CHAPTER 2 – THE BEGINNING

The clubhouse had always been full during weekends. Families came here to swim, play tennis, work out in the gym or enjoy relaxing massages at the spa. Saturdays were particularly busy for even the young executives who lived in the nearby towers came here to unwind. Nicole had to suit herself with going to the gym alone since Andrew and their son, Adrian, were invited to join another father-and-son team in an impromptu tennis match.

Nicole went through her usual routine of treadmill and stationary bike and was about to take a 15-minute breather on one of the sofas in the lounge when she saw that every chair was already occupied. Since she still had about twenty minutes before the yoga session started she decided to go to the pantry and get a drink instead. She was pleased to see that she would have the pantry to herself and immediately took one of the metal stools at the counter.

She was enjoying her watermelon-flavored water when the double doors to the pantry swung open with such force that it crashed against the adjacent wall to admit a tall, young man in a dark jogging outfit. He’d obviously just finished his run for he went directly to the refrigerator and did not even notice her sitting on the stool. When he turned around, he was surprised to find her there and seemed rather embarrassed by his crude entrance.

          “Oh, hi! I’m sorry about that, I didn’t know someone was already here. I hope I didn’t frighten you with all that noise”, he said sheepishly.

          “It’s okay. I’m used to such racket. I have a 14-year-old son who is always crashing into things”, she said smiling up at him.

          “Really? Glad to hear that. At least I don’t have to feel guilty about scaring you to death,” he said, laughing.

          “Don’t worry, I don’t scare easily,” she said.

          “Good,” he said, smiling as he took the other stool and sat across her.

          “Do you come here often?” he asked, leaning towards her, his drink momentarily forgotten, clasped firmly within his hands. Nicole noticed that he had long, graceful fingers.

          “Weekends usually, or when I get bored, whichever comes first,” she shrugged, “What about you?”

          “Every day, actually. I work here,” he said, trying to sound casual about it.

She was a bit surprised by his answer since she knew that the gym staff were not supposed to use the members’ lounge and pantry and she felt that this guy, obviously being new at his job, would be in hot water for forgetting such a basic rule.

She felt she needed to remind him immediately before the other members found out, and started complaining about it but she did not know how to do it without embarrassing him so she decided to just keep quiet for the meantime.

          “Really? Are you an instructor or something?” she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

          “Nope”, he said, laughing, “Not here, as in here in the gym. I’m the new Property Head. I’m the one they call when something goes wrong with  maintenance, security, etc., basically the person everyone looks for when they need to complain about something.”

          “Oh, okay,” she said, nodding. Well, that changes things, she thought, glad that he won’t be in trouble afterall since one of the perks of his job is the privilege to be an honorary member of the clubhouse.

          “So what do you usually do here?” he asked, sipping his Gatorade.

      “Workout, usually. Tennis, sometimes,” she answered, noticing that he had beautiful, expressive eyes. What’s wrong with you!, she mentally chided herself. Stop it!

          “What about swimming?”

          “Nope, can’t swim. I’m a bit hydrophobic,” she said, feeling a bit self-conscious to admit this particular weakness to him.

          “Really? What about your husband, does he come here often, too.”

          “Yes, but he seldom comes here in the gym. Usually, he plays tennis with our son, Adrian. They’re actually there now. What about you? Do you have kids?”

          “Just one, almost five months old now,” he answered, his smiling eyes reaching out to her with a force she did not anticipate.

          “Wow, that’s nice, ” she mumbled, unsure why she felt a bit disappointed at that revelation.

          “He’s the one who woke me up earlier. When he’s hungry, he cries like it’s the end of the world,” he said, chuckling.

          “Babies are really like that. They are actually the most intolerant people in the world. Adrian was like that too,” she said, smiling, fondly remembering Adrian as a baby.

And so, they talked about their kids, his job, their kids, her interests, their kids, for more than an hour that she missed her yoga class entirely. It was only when Andrew sent her a text message asking her where she was that she realized how long they had been talking. She excused herself, thanked him for keeping her company and was about to leave when he stood up and said, “By the way, I’m Jared. Jared Illustre,” he said, extending his hand.

          “Oh, yeah... I almost forgot. I’m Nicole,” she said, casually taking his proffered hand. Neither one expected the effect that a simple handshake would have on both of them. Nicole let go of his hand and left hurriedly, her heart beating like a drum.  

Two months had passed before their paths crossed again. Nicole was on one of the lounge chairs near the tennis court watching Andrew at a doubles game with his business partner, Alfred, when a familiar voice greeted her.

          “Hey, long time, no see,” Jared said, his deep voice bringing back memories of their first meeting.

She looked up to find him standing near her chair. He was in a black jogging outfit with a gym bag slung casually across his shoulders. His back was against the sun so his face was in shadows, but she could tell that he was smiling down at her.

          “Hey! How are you? I haven’t seen you for quite a while,” she answered, trying to make her voice sound as casual as possible.

          “Yup. I was a bit busy and I didn’t have time to unwind. Good thing I already have an assistant now so I can take it slow for today.” He dumped his gym bag on the floor and took the seat next to hers.

          “Your husband’s good, huh?” he remarked, nodding towards Andrew.

          “You know him?” she asked, surprised that Jared already knew her husband.

          “Of course. Part of my job is to give a report to the board every month. Your husband’s the chairman, right?”

