You’re Still My Man – English

ACE

A few hours later, they arrived at Gina’s boarding house. He himself opened Gina’s door with a key. As soon as they entered the house, he first observed if the alarm system he was setting would sound. However, there was no high-pitched warning to meet them.

“Do you remember when you set the alarm?” He immediately asked Gina.

“Of course, I set the alarm before I left.”

“Are you sure, Gina?”

“I’m sure, because I always–”

“Who else did you give access to?”

“I didn’t give anyone, Ace. Not even Janice.”

“Stay here.” He shut the door as she was still speaking and drew his weapon. As he had observed, nothing seemed out of place in the living room. He opened Gina’s bedroom, moved into the connecting bathroom and went through to the other room he was going to occupy. All his equipment is complete after he moved into Gina’s house a week ago. He also checked the cabinet where he put the gun and magazines and he breathed a sigh of relief because they were still there. He quickly closed the cabinet door when Gina suddenly entered.

“You’re so forgetful Gina, you haven’t set the alarm yet.”

“No. I’m sure I set that. I’ve even checked a few more times to see if the alarm was really set before I left the house.”

“Come here and take a look. So you can see that it’s not really set.” He said and pointed the alarm at Gina.

“Are you still worried about Brando?” She asked. “Do I think our marriage is the effective solution so that Brando won’t bother me again.”

“The issue here is just the alarm that isn’t set, Gina. That’s all, Period.” He said and noticed that Gina didn’t say a word. “Anyway, the important thing is that no one got in here.”

“I’m sure that when I left, the alarm was really set… or maybe there’s a ghost here and your alarm was tampered with?”

He rested his arms against the doorjamb and he just laughed at Gina’s mania.

GINA

“Forget that ghost Ace, I’m just joking–” She was quickly interrupted because Ace suddenly swept her into his arms. She slid both arms around his neck while their faces were inches apart, and she looked at Ace’s red lips. He carried her to the living room and laid her on the couch.

“Do you still have an empty cabinet in your room for my other equipment?”

She was encouraged again by what Ace said. “Do you mean you’ll be sleeping with me?

“No, I’ll still be sleeping in the other room. I’m just putting things in your room, it’s for appearance sake just in case your mom and Janice visit here.”

She was disappointed with Ace’s answer, so she turned her back on him and chose to go to her room. She knew he would follow her too.

ACE

He immediately followed Gina to her room because he might hurt her again. He slowly entered her room and only now did he notice that her room was fully decorated, but everything is tidy. But he suddenly remembered that the alarm did not sound when they entered the house earlier, maybe someone had entered inside Gina’s house. He didn’t want to think about that, but he was really worried about the alarm not ringing. He needs to get Gina away first and he also needs to inform his superior so that the security device will be replaced immediately. Because if someone actually broke into her house, their lives could be endangered.

“Gina, come with me to the grocery store,” he said so Gina immediately turned to him. “I’ll just wait for you outside.” And he quickly left the room. He needed to call his boss, Carlo del Valle, even though he really didn’t want to let him know.

He saw Gina running where he was as if she were an Olympic runner who wanted to get the gold medal. As for him, why did he suddenly think of going to the grocery store? Is he afraid that he and Gina will be alone in the same room again?

GINA

She runs fast because Ace might leave her and change his mind that he won’t take her to the grocery store anymore. She was really happy because Ace thought of including her even though sometimes she couldn’t understand his behavior. And Before she left the house, she made sure she actually set the alarm.

—–

ACE

He stretched an arm along the back of the couch as he sipped an ice-cold beer. They’d worked hard all evening, rearranging her room and his. So now they are a bit relaxed and they are just talking. She found out that Gina writes as a part-time writer for a magazine publishing company, and she is also one of the designers of Maryam’s lingerie products. She also mentioned that she was only one year away and she was about to graduate. They also discussed the possible joke of their colleagues when they returned to work. They also plan to visit Janice and her baby tomorrow before her sister is released from the hospital. He was happy because he automatically became a member of Gina’s family. After all, they were now a couple, a team and a partnership.

Gina informed him that she will be taking her bath first and after a few minutes, he could hear the murmur of water coming from the bathroom. He leaned his head back to rest on the top of the sofa, being content.

While they were busy shopping earlier, Mr. Del Valle’s expert personnel searched Gina’s home to check if anyone had actually entered her home. He was very grateful because no one entered her house and maybe Gina just forgot to set the alarm.

Now, he doesn’t hear any noise because the water has stopped flowing. He imagined her drying off, while rubbing lotion over her soft velvety skin.

“The bathroom’s free.” she called him from behind.

When Gina left the bathroom door, he immediately entered. He could still smell the scent she left in the bathroom. His mind was working again, thinking if she was in her bed by the time he got out. After a few minutes, he heard a knock on the bathroom door.

“Ace,” Gina called him. “I’ll fix the bedding in your room.”

He quickly closed the shower curtain because he forgot to lock the bathroom door and Gina might get inside. Whoa! That’s hard. He was just laughing at himself, because he seemed to be acting like a woman who was afraid of being peeked. But she was so damn obvious. Sometimes his thoughts about her are correct. What was he going to do with her?

*****