"THE PLAN"

"What did you say?" I chuckled at the image that crossed my mind of my brother Andrew's possible reaction to that question. He was on the other end of the line, and I had just told him that Marius was my boyfriend. I understood why it might be hard for him to believe, considering my history as a bit of a man-hater.

"Why? Don't you like him for me?" I asked with a wide smile on my face, echoing what Marius had said last night. He had traveled out of Manila at seven in the morning, and it was already past eleven. Truth be told, I was missing him.

"It's not like that. But didn't you just meet Marius recently?" Andrew replied from the other end of the line.

"Look who's talking!" I couldn't help but retort.

"Hey," my brother said. I knew he understood what I meant, and I could sense the smile in his voice. "We're in different situations, Sam. Plus, you're a girl, and I'm a guy," he emphasized.

I just shrugged and placed the book I was reading on the center table. I was on the veranda,