Doneng imagined what the two women did together and cringed. How could Kelsey behave in such a way? He was not surprised about his sister. He remembered the stories that horrible Ruby girl had told their mother. But Kelsey, well, he just could not believe someone so beautiful would rather be with a woman. Maybe she had just never met the right man. She had most definitely never met a man who knew how to use the fleshy sword God had bestowed upon him. Doneng knew how to use that sword. Any prostitute in Manila would confirm it.
With the wine glasses neatly stacked on a serving tray, he went back outside to further impress the American who had caught his eye.
“Your wine, Madame,” he said, extending a heavily poured glass and speaking in what he was sure was a charming French accent. When she reached for the glass, he slid his fingers gently across hers and failed to notice how quickly she pulled away.
Dusk settled around them. Ligaya and Mia plugged patio lanterns into sockets hidden at the base of the house, while Cristano threw a large metal grate across the fire pit, and Dalisay produced a platter of marinated pork skewers.
The skewers sizzled and produced small puffs of smoke as they landed on the grate. The yard filled with the appetizing aroma of barbecue. Mia placed bowls of garlicky greens on the table. She followed this up with sliced bitter melon with fermented baby shrimp, and a large bowl of what looked like chocolate pudding with bits of meat.
“Dinuguan,” Mia explained, following Kelsey’s quizzical look. “It is pork innards --lungs, kidneys, intestines-- stewed in blood. You do not have to eat this.”
“She will try it,” Tala said, placing a proprietary hand on Kelsey’s thigh. Doneng’s face clouded over but he said nothing. “She will try anything once.”
“Just about,” Kelsey agreed. “I’ll try it.”
Ligaya made a disgusted face. “Even I do not eat that.”
“Well you will eat everything else,” Dalisay said, sternly. Ligaya was becoming a bit of a picky eater and Dalisay was not pleased. She should be thankful there was so much food to begin with! It hadn’t been this way when Tala was Ligaya’s age.
Kelsey excused herself to use the bathroom before dinner. She had been looking forward to having some alone time with Tala, but it was becoming increasingly clear that was not going to happen while they were in Manila. Dalisay expected them to come to the house every day. If they didn’t, Kelsey knew Dalisay would only show up at the hotel again.
Washing her hands under the barely running faucet, she glanced around the small dirty bathroom. There were drops of urine on the floor around the toilet and strands of pubic hair stuck to the outside wall of the tub. The mirror over the sink was spattered with toothpaste and the towel she went to wipe her hands on was already soaking wet. Trying not to cringe, and reminding herself that all people lived differently, she washed her hands again and used toilet paper this time to dry them. Finally feeling clean, or at least cleaner, she opened the door and stepped into the small dark hallway.
Disgust turned to shock and then fear as she was immediately met with the sight of Doneng, his pants lowered to his hips, his small erect penis aimed in her direction.
“It is nice, yes Kelsey?” Doneng asked, gently stroking himself. “Would you like to touch it?” He reached to pull her hand forward but she yanked it away.
“Doneng, please put that away,” she said, with more calmness in her tone than she actually felt. “Or I will tell Tala.” She couldn’t believe this was really happening. The hallway was dark and cramped. Everyone else was outside and Doneng continued to stroke himself.
“Tala does not need to know,” he whispered, feeling the first warm drops of his passion slide over his finger tips. He rubbed the dampness down the length of his shaft and knew Kelsey must be excited by how beautifully his manhood glistened at this point. “Look at it Kelsey. It is for you.”
Kelsey shoved Doneng out of the way and ran for the door that led outside. Doneng finished himself off in the hallway. Shaking with sickness and fear Kelsey made her way to the patio and threw herself on the bench beside Tala so close, she almost ended up in her lap.
“I am not Santa Claus, Kelsey,” Tala teased, nudging her over just a little.
Dalisay took one look at Kelsey’s frightened face and knew something had happened inside. “Where is Doneng?” She demanded.
