Chapter 32 - Decision

Ever since our little spat on graduation day, Glace and I haven’t talked about the subject of studying abroad for college. Though it has been one week, my decision hasn’t been made yet. Thankfully, she didn’t dare ask me about it or even had the guts to bring up the topic. I think she was as scared as me. Afraid that we’d be separated, but more frightened of holding me back from my dreams.

I have never thought of going to college somewhere far. Before this whole chaotic business about the fans and paparazzi came to be, I’ve envisioned myself attending the nearest culinary school, not going to France to be trained by a famous master chef.

Glace and mom were also right. If I attended school here, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate or make friends like normal people did. I’d spend my days hiding from the paparazzi and fans. It was for these reasons that I needed time to think things through. Not only for me and Glace at present, but for our future in general. I needed to be rational about this.

Poking my head through the kitchen, I saw my girlfriend, clad in jeans shorts, a red tank top, plus apron while she prepared pancakes. She had her back to me, giving me the opportunity to lean on the door frame and stare at her. Glace always loved to hum to herself while cooking. She was doing it now, her sexy butt moving sideways in a rhythm, oblivious of my presence behind her.

I couldn’t help but laugh when she changed her humming to beatboxing, rocking her head back and forth. She had many talents that I wasn’t aware of yet, even whilst I’ve known her for the longest time. Glace turned in my direction with a smirk when she heard me. “It’s always great to hear my baby laugh so early in the morning,” she said, raising the spoon she’s been using to whisk the batter.

Walking inside the kitchen, I sat on one of the stools in front of the black granite counter. “I didn’t know you’re talented at beatboxing,” I teased.

She shrugged, turning back to the mixture, pouring it gently on the pan. “I can do a lot of things with my mouth.”

“I know,” I said as I stood up, walking behind her. “You showed me last night remember?” I whispered near her ear. The small hair at her arms stood to attention. Smiling to myself, I slapped her behind and went back to the chair. “Cook me bacon?”

She cleared her throat, trying to recover her voice. “Sure. Anything for my Dulce.”

Minutes later, we sat side-by-side on the kitchen, eating pancakes and bacon, my favorite breakfast. “What are your plans for today?” she asked after sipping on her juice.

I attacked the bacon with my fork. “Why do you think I have plans?”

“Because your hair is wet, which means you took a shower already. Without me,” she added with meaning behind her voice. Ever since I’ve started sleeping here, Glace always finds every excuse to take a bath with me. Not that I’m complaining. “You’re also wearing different set of clothes,” she murmured. I glanced down at my jeans and blue tank top. The observation skill of this one is astounding, I thought.

“Yeah about that. . .” I trailed and took a bite of bacon. “Can I borrow your cap if you have another one? And sunglasses too. I want to go to the park.” Chewing slowly, I waited for her to digest the information I said.

“Sure. I have lots of that.”

I was waiting for her to ask me questions. Other people would interrogate their girlfriends about where they were going, who they were going with, and what they would do, but Glace wasn’t like that. She was contented with what I gave her. And because of that, I loved her more.

Thirty minutes later, I took one of her cars and drove straight to the park alone. Truth be told, I wasn’t meeting anyone. I needed time for myself. Time to think about my future. Arriving at the park, I sat on a bench underneath a large tree. Leaning comfortably on the metal seat, I stared at the clear sky, enjoying the sunlight as it touched the leaves of the tree.

A mother with a toddler beside her passed by, totally ignoring me. It must be because of the disguise I was wearing. If only I could wear it every time, I thought sadly. But I knew it was impossible. What about in college? People would definitely recognize me when I show up for classes. I’d never make friends at school who I could trust. At the back of my mind I’d always wonder if everyone was befriending me because of my relationship with Glace.

Aside from that, Patty and Tim wouldn’t be able to have my back all the time since they were going to different universities. Tim wanted to be a lawyer like his parents, while Patty was aspiring to be an editor. They couldn’t protect me in college even if they wanted to. The same goes for Glace. Sooner or later she would go back to shooting movies, and I’d be left alone with no career and nothing to prove for myself.

Even if she did turn her back on being a celebrity, I wouldn’t want her to be stuck with someone who had nothing to offer. Like it or not, I was nothing yet. A nobody. Though Glace was head over heels for me, I wanted something more for myself. Something of my own. Something I could be proud of.

