I shook my head again, ridiculous couple, and tried to focus back on my notes.
Out of nowhere, a white handbag fell on Samuel’s laptop, smashing the screen close. A glass of water splashed on Olivia’s notes and mine.
“What the fuck?!” The three of us exclaimed and looked in the direction of where the bag had come from.
It was Daisy.
“Her!” She pointed her first finger at Olivia. “You broke up with me because of her?!”
“Yes!” Samuel stood up.
“When did it start?!” Daisy shouted, her voice silencing the entire cafeteria. “Was it before or after our relationship?!”
“Does it even matter, Daisy?” Samuel said back. “We’re over. Weeks ago. How do you not get that?”
She stomped her foot. “You cheated on me!”
“We’ve only together after I’d broken up with you,” Samuel said. “That’s not cheating.”
“No way you can get together with someone after such a short time.” Daisy folded her arms across her chest. “You two must have started it behind my back! Or... or you must have seduced him!”
Olivia reached for Daisy’s handbag on Samuel’s laptop. She stood up and hurled the bag back at Daisy. “Can you grow up?! If he can move on that quickly, it means he didn’t love you much. Why don’t you just go back and reflect on yourself?!”
Samuel’s eyes and mine widened. It was my first time seeing Olivia this mad.
I quickly reached for the tissue box on the table to dry my notes. I sighed. It wasn’t working. The papers were too wet. I had to redo the pages.
“Shut up, bitch!” Daisy wanted to throw her bag at Olivia this time but before she could, my water bottle was gone.
A splash of water hit Daisy’s face.
Nathalie appeared beside her. “Are you done, bitch?”
Liam was here too, and so were Jerry and Theo. They must have met one another on the way here. Liam came and sat beside me. “Hey, you okay?” He pecked my cheek.
“Yeah,” I answered him. “Just my notes...”
“It’s okay. Let me help.” Liam helped me clean the mess on the table.
“This isn’t your fucking business, Nat!” Daisy growled.
Nathalie took a step towards Daisy, her shoulders squared. She pushed Daisy with one hand. “If you’re messing with my friends, then it’s my fucking business.”
“Our fucking business,” Liam added, sounding angry too.
It was only then that Daisy realized that she was alone and heavily outnumbered. She also began to realize that everyone in the cafeteria was staring at her. She bit her lips and walked away quickly with her head down and her hair hiding her face.
Samuel sighed and patted Olivia’s back. “I’m so sorry, Oli.”
“It’s okay. Not your fault.” Olivia sat back down. “Anyway, so back to you again, Eth. What does it feel like bottoming?”
I gave her a WTF look. Not only me, the others at the table did too, their eyes all widened at what she had just asked. How could she be so straightforward like that? Yup. Samuel was right. She hung out with Nathalie too much. Nathalie, who was as interested as Olivia, quickly sat down beside Olivia and looked at me, her eyes blinking rapidly, waiting for my answer. Jerry and Theo also hurriedly took their seats around us.
“Hello?” Nathalie snapped her fingers in front of my face when I ignored them and began writing my notes again.
I looked at Liam. Liam just shrugged.
“It’s between us,” I said. I wasn’t going to fall for anything this time. “You don’t have to know.”
“I can tell you,” Theo said then, eagerly, to Olivia. “I bottom for Max.”
That did it. Nathalie and Olivia shifted their focus from me to him in an instant.
“Tell me,” Olivia asked him hungrily.
“The feeling is like…” Theo began his story.
Liam and I ignored them.
“Hey, babe,” Liam called. “Later, I’ll be going over to Max’s with them, okay? Theo’s moving to Max’s place. Nat, Jerry, and I are going to help.”
“Okay, babe,” I kissed him on the face. He wasn’t inviting me to join because he knew I would be working later. “Sure, but what’s there to help with, though? Why does he need three people to move?”
“Max actually bought a house for themselves,” Liam answered. “We’re gonna help with the furniture.”
“Really?” I began to think of him and me in a house. Only the two of us. In our own house. That looked like a good future. “Hey, babe, what kind of house do you like?”
