You’re Still My Man – English

GINA

That night was perfect. Their colleagues have already found out about their upcoming wedding. Their co-workers offered handshakes, hugs and deafening good wishes, even though they were surprised at first because they knew that she and Ace are like dogs and cats who are always teasing and fighting. Judge Soler also agreed to officiate at their wedding. Brando Nicolas canceled his reservation tonight. The restaurant was about to close when Maryam arrived.

“I’m really sorry if I just arrived. I was stuck in the shop yesterday and now with so much work, I haven’t been able to go home.” Maryam explained to her.

“So you slept in the shop?” she immediately asked Maryam.

“Yes dear, I’ve never been able to give up control of my business. No matter how many people I hire to take charge of, I still follow up on things myself.” Maryam said with a shrug. “I have lots of orders this week, and I think it’s going to be our best year ever. But I’m sure you’re more interested in what happened with Brando. I’m really worried about you Gina, so I’m here to say hello to you. He told me he didn’t expect you to come back that day. In fact, he almost seemed to be expecting me instead of you.”

“What was his reaction when I didn’t come back? Was he angry?”

“He was edgy, but not rude. We spent an hour together, then we parted ways and he didn’t say anything about you.”

“Thank you so much, Maryam.”

She turned to Ace direction while he was still talking to Judge Soler. Ace now turned to them, approached their position and put his arm around her. “Have you told Maryam yet?” Ace asked her.

“Not yet.”

“Don’t tell me that you two are getting married.” Maryam exclaimed, looking from one to the other.

“Yes, Maryam. It will be a small wedding, but of course you are invited.” She said and Maryam hugged her.

Maryam also kissed Ace on his cheek. “I’ll be happier if your wedding venue is held at my house.” Maryam offered them. “I have a large garden at home, and I also have a function room. It will hold fifty people comfortably. Is that enough?”

“But Mar–” Maryam interrupted what she was about to say.

“Unless you’re having a church wedding, then of course I’ll expect more than fifty people of your invited guests.”

She hardly thought that their marriage of convenience wasn’t worthy of such a setting.

“I’ll arrange everything for you. All you need to do is show up. Call me tomorrow and we’ll get together. Oh! I’m so happy for both of you. Two of my most favorite people in the world. I won’t take no for an answer.”

She felt Ace squeeze her hand when she would have protested further. “All right… all right,” and she just laughed. “That’s why Maryam you’re successful in your business. Ahm… Maryam do you know Judge Soler? He will officiate at our wedding.”

“We know each other well.” The Judge said to them. “How are you, Maryam?”

“Very well, Johnny. And you?”

“Fine.”

She watched the tension sparking between the two. The Judge’s voice was low, soft and relaxed. Yet his eyes held such intensity as he stared into Maryam. He noticed that Maryam was blushing at the Judge’s stares at her.

“Just call me, Gina. I need to go. Goodnight, Johnny.”

“Take care, Maryam,” replied the Judge and Maryam left the restaurant.

He cares about her, that’s what she realized at that time, also based on the expression of the Judge’s face.

“Judge Soler, thank you again for agreeing to marry us.”

“It’s my honor and privilege, my dear.” The Judge replied to her, he kissed her on the cheek and shook hands with Ace. “Thank you for asking me.” And the Judge said goodbye to them.

“I know Judge Soler likes Maryam,” she said to Ace as soon as the Judge left. “You know Ace, that’s what I’ve noticed about Judge Soler, that he likes Maryam. Because every time they eat together at the restaurant, Judge’s eyes are always on Maryam.”

“Don’t mess with them, Gina.”

“Did you notice them too, Ace? Hmp.. if I know you notice them too, you just don’t want to admit it.”

“Tsk, it’s none of our business, Gina.”

They are now walking to their locker room to get dressed.

“Gina, from now on I would like.. ahm.. let’s go home together and go to work together, if it’s ok with you?”

“You’re really good at changing the topic, Ace,” he just laughed at her. “But sure, I think that would be great… why are you hesitant to ask me, you think maybe I won’t agree? You know even if you don’t ask, one hundred and one percent I agree.”

“I know you’ll agree… all right, we’ll only meet in the parking lot.” He said, and then they entered into a separate locker room.

—–

ACE

“Is that really your guest? Why is it so small?” Gina complained to him when she looked at what was written on his guest list.

They sat a couple of feet apart on the sofa, while they drank wine. “If you just want to be able to add that, then it’s okay with me. I really don’t have any guests.”

“Me too. It’s just my family and some close relatives, then my close friends at school.”

“How about your ex-boyfriends? Aren’t you going to invite any of them?”

“I told you before, that I haven’t had a serious relationship.”

“Those who divirginized you, haven’t you been serious too?”

He saw Gina blush at his question. “I thought you didn’t want us to talk about such a thing.”

“I was just thinking. But if you want us to talk about something like that, then I’m willing to listen.”

Gina didn’t speak anymore. She went silent for a moment.

“Forget it.” and he put the wine glass on the table. “What else do we need, Gina?”

“We haven’t decided on the time of the wedding yet, but we’re done with the flowers we’re going to use, uhm.. and of course the food menu.” She replied.

“You haven’t answered my first question to you, Gina. I’ll admit, you really got my curiosity.”

“What do you want to know? How many times? How big the–”

“Stop!”

“–I mean how big their feet are.”

