Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Cam
W hat had I done to deserve not one but two encounters with that guy in a single day? On top of pervy dude too. Shouldn’t I get good karma points for volunteering to do something I normally wouldn’t?
“Cam!”
Glancing toward the food and beverage stalls, I caught Nikki motioning to me. I didn’t want to hang around here any longer, but I couldn’t say no to her.
“I thought you were working till five,” she said when I was close enough to hear her.
“Something came up.”
“But I sent you a gift!”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “I hate you.”
“For sending you a tall, hot, charming boy? How mean of me.”
“First off, he’s not that hot.” I couldn’t say no to that entirely, since I’d gotten an eyeful of his abs and pecs. And those biceps. “Also, I’m not seeing the charming part. More like annoying.”
“Come on. That longish floppy hair is giving nineties, and he makes it look good. Plus, that smile?” She fanned herself.
That smile made me want to smack him in the face. Especially when he paired it with those wiggling eyebrows. “The guy swam into my board this morning.”
Nikki gasped. “No way. Is that why his arm’s bandaged?”
“Yep. He’s lucky it wasn’t anything worse.”
“Still, that’s rough.” Frowning, she said, “You should have given him a tatt. I bet it would have made his day.”
“No,” I snapped.
“At least hang out with him. He seems like a nice guy.”
“He’s from Manila.”
Her face softened. “They’re not all bad, you know. Just because your experience?—”
“No.” We weren’t going there now. Or ever.
“Sorry, Cam.”
“Besides, he has a girlfriend.”
“Are you sure? He’s here alone, and I got some major breakup energy from him.”
He did imply that he wasn’t in the right headspace to make decisions. And there was the whole not thinking clearly this morning.
“If he just broke up with his girlfriend, that’s all the more reason I should stay clear of him.”
“I mean, it’s not like you’re looking for a relationship.”
“He’s not my type.”
“He’s hot, and hot guys are your type. Especially when they look like they can hold you up and have their way with you.” She gave me a sly grin coupled with raised brows that had my eyes instantly rolling.
“Why don’t you go for him?”
“You know I can’t do casual, and I definitely can’t do younger guys.”
“His loss.”
Nikki laughed. “Did Eric get upset that you closed early?”
“Yep.” My conscience bugged me for not holding up my promise, but it was either that or committing homicide.
That would have ruined the event entirely.
“I’ll make it up to him.” Maybe I could do some free dev work for his organization.
At least that would utilize my skill set without putting me at risk of jail time. “Anyway, I should go before?—”
“Tita Cammy!” Jo called out from inside the tent. “Where’s my special tattoo?”
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath.
“Too late,” Nikki told me with a laugh. “You know my girl doesn’t forget promises.”
I’d already broken one today—I wasn’t breaking another. Especially not to Jo.
She ran to me, and I bent down for a hug. “Hey, Joey girl.”
“Can you tattoo me now?”
“How about I come by your house later tonight and do it then?” I suggested. “Then I’d have the space to do it properly.”
“But I won’t be able to show it off to everyone here.”
She had me there. Nikki and I exchanged looks, and I used my eyes to tell her it was her fault for raising such a smart kid. Going by Nikki’s smirk, she got my drift.
“You’re right,” I told Jo.
“You can do it behind our booth while we don’t have customers,” Nikki suggested. “Then, since Cam’s done with her shift, she’s free to help us here. Right, Tita Cammy?”
I gritted my teeth and reminded myself that Nikki was my friend and she’d saved my ass plenty of times. This was the least I could do for her, even though I just wanted to put as much distance as I could between me and Alonzo.
“Right.”
Alonzo
I was browsing through a stack of hand-painted postcards and thinking how much Dani would have loved them when I finally got a message from Inang’s Guesthouse telling me I could check in now .
I’d found her listing online, and though the room was small with no air-conditioning and the bathroom was shared, reviewers said it was clean and only a ten-minute walk from the beach. Best of all, it cost a fraction of what I might have spent on a hotel room if I were with Dani.
My stomach lurched as my brain tortured me again with a vision of her with him .
Damn it. Time to get to the guesthouse so I could drown my sorrows in beer. A quick Google search told me there was a convenience store along the way. I’d swing by and grab a bottle or two.
Hell, I might as well get a six pack. Besides surfing and swimming, I had no other plans.
I wove my way past people who seemed to be having the time of their lives, and I couldn’t help but imagine how today might have turned out if Dani were with me.
She’d wear one of those flowy beach dresses with her hair done in that half-up style she loved.
She’d order way too much food because everything looked good and end up giving most of it to me.
Then we’d get a spot a few feet from the stage because she liked to be close to the singers without being right in their faces.