“Inside,” Cristano said. “He is getting the rice.”
“I will get it,” Dalisay said, rising from the table. Her short, plump legs made quick work of leaping over the bench. Doneng had been acting strange the last two days, stranger than usual, and she did not like the way he looked at Tala’s friend. There was something sinister in the way Doneng looked at Kelsey. His dark eyes seemed to grow even darker every time they landed on the American woman and Dalisay couldn’t help thinking her son was entertaining ideas that he should not.
When she entered the house, Doneng was already on his way out with the rice.
“Hello, mama,” he said, sweetly.
“What have you been doing?”
“Getting the rice.” Doneng lifted the pot in his hands.
“It does not take this long.”
“It wasn’t done yet.”
Dalisay didn’t believe her son but there was little she could do without proof. Each of her children, it seemed, had gotten very good at making sure she did not have evidence to back up her suspicions.
“Go outside,” she said. “I will be there in a minute.”
The house smelled like sweat but that was nothing new. Dalisay made a quick inspection of each room and, finding nothing out of place, went back outside. Her son was up to something, she was sure of it, but she would just have to bide her time and wait until she could catch him in the act.
***********
Kelsey said nothing on the way back to the hotel. She wanted to tell Tala what had happened with Doneng, but how? How did you tell the woman you loved that her brother was a pervert? Doneng had exposed himself to her. He had tried to make her touch him, and when she had refused, he’d begun masturbating in front of her. This would be no ordinary “hey, I think your brother might be kind of pervy” conversation. This would end up being a conversation about sexual assault. And it would be sexual assault from a man Kelsey had already said looked like a rapist.
She regretted saying that now. How did one follow up “your brother looks like a rapist” with “oh yeah, by the way, he probably is one because he jerked himself off in front of me”?
“You are quiet tonight, my love,” Tala said after Kelsey had taken a shower and crawled into bed beside her. She felt safer now that they were back at the hotel. “Would you like to touch me?” Tala pulled Kelsey’s hand in to feel the wetness that was already growing between her legs and Kelsey froze. Doneng had said similar words.
When Kelsey pulled her hand away, Tala quickly sat up. She was naked under the sheets. Her thin body leaned across Kelsey’s.
“I will touch you then,” she said, sliding her hand down the front of Kelsey’s shorts before removing them entirely. She lifted the t-shirt over Kelsey’s head and smiled. “That is better.”
Kelsey didn’t feel like it was better. Even after the shower, she felt dirty. Her mind kept drifting back to Doneng, the confident sneer on his face as he stroked himself before her.
“I can’t tonight, Tala,” she finally managed to say.
Small frown lines appeared in Tala’s forehead. Her body went limp. The desire in her eyes quickly disappeared as Kelsey’s rejection of her settled into her bones. Did Kelsey not want her anymore? Already? They’d barely been able to keep their hands off each other in whatever alone time they had since Kelsey arrived in Manila, and now it seemed like the very idea disgusted her.
Kelsey saw the hurt in Tala’s eyes and knew she’d have to explain. “Something happened tonight, Tala,” she cautiously began.
“What has happened?”
“Doneng.”
Tala nodded knowingly. “Ignore his flirting
Kelsey. It is nothing.”
“It was more than flirting,” Kelsey said, shuddering at the memory and pulling the covers up around her. She could still see the coldness in Doneng’s dark eyes and the sneer on his face as his nicotine-stained fingers closed tightly around his erection. “He exposed himself to me.”
Tala’s eyes grew wide. Doneng may look like a rapist but that didn’t mean he was one. “What do you mean, exposed himself?”
Kelsey battled the tears that threatened to form in her eyes. “When I came out of the bathroom he was there. He had his pants down, Tala. He showed me his erection. He tried to make me touch it. And when I told him I’d tell you, he just said you didn’t need to know and began jerking off.”
