Episode 10

Cousin Roxanne was all smiles and hugs. Thrilled to see me, she hopped about with excitement, paying no attention to the people around her. A large chested, 34-year-old woman who stood 6' without heels, bouncing up and down at an airport, attracted more attention than one could imagine.

Cousin Roxanne wasn't always my 'cousin', she was actually the niece of my uncle's wife. When we first met during one of my vacations to uncle's place at taytay rizal Philippines, we hit it off, instantly. She was besotted with my Michael Jackson impersonation and after seeing my moonwalk, she was a fan for life. Eventually, we had gotten so close that potential suitors were put off, assuming Roxanne and I were a couple. Convincing people we were only friends was an arduous task in itself, after which we had to explain why we weren't Romantically interested in one another. We knew we had to figure out a solution without distancing ourselves as friends or 'blocking' one another. Roxanne decided she'd refer to me as her cousin.

During our visit to my grandfather ( my mothers side ) in the province, when Roxanne and I were exciting a play with a few friends, Roxanne was ahead of me talking to Daevan and I was walking alongside of his sister, Danica. She asked how I knew Roxanne and I promptly responded that she was my cousin. Later Roxanne informed me that when Daevan had asked her the same question, she referred to me as her brother. Initially we were anxious about the suspicious we would raise among the real siblings, but after briefly staring at one another in horror, we couldn't stop laughing. Since that day we agreed on remaining as 'cousins'.

Embracing me, she gave me a tight squeeze, I realized how emotionally weak I'd become. Although I was happy to see Roxanne, the love she gave with that hug made me aware of the sadness within. I had become extremely sensitive to my sorroundings. One word or scent could send me spiralling in to an ocean of depression. I had an aching for love and seeing Roxanne made that very apparent. Still, being in Philippines with her was the right thing.

I never understood why Roxanne wasn't hitched yet. She was pretty, smart, hard working, caring, considerate, giving and compassionate. Add to that, the height which almost guaranteed kids that could one day play in NBA. Then again, the height often worked against her, which was a shame. S, she had guys swooning over her and not just single guys, but married men with kids too. However, being a home wrecker was never really her forte. In spite of all her admirers, no one had enchanted her as yet. The other thing about Roxanne I never understood was why she insisted on reading rubbish like "The Rules" of how to get and keep man which was written ny a couple of frustrated women.

"How was the flight?"

The expression of the wholesome grandmother watchinge as I savoured my provocative fantasy flashed in front of me.

"Err, it was alright, just slept" I responded.

"Come on, Chad, nothing in your life is straightforward or simple, you always have some sort of drama doing on. Tell me, did you meet any cuties?" She asked beaming at me.

Granny may have been cute once upon a time, but I wasn't around in the days of black and white TV.

"NO, nothing like that, I just slept," I answered.

Roxanne was right, nothing in my life was simple. I recall one night after conference, when a large group of friends congregated in my hotel room in Manila for a night cap. Eventually, the conversation reached a point where we shared our stories of heartbreak, and after each story, the room sighed and expressed their sympathy with 'ooohs' and 'aaawwws'. Eventually, all the eyes turned towards me, and they waited. There I was sitting with a bunch of single women and my good friend Luz in our personal session of Oprah. Sighing, I began to regale them with one of my tragic affairs. I had many to pick from, but decided on something recent.

I was attending a wedding reception in the makati and the story began with me standing at the buffet line. I had noticed the queue consisted of only men at which point, an attractive young hussy came and stood beside me, armed with a plate in hand. I turned to her with a weak line which was something to the effect of, "Ah, so we finally have a woman in our line."

Dressed in a floral design with heavy embroidery and bead work on the sleeve, she was radiant. Smiling, she walked around me to the food on my right.

"Let me guess, you're vegetarian?" I continued.

"Yes."

"I thought it was odd that you skipped all the meat."

"Yes, well I have been vegetarian for a while now because of my mum." She remarked as she pinned her long brown locks behind her ear and leaned over to pick some bread.

"I'm guy it was a bet and when the time was up, you were hooked?"

"Yep," she smiled.

"Smart mother," I acknowledged.

We continued to chat till the food display came to an end and we began walking away with our plates. All of a sudden, she started to walk across me indicating that we weren't going in the same direction. She pointed out the table in the large ballroom where she was to be seated, at which point I left her with a cordial "See you later", and headed to my friends. Back at my table, I was abused by friends who went on and on about my idiotic mistake of not sitting and dining with her.