“For us?” Liam grinned. “Hmm…” He acted like he was thinking. So fake. “It’ll be a studio apartment.”
“No rooms? Why?”
Liam leaned over to whisper to me. He spoke so softly that only I could hear. “So that you can easily fuck me wherever you want in the house. Living room. Kitchen. Bed. Table...”
I pushed his head away, laughing. I didn't say anything because my cock was already hard picturing it. Liam was even more perverted than I was.
That day, I left two hours early for work. Not that it mattered since Liam left even earlier to help out Max and Theo with their new house. But what mattered was I lied to Liam. I told him that my manager needed me to start work early due to the lack of staff. I felt guilty despite the fact that I’d lied to him many times before. Because this time, it was my first time lying to him as his boyfriend.
Where are you? I texted Duncan when I reached the mall where I’d asked him to meet me. Duncan was late. I knew it wasn’t even five minutes past our meeting time, but I was impatient. I was afraid I wouldn’t have enough time to do what I wanted to do here.
I looked at the center court below. There was an event going on. There were lots of mascots. I recognized one of them was Stitch. It immediately made me recall what Liam did last night.
Last night, we were at home doing reports with the TV turned on. The TV coincidentally had aired Lilo & Stitch on the channel. Liam had taken the big, blue plushy in the living room and put its paws against the TV’s screen. “Cousin!” he mimicked the creature’s voice.
Then, he turned the big, blue monster to face me. “Papa!” he walked with his knees towards me so that Stitch could walk with its feet towards me. He had made Stitch hug me.
I laughed. Liam could be really cute at times. How could such a person exist?
“What are you laughing at?” Duncan asked, suddenly beside me.
“Oh,” I said. “Nothing. What took you so long?”
“Hello? I’m just…” Duncan checked his watch. “Seven minutes late. In fact, I was already here ten minutes earlier. I just went to the restroom.”
“Okay, okay. Let’s do this, okay?” I said and began walking.
“Are you sure he’s going to like this, Eth? I mean, if he sees us like this...”
“I’m sure he will,” I said. “He’s way more open than me, Dun.”
I entered a huge clothing store. I went to the area where many long sleeve shirts were on display and began my search. I picked out the ones that I thought both Liam and I would like.
“Why am I here again?” Duncan asked me.
“Because you’re my friend,” I answered. “And I need some opinions from a friend.”
“You have Nat, Eth,” Duncan complained. “Why me?”
“Except Nat isn’t like us,” I said. “And she’s busy anyway. So stop complaining and help me. Besides, I’ll need a test model and Nat won’t be able to do that.”
“What?” Duncan didn’t get what I’d said.
I shook my head. “You’ll know soon.”
Duncan sighed. “Okay, since you both are lean and muscular, why don’t you buy tank tops then? I know a store here that sells couple’s tank tops even for guys.”
I stopped looking and straightened up. Why hadn’t I thought of that? “That’s a great idea.” I put down all the clothes I chose. “Let’s go.”
Tank tops were much hard
er to choose. Not because they had more or fewer choices, but because I loved most of them. They looked so good. I was sure Liam would love them too. Duncan and I took almost every design they had to the fitting room. The person-in-charge had to stop us, saying that we were only allowed to try three at a time. Well, I guessed we had no choice. Three at a time it was, then.
I made Duncan enter the fitting room with me and made him try the same tank tops that I was trying. Together, we tried on the same, matching couple’s tank tops. It was to see whether the tank tops would actually look good on me and Liam. That was the reason why I asked Duncan out and what I meant by test model earlier.
When we tried a tank top pair that wrote: Beast—with a claw mark behind the word—and He Bites—with an arrow pointing right, I totally fell in love with it. I even dropped the idea of trying the rest of the tank tops.
“I’m gonna get this,” I said when we were still looking at ourselves in the mirror.
Duncan suddenly grabbed his crotch, seemed to be adjusting his cock.
I grinned at him. “You hard?”
