Hot Stuff

Chapter 4

It was late in the aftenoon and yet I had no energy to get up. I was just looking on the ceiling of my room.. still sighing. Favoured that we did that plan 'Operation: Make Aldrich Fall For Gladys' before rest or else I might too exhausted and skipped school. I was really in pain.. body, soul and in between my legs.

Late night when I decided to leave my room and I found my friends in the kitchen and looked like they were having fun.

"Ohh, here she is.. our Sleeping Beauty!!" Chu said in a loud voice.

"Give Gladys a seat so she could start feeding us!" Quel said in her excitement.

I walked to the fridge and poured myself a glass of water, while drinking they started firing me a questions. After filling my lungs I faced them. I really did not like to lie to my friends.

I took a deep sigh once again and then looked at them one by one in a serious way. It was Sam who wasn't here then.

"I did it, we did.." they looked like a kid waiting for their Christmas presents the way they were looking at me. "..but not with Aldrich. I gave my self to a total stranger.." I bit my lower lip.

"Not Aldrich??" Nhessa spit her wine.

"No." shaking my head.

"Then who? Who's the guy then?" Chu started hyperventilate.

"What? How's that possible? What happened?" Adith mouth agape. "I'm very sure that's Aldrich Buenconsejo's house?!"

"s**t!" Quel said, covering her mouth.

"I don't know.. but it wasn't Aldrich." closing my eyes.

"How about his face? Did you recognize him? What's his looks? Is he handsome? Does he yummy or not?!" Quel's mouth twitched.

"I-I don't know. The lights was dimmed. Whe-when I found out that he's not Aldrich, I slipped away.." I lied. I couldn't tell them that he's actually Aldrich's cousin. Coz I wasn't even sure if that is his real name and if he was telling me the truth.

My friends fell into silence, did not know what were they thinking now. All I know at the moment I had to forget what had happened, burrying them six feet under. I sat down to the vacant seat and took a can of beer, I wanted to get wasted.

Sleepily my eyes snapped on the stage, I sighed.. next day would be our Graduation Day. I got bored here waiting for my name to be called, then it was all for preparation only. Thanking heaven that this day would be the last day of the practice, it had been a week of practice and such.

It had been a week also when I snuck to Aldrich's apartment, but day and night that face of that man kept on haunting me. I told no ones soul about what really happened that night, his looks or identity were remained a secret. And funny that I still had this startled and obnoxious feeling whenever I was seeing Aldrich. If before.. my heart beated faster because I had feeling for him.. now, he could still do the same but that because of frightened. Too frightened thinking that his cousin was just next to him.

After what happened, I did my research.. I researched about him. I looked for his details on f*******:, Aldrich's account was a big help. I propbably looked like a stalker that time. And what he told to me about his name was true.

He is the only son of Mr. Lander Buenconsejo & Mrs. Nina Isabel Buenconsejo, first cousin of Aldrich Buenconsejo. Xabart Hinder Buenconsejo, is a notorious playboy. The man's changed his women like as if changing his underwear. And because he is a playboy, surely he could not remember that night.. more of me. It's my tranquil coz seriously I had no intention of meeting him again, but it felt sad that of all male species.. why to him?? I gave myself to a casanova! He's not worthy.

He studied at St. Anderson University, one of the prestigious school in the Philippines. The reason he was pure stranger to me as I never saw him together with Aldrich here in school and he was three years ahead of me.

I startled and clapped my hands when the next seat started clapping. Phew, the practice was over, unintentionally my head snapped to Aldrich's direction.. He's still the same, handsome as ever and still playful to his friends. My eyes widened when his gaze darted at my way, he was hell looked like him. Damn! When that had happened that he was this resemblance of that perverted man. I thanked God that he did use protection when we did it, he saved me from any contagious diseases.

I shivered at the thought.

I stood up and strode to my friends direction. Quel smiled at my way. "Where to?" she asked.

"To my house." I replied simply.

We waited for the others before we headed to the parking. They chose Cotton Hills for its awesome overlooking view, as they said it's more good to party on the rooftop of our house. We're planning on having a blast at our apartment after Graduation. Like a farewell party, coz after three years.. we were going to leave the place that we called our home for a few years.

