JUNE “Geez, why do I feel like something good happened?” Mark wrinkled his nose when I entered his car. “Because it did," I said as I tossed my bag to the back of the car and turned to face him, barely keeping the smile off my face. He's putting on orange cotton shorts, which he paired off with a black polo. He didn't rub any gel on his hair; rather, he left it natural. “So, what happened?” He placed his hands on the steering wheel. “And while you are at it, can you tell me why you sent me back last night with just a few words?” Though his face was neutral, I could tell he was not happy about the call I gave him last night. “Come on, I'm sorry,” I pouted and made baby faces. “I was just carried away. That was why. Don't be angry with me, okay?” I made to touch him but recalled the diamond weighing my finger down. I kept my left hand hidden, not ready for him to see it until I broke the news to him. I want him to be stunned enough to gape at me when he finally sees it. “And you
JUNE I had decided to march over to the ones sitting at the table next to mine to inquire about the reasons for their insult but Mark suddenly appeared, smiling as he placed the bowls of ice cream on the table. “I got your favourite, June. It's just a pity they don't have the coconut-flavoured one,” he said with a pout as he sat opposite me. The moment he sat down, the mutterings from the girls increased. “What's going on?” He turned to look at the girls, who immediately shut their mouths when they noticed his attention on them. “Do you think they are talking about us?” He focused on me. “I don't know,” I shrugged, opening the bowl, so I could see the goodies in it. I just can't wait to have my ice cream. “They seem to be looking at their phones,” Mark pointed out, discreetly looking around. At his words, I turned to look around. And sure enough, those girls were looking at their phones. “What else will they be looking for if not gossip?” I scoffed, turning once more to co
KRISTEN My morning was nothing short of boring. I started with a hot cup of coffee. People say that starting the day with a good coffee helps the day to go better. I can't help but agree. But when I realized that I had little to nothing to do, my spirits fell. Edith seemed to have attended to all my emails, and even sorted the files that needed signing, putting them to the side of my table where I could easily grab them and sign. God help me, I went through the files slowly and signed them one after the other intending to take more time than necessary. Just when I thought my day wasn't going to have any form of action, Edith walked in, flanked by someone on the side. "Hello Kristen, Miss Himaldila is here to see you." Dija stepped in smiling. "Thank you, Edith. Please close the door behind you." Edith shot me a questioning glare as she walked out. I could only shrug before the door closed behind her. "She is a great staff," Dija said, smiling at the closed door. "It's not
KRISTEN Good riddance. I fell into my chair. It's either Dija is crazy or delusional. I even see her bagging both qualities. What the fuck?! I see no reason why you should unnecessarily disturb yourself over something—someone—that you know doesn't give a fuck about you. Fuck it, I'm a man, not a dog. You can't just spread your legs and expect me to dive in like a fucking Olympic champion. Was I changing? The Kristen of old jumps at every offer to fuck. Did June have a hand in it? Yes, I realized that accepting my feelings for June made my life a whole lot better. There is this unusual eagerness to go home whenever I am at work. And the need to pull her close is so strong when we are together that sometimes, we end up in bed doing nothing but cuddling and rolling around until my needs are satisfied. To me, that is the life of perfection I've always prayed for. It warms my heart to see June glowing, laughing from her heart like I haven't seen her do in a very long time. It
JUNE “Slut?” I took a step towards her, with my brows raised. Though my legs felt like jelly, and my heart was beating miles a minute, I wasn't about to let someone insult me. “Who gave you the audacity to call me that?!” I narrowed my eyes at the girl, who looked smug. “I did,” she stepped forward, closing the distance between us. “Who gave you the right to act self-righteous when you are nothing but a needy bitch!” A slap accompanied her words. Before I could stop myself, my right hand had already done the job. She gasped, cradling her left cheek, with her eyes narrowed darkly at me. “How dare you?!” She raised her hand to slap me, and I got ready for it, but it was all interrupted by a call from Mark. “What's going on there?!” He ran towards us and got to me in less than ten seconds. “Are you okay?” He asked before he turned to face the lady, whose expression had dramatically changed. It wasn't that difficult to know that she had a crush on Mark. Well, I don't blame her. No
JUNE“Did you see the posts?" “Yes, I did,” he swallowed. “You weren't supposed to see it, doll. I'm sorry. I let you down.” His shoulders dropped. “I should have listened to you when you told me about your fears.”“It's alright,” I consoled him as I took his right hand in mine and laced our fingers. “Funny how I'm the one comforting you when you should be the one.” I tried to joke, to lighten the atmosphere, but it didn't give the desired effect. “I know,” he muttered. “I apologize for that, June. I was just… I thought…" “It's okay,” I forced a smile, knowing that we both can't be sad at the same time. “See you tomorrow, Mark,” I waved at my best friend before I led Kristen towards the house.“Call me if you need me!” Mark hollered, and I waved to tell him that I heard his words. I led Kristen into the house and towards the nearest couch in the parlour. I helped him sit before I went over to the kitchen and got a glass of juice for him. “I should be the one doing this, June," he
KRISTENIt's been so long since I experienced such stillness in my company.There was this invisible thread of surprise hanging above the roof of the building. Everybody did their thing quietly and nobody knocked on my office for most of the day. More than half of my shareholders had decided to withdraw their shares, some kind enough to explain that they didn't want the controversy over my head to affect them. The more courageous ones said my company was sure to fold up anytime soon and they didn't want to make losses.It's on track to say that I've lost more than half of my business partners.And yes, I've been trending on the news. You'd think that a scandal like the one I'm involved in would fade after some time.But it didn't. I'd wake up every day to see fresh headlines from journalists and bloggers who had no other news to cover and wanted to make up for their inefficiency. Funny enough, it always worked. The story of me and June always gathered traffic.I guess that's one of t
JUNEIt stings. Everything hurts. It felt like I had a run-in with a truck, and lived to tell the tales. My entire body ached so badly, it seemed like a heavy load was placed on it, especially my abdomen.The beeping sounds and murmured conversations caused me to open my eyes. I had to blink, to get my eyes accustomed to the brightness coming from the light bulb attached to the ceiling.“You were supposed to keep her safe!” I heard Kristen shout. It wasn't a whisper now, but a full-blown scolding.“I'm sorry,” Mark whispered. “It's all my fault. I shouldn't have let her leave my sight,” he sniffed.Even without seeing him, I can tell he's crying. And that alone tugged on my heartstrings.I opened my mouth, to call out to them, but I couldn't even utter a word. My throat felt parched. It felt like I hadn't taken any liquid for weeks—not like I had experienced that before.“No, it's not your fault,” Kristen whispered. “It's mine. I should have kept her safe. Hell, I shouldn't have acted