Chapter 38

Ryo woke up with a smile plastered on his face. Ellie’s warm body beside him is a welcome change to his morning routine. He snuggled closer to her, hugging her body closer to his and smelling her hair. She always smelled so sweet. His shampoo on her hair smelled different. The woody scent of his shampoo smelled lighter in her hair. Ellie stirred in her sleep and turned to face him. Her breath fanned his neck, sending warm ripples to his body, waking his every nerve. Her rhythmic breathing told him she’s still in dreamland. He restrained himself from waking her up for another round.

Ryo’s lips stretched to a smile. It’s almost sunrise, and they barely had a sleep. He missed her so much; he did not let her go until they were both spent. His hands felt his phone on the bedside table and tapped on his calendar. He’s free for the rest of the week except for today. He groaned as he looked at what’s slated for the day. They are all important. He’s got a fan meeting and a tv show in the morning, then a talk show guesting in the afternoon. In the evening, he needed to attend the launch party of his upcoming movie. “Ugh!”

“Is there a problem, mahal?” Ellie asked in a husky voice. Her eyes still shut as she snuggled closer to Ryo.

“You awake, babe?”

“Hmm. What’s the problem?” She lifted her head from his chest so she could see him through her squinted eyes.

Ryo could not help but swallow at the sight of her. Even with bed hair and eye bags, she still took his breath away. Her skin shone with an after-sex glow. “My day’s packed today,” he sighed.

“I know. Then you’d be free for the rest of the week,” she said, looking at him. She still got the spaced out look on her face from just waking up. “Is she only sleep talking?” Ryo asked himself in confusion.

“That’s the best we can do.”

“We?”

“Yeah. Miyagi, Sam, and me. I’ve asked them to free up your week, but we could not delay these four. So, I asked them if we could have them all lumped in a day and get the rest of the week to ourselves,” Ellie explained. She rested her face on his chest and continued to close her eyes.

“I wanted to spend the day with you, mahal ko.”

“I know, babe. But it’s only one day then we’d be together for the next five days.” She beamed at him with her brightest smile, but it was not enough to wipe the frown away from his face. She held both sides of his face with her hands and squished his cheeks. “Come on, baby Ryo, smile for me,” she baby talked.

Ryo gave her a forced smile. “You want to come with me?” he asked, but Ellie shook her head in response. His mouth pouted again. “Why?”

“Because I want you to focus on your work. Do your thing.”

“What will you do the entire day?”

“Hmm… I could go shopping.” She winked at him, to which he responded with an eye roll.

“Come on, let’s get up. Miyagi said you need to be in the studio early.” Ellie said as she removed the blanket covering her nakedness and moved out of the bed. Ryo watched her back as she put on his shirt on her body. “I’ll make some breakfast. I’ll wait for you in the dining area. Move your butt.”

Ryo watched as Ellie tidied herself and walked out of the room as if she owned the place. With heavy movements, he got out of the bed and showered. He wanted so much to lock himself up in his room with Ellie today, but a boy could only dream.

He’s dressed in one of Ellie’s oversized shirts. This one’s screaming pink, but he did not care. Ellie’s brow was to the roof when she saw what he’s wearing, but he only gave her his matinee idol smile and sat on the chair.

“Ryo, don’t you want to change to something more appropriate?” she could not help but ask as she put friend rice on his plate.

“It’s alright, babe. Besides, I love this.” he shrugged and put a spoonful of fried rice in his mouth.

They had their breakfast together in silence. Ellie made sure he ate everything she put on his plate. She did not need to prod him, because Ryo missed her cooking so much.

“Babe, make sure you use the card I gave you when you go shopping.” Ryo said. They both sat in the back passenger seat of his car. Sam drove while Miyagi sat in the front passenger seat. Ellie looked at him with furrowed brows.

“What card?” she asked in confusion.

“The card I gave you before I went back here.”

“You did not give me a card, baby. I don’t remember.”

“Of course, I did.” To prove his point, Ryo took the bag that she put on her side and scrambled inside to look for her wallet. He opened it and checked the card slots. He pulled out a black card from one of the card slots in her wallet. “This card.” he said, holding up the card with his middle and index finger.

“When did you give me this again? How come I don’t remember?” she looked at him and the card he held between his fingers.

“I put it in there before I left.”

“And why did you do that? I mean, I have my card.”

“Because I wanted you to use my card, baby. But it seemed like you have not even noticed it all.” He said, feeling hurt and amused at the same time.

Ellie took the card but instead of putting it back in her wallet, he gave it to Ryo. “I have my card, Ryo, and I also have enough cash with me.”