Antipolo was not yet a developed City, the malls were still under constructions. Why Hannah sulked for a months when Mom decided that she and Brix had to take up their college in our hometown.

Brix's smiling face was the one welcomed us.

"Everything is settled on the rooftop, Gladys!" he said cheerfully before glancing to Sam.

"Hi Sam!" he greeted her.

"Hello Brix!" Sam grinned at him.

Brix has a huge crush to my friend, Sam. But Sam had rejected the idea, as she only seeing him as his younger brother. Brix was two years younger. And that's the story of his life.. he was rejected by the first girl that he ever liked.

"Girls, don't drink too much just in moderate always. So no one will gonna dare on sleeping on the rooftop." Mom reminded us.

"Auntie! It has been a year and yet you still remember that??" Chu laughing at Mom.

As she was the one who got drunk that much and fell asleep at the coldness of the night on the rooftop, after her first boyfriend of six years called it quit. He was her high school boyfriend. But the guy impregnated another girl why they ended their relationship.

"Don't worry Auntie, she is in a relationship now and much in love so she would not have that kind of thinking now." Nhessa giggled.

"Just reminding you girls, after drinking just go straight to your rooms. And please don't think of taking a dip coz it's too cold now even it's summer." Mom said.

"Yes Auntie!!" they answered in unison.

We headed to rooftop after dinner. Like what my brother had said, everything was set and even the drinks were all here. If ever we were out of drinks we still had jelly shots as a replacement. Brix did it for a back up.

We graced the table and a lot of topics were tackled, like the company that we were going to work with.

"I will work in Quezon City." Sam.

"I thought you don't want to work?" creasing my forehead.

"Yes, but I couldn't throw away that recommendation from my father's friend." she shrugged.

"Is that so, all of us will become a working girls then?" rasing my brow.

"Ohh yeah!" Chu and Adith said together.

"Yeah." Nhessa smiled.

"I have work already after my training. They hired me immediately even without my credentials." Quel added.

"All right, let's make a toast for a celebration!! For soon to be working girls!" I smiled and raised my glass. "For us, career women! Cheers!" the clicking sounds echoed around as our glass met, along with their loud voice.

I smiled while looking at my friends. Not so long ago.. we just stanger to each other, but here we are now.. soon attending our Graduation Day and soon taking the real path of life.

"Sam, please don't cry this time, try to reserve that for real Graduation day!!" Adith laughed at her.

"Even so.. soon we are not going to have moments like this.. why I could not stop my tears!" she said while weeping.

"Let her cry, so she doesn't have tears for Graduation. You know her she's always like that!" Quel grinned at her.

"I'm the queen of the world!!" Nhessa suddenly shouted, while imitating Jack and Rose in Titanic movie.

"Yes, you are the queen!" Chu laughed.

I stood up and joined them. "I will graduate soon!! And not going to see you Aldrich! I'll get over you.. soon!!" that was a promise to myself, I'll forget him along with the shadow of that night. His cousin.

"Seriously?" Adith smiled at me. I returned her smile and winked.

"Am not the Eye Liner Queen anymore, I promise that!" Nhessa shouted again.

I laughed hard and everyone joined my laugh. That was the moment that Nhessa did not have pen in her as our professor called her and made her stand in front of our class, coz she did use her eye liner to answer our quiz.

"I now have my forever! And I love him so much!!" Chu shouted.

"I will soon meet my prince charming!!" Sam joined the shout.

"Gonna have this plenty of wax sessions so my Patrick will get crazy over me!!" Quel.

"Will say yes to my hummy this Graduation Day!!" Adith shouted that made us look at her.

"Really?" Quel pouted.

"Ye-yes?" Adith answered her.

"That fast?" Chu.

"Really?" Sam asked her like I saw some rainbow and stars around her.

"Yes, I will accept him as my beau. Coz we might not gonna seeing each other more often as we will get busy soon."

"Congrats in advance!!" I greeted her.

"Thanks Gladys!" Adith smiled.

Everyone was happy at her news and we continued our drinking. It seemed we had a lot of things to celebrate now. Aside that we all going to land to our soon jobs, it looked like they were all happy in life also.