“I don’t know this expression, Kelsey.” Tala was pretty certain she knew exactly what Kelsey was saying but she didn’t want to believe it. Doneng was her little brother. He was a grown man now of course, but when she looked at him she still saw the sweet little toddler who used to follow her around the house. The young boy who would squeal with delight when she’d bring him treats after a long day of school or play hide and seek games with him in the yard.
“Masturbating…touching himself.”
Tala’s heart sank. She wished she could believe Kelsey was mistaken but she knew what Kelsey was saying was true. She had seen the way her brother looked at Kelsey. Every time his eyes fell upon her it was with a strange mixture of adoration and loathing.
“I am so sorry, Kelsey,” Tala said, drawing Kelsey into her embrace. “I don’t know why he would do such a thing. I will tell mama.”
Kelsey shook her head. “No, Tala, please don’t tell anyone. We’ll be out of here at the end of the week. Let’s just ride it out until then. We’ll just make sure I’m not alone with him at any point.”
Tala agreed to Kelsey’s request. She didn’t like it, but she agreed.
**********
Doneng lounged under the covers of his small bed thinking of the incident with Kelsey. There had been fear in her eyes when he’d exposed himself to her, and he realized that was even more exciting than if he’d seen desire. His dick grew hard as he thought about the surprise on her face. She had glanced down briefly for a moment. She had wanted to see him. Her eyes had taken in every inch of his hard cock. She’d refused when he asked her to touch it, but he could tell she wanted to. When he grabbed it himself her fear appeared again and he thought he might pull her to him and come all over her. But he held off. He’d wanted to enjoy the moment, and enjoy it he had.
With his erection threatening to burst free from the filthy sheets he slept in, Doneng spit into his hand and fiercely grabbed hold of his penis. His fist pumped up and down furiously as he imagined slamming deep into the red-haired woman. Her green eyes penetrated his and her mouth begged for more as he pounded into her, giving her what his sister never could.
“You like it,” he muttered to himself. Her eyes turned fearful again and he shot his load into her, into the sheet that covered him.
It was not enough. Within minutes his erection returned. Again, he took care of it. This time he imagined Tala watching him fuck Kelsey and his orgasm was even better. When his erection returned for the third time he tossed the soiled sheets from his body and yanked on a pair of dirty pants that had been lying by the bed for a week.
Lighting a smoke, he ignored Dalisay who asked where he was going and headed out the door. Soon he was in Ermita, Manila’s most notorious red light district. He plucked a hooker from the street, brought her into a back alley and fucked her from behind against a wall. Each time he plunged into her he imagined her cries of pleasure were Kelsey’s.
“Come for me,” the prostitute said in Tagalog. She wanted this to be over quickly. The night was young and there were less ugly men she could be offering her services to.
“No!” Doneng pulled out of the woman and turned her to face him. He pushed her to her knees. “Suck it.” The hooker did as he asked and soon he was relieving himself in her mouth.
It did not satisfy his need. “Again!” He commanded, pulling her head to his crotch.
She did what she could but his flaccid penis remained that way. “It is not working. It will not grow again.”
Doneng shoved the hooker away. He zipped his pants and threw a thousand pesos at her before leaving her alone and half-naked in the alley. He felt like he could fuck every prostitute in the city right now but his dick refused to comply.
Annoyed, Doneng got back in his car and lit another cigarette. If only he could see Kelsey again tonight. She had left too early this evening. Dinner had barely been over before she was hinting to Tala that it was time to go. Kelsey may have thought that no one understood her hinting, but Doneng had. He had watched her whisper in Tala’s ear like a tiny red devil, and they departed shortly after.
Did she really think it was so easy to escape him? Doneng had connections in Manila. He knew people who could get him to Kelsey no matter where she was. He licked the sneer that crossed his lips and reached for the phone. He would see Kelsey again tonight, whether she liked it or not.
**********
The next morning, Kelsey woke to the feel of Tala’s mouth on her breast.
“Good morning, my love,” Tala said, leaning in to kiss her.
Kelsey smiled against Tala’s lips then the smile froze on her face. “I smell smoke, Tala.” She turned her head and saw the shadow of a man sitting in a chair in the corner and screamed.