          “Oh, yeah! I forgot about the monthly meeting,” she said, feeling a bit foolish about her mistake.

          “I’ve actually been around twice, but I haven’t been able to catch you,”he said, his eyes locking onto hers.

          “Oh, really? When was that? I must have missed you,” she asked, trying to avoid his steady gaze.

          “Last Saturday. You were already leaving when I came by. I was hoping to catch you in the gym again, but I guess you came early that day,” he said. Nicole could feel that there was more to what he’s saying, but she purposely brushed it aside.

          “Ah, yes. We had a dinner date that time, so we had to leave early,” she said smiling at him.

          “So, how are you? What have been keeping you busy lately?” he asked.

And so they talked about what they were doing the past two months, stuff about themselves, his work, her boutique, her previous career, movies they had seen, and just about anything that came to mind. Although this was only their second meeting they both felt like they had known each other their entire lives.

Nicole was so engrossed in telling Jared about a peculiar customer she had that she did not notice that he had been completely silent for the last few minutes. When she looked up, she was surprised to find him staring at her, in deep thought, it seemed, since he did not smile back when she teasingly waved her hand before him. It felt like he was struggling with himself about something really important.

          “You know, I really enjoy talking with you. Is it okay if I call you from time to time? Or maybe I can just text you,” he said in a rush, afraid that he won’t have the nerve to ask again.

          His question caught Nicole by surprise. She did not know how to take it or even how to react. She felt that if she refused he would be offended and would think that she’s giving too much meaning to a friendly request. But then again, she also felt that it would be too risky to sustain a relationship with someone who made her feel something she didn’t quite understand yet.

Deep inside, she was afraid that this could lead into something more than just friendship.

          Jared felt the hesitation in her and wished he could take back his question. He wanted to assure her that he would not intrude on her life and that it was only friendship that he wanted from her. But even he wasn’t sure that that was entirely true. He had to admit that she had awakened things in him that he thought were already dormant; the feeling of excitement and anticipation at seeing someone, the eagerness to be near her and hear her voice, the sense of bliss and contentment she aroused every time they talked. He wanted to hear her answer yet he also feared that this could be the end of their budding friendship if she refused.

          After a few seconds, Nicole looked up and smiled at him. She fished inside her tote and pulled out a small business card.

          “Of course it’s okay to keep in touch. We’re friends anyway, right? Here, my mobile number is there. The address of my boutique is also there. You might want to drop by with your wife. Who knows, she might find something she’d like,” she said while handing him her card. She tried to make her voice sound as casual as possible, afraid that Jared might sense the tension within her.

          Jared did not realize that he was holding his breath while waiting for her response until he let out a sigh which he quickly disguised as light laughter.

          “Great! Maybe we could visit your shop and look around. I just hope I don’t get into too much debt with you! Ha! Ha!”

          “No problem! I’ll just tell the Board to impose a salary deduction on you,” she replied laughing.

It was then that they noticed that the tennis match had already ended. Andrew and Alfred shook hands with their opponents and walked towards them. Jared stood up to greet the taller of the two.

          “Hello, sir,” he said, extending his hand to Andrew.

          “Oh, hi, Jared. I see you’ve already met my wife,” Andrew said shaking Jared’s hand.

“Yes, sir. We met at the gym a couple of months back.”

“Good, good.” Andrew replied, accepting the fluffy towel Nicole was handing him.

          “Hi, hon. Nice game,” Nicole said, looking up at her husband. Andrew sat on the chair beside her and leaned close to give her a light kiss on the lips.

          “Yeah, great! We demolished them!” Alfred piped in laughing loudly.

          “Ha! Ha! We only won because they fell for your tricks. I don’t think they’d be as gullible the next time around, Freddie. We better shape up or we won’t be able to last the game,” said Andrew.

          “Speak for yourself! I’m in tip-top shape as you can see,” Alfred replied jokingly, gesturing to his slightly rounded belly.

          “Oh, I’m sorry, Jared. I forgot to introduce my partner-in-crime, this is Alfred Potenciano, my Senior-VP for Operations. Alfred, this is Jared Illustre, our new Facilities Manager,” Andrew said, introducing one to the other while they shook hands.

          “So, are we having dinner inside or at your place?” Alfred asked.

          “I think we’d better have dinner here. Adrian won’t be coming home ‘till after 9 so, I actually didn’t prepare anything at home,” answered Nicole.

          “Great! Maybe Jared can join us for dinner, too, ” said Andrew.

          “Oh, thanks for the invite, sir, but I really should be heading home now. The wife cooked my favorite dish, ‘sinigang’, and she’d have a fit if I didn’t make it in time for dinner,” Jared replied.

          “Is that right? Well, I think you really should get going now. It’s never a good thing to keep the wife waiting, they really can make life miserable when upset!” Andrew said teasingly while throwing a mischievous wink at his wife. Nicole couldn’t help but laugh, she always enjoyed Andrew’s light moods.

       “So, we better get going. We should not keep Jared any longer. Besides, I’m already famished,” Andrew said while taking his wife’s hand to help her get up.

After a round of goodbyes, the three headed for the clubhouse dining room, leaving Jared at the slowly darkening tennis court. None of them noticed that instead of hurriedly heading home Jared remained where they left him, staring at the window that led to the dining room, wistfully imagining a pair of seductive eyes smiling enchantingly at him, wishing that his made-up reason for refusing Andrew’s dinner invitation was true.