‘Why are you doing this to me?’ he asked with such anger that his voice quivered. He walked towards her and grabbed her wrist. She looked away from him so he could not see the tears in her eyes. ‘We can’t keep doing this Dustin’ she sinabi softly, her voice barely a whisper. ‘Why not dad gone it? I pag-ibig you and you know that’ his voice was calmer as he turned her face to his so he could see her eyes. He wiped away the tears with his gentle hand. She looked into his eyes and saw a lot of pain there. ‘I pag-ibig you Rachel…’ was all he could whisper before he leaned closer and kissed her. She knew she shouldn’t be doing this but he always had a force on her. A force she couldn’t resist. He pulled her closer as his hands rested on her slim hips and hers were on his chest. God his mouth tasted so sweet… Her hands traveled upward to his broad shoulders for support to keep her from completely melting on the floor. He broke the halik and smiled at her, ipinapakita his set of pearly-white teeth. He was just mesmerizing to look at as his dark brown eyes stared into her bright blue ones. She touched his face and smiled. ‘I pag-ibig you Dustin…’ she whispered to him as he pulled her closer to him, caressing her soft blonde curls….. ‘And cut! Great work everybody! Brilliant!’ the director applauded at them. She couldn’t help but smile as she walked off the set and sat down on one of the wooden boxes they used as part of the shoot. As soon as the shoot was over, the doors of the studio flung open and there stood an undeniably attractive lady smiling at him. She had curly brown hair that matched the color of her eyes. She wore a tight black dress that showed off her perfectly carved figure. She had on dark stockings and a pair of black high-heeled shoes as well. She ran to him and threw her arms around him. ‘Michael, darling!’ she smiled and kissed him fully on the lips. ‘Hi baby! I missed you so much!’ he sinabi as he wrapped an arm around her. As she watched them, she was deeply disappointed. She has a huge crush on her co-star ever since she had started working with him. Now, that was all fantasy. She thought Tatiana was such a lucky girl to have him. She stood up to leave but the director went after her. ‘Hey Dani…’ he called after her. She turned around and walked towards him. ‘Yes Mr. Dileo?’ she sinabi shyly. ‘I just wanted to congratulate you for a job well done on the set’ he smiled at her. She couldn’t help but smile back. At least someone was appreciating her. ‘How’s working with Mike like?’ he asked her. Suddenly her cheeks turned scarlet. No one had ever asked her about Michael before. ‘He’s…he’s a great guy. And a lot of fun to work with’ she answered. She still remembered the halik they shared earlier on the set. To Michael, it was all business but to Dani, it seemed much madami than that. Mr. Dileo shrugged. ‘Sometimes he’s just a pain in the butt’ he sinabi and she laughed. He congratulated her again, shook her hand, and went back to work. She sat on the wooden boxes again and watched them. Michael was smiling at Tatiana, obviously happy with her. She turned her attention to Michael. He was so stunning to look at. Just standing there, smiling. His soft black curls cascading past his shoulders. His dark brown eyes that almost made her melt as she looked at them. His lips that she had just kissed earlier on the shoot. He tasted so sweet. His teeth were the most perfect set of teeth she had ever seen. His legs were long and almost resembled a dancer’s but she had never seen him dance before. Suddenly, Dani thought Michael had caught her eyeing on him so she looked away, her cheeks turning red. She stayed a little while longer, just chatting with some of the crew members and giggling at their jokes until she realized it was getting late. It was almost 10 pm. She sinabi goodbye to the people there and was a little sad she hadn’t had the chance to talk to Michael even once. The only time she spoke to him was when she greeted him good morning and he smiled at her. He had spent the whole time laughing and joking around with his girlfriend Tatiana. Dani had even admitted to herself that she was jealous of Tatiana’s relationship with Michael. She was so shy around him and gets tongue-tied when he spoke to her. She rarely calls