JARED POURED WINE ON LILY’S GLASS.

Nakapwesto ang kanilang candle-light dining table sa gazebo ng The Org. Ang bawat sulok niyon ay nasasabitan ng lamp fixtures na may malamlam na liwanag. The orange glow touched the place like watery sunset. It made the candle’s light swell and enflamed.

Both of them already wore their maroon satin robes.

He bent right from behind Lily and her seat. His chest and upper arm levelled her head, his other hand gently held her left shoulder.

Lily smiled, watching the red wine splish and swirl crisply in her wine glass. In his position, slightly peering at her, Jared got a glimpse of her face— beautiful and serene. A whirlpool of storm danced in her clear brown, round eyes. He wondered why is that so. Ano pa ang pinag-aalala ng dalaga?

“Nasolve natin ang problema sa Variant. We cleared your name,” malumanay niyang saad, palipat-lipat ang tingin sa sinasaling alak at kay Lily. “You want to know what’s behind this success?”

“What?” lingon nito sa kanya.

Inangat ni Jared ang boteng hawak. “You. You not running away anymore.” Sinalinan ni Jared ng alak ang sariling baso na nasa mesa. “You worked with me on this one. We helped each other.”

Nagbaba ng tingin si Lily. Nakalingon pa rin sa kanya, medyo tumamlay ang ngiti.

“You’ve been real. You’ve been brave,” halik ni Jared sa tuktok ng ulo nito bago umupo sa wakas sa tabi nito. “You’ve spoken your truth. Hindi tulad noon na pinapanindigan mo na lang ang sabihin ng iba tungkol sa’yo. Kahit hindi totoo.”

Paglingon ni Jared, nagtama ang mga mata nila ni Lily.

“I just took a risk and tried again.”

“Keep doing it,” lapit niya ng mukha rito. “Take a risk or two. It makes you braver.”

Jared’s eyes stared into Lily’s. Nangungusap ang kanyang tingin, humihingi ng pahintulot. Sa pagpungay ng mga mata nito at pasulyap-sulyap sa kanyang mga labi, nakuha ni Jared ang sagot nito.

He closed their distance and gave her a soft kiss. Their lips moved in soft strokes, alternately atop one another as they angled their heads to kiss deeper.

A soft moan vibrated in Jared’s throat. “Damn it,” hinga niya, palipat-lipat ang tingin sa mga mata ni Lily at mapula nitong mga labi sumabay sa kanyang paghingal. “I just cannot go easy when it comes to your lips.” Nakabawi na siya ng paghinga. Lumapit. “To your kisses.”

“You’re supposed to,” she smirked seductively, her fingers tracing the side of his hips, the others helped her palm cradle his jaw. “Don’t go easy on me, Subby.”

“Subby?” the corner of his lips lifted. “Not tonight. I’m top this time.”

“No way,” Lily glared.

“Yes way,” he pinched her chin. “I’ll be top tonight. So that you will be properly rewarded.”

“Ako ang dapat mag reward sa’yo. You’re the one who helped me.”

“You cooperated and that’s a first for you. So—” he drew his face closer to her— “submit to me—” his eyes lit, whirlwind of desire spiraled darkly against the brownness, “—receive my reward for you.”

“Make me,” she challenged playfully. “That is…” she bit her lower lip as she glanced temptingly at his lips, “if you can resist the reward I have in store for you.” Her gaze was sexy, encouraging. “Are you really okay to not find out what it is? Can you tame your wild curiosity?”

He took her nape.

“My giving nature is wilder than my curiosity. I just want to give and give and give you everything tonight,” he murmured against their lips, brushing one another as he spoke.

Lily lunged her face forward. Sinungkitan siya ng halik. Jared just had to make sure to make their liplock last longer this time. Hinigpitan niya ang hawak sa batok nito. Lily mimicked him, clutched a good portion of his hair at the back of his head as their kisses grew torrid. Their hands began wandering. Lily stroked his shoulders, almost slipping off the sleeves of his robe. Her palm was hot and cold against the side of his neck, sliding circularly to feel his neck like how she does it with his cock. Nakaramdam tuloy ang ari niya ng inggit. Namintig. Nagpapapansin kaya nagpupumilit tumindig. Nagmamakaawang ito naman sana ang hagurin ng ganoon ng kamay ng dalaga.

It was too unbearable. The desire was so hard to contain. Jared found his hand slithering between her legs, sneaking under the skirt of her robe.

