"Hey, Dennis, you okay?" ra asked as she began to approach me with a concerned expression on her face. "You seem lost in thought."


    I simply shifted focus of the topic using the luggage she pulled behind her like dead weight. "You''re going somewhere?"


    She bit the bait. "Returning actually. I was on a short trip but I''m back now. I see you''re also-*


    "No. I had a meeting I just stepped out from not too long ago. I was on my way home before I saw you."


    I


    She beamed, "Even better. Can you drop me off? Please?"


    I agreed and picked up her luggage, then deposited it in the trunk. While we were in motion, she cheated cheerily, talking about her trip and the interesting people she met as well as a bunch of other stuffs! wasn''t supposed to know.


    "Oh my!" She stopped suddenly, her gaze sweeping towards the passenger seat with a look of surprise. She gave me a yful smack on my arm, winking suggestively. "Who are these for?"


    "You''re going to get us killed. Behave!" I avoided her question, warned in feigned anger. My cheeks were fighting hard not to release a ridiculous grin. I didn''t want to give her that satisfaction or else she would tease me all day long about it.


    "Wrong! I''ll ask again, who are these for?" She reached for them and just in time, I put a hand behind me to pull her nosy self back into her seat. "Protective much? They must be special then."


    I pursed my lips for a full minute, after a decision to heighten her curiosity. I conceded finally. "They''re for Ana and Amie, I got them this morning."


    I didn''t miss the knowing smirk on ra''s face. "You''re still trying to win her over uh?"


    "Well, yeah." I replied with a sheepish smile and a hand rubbing the base of my neck with uncertainty. I got the presents on impulse, with mixed thoughts on if they would be epted by her.


    "You''re such a thoughtful man. I wish Ana would open her eyes to see what I do." Her appraisal sounded genuine, far from her usual banter and jokes.Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    I swallowed hard, wishing the same thing; that Ana would move past the hurt and see me for who I really was, most probably ept me too. I wanted to be in her life so bad it felt like I had no purpose without that.


    I decided to drop the question that weighed the most in my mind. "Have you perhaps heard from Ana? It''s been a few days since west spoke."


    "Oh, she didn''t tell you?" ra began, her tone filled with incredulity before she righted herself and replied, "she''s on a trip for a week. Something like a getaway from work, she mentioned. She also said it was sponsored by the management."


    That piece of information dashed every hopes I had of ever gaining Ana''s love. If she was on a trip -sponsored by the management of thepany she worked in, it meant her ex was going to be in close proximity to her.


    They were exes didn''t mean that there was no love lost between them. It had automatically ruined all my


    12


    chances.


    "So who''s looking after Amie?" I asked instead, refusing to dwell on the hurt that followed ra''s


    Information.


    "She''s still at the hospital and will be there until Ana returns from the trip." After a pause, she added, "I thought she informed you about it. That''s why I didn''t bother telling you."


    "No, that''s fine. Perhaps it skipped her. You know how preparations get and everything flies by in a frenzy. I''ll check on her when I get home." The first line was a lle. It hurt that Ana still didn''t see me as one she could rely on. I would forever remain a stranger who had the chance of getting close but from a distance.


    I focused on driving, trying hard not to betray my emotions but my steely grip on the steering turned my knuckles white.


    "I know you''re still hung up on Ana, might I ask why though?"


    I sighed, feeling a tidal wave of confusion m into me, prompting my release on the wheel. ra was the only one I could rte my feelings for Ana to as we had formed a closely knit friendship from her frequent vists to the club where I worked. That was how our friendship was born and had blossomed overtime.


    I recalled the night I confided in her about my interest in Ana. The club had just opened and it wasn''t a full house yet. In the space of my idleness, ra had visited, dering her intent to chill in the lounge without the smoke or sweaty bodies.