Snow White

 It was a busy day at the office when she walked in. He was on his way out when a tall figure appeared at the doorway.

“I'm looking for the boss?”, she coyly asked.

--”Oh, she's currently out. You are?”

“______.”, she replied.

--”So pleased to meet you! Won't you sit down and let me make you a cup of coffee.”

They were almost inseparable after that first meeting. They would take ciggy breaks together. They would talk and have breakfast or lunch together. She was quite interesting, he thought but he would never make a pass though he found her sexually appealing. He would watch her work, awed by her very presence in the same room. She was efficient to a point where it was almost cold and ruthless. Seeing her at work inspired him. As time passed, he felt she was the reason he got up in the morning but still, he would never dare ask her out.

One day, they actually did.

She had the day off and he was just coming back from a shoot out of town. He was just banking on the offhand chance that she would have coffee with him and she did. He got to the coffee place ahead, took a table outside so he could smoke and make a few more calls...

She arrived a half-hour later. Women after all, must take their time in the shower. He was not displeased but she apologized for being late. As she approached, he completed a head-to-foot scan of the subject and noted the low-cut blouse and tight jeans.

They talked like they normally did but the conversation was more casual, more personal. They had learned much about each other in such a short span of time or so, it seemed. They had watched the fish in the pond behind the coffee place and witnessed a beautiful, golden-pink sunset. She was letting her hair down for the first time and he was enjoying the company. He was charmed!

Coffee had turned to dinner – pizza and pasta plus more conversation. They laughed and had a really good time. The air had turned nippy and the clock was ticking. He knew at some point the meeting had to be adjourned.

Much to his surprise, she picked up the tab. She said it was the least she could do for him, having been such pleasant company. He let it go, careful not to ruin a perfect evening as it was. She put on a jacket feeling a slight chill. He was rather disappointed that the cleavage was concealed but it was okay. She was worth the wait, he thought.

A few days after that date, they were phone pals. They would talk until the wee hours of the morning. Thank God for modern technology – one no longer needs to cradle a handset between the shoulders and the ears – headsets are now standard with today's mobile phones!

They became good friends in a short span of time. He had earned her trust and she would go with him on a shoot away from the city. He had planned for the team to leave Manila before midnight. She sat beside him in the van. They would talk all the way to La Union, a good 6-hour drive from the metropolis.They would share a room together but he played the gentleman all the way. He slept on his bed and she in hers.

He was lying down on his side of the room when she asked: “Why do you have your back turned on me?”

--”I just need to get some shut eye. We've been up since Manila. I need some rest for the shoot. What's the matter, you miss me already?”

“NO, of course not!”

--”Okay, here let me call you on the cell phone...”

She cracked up!

She took a shower and emerged from the bathroom with little more than a towel which barely covered her shapely legs. He buried his head in his pillow...

“Oh Lord, is this going to be that kind of day for me?”, he thought to himself.

It was work that brought him there and so he went right to it. He had to catch the sun as it broke through the mountains and before it faded into the sea. He was good at what he did and he loved working – it was his lover, his wife and mistress.

She was asleep long before he had gone to bed. The room had been dark when he walked in. He had only enough strength to take a shower and lay down. They would talk in the morning....

The morning sunlight beamed down from the bare windows. She was awake when he opened his eyes. Her feet were pointed towards the headboard and he had a good view of her long legs which were uncovered. She was wearing skimpy shorts but she had socks on. She was looking at him.

He forgot he too was wearing boxers. He felt a tightness down below and he wished he was wearing a cod piece when he felt it.

“I saw something.”, she impishly remarked.

--”What?”

“I won't tell. Let's just leave it as one of those things we can't talk about.”

--”Fine!”, he said but he was quite uncomfortable. He would look back at that moment at some point in the future and be proud to have been restrained.

The assignment had to end and they were back in Manila before he could consider making a move. It was while he was in post-production that the opportunity came...

“Can I see you?”, the text message read.

He decided to call, feeling some sense of urgency. “What's wrong?”, he asked.

--”I just need someone to talk to...my boyfriend and I had a big fight.”

“Where do I find you?”

--”I'm in a motel in Cubao. Can you come for me?”

“I'll be right there!”

A crazy thought entered his mind as he sat in the cab. He brushed it aside thinking: “Let life play itself out.”

His heart was pounding as he checked in at the front desk and all the way up until he found himself at the doorway of her room. The door was ajar. She had left it unlocked for him to walk right in. The room was dark. She intentionally turned off the lights. The bathroom door opened, lighting a small part of the room. It was bright enough for him to recognize her figure as she exited. She was already dressed in a loose blouse and shorts, her hair dis-shelved and wet. He stayed at the entrance and decided to ring her phone before entering.

“Oh, you caught me there!”, she exclaimed.

--”I didn't want to scare you.”

“That's okay. Sit down, make yourself at home.”

He took the chair at the far end of the room. He was trying to put as much distance between them. He would try his best to behave.

She saw he was avoiding her. “What are you doing there?”, she asked.

--”Oh, I'm good. I'll stay right here if you don't mind.”

“I do mind! I just got off the shower. Do I smell bad or something?”

--”No, not at all! You smell very n-nice...actually.” He was trying not to show the tremble in his voice.

“Come sit on the bed with me.”, she ordered then she lay down.

He lay as far away from her as possible. It was a small bed and staying away from her was next to impossible! He had his back turned to her...

“That's really rude!”, she pointed out.

--”What is?”, he asked.

“Why won't you face me? I want you to look at me while we talk!”

He turns over and faces her. She moves towards him and snuggles...

“Am I such a difficult person to love?”, she almost pleaded.

There was no way for him to answer that. He had his arms around her. She had her eyes closed. He was way beyond his boundaries. There was no turning back!

Without saying a word, he kissed her nape. She barely resisted. Piece after piece, her clothes came off. Silently he worked. Her moans guided him where to go. His eyes were closed and his fingers were mapping out her body—slowly, gently at first. He was feeling his way through. Less than 2-months after that meeting at the office, he was loving her—passionately, violently! This was a moment that could wait no longer. He took her regardless of consequence. There was no time for remorse. He did not want to wake up in the morning in his own bed asking, “What if?”

It was 2am when he first entered the room. It was way past lunchtime when he left.