As his forefingers reached her slit, he began stroking gently. Poking. Lily automatically danced. Panted and gasped against his mouth. Her breath was so warm. So tasty. Sweeter than a fresh melt of Belgian chocolate. He covered her mouth with his’ to take in all the flavor before swirling his tongue inside. Nakisabay ang babae. Nakipagsirkuhan ang dila nito sa galaw ng dila niya. They waltzed and twirled in each other’s mouths while their hands hotly felt each other’s skin.

He felt her body jerk slightly, shake and burn. The tickle and pleasure of his fingering made her close her thighs. But that was never enough to stop him.

And she didn’t want to anyway. Kasi kapag nakakaya na ulit nito ang sensasyon, muling bumubuka ang mga hita ng dalaga. Kapag parang sasabog na ito sa galing ng pagdaliri niya, titiklop ang mga hita nito para makapagpahinga saglit.

With his fingers rubbing her slit, he felt a jolt of arousal. Her wetness touched his skin, signaling him her readiness.

His cock wanted to join the dance. His fingers wanted to join the dance.

They wanted to swirl and twirl inside her.

His chest hammered with urgency.

He wanted her now. So much. So badly.

Nang ipasok ni Jared ang daliri sa hiwa ni Lily, doon na ito napapitlag.

Kapwa sila natauhan.

Kapwa sila humihingal nang maghiwalay ang mga labi.

“Let’s have our dinner now,” layo sa kanya ni Lily. She licked her lips and faced the table.

“Eatwell.” His gaze was sultry as he licked her juice off his fingers. That made Lily smile wide. “You’ll need a lot of energy to take it all in later,” ngisi niya rito habang umaayos na siya ng upo.

After the candlelit dinner, he invited Lily to a slow dance. He took her waist and hand, gently stepped side to side as they turned and circled the table and the gazebo. An imaginary song played in their heads. Lily pressed the side of her head against his shoulder, her face inches away from his chest.

It warmed Jared’s heart.

The slow dance reminded him of the same dance they did on Lily’s birthday. That dance in the living room of his house.

Despite a lot of those red-briefed topless men dancing around her in The Org, at the end of the night, Lily chose to be alone with him. To be home with him. To dance in his arms.

And now, after all the storms she went through, Jared closed his eyes as they danced. He could not imagine enough how good it feels that she, again, chose to dance in his arms.

And she ended up dancing still, in his arms.

He scooped her up from the bed. He felt her body— weighed, slippery and shimmering with sweat. Strands of her blonde hair matted in the sides of her face and neck.

Nang maiupo ang babae sa kanyang kandungan nang nakabuka ang mga hita, ginapos niya ito ng sariling mga braso. She slowly lifted her head, hung it down to press her forehead against his’.

Humihingal na nilapit niya ang mukha sa malulusog nitong mga dibdib. He sunk his face in them— soft and smooth. Jared inhaled her scent, same as he breath to refill his lungs with life. Then he licked his way to the top. From her breasts to her chest, to her collar to the side of her neck.

Lily shuddered, pleasure trickling between her thighs as she rocked her hips back and forth. Her pussy’s lips gaped, longing for his entrance again. Lily rubbed her slit against the top surface of his erect cock. The movements made her body slide up and down against his’.

His tongue reached her jaw. Napatingala si Lily, napaliyad. Sinalo niya ng isang kamay ang likuran nito, nilapit ito lalo sa kanya para itakbo ang lapad ng kanyang dila paitaas sa piangi nito.

“J-Jared… this is punishment… not reward!” she sighed wistfully. “I-Ipasok mo na ulit… Pasukan mo na u-ulit ako!”

“Says she who doesn’t want me to be on top earlier,” he teased, breathing heavily at her very presence.

Sinilip niya ang mukha ng babaeng minamahal. Nasumpungan siya ng namumungay nitong mga mata na nagmamakaawa.

“Fuck me, Jared. I know you want to.”

He looked down to her lips. Hesitant.

“You’ll be sore already. Nakakailang—”

She grabbed his jaw, fingers almost dug his cheek as she forced him to meet her eyes.

“Will be. Which means, I am not yet sore. Stop fronting like a gentleman like what you always do, and be man enough to fucking fuck me, damn it!” she seethed. “I want more of you. I need more of you.” She grabbed his cock and teased his tip with the soft, juicy lips of her pussy. “I need more of you,” she sighed breathily as she closed in her face to him, “inside!”

Both of them flushed further. If Lily kept teasing his cock with her pussy like this, she won’t be just sore after this…

“Is this what you want?” Jared panted.

Lily nodded, holding her breath.

“Damn it, speak up, Lily!” he gritted. Hirap na hirap na siyang magpigil, patuloy pa rin sa pagkiskis ang dalaga sa kanyang ulo sa ari nito.

“Yes! I want this, Jared baby! Damn, fuck me more!” she cried, desperate. Tulad niya, nahihirapan na rin ito magpigil.