During the rest of the evening, I had made several attempts to manoeuvre myself in her path, but met with little success. I saw her make her way out of the ballroom. Equipped with my friend's mobile phone, I raced out and stood in the hallway pretending to make a phone call, waiting for her return. Hopefully we would be able to resume our conversation. When she di return, she wasn't alone and I chickened out. What did I expect her to do? Wait beside me while I finish my pseudo phone call? Another failed attempt. I decided to put plan B in effect. I decide to stand by the dessert trolley with the hope that she would wander over to chat. Fifteen minutes later, I was a fool with his hands in his pockets next to a dessert trolley. My friends still continued to hound me about how cute she was, how well she danced and how well she probably cooked! Leaning in, they told me how one day they could have referred to her as their 'baby'.

Later that evening when I was shaking for fun to the beats of the sound, I saw her stray from her group on the dance floor. She stood sideways a few feet away from me, which gave me a perfect view of her profile. Her face only accentuated the slopes of her curvaceous, mermaid-like body. She tilted her head back and her flowing hair fell playfully as she laughed. This was my chance to swoop in and say something. I left my little entourage and began walking towards her.

The few steps of the vacant dance floor between the two of us felt like the Grand Canyon. I was almost certain that every eye in the ballroom was on me. Those few steps hurled me out of my comfort zone. I adjusted my yellow Versace tie and wiped my brow dry before returning the handkerchief the my back pocket. Making sure the black suit sat perfectly, I fastened the top button and embarked on my courageous journey. As the distance between us shortened something unexpected happened, I hadn't accounted for this. She began to move away, almost turning her back to me. I began to panic. The nervous just hot harder. The audience must have been split between laughter and curiosity about what I would do next. I wanted to turn around and rush back into my element, but I couldn't. She hadn't seen me coming or at least I hope she hadn't. I quickened my pace and continued forward. Two quick steps and I arrived just before she completely turned her back towards me.

"Wow you guys can really party," is what dribbled out my mouth.

"Sorry?" She turned towards me with a raised eyebrow.

"I mean, you know, you guys are really enjoying and partying." Would the gibberish ever stop?

Luckily she smiled, which usually was a good sign. Her sister came over and introduced herself after which she gave me the third degree. Within the first minute she uncovered my name, age, residence and education.

Claudine and I resumed our conversation as I started to adapt to my new environment. Her chocolate brown eyes had me in a trance and she giggled like a cute school girl when I joked. There were awkward moments of silenced when our eyes were transfixed and we smiled clumsily. We spent the rest of the reception evening together as we danced, met each others' friends and discussed the party taking place the following night. She wasn't sure if she would attend, but I informed her that it would be thoroughly enjoyable. Little did I know that during the whole time her mother was sitting behind us observing all my antics. Still, after she left, I felt quite chuffed. Being shy guy, I had to deal with a lot of missed opportunities and regret. That wasn't going be the case tonight.

The next night at Royal Club Makati, I noticed Claudine at the back of the club as soon as I walked in. I figured I'd pay it cool and not greet her until later. Instead I walked around the club bordered with mirrored walls creating the illusion of being a bigger space. Large crystal chandeliers dropped from the ceiling and reflected the disco and laser lights which accompanied the thumping music. Waiters smartly dressed blue scuttled around offering standard cocktails to the guests. Over a hundred attractively clad twenty something's had graced the night and were anticipating an exciting night of fun and frolic.

Spotting Roxanne near to the entrance, I made my way over and greeted her. Donning a figure hugging, black and purple silk dress, she looked positively gorgeous. I joked, laughed and shared a shot with her, all the while keeping an eye on Claudine until eventually, whilst mingling, our paths met. Sporting a model's height and a lovely innocent face, she was blessed with the curves of a hot model, and wavy brown locks that begged for fingers to be run through it. Her smile was dazzling as it was genuine. Placing her hand on my chest, she leaned in and kissed my cheek as she said hello.

"So are you going to bust out with all your moves here tonight?" I asked her with my hand still on her waist from our greeting.

"I will, if you dance with me," she smiled

I was 'IN'! I could almost hear her whisper in the back of my head. All that was left to do wsd pop my collar.

