Chapter 15

"Cosette," I heard his voice calling me, and then it was followed by a few knocks. I quickly closed the window in my room and attended to him as I opened the door. Bumungad naman siya sa akin. He's only wearing a white tee over a blue cardigan and a pair of denim pants. "Are you ready?"

"Oui," I acknowledged and picked up my bag where my clothes are. Isinakbit ko sa balikat ko ang strap pero agad namang inagaw ni Cashel iyon sa akin at siya ang nagbuhat. "Hindi naman mabigat 'yan. I still can carry it."

He shakes his head abruptly. Hindi siya pumayag so it's fine. "Your building doesn't have an elevator."

"Yup, fair enough."

"Why don't you just stay with us? Adie won't mind it. I don't mind it. And it'll be easy for your travel to go to school."

"I wish I can but I can't leave this apartment unattended," pagrarason ko.

"Victor can help you maintain this place," aniya. He's just trying to make something up for it para lang mapapayag niya akong tumuloy sa kanila. At saan din naman ako matutulog 'di ba? The last time I stayed at his place, at home ang feeling ko sa paghiga sa kama niya.

"No, he can't," sagot ko. "Victor has his own place to look after. And pwede naman akong pumunta-punta sa apartment niyo. I don't mind the long travel. But I'm fine here in my room, kahit maliit at masikip, it screams who I am."

"Qoui?" he squinted his eyes, confused by my statement.

Inilingan ko ang ulo ko. "No. joke lang, 'wag mo ng pansinin. Allons-y!"

Before we left, I checked if everything is secured so I don't have to worry about it. When I'm good to go, we head down the stairs. Pagkalabas namin ng sasakyan ay isang mustard yellow Lamborghini Urus ang bumungad sa akin. My mouth dropped when I saw Adeline waving at me from the backseat. 

"Where do you get all of these expensive, luxury cars? God, Cashel. You keep surprising me!" I was astonished. I'm not expecting he'll have different luxurious cars. Nakatira ba 'to si Cashel sa Dubai at lahat na lang ng mga mamahaling brand ng sasakyan ay meron siyang pagmamay-ari.

"Well, you know what my answer would be," ngisi pa nito.

"Of course, from your sponsors. Ang bigatin mo naman ha? Binibigyan ka lang nila ng mga supercars and you're just driving it around the city na parang wala lang. Mabuti na lang talaga walang uma-attack sa 'yo."

"Yup, the good thing that these people know how to respect my privacy," he said and he then opens the door next to the driver's seat for me. "S'il vous plaît, Mademoiselle."

"Merci Monsieur!" I giggled and hopped inside his car. He then closed it then head back of the car to put my stuff on the trunk.

"Salut Mademoiselle!" super energetic akong binati ni Adie mula sa likuran ng sasakyan at niyakap niya pa ako. She even planted a kiss on my cheek at naabutan ni Cashel iyon. He's smiling when he sees us so close to each other.

"Did you miss Cosette, Adie?" Cashel asked and then Adie settled herself in the backseat.

She nodded so charmingly by her response. Humahagikgik pa ito. Maybe she's just excited going back home so I guess that's just her natural behavior.

"We'll have all the weekend and the holiday until we came back to the busy life in Paris," Cashel said. "Settled yourself, guys, we'll be going."

Adie screams her excitement. Natutuwa naman ako sa kanya. She's always the happiest of everybody. I'm also glad that I have her in my class and see her grow every day. Para naman akong tao sa pag-aalala ko sa kanya but then he's my fake boyfriend's little sister and I kinda get used to it, too.

Nang mailagay ko naman ang seatbelt ko ng maayos, napansin kong nakaytitig sa akin si Cashel. I laugh a little when he's too serious by staring at me. I kinda like the way his eyes flirts on mine though. Pero hindi naman ako bibigay sa simpleng ninja moves o kung alam man niya ang ibigsabihin no'n.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" ang tunog pabebe ko sa pagkakasabi no'n. "May dumi ba ako sa mukha? Hindi ba pantay ang lipstick ko o masyadong mapula ang blush-on ko?"

He shakes his head confirming that it is not the issue. "No... everything's fine. There's no problem. I just want to look at you... I guess?"

I chuckled. "And don't stare for so long, I might kiss you."

His eyes widen. "Oh feisty, Cosette, Adie's here, don't tempt me like that."

I laughed so hard and rolled my eyes. "Oh please, Cashel. You don't even care when there's million people watching us. You would definitely do it without hesitation. I feel in that way, kilalang kilala na kita."

"There's more you don't know about me, Cosette and you might like it so be careful 'cause you might trip and fall."

"Kuya... Ate?"

Sabay kaming napalingon ni Cashel sa backseat nang magsalita si Adeline.  Nakakunot ang noo niyang nakatingin sa main. BIgla akong binalot ng hiya. I felt embarrassed. I really shouldn't be acting like this in front of her little sister.

"Yes, Adie?" Cashel asked.