On the other hand, being apart from Glace would kill me. The separation would eat me alive, and I wasn’t sure if I could handle it. Plus, my mom would stay here because of her job. I’d be alone there, having a fresh start, but without all the people I loved.

Culinary takes 2 to 4 years to finish. Even if I took the shorter route, training under a mentor and building a name for myself would take a year or so, maybe more. It would take a lot of guts and inspiration for me to face all those challenges without the usual support system.

Sighing, I looked at the sky again. Glace told me to fly on my own to be happy, and return to her someday. But was it the right decision? Could I leave her for 4 years more? I needed to talk to someone, anyone besides Glace and my family. Knowing exactly who to call, I took the phone on my pocket and dialed her number. She answered in an instant. “I never thought you’d call,” she said after picking up.

“Meet me at the park. I’m here right now, in one of the benches near the hike trail.” Waiting for her to say yes, I said my goodbyes and ended the call.

Twenty minutes after, Denise walked confidently to me, wearing her usual skirt and fitted top. “Babe I’m so sorry,” she said in a rush after sitting next to me, looking in my direction.

She was about to say more but I cut her off with a shake of my head. “I didn’t ask you to come here for that. It’s too late for regrets Denise. Everyone knows about me and Glace.” She swallowed hard, looking like she wanted to crawl inside a hole.

Wanting to take a better look at her, I removed the sunglasses and stared at her. “Do you know that I had the biggest crush on you for the longest time?” I told her. She shook her head and looked confused.

“Well I did. When you enrolled at our school in junior high, I literally thought that Barbie came to life.” She burst out laughing, pinching my right cheek softly. At least her sadness was gone. “Yeah I know it was stupid of me,” I continued. “But I knew something was different about you.”

She raised an eyebrow, a very Denise move that I honestly missed. “What?”

“I knew from the start that you were lesbian,” I said. “And knowing that someone as cute as you was like me, I wanted to get closer. That’s why we became friends.” Staring at the sky, I shielded my eyes with my hands. “I told you that I liked you at the time and when you turned me down, I was so disappointed, embarrassed even. To think that a pretty girl refused me kind of bruised my ego.”

She placed her hand on my left leg, making me look back to her. “I’m sorry Dulce. I was so scared to admit my feelings for you. Popularity was everything to me. I thought everyone would hate me when they find out.”

“Did you really love me? Or was I another kingdom that you wanted to conquer?”

She bit her lower lip and hesitated. “I. . .” Looking away she whispered, “I really loved you. Still love you.” Denise cleared her throat, glancing back to me. “Babe you’re everything to me. Leave her. I can make you happy too.”

I shook my head, watching as her face fell. “I can’t. . . I’m in love with her. I’m in love with your sister.” Raising my hand, I caught the first stream of tears that dropped. It was all I could do for her now, to be honest and set her free.

She cried quietly, shaking slightly in front of me. “Why can’t it be me that you’re in love with Dulce? With billions of people in this earth, you had to fall for my illegitimate sister. I hate her!” she sobbed, angrily wiping the tears with the back of her hands.

She was saying all these things and yet I still couldn’t get mad at her. In fact, I felt sorry for her. “I can’t tell my heart who to love Denise. That’s just the way it works, I said clearly so she’d understand. “I can love you too, but not the way you want. That part of me will always be hers.”

Without asking for my permission, she pressed her body to me for a hug, her cinnamon scent that I used to enjoy engulfing me once again. “If Frio didn’t come along or if I said yes when you confessed to me, did I really have a chance with you?”

I thought about her question and answered as honestly as I could. “Yes. Because I knew that you’re a good person deep inside.” She turned rigid against me, realizing for the first time that she lost something beautiful when she rejected me. Pushing her away, I stared her deep in the eyes. “It’s for that reason that I want you to promise me something.”

Her lips trembled. “What?”

“That you’ll take care of her for me.”

Confusion lined her features. “What exactly are you saying Dulce?”

I leaned back on the chair, replacing the sunglasses on my eyes. “I’ve decided to leave for France to study culinary.” Turning to her I murmured, “I want you to take care of your sister while I’m gone.”