Tala jumped and yanked the covers up around them as the light in the corner flickered on.
“So that is what women do together,” Doneng sneered, crushing his cigarette directly on the table top. “Do not stop on my account.”
“Doneng!” Tala’s heart pounded with a wild mixture of fear and anger. “How did you get in here?”
Doneng gave his sister a sinister laugh. “It is Manila, Tala. You have forgotten that you can buy anything here—even things you should not be able to buy.”
“You must leave!” Tala thought of what Doneng had done to Kelsey the night before. There was no way now that she could convince herself Kelsey had been mistaken. The sweet boy she once knew as Doneng was gone. He had been replaced with an assailant.
“I’m calling the police,” Kelsey said reaching for the phone. Her fingers trembled over the receiver and she swallowed back the revulsion that erupted in her throat.
Tala slammed a hand on top of Kelsey’s, knocking the receiver back into place. “Kelsey no! Please, that is my brother.”
Kelsey’s insides churned with nausea. The slow burn made its way up from her stomach and into her esophagus. Tala knew what Doneng had done last night, and now he had done something even more frightening. How could Tala find it in her heart to defend him so easily?
“Are you fucking kidding me, Tala?” She yelled. “He broke into our hotel room. He was going to watch us have sex and only God knows what else!”
“Yes,” Doneng agreed. “Only God does know what else.” If Tala wasn’t his sister he would have joined them in the bed. He would have forced himself inside of Kelsey and it wouldn’t have mattered that he was still dirty from the prostitute. She would have taken him. She would have had no choice.
Kelsey shivered under the weight of Doneng’s evil, lustful stare. This man was dangerous and she seemed to be the only one who knew it.
“You will leave now, Doneng,” Tala commanded of her brother. “Or I will let Kelsey call the police and then I will tell mama exactly why they have arrested you!”
Doneng waited a moment then slowly got to his feet. He crossed the room, and with one hand on the door turned back and said, “You should go back to America, Kelsey. It is much safer for you there.”
He stepped outside knowing his point couldn’t have been clearer. If he could not love Kelsey then he would hate her.
“What the fuck?!” Kelsey yelled when the door closed behind Doneng and it was safely just the two of them in the room again. “Are you people all fucking crazy
?”
“You people?” Tala demanded. She knew what Doneng had done was insane but she feared Kelsey’s use of a phrase like “you people” said more about the woman she loved than she was ready to learn.
Kelsey rose from the bed, yanked on her jeans, and threw a t-shirt over her bare chest.
“Where are you going?” Tala asked alarmed, as Kelsey made her way to the door.
“Down to the lobby to make sure nothing like this can ever happen again.”
“Kelsey wait,” Tala pleaded. She knew she should not defend Doneng after what he had done but he was still her brother, and blood meant a lot to her. “Give him time to leave first. They will arrest him on sight if you go down there now.”
Kelsey’s green eyes narrowed dangerously. Her heavy lids turned to slits and her glare was fierce. “I don’t really give a shit, Tala.”
Tala sighed. “Please, do not speak to me this way.” She did not like being cursed at, even if she did deserve it. Reaching for the dress she’d abandoned the night before, she pulled the floral-print garment over her head, and sat on the bed again.
“Your brother just fucking broke into our room and threatened me, after exposing himself to me last night and you’re telling me not to speak to you this way?”
“Doneng will do nothing,” Tala said with more conviction than she felt. “He was just trying to scare you.”
“Well, mission accomplished!”
Kelsey stalked to the door and flicked closed the extra safety lock at the top; the one she had previously always ignored but never would again.
“Tell your mother to pack your shit,” she commanded, pacing the room like a maniac who was looking for something she couldn’t seem to find. “We are leaving this shitty fucking barbaric country today!”
Tala took a hurt step back. “Kelsey, please calm down.”
Calm down? “Fuck you, Tala!”
Tala Page 10