"No, no, you don't want to dance with an old guy like me."

The conversation began to strain as the DJ increased the volume. I couldn't fully gather what she was saying, but I managed to get the gist of it.

"Why, how old are you?" She asked.

I thought it rather odd that she would ask me, since her sister had obtained every bit of information from me the noght before. Hadn't they discussed me yet, especially since I was hitting on her in plain sight?

"I'm twenty five."

"Oh hush, that's not old," she said as she affectionately slapped my chest.

In her patent black stilettos, she stood eye to eye with me at 5'10". Sipping my vodka tonic, I took a moment to admire her in the brandy strapless satin dress that seductively caressed her voluptuous figure. Her long, graceful neck was complimented by a set of flawless, naked shoulders. She had hit the balance between sexy and conservative perfectly. Claudine was a vision, and she was with me.

Everything was going swimmingly. She laughed at every joke and we took every opportunity to touch other flirtatiously. The interest was definitely mutual. We continued to converse about various subjects. I told her what I did for a living as I contemplated the appropriate time to ask her out on a date.

"Yes, but regardless of what's on the card and what my job description is, the fact is I am my boss's bitch. I do whatever I'm told," I said with a smile and she responded with a laugh.

"No, come on, I bet you do a great job."

"Well, it's not all bad. Travelling on the company dime is always a joy."

"I'm sure," she acknowledged.

"So, what is it that you do?" I asked.

"I'm in high school."

All of a sudden there was a pause and the air inside the room was filled with dead silence. Then, with an almost uncanny, perfect synchronicity, the group erupted with laughter and my friends, who had been hanging on every word, rolled off the bed and on to the floor clutching their guts. Eventually the hysterics subsided and they invited me to continue.

I remember the feeling of instant horror when Claudine told me her age. My face must have turned pale white. I almost broke the glass in my hand from the shock. My mind went completely blank and I had nothing to say. What was I supposed to talk about? Homework? Korean Dramas? Pokemon? I took a much needed sip of my beverage in an attempt to buy myself some time to think, but I noticed there wasn't enough vodka in my tonic. There probably wasn't enough alcohol in the whole club at that particular moment. I wanted to run, but I couldn't, I didn't want to offend he young girl, the very, very young girl. I tried to maintain my composure as long as possible, but she must have seen right through me. I finally got away with the excuse that a friend of mine was sitting alone.

My friends from the reception the previous night asked me what had happened. I regurgitated the saga as my head lay between my hands. They broke out in laughter while my mind was swirling with thoughts of being in prison with a big hairy guy who would make me as his 'bitch'. Claudine left around 1am and I never saw her again.

That night wasn't a complete loss in any way. In fact it was at that party that Roxanne and I bonded. Until that party , it was almost as if she didn't exist. By the end of the evening, we were wishing it never ended. From then on, our camaraderie continued to grow and it was as if we had been friends for life.

I threw my bags in the trunk of the cream coloured ford and fastened my belts as I sat down.

"How's work going? I read your article yesterday, very funny." Roxanne slipped her Gucci shades on and turned to me, "Have I told you how much I love your writing?"

"Yes, but fell free to tell me some more," I smiled.

"Well, I love it," she giggled. "When are you going to write this book you talked about?"

"No clue. Anyway, what's the plan for tonight?" I asked.

"Okay, I am dropping you to your condo, freshen up and I will be back to pick you up im a couple of hours. We are meeting everyone else tonight," she instructed.

"Roxanne, I don't know if I am up for a big gathering," I whined.

"Bullshit, we are going to party hard tonight. Also, if you are up for it, you may meet some cuties."

Ignoring the statement, I peered out the window over the Makati Buildings.

"How's the rest of the gang in New York?" Roxanne broke the silence. "When are Raul and Paula going to tie the knot? Oh, what about Sean?" She bounced in her seat as a wave of excitement surged through her. "Is he still having those wild escapades you tell me about? He's probably one of the funniest guy I've met."

"Truthfully Roxanne, I've been laying low these days."

"Well, we're going to change that tonight, hon. It's going to be just like old times!" She rubbed my hand soothingly. "Alright, we're here at you condo" she pointed the building right in front of her windscreen.

Roxanne had a ton of great qualities and one of the best perks about our friendship was the fact that she could hook me up at a fabulous hotel here in Philippines for 10,000 a night.

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