TO LOVE AGAIN

Chapter 2

Her POV

"AAH! Aah! Aah! s**t! f**k! Oh! Ugh, ugh! Faster, baby, please... ah! You're making me crazy, faster, please. I'm almost there! f**k me harder, push harder, please. Aah! Aah! s**t! You're so damn good, baaaaaby!"

I was covering my ears the whole time. I was supposed to be here in Ely's unit to share with her my excitement and how Mikael proposed to me last night. I may be a virgin, but I wasn't that innocent to not know what was happening next door.

I was totally annoyed with the chaos, but Ely just laughed it off. She was having fun hearing the moans and, at the same time, watching me rant. Just a moment ago, we heard them having an argument, and that Ian Somerhalder lookalike was knocking on her door a million times. We heard him apologizing and begging the girl inside to let him in, but after half an hour, it was already the girl begging him. I grimaced.

"Are they always like that?"

"I don't know! Honestly, this is the first time I heard them. Well, you know, I was always out of the country." She was still laughing. "Why are you even covering your ears? You'll get used to it during your honeymoon with Mikael. Your moans might even be louder." I squinted at her, my cheeks heating up. I couldn't imagine myself being that loud; it seemed so messy and embarrassing.

"Never!" I snarled.

"Never say never! It tastes like heaven! If I were you, I'd shut my mouth because you might end up eating your words once Mikael lets you taste that kind of heaven," she teased.

"Eew! Gross! If ever our honeymoon comes, I will remind myself to keep quiet. I don't want to be loud, it's embarrassing!"

"You're gonna eat your words, but before you do, Mikael will surely eat you first or vice versa." She was really enjoying making fun of me.

"Are we really friends?"

"Darling, that's why there are what you call best friends." I was finally swayed by her laughter. Yeah, right, we're best friends.

As days passed, Mikael and I became busy with the preparations for our wedding. We had already decided on who would be our coordinator. We talked to her about the kind of wedding we liked, the motif, the budget for the whole wedding preparation, and when the wedding would be. We agreed it would be six months from the day we got engaged. She already plotted schedules for food tasting, fitting of gowns and suits, prenup sessions, and other necessities for the wedding.

Today is our scheduled meeting with our photographer and videographer. Since Mikael was so busy with his business, I decided to pick him up at his office. I walked into his building. Everyone I met along the hallway greeted me; they all knew me as Mikael's fiancée, and I greeted them back.

I took the elevator and pressed the button for Mikael's office floor. When it opened, I walked again, passing by the cubicles of Mikael's employees. Again, they all greeted me. I even caught some whispering while looking at me, but they were startled and bowed when I glanced their way. Mikael's office was at the far end.

Outside his office, his secretary Denise was nowhere to be found. I went in without knocking. I was taken aback to see Denise beside Mikael's swivel chair. She was slightly bent over, handing him some documents, and neither of them noticed my entrance. I observed Denise, busy explaining something to Mikael about the documents she was showing him, her cleavage nearly spilling out of her tube top under her blazer.

Her voice was so seductive. Mikael made a joke, Denise laughed, and she playfully hit Mikael on the arm.

"You’re really something, Sir! You're always fooling around—" I cleared my throat to get their attention, and they both looked startled to see me. Denise stood up straight and greeted me with a forced smile.

"Hi, baby, what brought you here?" Mikael stood up and walked over to me, giving me a quick kiss on the lips. "You can go now, Denise. We'll discuss this later. Thank you," he said without even looking at her. Was I imagining things? I could have sworn Denise rolled her eyes.

Denise excused herself before leaving the office.

"Come here." He took my hand and led me to his swivel chair. He sat down and guided me to sit on his lap. I draped one arm over his shoulder. He took my hand and kissed it. "You missed me?" he cooed.

I felt uneasy about the scene I walked in on earlier, but Mikael's sweetness swept away all the doubts I felt a moment ago. I thought to myself that I shouldn't feel jealous because it's me he chose to spend the rest of his life with.

His POV

"DAMN, bro! This is hard! I'm losing time with Gly, she almost broke up with me because I forgot our anniversary. It's all because of the countless books and training crap my dad is making me study! Sometimes I wish I were the youngest!" I had been drinking with my closest friends since high school, ranting about my future as the SFD President.