Duncan grimaced. “Fuck off,” he said and quickly took off the tank top he was trying on for me. He threw the shirt at my face. “Who wouldn’t?” He got out of the fitting room, only to come back in a second after. He forgot to put his shirt on.
I laughed.
“Shut up, Eth.” He put on his shirt and got out again.
After paying, we still had an hour to spare. So we went to a cafe nearby. I ordered a plate of Aglio e Olio with grilled chicken, the cleanest and cheapest food of the place. Duncan ordered Salted Egg Carbonara.
“It’s high in fat and cholesterol,” I warned Duncan. The waiter pretended she didn’t hear that and walked away with our orders.
“Don’t lecture me, Eth. I’m not Liam,” Duncan said. I could hear the jealousy in his voice. “We only live once,” he added.
I shrugged. “Fine.”
“Fine,” Duncan sighed and asked the waiter to change the order.
“Hey, you don’t have to do that,” I said.
Duncan ordered the exact same thing as I had. “It’s okay. I should start eating healthier anyway. Not even you want me.”
I didn’t say anything. Didn’t know how to respond to that.
Duncan made a small laugh. “Just kidding, Eth. But I should really start to get in shape. Or else, no one will want me.”
There weren’t many customers, so our orders didn’t take more than a few minutes to make. The moment they came, we started eating.
“By the way, why are you buying him gifts suddenly?” Duncan asked. “I thought you’re financially unstable right now.”
“Yeah, but it’s okay.” I smiled, remembering what day it was today. “It’s his birthday today. And since he’s busy helping Max and Theo now, I think now is the best time to do it. Wanna surprise him, you know.”
“So that’s why this is so sudden,” Duncan said. “Wait, you know it’s his birthday today but you’re getting him a gift only today?” He shook his head.
I sighed. Guilty. “Yeah… Many things happened. And if they didn’t, I would probably be...” It was so hard to admit. Moving on from Liam. I wondered what would happen if what happened at the carnival didn’t happen. Or if the carnival was never there.
“Alright. Understand.” Duncan nodded. “You know what, Eth? I think you should just wrap yourself with ribbons or something and gift yourself to him. That’ll be enough. He’ll be happy.” Suddenly, he took up the tissue beside his plate and reached it for my mouth.
He wiped my lips.
“Stop that,” I said.
“Stop what?” he asked as he put the tissue down like it was nothing.
I ignored him and continued eating. I felt really uncomfortable now.
“Hey, I’m sorry, Eth,” Duncan realized. “I didn’t mean anything, I promise.” He raised his hands in surrender. “I always do that to my friends. Even Nat, too. You can ask her. I swear.”
I looked up from my plate, seeing if he was lying. I found it hard to believe after his erection in the fitting room earlier. And now this. “You sure?”
“One hundred percent,” Duncan assured me. “You will bite, Eth, and I’m scared.”
I heaved a sigh of relief.
We went to work right after we finished our meal. Everything had gone according to plan. I reached work on time. I managed to get a gift for Liam. And I managed to do it without him knowing it. It was a success. It was also an achievement. I smiled the entire time while I was working, to the extent that a few regulars asked what was up with me today.
“Don’t even bother,” Duncan told a girl by the pick-up counter, when she asked him for my name. “He’s got a boyfriend now.”
“That would be you?” the girl asked.
“I wish,” Duncan said. “I’ve tried, you know. But he’s as hard as a rock, hard to penetrate.”
I blinked twice. I wanted to tell Duncan to stop telling people that, but before I could, my phone vibrated. It wasn’t the first time. It could be the fourth. I knew I wasn’t supposed to answer any phone calls when I was at work, but the repeated calls had me curious. What if it was an emergency? I hurriedly went to the backroom to answer it.
It was Nathalie.
“Hello, Nat, I’m working,” I said. “What’s up?”
“Hey, Eth. Liam left,” Nathalie said. “And he’s crying. The only person that I could think of who could make him cry is you. What did you do to him?”
“Wait, Liam is crying? Why is he crying? What happened? Where is he now?”
