He’s My Mother

CHAPTER 5: Moments with you

"Duke, are you even listening to me?" Shania gave him an impatient look. Duke was able to invite Shania for a dinner date right after he refused the offer of George. But it looks like, he can't even pay attention to his best friend who keeps on telling him about her day. It's getting obvious because he's just quiet all throughout the dinner time. They just ate their food in total silence.

"Uhh, I'm sorry." He smiled, slightly scratching his head and as much as possible, tries to convince Shania that his mind is not wandering somewhere.

"Nah, forget it. Let's just go somewhere." She held his hand and they went out of that restaurant located in one of the famous locations for people who love to go out at night. They were able to stroll on the sidewalks of Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, where the modern and contemporary living are combined. From uncluttered roads to rocketing business buildings, this place is perfect for people who love to unwind and store fun memories with their friends.

It also has playful parks and a lot of restaurants and delightful commercial establishments that you can choose from that will suit both your personality and style.

They suddenly stopped walking and Shania faced Duke and smiled.

"Am I beautiful?" She tried to cup her face with both her hands, flashing a silly look to Duke. He was able to let out a chuckle because Shania's getting weird again.

"Too beautiful to be ignored by many. See this? Many guys are looking at you. Come here." He pulled her closer and managed to fix something on her sleeve. She looked down and tried to bit her lip, preventing Duke from seeing her being very excited and

"Why? What's wrong with this?" Shania reasoned out as she frowns. He gave her a blank look. He was able to remove his green jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. Shania got the message. Duke is trying to cover her nearly exposed breasts because of the tube top that she's wearing. She smiled teasingly back at him.

"You're still beautiful even if you're only wearing a shirt. You don't have to wear these things. This will just attract maniacs that will do something bad on you."

"Whoah, whoah, whoah! Don't be silly, Duke. It's the 21st century. What do you want me to look like? A nun? I want to be beautiful in your eyes that's why I am wearing this..." Shania sternly stated, trying to defend herself of what she's wearing right now but she kept the last sentence to herself. She impatiently folded her arms, facing Duke this time.

"No, I did not mean to make you think about that. Let's just be cautious. You don't know how people think nowadays. Some guys will get near you and try to impress you will "pure" intentions but then, all they want is to take advantage of you." He was able to put his arm on Shania's shoulder and he was able to move her body forward as they walked slowly this time. The way he expresses something that's running on his mind impressed Shania the most.

How she wished all guys are like Duke.

"Guys love to look at girls wearing these kinds, right? I am just dressing according to most of the guy's preferences." She lightly bit her lip, not avoiding her gaze on Duke.

"But not me. I'm different from the "guys" that you are trying to impress." He's looking at her eyes, too, and eventually smiled back at her.

"Okay, okay." Shania blurted at last.

For her, Duke is the most real gentleman that she knew ever since. Being his best friend is a priceless relationship or bond that she can have with him. This very moment is the one that's really important for her.

Shania can smell his manly scent. It's driving her crazy. It is always the scene that she's dreaming about. With Duke by her side, she is the happiest woman alive at this moment and yet she is too doubtful about freely confessing her feelings to Duke.

She is always prevented by the kind of culture Filipino people have. It is always the boys who should take the first move to confess his feelings towards a girl. If a girl will be the first to tell her feelings to a guy, she will be tagged as "desperate" she doesn't want to imagine that happening to her, either.

She's also afraid that when she will freely express about her love of Duke, his best friend might take advantage of her feelings. As what she observed to some people, the feelings are not the same when everything changed. Yes, some couples that she knew ended up being in a relationship after how many years of friendship but not for a long time.

Some think that being very comfortable with one another is a great advantage for the relationship to become stronger, not realizing it's a reason for couples to separate their ways to each other because of being stuck to a relationship without growth.

Shania wanted to keep everything a secret from Duke. They are better off this way. No commitments, no expectations. Just pure care and love to one another. That they will always be special no matter what happens.

"Hey..." Shania stopped walking, trying to catch Duke's attention.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Shania gently answered as she smiled at him.

"Silly." Duke was able to step forward, not letting go of Shania's hand as if pulling her to come with him. Shania let out a breath.

"If I will tell you that I am starting to love you, will you able to love me back? What if there's someone after your heart? I want to own you and I only wanted you to be mine. If I tell you these words...is there any assurance that everything will not change?"

Shania was able to keep this all to herself. How she wish that someday, she will not be afraid of telling this to the man that she adored the most.