“Funny.”

“Well Ace, I don’t know what kind of information you’re looking for. Based on the books I read about sex, it was earth-shattering.”

“Why, haven’t you experienced a climax yet?”

“Of course, I experienced that too,” she said, and she sipped a glass of wine. “It looks like that, too.”

He saw that Gina’s gaze was already on him. “You know Ace, we don’t have anything to talk about, so I’d suggest you abandon the topic.”

He wished that he’d never brought up the topic to her because he was already upset. Also, his body was really hot from Gina’s clothes. She is now wearing a thin t-shirt and he notices that she is not wearing a bra. Also, he almost acknowledged this moment as his last chance to back out, which would certainly please his boss. His boss said that it was possible for him to be pulled out of his assignment if there was still no development in their negotiations with Brando. Fortunately, he finally agreed with the latter because if he didn’t, he would be saying goodbye to Gina.

He got up from the couch he was sitting on and put on his leather jacket.

“Are you leaving? I thought we were going to talk more about the wedding.” Gina said.

He then remembered that he was given his last chance. So he took a small box from his pocket and handed it to Gina.

“What is this?”

“I think you need to wear an engagement ring,” he said and took one of Gina’s hands. “My grandmother gave this to me. I said I’ll let my fiancé wear it.”

Gina was amazed when he put a brilliant-cut diamond ring on her finger surrounded by deep blue sapphires shaped like daisy petals. “Oh, Ace.”Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.

For a moment, their stares locked each other. “Ace, I can’t… I mean I can’t accept this,” she took off the ring and returned it to him.

“Why not? It’s for you.”

“But–” he interrupted, because he knew Gina would reject that.

“Wear that, please.”

He saw Gina close her eyes and let out a deep breath. “I’d be honored if you would still let me wear this even if–”

“Shh…” he reached for her left hand, then slid again the ring on her finger, finding a perfect fit.

Gina just looked at the ring she was wearing and what he saw in the girl’s eyes seemed to make her really happy.

“Why is this sapphire attached to the band? Instead of a diamond?” Gina asked curiously.

“He loves me,” he replied.

“What did you say?”

“Maybe you know this Gina, back to your elementary days, I know you already know this.”

“Which one?”

“Remember the flower petals? When you have a crush, you even say, ‘He loves me, he loves me not’. There are all seven petals, so it will always end up ‘He loves me.”

“Whoa! That’s sweet. Your grandfather is very romantic. But I don’t think I’m the one who deserves to wear this.”

“You’re a beautiful woman, Gina, and for me you deserve to wear that.”

He stayed there at Gina’s house for up to an hour because they were still discussing the details of their wedding. He also noticed that Gina always stared at the ring she was wearing, so he thought of giving it to her. He had no intention of giving the ring to her because he knew that ring has a sentimental value. But his father insisted that he just give it to Gina instead of buying a new one. After all, he will marry Gina. The woman he’d been attracted to beyond the physical. It’s just that he can’t enter into a real relationship because it’s a burden on his job. It’s not hard to fall in love with Gina, so he’s afraid to get close to the girl. He never thought of having a family of his own. That’s one of the reasons he’d been assigned to this job because apart from being one of the best agents in their agency, he was also lack of attachments. But now, he had this so-called an ‘achilles heel’ and Brando Nicolas knew about it.

He knew there was really doubt in Brando’s eyes when he said that he and Gina were getting married. Although, he is no longer afraid that Brando will use Gina for his personal happiness because all he knows is that Brando is not dating a married woman. Even so, he was still worried about what might happen, because he knew that Brando would still use her against him. That’s why Gina had to be guarded and protected, because by the time Brando found out his identity, she would be the first one that Brando went after. And he will never let that happen.

He saw that Gina is yawning, so he thought of letting her rest. “Gina, I think I need to leave now.”

Before he left, he first helped Gina to put away the food they had eaten. While Gina was soaping the plates and glasses, he was the one who rinsed the dishes.

“Are you tired?” He whispered close to the girl’s ear.

“Uhm… yes, but I can’t fall asleep right after work.”

“So what else are you doing at this time?”

Gina let out a deep breath, he in turn stepped closer to the girl and he met her gaze.

“It depends.” Gina replied. “Sometimes I sew, or maybe I do an assignment, sometimes I write, too. Ace, have I already told you about the magazine article I’m writing?”

He could no longer hear the last thing Gina said to him because his attention was now distracted by the view in front of him. “You’re driving me crazy,” out of his mind he said.

Gina approached him and pressed her body to him. “What did I do?”

“You’re distracting me, because you’re not wearing a bra. You know that’s all I’ve been staring at all night.”

Gina touched both of his cheeks and caressed them. “Then kiss me.”

He just shook his head.

“Let’s just practice, Ace.”

“I don’t have to practice anymore, Gina, I had plenty of it.”

GINA

She hated every woman he’d ever touched. Kissed and pleasured. She can’t stand it. “I mean we need that. What if the judge says ‘you may now kiss the bride’ don’t we really need to kiss? maybe I don’t know how to meet that kiss of yours.”

“Don’t worry, sweetie, I know what I’m going to do.”

“You know, you are the most strong-willed man I’ve ever met.”

“I’m just a man. Like any other man.”

“Then show me, just touch me for a minute.” She said without hesitation. “Somewhere. Anywhere. Just for a minute, please.”

*****