him sa pamamagitan ng his name and madami often, Mr. Jackson. Tatiana didn’t want to be called sa pamamagitan ng her name either and prefers to be called Ms. Thumbtzen or Mrs. Jackson. Did Tatiana already know their future together? Was she really that sure she would end up with Michael? Once Dani almost wanted to throw her water bottle at her because she spilled water all over Dani’s dress. She was so furious she wanted to scream at Tatiana’s face but she didn’t, out of pag-ibig and respect for Michael. She just smiled and sinabi it was an accident. She smiled bitterly at Tatiana and a cold look passed between them as she walked away. She embarrassed herself that araw so she realized she had to keep her distance from Tatiana and most of all, Michael which hurt her deeply. There were a few people left in the studio. Mr. Dileo and a few of the crew. Even Michael and Tatiana were gone. She walked outside. It was a cold night in December and it was raining very hard. She didn’t bring her car with her so she pulled off her dyaket and wrapped it around her head as she ran outside. There was no taxi around so she decided to walk home, not like she had any other choice. While walking, a blue Mercedes stopped in front of her. The driver rolled down the windows and she knew exactly who it was. It was Michael. “Need a ride?” he asked her with a smile, his set of white teeth ipinapakita again. He was wearing sunglasses though it wasn’t sunny outside. ‘No, I’m fine’ Dani sinabi as she slowly kept walking. ‘Come on Dani. You’ll get sick if you walk all the way home’ he said. He opened the passenger door for her as she got in. ‘Thank you’ she smiled shyly. ‘No problem’ he smiled back as they drove away. She glanced at him again. His long hair was tied neatly in a knot and he had a black fedora on. He was wearing a blue dyaket on his plain white shirt. Michael caught her eyeing him and giggled. ‘Why do you keep doing that?’ he laughed. Her cheeks turned bright red. ‘I’m so sorry Mr. Jackson. It’s very inappropriate for me’ she answered shyly. ‘No it’s okay, I like it. And please, just call me Michael’. She nodded. There was an awkward silence until Michael broke it. ‘You did a good job on the set today’ he complimented and she couldn’t help but smile. ‘Thank you. You did too’ she smiled. ‘Why isn’t Ms. Thumbtzen here with you?’ she dared to ask. ‘I think Tatiana and I are better off as friends’ he sinabi as she stared at him in surprise. ‘You mean…’; ‘I broke up with her’ Michael sinabi blankly. ‘That’s impossible. You were just laughing and happy a while ago’ she said. That must be the reason why she saw Tatiana crying before she left. ‘A lot of things change I guess. What I don’t like about her is she’s telling me what to do. I just hate that’ he explained. ‘Can we talk about something else please?’ he said, obviously uncomfortable about the topic. ‘Right. Sorry’ Dani replied. His susunod tanong struck her like a lightning bolt. ‘Why do you keep staring at me Dani?’ he asked as he glanced at her for a moment then back at the road. ‘I…I…I’m just amazed sa pamamagitan ng how great you are as an actor. You’re very hands-on on your job and to me that’s… that’s just amazing’ she blushed. Michael’s cheeks turned scarlet. ‘You’re just saying that’ he giggled, a little embarrassed. They talked for a little while until they reached Dani’s condominium. Her parents moved in with her too. ‘Would you like to come in for some coffee Mr.….I mean, Michael?’ she smiled. On their short time together, she realized how charming and sweet Michael was. ‘No it’s fine. Would you like me to pick you up tomorrow?’ he asked. ‘No that’s not necessary. I’ve got my own car. I just left it today’ she smiled at him. ‘See you tomorrow then’ he smiled as she got off his car. It had stopped raining and there was only a slight drizzle now. ‘See you tomorrow. Thanks again’ she said. ‘Anytime’ he winked at her as he rolled up his window and drove away. She waved until his car was no longer visible and walked to her condo. Her puso was beating wildly she could almost hear it in her ears. “Calm yourself down Danielle LaPray! He’s just your co-star, nothing else. This is just business and showbiz…” she told herself as she walked in and her cocker tuta greeted her at the door.