"Quand allons-nous partir?"

"Maintenant!" sagot ni Cashel. "Be ready, we're going to Beaujolais."

He started the car and drove away. He puts music on and that made us feel entertained while we travel down the road. It would be a four-hour drive at kung papalarin we would be there right before or after lunchtime.

I keep myself busy by looking at every building we're passing by. Naaaliw lang ako dahil hindi ko pa naman halos napupuntahan lahat ng lugar dito sa Paris. I only have a few destinations every day for my routine. To eleventh down to fifteenth and if I have a chance I'll be in the sixteenth when I'm visiting Cashel to their apartment.

I know in the coming days mapupuntahan or most likely maliligaw. There's a lot of beautiful cities in France such as Bordeaux, Marseille, Strasbourg, Nice, and many more. And I still got a year to explore France and not just Paris.

 But Paris is where my heart belongs.

When we're midway out of Paris and it's only been an hour and we still got a long way papunta Lyon. And we know we're already out of the city kapag halos open fields na ang nadaraanan namin. And it's nice how peaceful nature it is. Masarap manirahan sa ganitong lugar. Walang mga plastik na chismosang nakabantay sa paligid.

I checked Adie behind us kasi napansin kong nananahimik na siya. Nang lingunin ko siya, nakita kong mahimbing siyang natutulog sa pwesto niya.

"Cash, Adie's sleeping..." pagpapaalam ko sa kanya.

Tiningnan naman niya ito mula sa rearview mirror. "Oui. She's been sleeping for like half an hour now. I woke her up early up so she could fix the things she wants to bring. She's excited though, she slept so late last night."

"Oh... about last night, Cash..."

He smirked. "What about last night, Cosette?"

"I feel like you know it already," sagot ko sa kanya.

"Je ne sais pas," maang-mangan nitong sagot sa akin. "I have no idea what you're talking about, babe. Would you please tell me? I would like to know what happened last night."

"Kukurutin ko 'yang itlog mo, isa pa," I threatened at seryoso ako this time.

"That's harsh, Cosette. I can't give a baby to you if you do that."

My mouth opened. I'm in total disbelief. Hindi ko ine-expect na lalabas sa bibig niya 'yon. But I'm already expecting it, si Cashel pa ba? Madalas tumakas din ang mga kabalastugan sa bibig niya. Mabuti na lang hindi 'yon alam ng public. At sa tingin ko, that's one of my advantages. I got to know his dirty, kinky side.

Muli ko siyang hinampas sa braso at ginagawa niyang shield ang braso niya para hindi tumakas ang kamay ko sa ulo niya. Nang mapansin ko namang walang bantay ang kanyang alaga, huhulihin ko na sana ang ibon niya ng unahan niya ako. Cashel tried not to laugh so hard at baka magising si Adie.

He's just shaking his head to me. Doesn't give me the satisfaction to do what I want.

"So, tell me what happened last night?" pag-uulit niya at mukhang hindi niya rin ako titigilan.

I rolled my eyes and tied my hair up. Pakiramdam ko bigla akong nag-init. My necks seems fuming from heat pero malamignaman ang loob ng sasakyan ni Cashel. I just felt so strange.

"We kissed because it is what the public wants. A kiss is just a stunt we show para maniwala silang totoo ang relationship natin. But I've noticed we kiss more often behind the scenes... what does it mean to you?"

"What does it mean to you?" he countered back the question to me.

Sinagot ko rin naman siya, if he wants to hear my side first. Then I'll give him that one.

"For me, as an actress, it could be something if it's been done off cam. Honestly, I'll admit, I have a little crush on you and it seems to grow day by day. You just shocked me when we first met. I don't know how to react but go with the flow. And then you cam to propose this thing to me, what we've been doing in the eyes of the public is just an act. Could it be the same thing off cam?"

"And why are you curious to know that?

I shrugged off my shoulder. "I don't know... I just want know where I can put myself. The limitations and boundaries are the rules. At aaminin ko na rin, if this situation became real from behind, I'll be happy..."

He grins. "Nice to know that you had a crush on me though," he laughed.

"Oh, 'wag lalaki ang ulo. No, that's wrong. Dalawa pala ang ulong pwedeng lumaki sa 'yo?"

He was shocked but a little kind of mocking me with his expression. 

"Cosette, we have a child sitting with us on the backseat, mind your language please," he mockinly said.

Nilingon ko naman si Adie sa likod. Mahimbing pa rin naman siyang nakakatulog. That was a relief for me. Hinarap ko naman siya agad at tinaasan ng kilay.

"You can't fool me again," I hissed. "Sasagutin lang naman kasi 'yong tanong, ang dami mo pang pasikot-sikot. You started this act so dapat alam ko kung anong pakay mo talaga rito. You just can't kiss me at hindi mo ako papanagutan. Parang binuntis ko lang ako tapos tatakbuhan kapag nakuha mo na ang gusto mo."

