Camille Syanna

Andrei took me to a high-rise condominium building in BGC. On the top floor, we stopped in one of the four doors on the left. ZA keyed in a code and twisted the knob open.

I didn't need to ask to know that he owns the place. Once he opened the door, the familiar scent of his perfume assaulted my nose. And when I walked inside, the whole place reeked of him; plain walls of white and black trimmings, two abstract paintings with no pictures of himself on the wall and that's it.

The cherry floorboards shine as if it was well-maintained. ZA took me to the living room and let me sit on a burgundy couch in the middle.

"Are you sure you're going to be fine here?" He asked, looking down at his TAG Heuer. I could see that he was hesitant to leave me alone.

"I will be fine here," I roamed my eyes around the place. The air conditioning unit started working the moment we went in. "I think I have everything I need here for my comfort."

"The fridge is stocked with food," he mentioned. "If you ever get hungry, eat some. I wouldn't be long. I'd be back before you know it."

"You go na," I rolled my eyes. "Para makabalik ka agad! You'll cook our dinner pa cause I'm not going to pretend I can."

ZA chuckled and shook his head. Kinontra ko ang una niyang plano na isama ako sa pakikipaglita kanila Tristan. I asked if he could just leave me someplace safe. My being there with ZA would raise so many questions. I didn't want that. Besides, they were going to discuss something important that had nothing to do with me.

"I will," he nodded and walked up to me. He sat beside me and grabbed me by the waist like he always did. "There's a television in my room, you can watch movies there. I'm sorry if I had to leave you all by yourself."

"I can go into your room?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why the hell not?" ZA smiled and kissed my forehead. "I really need to go. I will try to make this quick, but if in case I can't, we will stay here for the night."

"Oh, but I didn't bring any clothes." I twitched my lips. All I have in the car is a pair of extra underwear and pads.

"You don't need clothes," he smirked and was about to add something when his phone started ringing. He rolled his eyes and cursed. "Dammit, I have to go."

I smiled at him. "Yeah, drive safely."

"I will," he leaned down to kiss me on the lips. It was rather fleeting. I wanted more, but ZA was on a rush so I pushed him away before it lingered.

"Go, and you take care."

"I'll come home for more," ZA groaned and leaned down again for another peck.

I watched him disappear behind the door and only then did I release the breath I didn't know I was holding.

My heart thumped harder and louder inside my chest. My adoration for ZA was growing rapidly. I knew it was dangerous, but I liked it.

Zayn Andrei

I parked my jeep in one of the Santa de Leones's warehouse. And I heard gunshots as soon as I get off my ride. Red had started playing early.

I spotted Red's truck parked next to Tristan's BMW. Inside, I found Red standing in front of a man who's kneeling for his life. Tristan was there, trying to light up the mood.

But I know Red. There's a greater possibility that today is that man's last on earth.

"Who is he?" I asked, standing next to Three.

"That's what we're trying to find out," he shrugged. "This is the second time since LA that someone has tried to shoot Red."

The man was soaking in his own blood. He was crying and begging for mercy.

"Who send you to kill Red?" Tristan asked.

"H-huwag niyo akong papatayin, parang awa niyo na..." nanginginig sa takot nitong sabi. He should really be scared. Red was not the one to think twice before killing someone. Especially when that someone has tried to kill him.

"Then just give us the names!" Tristan was growing impatient he hit the man by the balls. "Who ordered the kill you failed to execute?"

"H-hindi ko alam," umiling ito. "P-pero h-huwag niyo akong papatayin..."

And those were his last words. He was shot in the head right in the middle of his brows by no other than the no-nonsense Arsenal, Red Santa de Leones.

"Bullshit," Red shrugged and cleaned his gun as if nothing happened.

Tristan went straight into him. "Why did you have to kill him?! We needed him for information, Red!"

"And he knew that," he walked past Tristan, keeping his gun on his back. "He was trying to play you in his hand. He thought we wouldn't kill him because of something he knew. He would never give you the answer, Tristan. He would hold onto it with his dear life. And that worthless piece of shit was fucking garbage I didn't need breathing my air."

Tristan groaned when Red exited the warehouse. He turned to face me and started cursing.

"Putangina!"

He was frustrated. We all were.

"We don't have to rush things, Tristan." I reminded him of how far we'd gotten. "It's still a long and painful road, but we've already gotten this far."

"We've been doing this all our lives," Tristan said in his tired voice. "And Moana is with them. ZA, she's all I got."

"M can take care of herself," I told him. "Isa pa, Exodus wouldn't let anything bad happen to her."

"That still wouldn't help me sleep at night," he sighed and stared at me. "Red killed the guy because it almost killed Chi."

"Then the more you could understand him," I shrugged. "C'mon, you could've killed him yourself."

I knew Tristan and Red like the back of my hands. They were best friends long before I even came into the picture. But everything that they don't say to each other, I know.

Tristan liked Chiara. He could keep denying it, but I knew he does. The little De Salvo made her way to my two best friends hearts. I just hoped Tristan would get over his infatuation with her before Red discovers.

Camille Syanna

Seinfeld was playing on Netflix when ZA walked into his bedroom. I smiled at him from the middle of the bed and let the laugh tracks be our background noise.