She started to recoil from me, moving an inch away on the bench. “I can’t. I just can’t babe. How can you say that?” She glared at me but couldn’t do anything more. Because she loved me, she wouldn’t dare attack me like she did with Glace. What I was asking of her was insane, but I needed someone to look after my girlfriend. “I’d rather cut off my blonde hair than become Frio’s slave.”

“You’re not going to be her slave,” I explained patiently. “I just want you to check on her from time to time when I’m away. You have a lot of friends Denise, she only has me. Can’t you do it for me?” I pleaded.

“I can’t,” she answered with finality. “I hate her too much.”

I touched her gently on the shoulder. “You’re just saying that. But I know you’ll do it because I asked you to.”

She pursed her lips, not knowing what to say. We stayed in a comfortable silence for a while, listening to the chirping of the birds and the rustle of the leaves as the blowing of the wind made it dance on its place above us. After a couple of minutes she asked, “Why do you want to leave for France?” Her voice told me how curious she was.

“It’s not that I want to. It’s more like I need to,” I said. “Consider it an investment for the future.” I conveniently left the part about how my life was permanently wrecked because she sent the picture of me and Glace to the paps. There was no use making her guiltier than she already was. Besides, I really needed for her to take care of Glace.

Glancing at my watch, I saw that we’ve been talking for 2 hours. It was time to go home to my future wife and savor what little time I had with her. Standing up from the bench, I offered a hand to Denise. She took it and stood up, stunning me with a warm embrace. “I know you love her now. But I will work hard and someday prove to you that you can love me too. I will win you back.”

Pushing her gently away from me so I wouldn’t offend her, I gave her a kiss on the cheek. It was for goodbye. “Start proving that you’re worth it by taking care of her. Goodbye babe,” I said and started to walk away, not glancing back in her direction.

Driving back to Glace’s house, I was surprised to see my girlfriend swimming on the pool. She rarely used it, saying that she preferred running instead of swimming. She swam in my direction after seeing me, floating on the edge of the rectangular pool.

“Someone looks hot,” I said naughtily while looking at her cleavage, displayed sexily by her black string bikini. If only I could sing praises for the geniuses who invented that.

She smiled widely. “Look who’s talking,” she murmured suggestively. “Want to join me for a swim?”

“Sure.”

Pulling the top I was wearing over my head, I heard Glace say, “You’re not going to change into a swim suit?”

“Nah,” I replied as I removed my sneakers and socks, followed by the jeans I was wearing. Without looking at her reaction, I jumped on the pool, resurfacing after a few seconds. Glace swam expertly to me, pushing the wet hair out of my face.

“Well hello there sexy,” she smirked, her eyes trailing to my chest which was covered by my pink undies. “God Dulce, you’re so beautiful.”

Her compliments never failed to make me blush. I splashed her with water to hide the fact that I was smitten by what she said. “You said that last night,” I whispered as I wrapped my arms around her neck, pulling her to me.

“Don’t forget the night before that,” she whispered, touching my nose with hers.

“Stop making my knees shake McKenzie. We’re on a pool.”

Glace caught me by surprise when instead of replying, she nipped my lips softly with her teeth. My hormones went up the roof in seconds. “Baby,” I whispered as I felt her hands go behind my back, unclasping what was left of my clothes.

I almost forgot my name when her tongue glided on my neck, the butterflies trying to break free from my stomach. “We’re out in the open. Someone might see.”

“That’s why I had them construct high walls. And a gate,” she said distracted as she began teasing her favorite spot on my chest. I gasped, letting her work her fingers magically.

“I’m so horny right now,” I murmured, looking straight at her coffee colored eyes. My back touched the wall of the pool. Apparently, we were moving even if it didn’t feel like it.

“Let me take care of that,” she grinned. Disappearing underwater, I watched fascinated as her hair bobbed softly on the surface of the pool. The movement she made underneath made me grasp her shoulder tightly. Biting my lips, I enjoyed her gentle teasing. She resurfaced after a few seconds, trying to catch air. “Want another one Dulce?” Glace said with a mischievous smile, lust taking over her features.

She was so happy that I felt it wasn’t the right time to tell her about my decision. I’d tell her after. Giving her a slight nod, I hauled myself up from the pool.

I made a come here motion with my finger. “I’m giving you five minutes to take me to bed.”