Her fingers would be tangled up with mine and she’d take photos of everything even though she’d only post a couple of them. Of course, one of those would be a selfie of us so we could remember the moment, as she always said.
My phone gallery was filled with those types of shots—us two or just her doing the most random things. Like taking a sip of her espresso or laughing at something I said.
How could I move on from that?
How could she ?
“Lonzo! Hey, Lonzo!”
My head automatically turned at the sound of my name. Nikki waved me toward her, and though the last thing I wanted to do was talk to someone, I couldn’t just ignore her.
When I stopped at her booth, she held out what looked like a slice of bibingka on banana leaf to me. “Try this—it’s fresh. It has cheese and salted egg.”
I stared at the rice cake, still so stuck on thoughts of Dani that I couldn’t quite process what she’d said. “Ah. I?—”
“On the house.” Nikki waved it at me. “I insist.”
“That’s nice of you. Thanks—” Something tugged on my shorts, and I looked down at a young girl dressed in an orange polka dot dress.
She stretched her arm up, saying, “Look at my tattoo!”
Smiling despite myself, I hunkered down on my haunches so we’d be the same height. Then I peered at the trio of five-petalled flowers inked on her wrist in orange dots. “Wow, that’s beautiful,” I told her.
“Right?” She beamed at me. “My mama and my tito and my tita have matchy tattoos, but only mine is orange. It’s special!”
Nikki laughed. “This is my daughter, Jo. Jo, this is Tito Alonzo. He’s from Manila.”
So this was Cuppa Jo’s namesake. “Hi, Jo. I’m a fan of you and your mom’s café. It’s good to meet you.” I held my hand out and then second-guessed myself.
But she put her smaller hand in mine and shook it excitedly. “You live in Manila? I’ve never been there.”
“You should visit. I’ll show you and your mom around.”
Dropping my hand, Jo glanced up at Nikki. “Can we, Ma?”
“We’ll plan on it.”
“Yay! Do you have a tattoo too?” Jo asked me.
The rapid switch had me chuckling. “Unfortunately not. I thought of getting one today but it didn’t work out.”
She bounced on her feet. “Tita Cammy can do it for you!”
My brows drew up. Tita Cammy, huh?
Turning to the back of her stall, Nikki raised her voice. “What do you say about that, Tita Cammy?”
I grinned, anticipating the response.
“Come on!” Jo grabbed my hand and pulled me to the back of the booth where Cam sat, glaring at Nikki. “There, see?” She poked the trio of flowers tattooed on Cam’s thigh. “We’re matching! I drawed?—”
“Drew,” Nikki said gently.
“—drew the flowers and Tita made them permanent,” Jo explained to me before looking at Cam. “Tita Cammy, can you do it on him too?” She faced me again. “You can also get orange!”
Cam’s face softened as she looked at Jo. “I don’t think orange is his color, Joey girl.”
“Then you can do blue!”
“I don’t have a blue marker.” At the girl’s fallen expression, Cam rushed to add, “Tell you what, I’ll buy one and give him a tattoo next time. How about that?”
Jo pouted. “But he lives in Manila.” Then she looked up at me. “Did you know Tita Cammy and Tito Eric used to live in Manila?”
My gaze moved to Cam, who avoided my eyes. I didn’t know what was more surprising—that there was a guy paired with her or that she’d come from the city too. “No, I didn’t know that.”
“Can I call you Tito Ally?” Jo asked.
Now that was a nickname I never imagined having, and yet I said, “Sure.”
“That’s a girl’s name, anak,” Nikki told her.
“But he said I could.”
“It’s alright,” I said. “Jo can call me that if she likes.”
“Yay!” Jo bounced on her feet. “You’re tall, right?”
She shifted topics as quickly as a ping-pong ball in play. It was the most fun conversation I’d had in a while. “I guess so.”
“And strong?”
I chuckled. “I like to think I am.”
“Can you can carry me high enough that I can touch the top of the tent?”
“I can do that,” Cam put in.
“Yes, but he’s taller.”
I grinned at Cam’s glare. “I can try. May I?” I held out my hands.
“You’re funny.” Jo stepped forward, but I glanced at Nikki and waited for her nod before I put my hands on Jo’s waist.
As I did, I marveled at the turn my day had taken. Maybe Juana was the perfect cure for a broken heart…or at least the perfect diversion from one.
Cam
Alonzo lifted Jo high over his head with what appeared to be barely any effort.
The girl whooped as she stretched her fingers to the apex of the tent. “Look, Mama. I can touch the top.”
“So you can.” Nikki’s eyes grew glassy. “Good job, Jo.”
“Do you want to take a spin?” Alonzo asked Jo.
She squealed in reply, bobbing her head. Without missing a beat, Alonzo lowered her to his shoulder height and began turning.