"Did we have sex, Cosette?" he move a little closer to me just to whisper it.

Sinampal ko siya ng mahina sa pisngi niya. "No, we did not!"

"So, you'll be fine," ngisi pa nito sa akin. He's not even taking it seriously. "And whatever happens with us, on and off cam, I won't let anything bad happen to you. Blame it all on me if something bad happened to you, okay?"

I sighed, pressed my lips nodding at him. "Sure... that's just so fine for me."

"Tres bien," he muttered.

I let him focused on the road while I'm more of a tourist, appreciating every view we passed by. 

Another hour and then two hours passed by, we finally knew we're near Beaujolais when there's a lot of fields that's been allocated for making wines. Everything is green. Looks likes the whole place is meant just for the wines. Beaujolais is a wine-producing-region of France and most of the wines in some cities and some countries are exported from here. Cashel mentioned that every family who owns a vineyard has its own taste of making its wine.

I'm wondering where we'll be heading to. Does their family own a vineyard too?

"We're near," Cashel announced.

We drove into what he called the Golden Rocks in the south part of Boujolais wherein most of the buildings seem to glow like gold rocks. Hindi na ako nakinig na susunod na paliwanag niya and this place became interesting for me. Nang makawatid kami sa ilang establishments ay makalipas ang ilang minuto ay nakarating kami sa isang bahay napapaligiran din ng wine fields.

Bigla akong napaharap kay Cashel at tinanong ko siya dahil mas naging interesting pa sa akin ang lahat ng nangyayari.

"Does your family owns this vineyard?"

Tumango naman siya sa akin at natawa ng bahagya. "Yup, we own it and that's our chateux."

Tinuro niya ang mala-palasyong bahay na ilang hakbang lamang ang layo mula sa kinaroroonan namin.

"You didn't, Cash," I still couldn't believe it.

"I mean, this is my actual home," he laughs. "Ready to meet my family?"

"Ay meet the parents agad?"

"Well, what can we do right? Nous sommes ici maintenant."

"I see," I winced. "But I'm excited though..."

"Sure you are," he muttered. "Adie, we're finally back home, wake up!" he woke her sister up and a moment later she rises up, napansin ko naman na may lumabas mula sa mala-palasyong bahay. It maybe their parents.

Nagmadaling lumabas si Adie at sinundan naman iyon ni Cash. Naglakad siya papunta sa side ng kotse kung nasaan ako at pinagbuksan niya ako pero hindi ako bumababa ng sasakyan. Dinungaw niya ako at inabot ang kamay niya.

"Don't be afraid, they're not mean," he chuckles.

"Hindi na ako nagtitiwala sa 'yo, Cashel."

"You may love to know my Mom, she's a Filipina though."

"Oh, wow, sure..."

"Allons-y?"

"Allons-y!" sagot ko at kinuha ko ang kamay niya at inalalayan niya akong lumabas ng sasakyan. Babalikan na lang siguro ni Cashel ang mga gamit namin sa sasakyan.

Idinala ako ni Cashel sa kanyang magulang and she immediately kissed us. I am so welcomed kahit hindi nila ako kilala. Or they might know me dahil kinu-kwento na ako ni Cashel sa kanila. I have no idea but maybe.

"Bonjour, ma chérie, comment vas-tu?" tanong ng nanay ni Cashel sa akin. "Oh, sorry, you speak tagalog, right?"

Tumango naman ako at lumapad bigla ang ngiti ko. "Yes po!"

"Mabuti 'yan hija, mas mapapadali ang pag-uusap natin," tawa pa nito sa akin. 

"She's Marielita Corprew, my Mom, obviously," pagpapakilala naman ni Cashel. "And then here's Cosette—"

"You're girlfriend, right?" tanong ng mama nito at napatingin din ako kay Cashel if he's going to say the truth or not.

"Uh... yeah, should we go inside now? Adie just slept for the rest of our travel so she has all the time to run around," Cashel said.

"Yes, we should and someone, luckily stopped by."

"Who?" kunot noong tanong ni Cashel.

And then all our eyes landed when we heard a girls voice.

"Cashel? You're back?" and my eyes went stuck to the red-headed girl and she looks so fine.

"Amauree?!" may bakas pa sa pagkagulat ang boses ni Cashel. 

But then he let go of my hand at saka niya pinuntahan mag-isa at sinalubong niya ng yakap iyong tinawag niyang Amauree. Naramdaman ko namang hinawakan ni Adie ang kamay ko at bumaba ang tingin ko sa kanya. She smiled at me and it feels like she's talking that it's okay... and got nothing to worry about.

And why am I feel threatened right now? Obviously, Cashel doesn't have an interest of making us real and now seeing him reconciling with his good friend. Bakit ako masasaktan?

Duh. Konti lang. Hindi naman ako manhid.

And she looks pretty nice. And once again, just like any other situation I've had before, I was left out.

And this time... it's fine. I'm fine. No biggie.

***

#FrenchKissInParis15 #FKIP15

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