Stacy
*Flashback Two Years Ago*
Everything was so perfect between us. At least.. that's what I thought.
Walter Dominguez and I were the IT couple of Pines Academy. We were admired. We were envied as the most popular couple in our batch. The school yearbook even dubbed us as 'Class Couple.'
I portrayed him as the ideal guy: Sweet, romantic, supportive, and it didn't hurt that he was cute.
Whenever I would see him surrounded by girls, I wasn't worried. He was the school heartthrob, so it was typical for girls to swarm to him like bees to honey.
It never brushed my mind that Walter flirted with them, returning their advances in big doses.
But I trusted him fully, because trust was one of the vital keys in a relationship, aside from loyalty and honesty, which I provided for him in abundant amounts.
Five months into our affair, Walter invited me to his condo, where he lived alone. We weren't celebrating any occasion, but he had stayed with me during one of my modeling gigs and gave me a ride to his place, which was in Manila--a half-hour ride from my home in Quezon City.
Once I stepped inside his dimly lit condo, I pulled my pink jacket tighter around my shoulders.
Something.. didn't feel right, but I discarded the queasy feeling in my tummy and swept my sky blue eyes over the posh and lavish interior of his condo,wondering if he had set up a surprise dinner for us--a light but romantic meal. But his dining room was devoid of food or candles.
I turned around, my blonde hair bouncing, and saw my boyfriend desperately shredding his jacket and tossing the purple garment across the room, landing on his living room couch.
When I craned my neck to look at Walter again, he was already standing so close to me, close enough for his nose to bump against my own.I shivered when his minty breath fanned my face.
Walter cupped my face in both his hands and leaned closer to me. "S, you love me, right?"
"Of course I love you, Walt," I told him in assurance.
His eyes darkened. I stared deeper into his eyes, and I saw the want in them. The ragged lust.
I asked him: "And you love me, too, right?"
He nodded rapidly as though he couldn't contain himself anymore. "I love you too, S."
I snaked my arms around his shoulders and drew him closer, then I pecked him on the lips.
"Stacy," he breathed out, his chest heaving. "Spend the night with me."
Walter kissed me feverishly, coaxing a reply from my mouth, and I returned his hot kisses while he stripped the pink jacket off of me and laid me down on the arm-less couch.
What happened next, I'll keep to myself. Some things were left to the imagination. But all that I knew was that when I woke up the following day and I saw Walter lying beside me was that my five months of loving him was worth all the crazy and petty fights, because he was my first love, and I planned to make him my last.
Under the warm beige bed sheets, I snuggled closer to Walter, my bare back resting on his nude chest, which felt firm and tones. The sunlight poured through the condo's glass windows, and it shone down on our naked figures half-bundled by the soft blankets from his bedroom.
At sixteen, I lost my virginity to my first boyfriend. And I didn't think I would ever regret it. God, I was so wrong.
I carefully slid away from Walter's groping arms and brushed my teeth, took a lukewarm shower, and hopped into the clothes I wore last night: A red halter top and skinny jeans.
The clock above the sink of his small kitchen said it was only 6:00, so I prepared a delicious breakfast for us. My cooking skills were average, but I knew my dishes were scrumptious.
Fifteen minutes later, I arranged two plates, two forks and spoons, two glasses, and a pitcher of orange juice on the round glass dining table. I placed a bowl of steaming hot rice as well, accompanied by a platter of bacon and eggs, buttered toast, and slices of banana.
A moment after I smiled at my work in satisfaction, my boyfriend appeared by the doorway.
He had scruffy copper hair and he walked bare-chested while wearing a pair of blue pants.
"What's that scent?" he asked while rubbing at his eyes.
I giggled as he yawned. "Good morning, sleepyhead. I made us breakfast."
Walter silently looked at the enticing display of food organized on the round table.
"What's wrong, Walt?" I asked him, concern evident in my voice.
He frowned and shook his head. "Nothing," he muttered as he pulled up a chair and sat down.
The weekend flew by, and when Monday rolled in, I began to hear rumors about Walter.. rumors of him flirting with Rana, a gorgeous gymnast who was the only girl in Pines Academy with naturally ginger hair that streamed down to her small waist.
My closest friends, Miles, Dylan, and Selena warned me about my boyfriend cheating on me, I dismissed the notion, angry at them for their baseless accusations.
But they continued to badger me about Walter, how he was bad news, and that he didn't love me.
It got so heated among me and my friends that I began to shut them out, ignoring their calls, their messages, and avoiding them during class and lunchtime.
Selena,being my oldest friend of the three, confronted me about my childish behavior and adamantly told me that they were only trying to protect me. Our friendship survived but it had become somewhat tainted.. Miles and Dylan no longer antagonized me, but we were still friends.
My relationship with Walter reached six months, and I decided to surprise him---to celebrate our half-year anniversary that Saturday afternoon--by baking a mocha cake, his favorite, and compiling a scrapbook of our memories together. I was the camera nut between us. I was a very cheesy person, so I even bought a personalized key-chain for him: A tiny, flat silver heart with the initials S & W engraved on both sides. I wrapped up all my presents and commuted to his condo.
Walter had given me a copy of his key three months into our relationship, and I tried not to overstay my welcome too much, but I enjoyed bursting in and peppering him with kisses.
I felt like a Sherpa while standing outside of his condo's door--My arms were loaded with the red box of cake, the gift-wrapped scrapbook,and a small paper bag containing the key-chain.
After some frustrated struggling, I was able to insert the key into its hole, and I grabbed the doorknob, twisting it and pushing open the white panel door,producing no sound.
My whole body stiffened when I heard two people moaning from the dining area.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and left the door ajar, my sky blue eyes misty.
Silently and stealthily, I took slow steps along the linoleum floor of the condo and froze while standing a few meters away from the kitchen,and I leaned my back against the wall, my pulse racing. I listened attentively and bit down on my bottom lip, suppressing my tears.
The moans became louder and more erratic. I covered my mouth with one hand. The action made the red box slip from my fingers, the cake inside squashed into mush on the floor.
"What was that?" a girl's voice asked, confirming my suspicions.
"Fuck. Hold on a sec," cursed a familiar, irritable voice.
He was most likely going to put on his clothes, but I didn't give him the chance to.
With deadly calm, I stepped into view, hovering in the doorway of the kitchen, and I could barely stomach the sight in front of me.
Walter's face was flushed red, and his copper hair was disheveled as though someone ran her fingers through it several times. He was naked from the waist up, but his pants were unbuckled.
My hand flew to my gaping mouth as I slid my gaze to the right, where a girl frowned at me.
She was a few inches taller than me, and her waist-length ginger hair was wild and unruly. Many orange strands were sticking up and the rest cascaded over her bare shoulders. Both her cheeks were fiercely red, and she only wore a slutty black,lacy bra and a crisp cherry-colored skirt. My gaze involuntarily flickered downwards, and I grimaced at her long, parted legs wrapped around Walter's waist.
It was none other than Rana Vasquez, the star gymnast of Pines Academy.
So the rumors were true. I was just deluding myself all this time.
Grinding my teeth, I marched towards Walter and roughly shoved the scrapbook to his chest.
"Here. Happy Anniversary." My voice was cold and tight like a whip. "The first and last anniversary you'll ever have with me you no-good, two-timing asshole!" I shouted at him.
His eyes were frantic as he caught the scrapbook before it fell to the ground. I threw the small paper bag in his face and said: "It's over, Walter. I'm dumping you."
"Wait, Stacy--"
I slammed the door behind me and walked away without looking back.