"Hungry?" ZA asked.

"A little," I answered. I watched him took off his shirt and threw it on the couch. "Wow, that looks yum!"

He chuckled, unbuckling his belt. "Oh, you think so?"

How did ZA turned from being a nuisance into being a hot stuff I wanted to see naked was something I couldn't explain.

"What do you want for dinner, Cams?" He asked, finally getting rid of his pants. Now, he's naked in the glory of his boxer shorts.

"You," wala sa loob kong sagot sa kanyang tanong. I gasped and blinked twice before I looked away and retrieved my answer. "I mean it's up to you. Ikaw ang mag-cocook, e."

"What if I told you that you in my bed already looked a perfect dinner for me?" Seryoso niyang sabi. He even licked the bottom of his lips for impact! Wow! As if what he said wasn't enough.

"Oh, don't be bastos!" I tried to hide the shame that was burning my cheeks.

He laughed again, extending his arm on me. "Halika na, samahan mo ako mag-prepare ng dinner natin."

"Put on some shirt naman!"

"Why? Does the view bother you?" He teased.

"More like disgusts me," I faked a grimace.

ZA and I prepared our dinner. Well, not so much as I because he did all the work. I was just a pretty display on the side, waiting for the food to be cooked.

"Who's Dana?" I asked ZA in the middle of our meal.

He chewed his food first before answering. Akala ko nga he wouldn't answer because I was being nosy, eh. "Someone I know,"

"Someone you know," I nodded. That was a little vague. "Like ex-girlfriend?"

"I'm starting to think you're jealous," he said. "No. Dana wasn't my ex-girlfriend. Well, we went out once. Just trying something new but didn't work. And she remains a good friend of mine. I was surprised to see her here because she was supposed to be in Cambridge finishing her degree."

"You should re-think your initial thought because I'm not jealous," or so I could try convincing myself that. "Cambridge, huh? No wonder she's with Zanti."

Zanti studied in Harvard. I used to follow him there to double the chances of us being together, but it didn't work.

"Zanti?" He growled, na para bang malaking kasalanan ang pag-mention ko ng name ni Zanti.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Zanti. As in the love of my life Zanti. She went in his car that was parked in front of us. I know because I had the plate memorized."

ZA didn't say a word. He just stared at me for a moment before he nodded and continued eating quietly.

"Is something wrong?" I asked after a little while of silence.

Umiling siya pero hindi pa rin nagsalita.

"Okay," I shrugged. "So, tell me about your day? How was it?"

"I don't want to talk about it," tahimik niya pa rin iwas sa akin.

His sudden changed of mood puzzled me. What the hell did I do? Hindi ko na siya pinilit pang kausapin. Nang matapos kaming kumain ay siya na ang kumilos mag-isa.

He didn't ask for help kaya naman pinabayaan ko na siya. Besides, I hate doing chores.

I went back to his room and took one shirt from his closet. I took a quick shower and changed into an oversized Rolling Stones shirt I didn't expect he had.

Nang makalabas ako ng bathroom ay siya namang pasok ni ZA sa kwarto. Sandali niya akong pinagmasdan bago muling sungitan.

"I hope you don't mind I borrowed one of your shirts," I told him.

Nilagpasan niya lamamg ako. Doon na ako na-annoy!

I stomped my foot and faced him. "Hoy! What's wrong ba? I don't like being treated this way, ha! I didn't do anything wrong naman, but you kept doing this to me! You're hot then one second later you're cold. You're freaking me out!"

Galit niya akong nilingon. "You asked about Dana not because you were jealous of me having a connection with her. It was all about Zanti, wasn't it? You were jealous of her and Zanti."

Goodness! I did not even think of that! Now, I'm being accused of jealousy? Where did he get that?! "Woah, where did you get that?!"

"I don't know," he shrugged, mocking me. "Maybe from the love of your life, Zanti!"

"Oh, my God! You're crazy!" I screamed at him. "I was here all day waiting for you and not once did I think of Zanti! I was so eager for you to come home so you could kiss me again! Because Jesus Christ, I couldn't understand why I liked it so much! So, no, ZA. You couldn't talk to me that way-"

ZA didn't waste time to shut me up the best way he knew how. He snaked his arms around my waist and lifted me from the floor, brutally kissing me. I circled my legs on his hips and kissed him back.

God! This is what I wanted.

His tongue did the exploring, and I craved for more. He dominated the kiss, and I didn't care as long as I was taking a part from it. I didn't care.

I arched my back when I felt ZA's hand did another exploration southward. His palm crawled upward my breast, fondling and caressing. I cried for wanting more, for needing more.

When his lips left mine, I groaned in protest until I felt them on my neck. What we're doing is so addictive!

ZA laid me down on the bed with him on top of me. He got rid of my shirt and his mouth was quick to cover one of my breasts. He tasted me one nipple at a time.

His other hand was supposed to go way south when I remembered something. I quickly grabbed it and called his name, fighting the intoxication.

"Andrei,"

"Hmm?" He answered without withdrawing my nipple from his mouth.

"We need to stop," I don't want to, but we have to. I closed my eyes and reminded him of something we kind of forgotten. "I still have my period."

"Fuck," ZA groaned disappointedly like a wounded animal.