"Bro, there's a saying, 'Patience is a virtue!' You'll reap the benefits once you take over your dad's position, and of course, he wants you to be well-trained. SDF is an international company. You'll meet big-time people in the future. Whatever you learn now, you'll use it in the near future. It's really hard in the beginning, but later on, you’re going to enjoy the perks of being in the highest position. Take it from the expert." Justin winked at me before taking a swig from his beer bottle.

"Yeah, but before that happens, Gly will definitely break up with me. I just hope she extends her patience once my time with her decreases."

"She should, bro."

"Gly loves you, she probably understands. You know, Gly will understand Rick and will stay. Just don’t fool around." It was Jaslen, she was serious when she said those words, maybe based on what she experienced with her ex.

"Fooling around? That won't happen. I'm done with that stage."

"You're just 24 years old, Rick, you're still gonna meet a bunch of beautiful ladies with different flavors." Coming from the famous playboy—Cale Adrianne Montefalco. He never believed that I had changed. I suddenly remembered the woman I met in the elevator when I went to see Gly. Since Gly and I became official, I never got interested in other women, but that elevator girl got my attention. I shook my head. It can't be.

"Kuya Drei, is that really how you portray women? We are not ice cream!" I laughed when Gabby countered Adrianne. Oh, how much I love our youngest.

"Come on, it's not all women!" Adrianne scratched his head, embarrassed.

"I told you to always be careful with your mouth if the minor is around," Nathan said, laughing. Gabby glared at him, and he hugged her shoulders. She tried to wiggle free. They were so cute together.

"This Adrianne—"

"What?" Adrianne countered Kevin. Kevin couldn’t retaliate because he was just as much of a womanizer as Adrianne. Just tonight, neither brought a woman because we agreed in the group chat that tonight would be exclusive to our group. Gladly, Gly was out of town and would be back in two days. After that wild day at her condo, things went back to normal. She had already forgiven me.

"You're just like me, handsome," Kevin joked.

"Say you're just like me, a troublemaker!" Migs laughed.

"Hey! I'm older than you. Show some respect, Miggy! I might tell your crush about you," Adrianne grinned. I looked at Gabby, who had no idea she was the crush Migs was referring to.

"Back to you, Jerick. You'll get used to it, and Gly will understand," Justin patted my shoulder.

"If Gly won't understand you, then she's not worthy of your love. You should also know your priority, Rick; it should be your future first, so you may be able to provide a better future to your soon-to-be wife," said Jaslen.

"And you should learn it the hard way, Rick, so you may be able to give your heart and sympathy to SDF. If your dad just handed you the position without you working hard for it, you wouldn't learn to value SDF," Justin added.

I nodded at what the twins said; it really made sense. I'm just so glad I have friends with whom I can share my problems, even if some of them are just for decoration. Joke.

"By the way, where do you like to spend our summer this year?" Justin changed the topic. Right, three months from now, it's summer. Time flies so fast, it seems like it was just Christmas and New Year. Since high school, we always spent our summer together. During semestral breaks for Gab, Kevin, and Migs, we also go out of town as a group, either mountain climbing or island hopping, or we go abroad for a vacation.

"Please, let's go back to Hernandez Paradise, Kuya Justin," said Gabby.

"Yeah. The trip is long, but worth it," I seconded Gab's suggestion.

"It's okay with me. I'm with someone on that day," Kevin said with a grin. As usual, he never runs out of company.

"Count me in. I'm also with someone," Adrianne said.

"Wherever Gab's going," said Nathan.

"Me too," Migs said.

"Meaning wherever Gab’s going also?" I teased Migs. He just raised his middle finger at me.

"Say that to Kevin," Migs countered. Kevin courted Gab when they were in high school, but she didn't accept because they were friends. It would be awkward if their relationship didn't work out.

"Nah, I've learned my lesson. Don't even try, Migs; you'll just get hurt. She doesn't like friends that way," Kevin warned Migs. Jaslen chuckled and subtly glanced at Nathan.

"So, it was agreed that we will spend our summer at our beach resort. Mark your calendars now and free your schedules. I'll smack anyone who doesn't show up," Justin cut them off again. He was like the big brother. I followed Justin, took my phone, and clicked the calendar icon. I marked the dates we agreed on so I wouldn't forget.

Night deepened. We had already drunk a lot. The VIP room Adrianne reserved was filled with banter and laughter. He owned the bar. A'choholic.

Somehow, having my high school friends around lessened the heaviness I felt inside. We are each other’s comfort zone.