Ryo did not know what to make of Ellie. Part of him was happy she’s independent but the other part of him felt miffed she did not need his money. He was not used to women declining his financial support. And he wanted so much to splurge on Ellie. “Baby, just take it OK? Please…” he gave her his puppy dog eyes. It does the trick, but not this time. Ellie looked at him with NO written on her face.

“Ryo, I am not comfortable spending other people’s money. You worked hard for this; you should use it.”

“But I am not ‘other people,’ Ellie.” Ryo said, his voice with a tinge of hurt. “You’re right, mahal, I worked hard to earn it, and who else would I spend it to but you? Let’s please not fight over money.”

Ellie looked at him, wanting to refuse him again. But when Ryo pursed his lips, she let out a sigh, took the card and put it back in her wallet. “Thank you, baby. Please make sure you use it.” Ellie took the card but said nothing. She put the card back to her wallet’s card slot and returned it to her purse.

After dropping Ryo and Miyagi to the studio, she and Sam headed stationery shop. She wanted to shop for some calligraphy and writing supplies. Bookstores and stationery stores are her paradise on earth. Her long-standing love affair with pens and stationeries goes back to when she was a child. Some people collect shoes and bags, well, she collects pens. Ellie scoured each aisle, testing each pen she could get her hands on.

She’s standing at the counter getting ready to pay when Sam, whom Ryo insisted to go with her, reminded her to use Ryo’s card. Ellie rolled her eyes at him but took Ryo’s card and used it to pay for her haul.

After the stationery shop, she and Sam went to a kitchen supplies store. She bought some pots, pans, cute plates and cutleries, and some kitchen gizmos. Since they’re heavy, Ellie asked them to deliver it to Ryo’s penthouse. Again, she swiped it on Ryo’s card.

Feeling hungry, she and Sam had lunch. She asked him to bring her to his favorite restaurant, to which he reluctantly obliged. Unlike the first two shops, she insisted to use her own money for their meal. They ate together like friends, sharing stories and laughing.

Ryo’s next schedule is at a fans meet in an events hall not far away from where she and Sam ate.

In a spur of the moment, she told Sam she wanted to go to the event. She bought a ticket, a cd, and a movie poster at the entrance. They then queued up like any other fan. She forbade Sam from using his connections to get them in.

It is a publicity event for a movie he and Sofia Jones did. The movie will hit the theaters in a week. Screaming fans armed with banners and posters packed the venue. The endorphin level of the place is contagious. Ellie could not help but feel the hype. Her heart thumped to the rhythm of the music as the sound system blasted.

Ellie thought her eardrums have already reached its noise threshold. But she couldn’t be more wrong. The decibel level in the venue rose. The hundreds of fans that packed the venue screamed their heads off. They waved the posters and banners they brought with them, screaming Ryo’s and Sofia’s name. Some girls even held boards with LED lights. They held them above their heads while chanting their idol’s names. She knew Ryo is a popular actor based on what Naya said but she did not know girls go gaga over him. And she knew that whatever she experienced now, it’s only the tip of the iceberg.

The stage darkened. The upbeat music playing competed with the crazed fans screaming their heads off. Some of them shouted ‘I love you, Ryo!’ at the top of their lungs. Ellie smiled at the realization of how much love the love of her life received.

The venue almost exploded when Ryo and a pretty girl, who she assumed was Sofia Jones, danced up to the stage. They danced to the upbeat music in sync. Every time he held her close to him, the audience screamed in excitement. She, too, felt the chemistry between the two and could not help but feel giddy.

The girlfriend in her could not believe that she’s shipping her boyfriend to the girl he’s dancing with. Shouldn’t she feel jealous? She examined her feelings and did not feel a hint of jealousy at all. She felt the same feeling she felt as a teenager shipping her favorite teen idols.

They looked so good together. After the exhilarating dance number, the emcee took over the show. Ryo and Sofia went back stage. After ten minutes, they emerged hand in hand from the backstage and sat side by side to answer fan questions.

Ellie put her electronic translator on so she could understand the conversation.

Fan: “Is there a chance that you two could go back together? You belong with each other.”

Ellie’s eyes darted to Sam, who looked like he wanted to disappear. He cleared his throat before he explained to her that Sofia was Ryo’s former lover.

Ellie felt a tug in her heart as she looked at the two upstage. She forgot to listen to the translation that’s playing in her ear. Her eyes fixed on Ryo and Sofia.

“It’s only for work,” she told herself. She repeated it several times until she believed it.

After the quick question and answer, the fans lined up to have their merch signed. Ellie contemplated if she would queue up like the rest. “I’m already here, might as well,” she told herself. She stood up and walked up to the queue like everyone else.

“Your name?” he asked without lifting his head.

“Ellie.”