Chapter 9
Night begins to fall covering the air with an ebony buffed sensation. Michael skillfully pulls the rudder and soon the motorboat starts heading its way toward Isla Carillo. He is standing on the front while working on the boat’s balance, and Mikaella Lee sits at the middle. When the motorboat gains its steady motion, Michael comes nearer and sits inches away from her, their knees touch each other and the smell of male cologne calmly enters Ellah’s olfactory nerves leaving an endless impression.
The moon starts peeping and the dark fluffy clouds disappear to fully illuminate Mikaella Lee’s bare face. Her heart beats faster as Michael’s head almost touches hers when he comes closer to fix the rope behind her. Ellah positions her two hands on her chest while trying to maintain balance, her lips ready to scream. Mikaella Lee’s initial reaction does not escape Michael’s sneaky looks. He grins in silence and prolongs his moment of tying the rope on the piece of wood at her back.
Just a few minutes away from the shore, Mikaella Lee hears a shrieking sound from the boat’s engine, and after a few more squealing sound, it finally stops. The moon spreads brightly its light on the drifting boat below. After exchanging a few lines of argument with Michael, she shuts her mouth and chooses to remain quiet. During fine weather, Isla Carillo is just 10 minutes travel, but during monsoon season, it takes 15 minutes or more. Ellah tries not to burst in anger again as Michael’s planned sabotage pops in her mind. He could have done the engine’s failure on purpose. For a chief engineer, Michael knows it is a minor disaster and without a sweat, he could easily fix it. But he is unwilling to do the repair especially now that he enjoys the moment.
Thirty minutes passed and they are still at the middle of the sea. Mikaella Lee sits uncomfortably at the piece of wood situated at the middle of the boat while Michael leans on the pole facing her at the other end. She does not know exactly where they are, so she breaks the silence by telling him to try testing the engine once again. But before Michael could reach the device on the bottom part at the back, he needs to pass through Mikaella Lee. He is trying to get there when he loses balance and immediately falls on Mikaella Lee causing the two of them to fall together. Their bodies touch each other as he is lying inches away on top of her. Mikaella Lee holds her breath and tries to maintain balance for the current below is tossing them in sideward motion.
Before she closes her eyes, Ellah sees the moon smiling down and the air lulls the boat in perfect lullaby. Michael understands the appalling look on her face. They are on the middle of an awkward situation and his mind urges him to lay his lips on hers, but an unfamiliar spot on his heart tells him to control his emotions. It is disappointing to move away and pull his body backward, but Michael gathers his strength to return his sanity and gets up saying, “I’m sorry. I’m going to the engine.”
They reach Isla Carillo without saying a word, and the moment the boat touches the shore Mikaella Lee gets off and walks hurriedly to her cottage. She slams the door and leans behind it, holding her heart while releasing the huge mass of air she has been keeping after that close encounter on the boat. Michael on the other hand after securing the moorings of Alex Menor’s boat heads slowly to his cottage, his steps are numbered while his mind flutters in mixed disappointment and relief. He could have done anything that would satisfy his manhood earlier, but there is something he couldn’t understand. He is certain the sight of Mikaella Lee will surely kill him tenderly and softly even he’s far away if he’ll do that.
The night is long, and sleep becomes elusive for both Ellah and Michael. The thought of the previous incident keeps them both rolling on bed. The feeling is intense for Mikaella Lee. Vince Madrigal kissed her several times in the past, but never those kisses penetrated on her soul and left her hanging on air wishing for more. She experienced that moment with Mark. Their first kiss was soft and gentle, but it caused her spirit to float in unfamiliar layers of wonder and awe, wishing to prolong the moment, hoping for more. The thought of Mark pinches her core. She could sense his sincerity and his love is pure and simple. And whether she admits it or not, her heart could not tell a lie.
Michael Amoroso gets up and proceeds to the window where the sight of Mikaella Lee’s cottage is accessible. It is nearly 2AM and he is still thinking of his moments with her, trying to decipher the meaning hidden on his neighbor’s facial expression. There is something in Mikaella Lee’s face that Michael needs to be certain. His flirting with different women of diverse races and orientation makes him expert in reading emotions, and he couldn’t accept that his expertise stumbles this time. Mikaella Lee challenges his capability and ego.
She wakes up one morning listening to Elisa’s big mouth. She just arrives from the mainland and the first news she delivers is Michael’s departure. According to her, Alex Menor hurried to go back to the mainland because Michael rushed to catch the trip to the city. She cannot fathom the emotion stuck inside. There is a part of her that rejoices, but another part, perhaps a bigger one, discreetly bleeds in mourning.
Michael boards PR 751 at 6:45AM bound for Okinawa. He stays for two days and one night in a hotel waiting for his agent to accompany him on the cargo vessel bound to Europe. Being booked in a five star hotel for free is one of the seafarer’s privileges plus the sumptuous food being served. During his stay, Michael enjoys every moment and takes the chance to check on his brother in Manila and his father in the province. Though the connection is poor, he managed to talk with Manuel Amoroso and asked him to visit Isla Carillo once in a while. He mentioned about his cottage and his neighbor. Manual Amoroso laughed aloud the moment he heard his son bothered about Mikaella Lee. The young lady is sweet and glamorous and Manuel Amoroso secretly favors her for a daughter in law.
Few minutes before the scheduled arrival of his agent, Michael wires Nazi Mumbaran at BTC Midship Office. She is at the middle of an interview with an applicant but Michael insists she goes to the comfort room. Nazi knows what Michael wants, and she is willing to provide that pleasure. After instructing the next applicant to wait for a while, Nazi slips at the cubicle in her office, and with the front cam of her cellular phone on the lavatory, she unbuttons her tailored blouse and unfastens her cup B triumph bra. Minutes later, Nazi hears Michael say, “I’m coming, baby…ooohhhhh!”
For her, that is satisfaction. She loves to hear him moaning and she loves to see him craving for something he couldn’t have. She feels satisfaction every time she sees Michael struggles to satisfy himself because she is not there physically, and she is just a fantasy. For her, that is getting even to playboys like her father.
Nazi returns to her desk with her signature pensive smile. While calling the next applicant, she couldn’t hide the energy she gains from a few minute break. Truly, Michael Amoroso is her power pill.