if he's lying and he doesn't want to lie to her.
So he decided to just admit it to her after heaving a deep sigh.
"I did not like seeing how some of those men acted in front of you. They surely were taking advantage of the situation." He uttered in a hushed tone as if ashamed of himself for feeling that way.
"I noticed it as well. Despite me smiling at the camera and being cordial, I was already feeling uncomfortable, so our feelings are still mutual. We truly are in sync." Alex blurted to lighten up the mood.
She already sensed Sage's restraint from seeing how those men treated her because of how tightly his jaws looked. He would look down and make a deep sigh every time he could not tolerate the sight he's seeing. She just wanted to get things over with but she couldn't do anything but to endure.
"Are you jealous, love?" She asked him while looking at him in the eye.
"No, I'm not. Jealousy is when you consider the other person a threat that may cause a rift in your relationship. But I never thought of them as one and I am sure as hell, I won't lose you because of them." He declared confidently.
"Wow! Confident! But the last part about you not losing me because of them is a fact." She replied reassuring him
"Don't get me wrong. I am confident because I know you and I trust you. If I still lose you, then the only reason would be me and no one else. That is why I drank to ease myself from this irrelevant feeling. I don't want to give you a cold treatment just because I was insecure for a moment." He gulped at the last sentence. Then he added,
"I know it's a part of our job and after a couple of drinks, I realized, I should just get used to it, because at the end of the day, they could only look but... they can't touch." He said sweetly and playfully at the same time.
"Do you want us to announce our relationship?" Alex mumbled in response.
Sage was shocked to hear it from her and looked at her incredulously.
"I mean, I don't mind the public knowing about us. I am happy about you being understanding but I don't want you to feel that way every time. And I think that would ease your mind while you are enlisting. At least no one would dare to make moves because they know we are in a relationship." She replied while looking at him seriously.
After seeing how serious she looks, Sage then hugged her as a response. He could not believe that she would be willing to announce their status to the public despite their status in the industry. He also doesn't mind if they go public because he joined the industry because of her, and he can let go of it if he had to, but seeing how much she has grown in the industry, going public would affect her career and he doesn't want that. He wants to be there for her when she reaches the epitome of success.
Then after a moment, he let go of her and looked at her in the eye.
"Not now, my love. Let's keep this little secret of ours as long as we could because I don't want public pressure to take its toll on you while I am there in the military. I can't protect you from anything. If we announce, it has to be when I get back so that we could weigh the storm together. Let's wait a little longer. I'm fine." Sage reassured while stroking her hair with utmost care.
"Are you sure?" she asked one last time while cupping his face.
"Yes, I am. It's enough that you love me, I would never doubt that, and you don't need to do anything more just to appease me. You're already doing your part. These issues are mine, and it is my responsibility to resolve them on my own." He declared simply as he leaned on her palm to feel more of her.
"I love you, Mr. Sage Kim, bear that in mind," Alex responded as she initiated to close the distance between them through a kiss.
The kiss started slow until it became passionate and rough. They have no work tomorrow so they could go for the next level but Sage controlled the pace as his intensity started to subside.
"We have an early flight tomorrow and I don't want you to wake up late. Let's be contented with this for now. Maybe next time?" He then hugged Alex closer to him as they shared the blanket. "And I love you too Ms. Alex Lee."
The couple then closed their eyes together with each other's tight embrace realizing that they could endure the storm together as long as they have each other.