It was him that she was teasing but it was both of them getting aroused.

“Masusunod,” suko niya sabay itsa sa babae paalis sa kanyang kandungan para mapahiga sa kama.

And it was only the beginning of their long, long night of nothing but making love thoroughly in ways they fantasized.

Jared was weary from head to toe. Love scratches lined his skin and love making overstretched every fiber of his firm muscles. Naging mahimbing ang kanyang tulog.

Masarap.

A smile formed on his lips in the middle of his sleep. He pulled Lily closer to him, sunk his face between the side of her face and her hair. In his arms, she’s so soft… like a delicate flower. There was something about her scent that just warms his heart. Is the sense of smell his main modality?

What about touch? What about feeling?

He wanted to feel Lily again. Kahit nasa kalagitnaan siya ng pagtulog, ito pa rin ang hahanap-hanapin niya.

With eyes closed, he tried to find her lips. Nakailang iling ang kanyang mukha nang mawalan ng pasensya. Hinablot niya ang baba nito. Nagimbal dahil bakit bumaon doon ang mga daliri niya?

Jared opened his eyes, almost flung away the pillow in horror.

It had been the damn pillow all along!

Her scent, though, was still in the room— a sweet mix of gentle jasmine perfume and sweat that became an elixir of Lily’s signature smell.

Three or four of her hair strands, was still in the room— shiny and blonde strings scattered on the  gray pillows, on the black leather bed and black blanket. On his shoulder.

All of them were still in the room with Jared.

All except Lily herself.

Jared sat up on the bed, alone in that room in The Org.

.

.

SAKTONG KALALABAS LANG NI LILY SA LOCKERS. The grounds proper of The Org was already empty.

Nangangatog ang mga binti ni Lily nang mapatingin sa paligid. Malamlam ang mga ilaw pero walang katao-tao. Faint voices could be heard from the second floor, possibly, echoes from naughty guests who occasionally make-out in the hallway then return to their rooms. Those voices sounded like ghosts… apparations… flashbacks. All because what laid before her eyes was a lifeless, wide ballroom designed floor.

The tiles were black with red design patterns. Glossy. Sparkling against the soft yellow lighting from the chandeliers and wall lamps.

As she walked slowly, looking around, Lily thought of one thing— The Org had come so far.

Now, it has a more polished look. Now, it has become a benchmark, a frontrunner when it comes to providing people a place where they can discover themselves through the sexual with the comfort of confidentiality and security.

In The Org, no one will judge you for whatever your kink is. For whatever you desire. For how dirty you wanted it to be. Experienced or not. People here can only react, but never judge you. After they meet you here, they won’t chase you outside. They won’t haunt you or blackmail you with the things you unveiled to them.

They will even pretend they don’t know you when they see you outside The Org.

Patuloy ang matamlay na paglalakad ni Lily. Inalala niya mula sa bawat sulok ng The Org ang mga karanasan dito.

Pero isa lang ang bagay na sigurado siya. Isa lang ang dahilan kaya tinuring niya ang lugar na ito na kanyang pangalawang tahanan.

In here, no one judged her.

No one made her feel unworthy. Undeserving. A fool. A disappointment.

She is a domme. She calls the shots. Everything happens as she allows it to. She’s in control. It’s always her voice that gets heard.

Everything that happens here is a dream come true.

Iba na ang kwento sa labas ng The Org.

At iba na lalo ngayong pinag-isa niya ang dalawang mundo. She fused her hell and heaven when she brought Jared on both.

Jared clashed her two worlds together.

Napaluhod siya sa sahig. Manginig-nginig na napahawak doon ang isang kamay.

Lily hung down her head. Her sore, reddish lips shuddered. She combed up the strands of her hair with her fingers, exposing torment on her face… Revealing two eyes streaming with tears that glimmer sadly against the soft lighting of the room.

Now that Jared already knows the truth, Lily felt lost. She doesn’t belong in the real world.

And now… she doesn’t belong to The Org anymore.

She would have nowhere now to run to, to hide to.

For either places she dare go to, Jared would know.

Jared would be there.

She has to go somewhere else.

Sinubukan naman niyang pigilan, pero naunulas pa rin mula sa kanyang mga labi ang mabibigat na hagulgol. Lily has drowned herself in her own thoughts, in her own nightmares… in her own pain.

She was so drowned she barely noticed the footsteps. The surprised gasps. The rushing feet.

Hindi siya natinag sa kanyang panghihina, sa panlalamig ng kanyang kalamnan. Bagkus, nanatiling nakapako, hindi makabangon sa pagkakalugmok nang maabutan ng mga nakakita sa kanya.

