CHAPTER 5: A FEW, STOLEN MOMENTS

"Garrett, are you even listening to me?" Scilla gave him an impatient look. Garrett was able to invite Scilla for a dinner date right after he refused the offer of Nico. But it looks like he can't even pay attention to his best friend who keeps on telling him about her day. It's getting obvious because he's just quiet all throughout the dinner time. They just ate their food in total silence.

"Uhh, I'm sorry." He smiled, slightly scratching his head and as much as possible, tried to convince Scilla that his mind was not wandering somewhere.

"Nah, forget it. Let's just go somewhere." She held his hand and they went out of that restaurant located in one of the famous locations for people who love to go out at night. They were able to stroll on the sidewalks of Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, where the modern and contemporary living are combined. From uncluttered roads to rocketing business buildings, this place is perfect for people who love to unwind and store fun memories with their friends.

It also has playful parks and a lot of restaurants and delightful commercial establishments that you can choose from that will suit both your personality and style.

They suddenly stopped walking and Scilla faced Garrett and smiled.

"Am I beautiful?" She tried to cup her face with both her hands, flashing a silly look to Garrett. He was able to let out a chuckle because Scilla's getting weird again.

"Too beautiful to be ignored by many. See this? Many guys are looking at you. Come here." He pulled her closer and managed to fix something on her sleeve. She looked down and tried to bit her lip, preventing Garrett from seeing her being very excited and

"Why? What's wrong with this?" Scilla reasoned out as she frowns. He gave her a blank look. He was able to remove his green jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. Scilla got the message. Garrett is trying to cover her nearly exposed breasts because of the tube top that she's wearing. She smiled teasingly back at him.

"You're still beautiful even if you're only wearing a shirt. You don't have to wear these things. This will just attract maniacs that will do something bad on you."

"Whoah, whoah, whoa! Don't be silly, Garrett. It's the 21st century. What do you want me to look like? A nun? I want to be beautiful in your eyes that's why I am wearing this..." Scilla sternly stated, trying to defend herself of what she's wearing right now but she kept the last sentence to herself. She impatiently folded her arms, facing Garrett this time.

"No, I didn't mean to make you think about that. Let's just be cautious. You don't know how people think nowadays. Some guys will get near you and try to impress you will "pure" intentions but then, all they want is to take advantage of you." He was able to put his arm on Scilla's shoulder and he was able to move her body forward as they walked slowly this time. The way he expresses something that's running on his mind impressed Scilla the most.

How she wished all guys were like Garrett.

"Guys love to look at girls wearing these kinds, right? I am just dressing according to most of the guy's preferences." She lightly bit her lip, not avoiding her gaze on Garrett.

"But not me. I'm different from the "guys" that you are trying to impress." He's looking at her eyes, too, and eventually smiled back at her.

"Okay, okay." Scilla blurted at last.

For her, Garrett is the most real gentleman that she knew ever since. Being his best friend is a priceless relationship or bond that she can have with him. This very moment is the one that's really important for her.

Scilla can smell his manly scent. It's driving her crazy. It is always the scene that she's dreaming about. With Garrett by her side, she is the happiest woman alive at this moment and yet she is too doubtful about freely confessing her feelings to Garrett.

She is always prevented by the kind of culture Filipino people have. It is always the boys who should take the first move to confess his feelings towards a girl. If a girl will be the first to tell her feelings to a guy, she will be tagged as "desperate" she doesn't want to imagine that happening to her, either.

She's also afraid that when she will freely express her love of Garrett, his best friend might take advantage of her feelings. As she observed to some people, the feelings are not the same when everything changes. Yes, some couples that she knew ended up being in a relationship after how many years of friendship but not for a long time.

Some think that being very comfortable with one another is a great advantage for the relationship to become stronger, not realizing it's a reason for couples to separate their ways to each other because of being stuck to a relationship without growth.

Scilla wanted to keep everything a secret from Garrett. They are better off this way. No commitments, no expectations. Just pure care and love to one another. That they will always be special no matter what happens.

"Hey..." Scilla stopped walking, trying to catch Garrett's attention.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Scilla gently answered as she smiled at him.

"Silly." Garrett was able to step forward, not letting go of Scilla's hand as if pulling her to come with him. Scilla let out a breath.

"If I tell you that I am starting to love you, will you be able to love me back? What if there's someone after your heart? I want to own you and I only wanted you to be mine. If I tell you these words...is there any assurance that everything will not change?"

Scilla was able to keep this all to herself. How she wishes that someday, she will not be afraid of telling this to the man that she adored the most.