“I’m not sure,” Nathalie answered. “We were talking about celebrating his birthday with you, but he didn’t seem to look happy. He suddenly said he had to go. He didn’t show it in front of us, but I’m damn sure he was crying when he left. Eh, Eth. You do remember today is his birthday, right? If you forgot, I’m going to fucking kill you.”
“I remembered!” I accidentally shouted. “Alright, alright, I’ll go find him now.”
Duncan came in to check on what was up. “Eth?”
“You better go,” Nathalie said. “Go, go!”
I hung up. “I gotta go, Dun. Something happened to Liam.”
I told my manager that I had to leave for an emergency. Family problem again. I was embarrassed, but she had to buy it. It wasn’t a lie. Liam was my love and he was family. I wondered who made him cry. If I fucking know who did it, I’m going to fucking break every bone the person has!
I tried to call Liam as soon as I got out of the cafe. He didn’t answer. I called him again when I hopped onto my motorbike. He didn’t answer again. I went home first, hoping that he would be there. When I reached home, his shoes were at the front door. He must be home. I quickly got in and found no one in the living room and my door locked. I was very sure I’d left the door open when I went out to buy him gifts earlier.
I knocked on the door. “Babe?” I knocked on the door again when there was no response. “Babe, you in there?” I tried to twist the doorknob again, just to make sure if it was really locked. It was. He was definitely in there.
And then I heard him sniffle inside. He was really crying.
“Babe, babe.” I knocked again. “Open the door.”
There was some noise. Like something fell.
“Babe, what’s wrong? Open the door please,” I said, worried. “You’re scaring me.”
Just when I was about to ram myself into the door, he finally opened the door. His eyes were red and his face drenched with tears. He walked to the wardrobe. To continue packing. On the bed were his two bags. He stuffed his jeans into the bags without even folding them.
“What are you doing?” I walked to him, wondering if his parents had called him back or something. I reached for his face, wanting to caress it to comfort him. “What happened, babe?”
“Don’t touch me, Eth!” He pushed my hand away.
That felt like a stab. Did he just call me Eth? “What’s… wrong? Is this abou
t your birthday?”
“I’m going home.” Liam continued to pack.
“But this is your home,” I said.
Liam stopped. He looked at me with his eyes narrowed, like he was finding me and what I’d just said hard to believe. “Home?” He snorted. “How is this home, Eth? How are you my home when you have someone else outside?!” He pushed my chest so hard I staggered back. “How could you do this to me, Eth?! How could you?!” He pushed me again. Another tear rolled down his cheek. He wiped it with his own wrist.
“I did nothing!” I said back. “What did I do, babe? I really did nothing. I...”
“Nothing?” Liam raised an eyebrow. “Let me ask you, Eth. What did you do today?”
“I…” I hesitated. If I told him now, then all my effort earlier to make the gift a surprise would be gone. “I…”
“You can’t say it out loud, right? Then let me answer for you myself.” Liam took a step towards me. “You cheated on me and fucking went out with another guy!” He pushed me again.
“I did not!” I snapped and pushed him back without realizing it. How could he accuse me like that?! Where did he even get that from?!
Liam glowered. His fist came like lightning. It hit my face before I could even see it. My jaw cracked. I tasted blood in my mouth. “I fucking saw it!” he shouted.
Rage took over me. I reached for his shirt, pulled him to me up-close and raised my fist to punch him back. I stopped when I realized what I was about to do.
“You lied to me,” Liam said, looking away. “You said you had no one before me. You said there’s only me in your heart. How could you, Eth? I gave you everything. I let you fuck me. I let you inside. I…”
I put down my fist and let go of him. “I don’t know who you heard it from.” I reached for his face this time and wiped his tears with my thumb. “But I can tell you this. I never lied to you. There’s only you in my heart. Ever since I met you.”
Liam pushed my hand away again. “I saw it with my own eyes, Eth!” He looked back at me in the eyes. “You and Duncan. In a mall. Without telling me. And in one fitting room? Him coming out shirtless? You both even ate. He wiped your mouth for you. That is not cheating on me?”
A Monster's Love Page 28