Beta knelt. Nena even forgot she was pregnant for a second and quickly dropped on her knees as well. Both women took her shoulders, peered on her face wet with tears.

“Lily! Lily!” pagsusumamo ni Nena, panay ang mahinang tapik sa kanyang pisngi.

Pero ayaw niya. Ayaw niyang pukulan ni sulyap ang babae.

Lalo siyang nakaramdam ng hiya.

Paano siya natunton ng mga ito? Bakit narito ang mga ito?

Bakit sa ganitong kalagayan pa niya siya natiyempuhan ng dalawa?

Lily felt Beta gently rubbing her back. “Lily. Doon ka munasa office ni—”

“No!” she blurted. She weakly shrugged them off.

Medyo gumewang siya habang pinipilit makatayo. Sinubukan siyang alalayan nila Beta at Nena pero panay ang kanyang tanggi.

“I can… I can walk,” punas niya ng mga kamay sa mukha.

Lily took in a congested inhale and sniffed.

“What happened?” Hindi napigilan ni Beta ang sarili.

“Beta, pakiusap—” talikod niya sa mga ito para tunguhin ang pinto.

She’s leaving. That’s right. She’s leaving.

Didiretso siya sa receptionist. Kukunin niya ang susi ng kotse at aalis. She left nothing in her locker but some clothes. She gave zero damn if she doesn’t get those clothes back.

Minadali niya ang mga hakbang.

Kailangan niyang umalis.

Kailangan.

Bago pa siya maabutan ni Jared.

Beta and Nena tailed her. They walked alongside her. They watched her reclaim her keys and walk out wearing nothing but The Org’s maroon satin robe.

Frosty December air bit her cheeks, her nose and dried hwr sore lips in minutes. They breezed past her, fluttered the skirts and end sleeves of her robe, and tangled with her blonde hair.

Pababa na siya ng hagdan nang maawtoridad na komprontahin ni Beta.

“Lily,” mahigpit na ang tono ni Beta, “what’s going on?”

“Malamig dito sa labas,” garalgal niya. “Makakasama kay Nena at sa baby.”

Lalong lumambot ang mukha ni Nena sa narinig. Pero alam naman nito na masama pa rin ang loob niya rito, kaya kay Beta pa rin nito pinaubaya ang pagkausap sa kanya.

“Exactly, kaya pwede bang bumalik ka muna sa loob?”

Patungo na siya sa parking space. Tanging ang mga poste ng ilaw na bumabakod sa konkretong daanan ang gumagabay sa kanila sa kalagitnaan ng gabi.

“Kayo ang bumalik sa loob. Aalis na ako.” Hindi siya lumingon sa mga ito.

Napag-iiwanan si Nena sa paunahan ng paglalakad.

“Just tell me what’s going on with you first!” hablot ni Beta sa kanya.

Lily spun around. “What for? Bakit interesado ka? Ang unahin mo, iyang kaibigan mo!”

Nanlaban siya pero hindi siya binitawan sa braso ni Beta. Naglaban sila ng titig— mata sa mata.

“Pareho ko kayong kaibigan. Inuuna ko kung sino ang mas kailangan ako. At sa pagkakataong ito, mas kailangan mo ako!” anas nito. “So, Lily, tell me what happened!”

Medyo natauhan siya. Tinanaw niya si Nena na napayuko, tila mas napahiya pa ito kaysa sa kanya. It should be her who should be ashamed. Nakakahiya ang inasal niya. Real immature.

“I will,” suko niya. “But please,” balik ng mga mata niya kay Beta, “not here.”

“Get dressed,” bitaw nito sa kanya. “We’ll use your car. Samahan ka namin kung saan mo gusto magkipag-usap.”

Then, Beta turned back. Walang lingon-lingong naglakad ang kanyang kaibigan hanggang sa maabutan nito ang naghihintay na si Nena. Si Beta na rin mismo ang umakay sa siko nito para sabayan ito pabalik sa The Org. That’s when how they looked sinked in for Lily. Beta low ponytailed her long, black hair and wore a red long-sleeved turtleneck shirt with black, tattered fitting jeans and black, leather ankle boots. Nena, wore a loose gray hoodie jacket. Natatago ng hoodie niyon ang lagpas-balikat nitong buhom. The skirt of her pink floral maxi dress flowed down reaching her ankles and white slip-on shoes.

Her friends walked ahead, trusting that she won’t run away from them. Sa isiping iyon pa lang, nakokonsensya na siyang takasan ang mga ito kahit gusto na niyang mapag-isa.

So, she followed them. Magbibihis lang naman siya sa The Org bago sila sabay-sabay na aalis doon.