Chapter 20: it's a date

Maxine shifts, rubbing against my body and giving me a peck on the lips before getting up and taking the condom off. The bed suddenly feels cold. I watch her go into the bathroom without saying a word, then come back.  She's still naked, and even though I've just had sex with her, I can't help but admire her. What a body. She's glistening with sweat, her hair is disheveled, her lips are red, and she looks too sexy for her own good.

"Are you still mad at me?" she asks, running a hand through her hair, messing it up even more. "I honestly don't know; you can be pretty disturbing sometimes." She chuckles at my statement.

Am I mad at her? She's annoying, but that's nothing new. She was selfless tonight; caring. I can't complain; she gave me five orgasms. She showed me how amazingly mind-blowing she can be and didn't wait for anything in return.

Thinking about it, it's sort of uncanny, a woman like her being so selfless. It doesn't seem right. "I think I can forget about it if you answer something honestly."

"Okay, ask me," she says, her arms crossed, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. She's incredibly suggestive when she bites her lip. I shake my head.

Focus, Quinn.

"Why were you so focused on my pleasure tonight? binibilang mo pa nga pati orgasms ko?"

She stares at me for a moment, then shakes her head before answering. "I know you're just waiting for an opportunity to bolt, Quinn," she says, pointing a finger between us, then tucking it back into her hair. "I have to keep it interesting for you." She finishes, raising an eyebrow.

I nod; it makes sense. She definitely kept it enjoyable for me. I can't complain.

"Same time next Thursday?" she asks, tilting her head to look at my face.

"oo na, sige," I answer.

She gets up, gives me another peck on the lips, and leaves. It's so casual. I didn't know I could be this relaxed.

I understand everything now. She's good. No, she's amazing. That girl desperate to sleep with her again—I get her now. I am her now. What she did to my body today was undeniable, unbelievable.

She's so annoying, but I've had two sexual experiences with her now, and she's given me six orgasms in total. During four years of sex with Remy, I got zero. Do you know how much zero divided by four is? Yeah, still zero. Zero orgasms per year, zero each time we did it. Zero. Nada. Maxi's average is 3. It's pure math: 3 - 1. I don't fucking care that she's annoying. That's absolute math; math is logic; math is undeniable.

Maybe it's a blessing that she acts this way. Just imagine if she were caring, nice, or even romantic? I'd be down on my knees for her.

Uhm, wait, maybe that's not a good expression. Something tells me I will be down on my knees for her.

Well, the point is, I won't fall in love with her. Her annoying nature is a safety net. I'm protected from anything more serious; it allows me to have this fling without feeling anything else.

I'm safe.

I check my phone before bed and see a missed call from Remy. Was he calling while Maxine and I were doing it? He hasn't called since we broke up. What a perfect time to reappear.

I decide to leave it for now and not call him back. He's the last person I want to deal with right now, especially after tonight with Maxine.

Friday, cols told me she has a surprise for me, and I should go to her apartment directly after college. My eyes sparkle, and I can't contain my grin when I enter the place and see Jurio.

"Jurio!" I almost screamed before jumping on her. She was distracted, sitting on the couch.

Jurio is Cols's best friend and like a second ate to me. She used to spend more time at our house when she was younger than at her parents' house. Especially during adolescence, she often fought with her parents and would come to our house and spend the whole week there. My parents never minded; they always felt like she belonged to our family.

"Yiee, namiss kita quinnyy. A lot," she says, settling on the couch and hugging me as I sit beside her.

"I missed you too! Anyare sa'yo don???? Kwento mo lahat! I thought you'd stay at least another month!"

"It was amazing, Quinn, but money was tight, so I had to cut the trip short," she explains, pouting.

Jurio was traveling the world; she spent almost a year visiting every continent. She's an explorer, with a wild spirit I envy. She also had a huge fight with her parents, bigger than any other, and that was the main reason why she left. She needed time off, to find herself, to escape her parents' expectations and constraints. So she left for almost a year. She basically disappeared.

"You have to tell me everything, show me the pictures!" I say, clapping my hands excitedly.

"Uh-huh," I hear someone clear their throat behind me. "I see nothing's changed, Quinn. You still only have eyes for Jurio."

I turn around, realizing Jurio isn't alone. There's also Mattew, who just spoke, Cols, Gab, and Maxine, sitting in an armchair with a beer, looking bored.

"Hi, Mattew," I say, getting up to hug him. Charles excuses herself to go to the kitchen.

"Happy to see you too, little Quinn," he says, hugging me back. "You've grown up." He keeps his eyes on me after the hug.

Mattew is a good friend of my brother, though not as close as Jurio. He's the funny one of the group—Charles, Jurio, and Mattew were best friends, often at our place in high school that's all i know. I don't know how Maxine and gab joined their circle ig.

I was a kid then, 2 years younger, but they didn't mind my presence, especially Jurio, who always included me. The others probably just tolerated me because of her.

I ignore Mattew's comment and greet Gab. She looks like the "always the serious one" in their group, i did some research on him before and she's the second most intelligent person in the group. Shee got into every Ivy League school, studied at Harvard, and is now doing his Ph.D. in Astrophysics.

"Hey, Gab"

"Hey, Quinn, how are you doing? huling kita natin naglalaro ka pa ng billiards ah"

"haha, I'm great, you?"

"I'm great too," she says, flashing her white teeth, probably as shiny as the stars she studies.

I turn to Maxine. I should greet her, but I don't know how. Should I just say "Hi"? Should I hug her? A kiss would be wrong. I smile at her, debating internally. She stares at me, raising an eyebrow.

"Cols told me you and Remy broke up," Jurio says, stirring things up as she pulls me onto the couch beside her.

"Yeah," I reply, embarrassed, looking away from Maxine.

"So, single ka, Quinn?" Mattew asks. I see Maxine glaring at him. Before I can answer, Jurio intervenes, "She's still out of your league, Baliw!"

"Well, I never thought I'd have a better chance than you. I know you're her favorite," Mattew replies.

"Hoy, pinaghirapan ko ’yon" Jurio says, amused by the situation, not considering me a romantic interest or angry at Mattew. She's just going with the flow, having fun. Unlike Charles, as usual.

"Not that hard, Jurio," I say, winking and making her laugh.

"Not that hard? It's pretty arduous getting up at four in the morning para lang sumundo ng isang lasing na lasing na teenager sa isang party," I blush.

That actually happened once, when I got super drunk and kissed someone for the first time. It was stupid; the whole thing was horrible. I don't remember much, except wanting to disappear afterward. I felt claustrophobic and just wanted to leave. My friends were drunk and enjoying the party, but I hated my first kiss. I was afraid to call Cols, both because I was drunk and because I thought she'd know I'd kissed someone. I was really, really drunk. So I called Jurio, who came without questions, and to this day, hasn't told anyone.

"Shhh, Hindi pa rin alam ni cols ung tungkol dun!" I hiss.

They all laugh. Except Maxine, who doesn't look amused.

"Good, I'm back. Now that you're single again, I think I'll get my job back," Jurio says, winking at me. "Speaking of, we should get coffee tomorrow. You have to tell me what happened, Quinn."

We used to do that before she left. I always felt more comfortable talking about personal things with her than with Charles, maybe because she's not my real brother.

"Sure, if you tell me about your trip and show me pictures!"

"It's a date," Jurio replies, smirking at Mattew. But we both know it isn't.

As we laugh, I see Maxine fuming, glaring at me. What kind of ogre stepped on her toes?

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