"LENA AND CELSO"

Lena’s brows furrowed quickly when she recognized the man standing at a distance, looking at her. She was on her way home from her shift. The sun had just risen. Because her company was based in another country, the time zone was different from the Philippines.

“How have you been, Lena?”

When Celso got closer to her, that was his immediate greeting, accompanied by a sweet smile.

Lena stared intently at his face. “I’m fine. How about you? How are you? Why are you here? How did you know I work here?” she asked in rapid succession.

“Your aunt told me,” he answered briefly.

Lena’s brows knitted together again, and she felt a surge of deep concern in her heart.

“Did something happen to my Aunt Lourdes?” she asked, unable to hide the mix of nerves and fear in her voice.

Celso grinned. “No, nothing happened to her. But from what you just said, it looks like I now have an idea of how to lure you out of your hiding place,” he said to her.

“What are you talking about?” Lena asked irritably.

In truth, since she left their town, she hadn’t thought about Celso. Even though, technically, he was the first man to benefit from her body.

She admitted to herself what kind of woman she was. But in the almost month-long regular meetings with Calum, it seemed like everything had changed for her. Her perspective on life had shifted, and she was truly learning to free herself from the bitter experience with Marius.

“Did you know Marius is back with his wife and child?” Celso said.

Lena sighed deeply at what she heard. “I knew it. You’re here because you want to talk about that man!” she said irritably, starting to walk toward the open parking space of their office building.

“Lena, please pay attention to me,” Celso said, grabbing her arm.

Lena stopped walking and faced the man. As he requested, she paid attention to him. She stopped walking again and then decided to invite him for coffee so they could talk more seriously.

“What do you want to talk about, and why did you follow me here to Manila, Celso?” she asked after the waiter served their coffee and pancakes.

Celso took her hand and squeezed it. While she, after all the things she had gone through in life, including the seemingly endless sexual encounters with Celso that started on the night of her college graduation and continued many times after that, with different men. She let him hold her hand.

In truth, it was a small thing compared to everything they had done.

“I really miss you, Lena. Why don’t you come home anymore? At least on weekends?” he pleaded.

“I’m busy with work, Celso,” she reasoned, not bothering to even glance at him.

“Even on Saturdays and Sundays, you have work?” he asked in his usual kind tone.

Lena sighed. Then she decided to focus on the food in front of her. The truth was, she was really hungry.

“I’m really hungry, Celso. You should eat too. By the way, where did you sleep?” she asked, trying to change the subject.

Celso shrugged and began eating the food on his plate. “I slept in front of your apartment,” he said without hesitation.

Lena was stunned by what she heard. She couldn’t stop herself from staring at the handsome face of the young man.

“What?” she asked in a tone of utter surprise.

She knew it wasn’t just her voice that expressed such shock; it was her entire demeanor.

Celso nodded repeatedly. “Yes, Lena,” he said, his voice tinged with deep sorrow.

Lena didn’t know how to react to the sight of the man in front of her now. She suddenly felt pity for him. And she knew why. She knew the reason for his current reaction. The explanation for why a normally cheerful and handsome young man was now enveloped in sadness.

“C-Celso,” Lena whispered.

She genuinely felt sympathy for him. True compassion.

“I know everything, Lena. I saw you,” he said again without hesitation.

Lena gasped at what she heard. “How did that happen?” she asked.

Celso shook his head repeatedly. “That doesn’t matter to me, Lena. I love you. I love you so much, and that’s why I’m ready to accept everything about you. No matter how ugly or beautiful, my love for you will remain unchanged,” Celso insisted, his tone clearly trying to maintain a semblance of cheerfulness.

“That was Calum,” she said, continuing to eat with her head down.

“Your boyfriend?” Celso asked. “You also like men with the letter C, huh?” he joked, followed by a soft laugh.

Lena ignored his joke. What dominated her heart and mind at that moment was his statement that he saw everything. And that was what she wanted to have a specific explanation for.

“Celso, I want you to be more specific,” she said. “What do you mean you saw everything?” she asked in a lower tone, meant only for him.

Celso shrugged again, then continued eating. He picked up his coffee cup, took a sip, then poured more syrup on his food before answering her question.

“I saw you having sex with your guy inside your house. On the stairs, you were really enjoying it. You were so loud; I could hear you from the gate,” he said as if it was nothing.

Lena quickly turned red at what she heard. Then, the memory of Celso’s statement quickly replayed in her mind. But she couldn’t pinpoint when that happened. She admitted that Calum had been to her house more than once. And the stairs he mentioned—they had done things on the stairs more than once. So, his answer was still not specific.

“Lena, you know I love you very much, right?” Celso said, changing the subject.

At that point, Lena looked him straight in the eyes. “I know that. But don’t you also know that I only see you as a friend?” she answered calmly.

She heard Celso mutter a curse under his breath. Then he suddenly let go of the utensils he was holding, causing a noise on the glass plate. Her heart pounded in her chest out of fear.

“Damn it, Lena. What kind of friends use sex as a pastime?” he muttered, giving her an angry and fierce look.

In Lena’s personality, tolerating and giving time to such behavior was not in her vocabulary. So, after taking a sip of her coffee and leaving some bills on the table, she stood up.

She walked out of the diner and headed back to her car parked at the office building across the street. But Celso followed her.

“I’m sorry, Lena,” he called after her.

But she ignored him. She quickly got into her car and left him behind. She knew he would follow her anyway. In truth, Celso was the male version of herself.