Chapter 33: Yes I do the cheating!

Luke's POV:

"We're here!" I said as I pulled over the van at our villa's parking lot.

"I miss this place..." Jenna said as she opened the van's door.

"The last time we're here, it was your birthday... It's the day Alex's love for you had blossomed..." Pam said as she followed Jenna out.

"Oooh! You're right!" Miya said following them out of the van.

"It's also the day I began to pity myself for being single..." Pam said sarcastically.

"Aaaw! Maybe it's your turn now..." Jenna said as she gestured for her to look in the direction where Jessie and Mike were standing.

"Hmmm... I think I like the idea of pitying myself more after this vacation..." Pam said as she walked away.

I waited for everyone to got off before I turned off the van's engine and followed them. Kris was already outside scanning the area.

"It's been a while but the place still looks the same..." Kris said.

"Well, I was told it has been very busy after we made it known to the public... Reservations kept on coming... Good thing I was able to earmark this place for us in advance..." I said as I put my arm over Kris's shoulders.

"Oh... You mean?"

"Yes... I had this day booked since the start of business... So our staff knew that we are coming today..." I explained.

"Perfect! I can't wait to see the stars at night like before..."

"You can still see the stars when we're in the city..."

"It's different here... Somehow, the stars looked brighter and more vivid..."

"Really? I haven't noticed..."

"Just wait till it's night time... I'll show you what I'm talking about..." He said as he smiled at me.

Everybody was so happy to be back in this place but this time we have our new friend, Wendy, to join us. Kris and I also expect some other people to be with us today. We haven't told everyone about it, it's a surprise. Like before, the girls already took selfies on their phones and the boys unloaded our things from the back of the van.

"Good morning, young master..." Ben greeted us as he approached us.

"Sir Ben! You're here!" Kris greeted him happily.

"I was asked to serve you today... By the way, the food is ready, young master..." Ben said as he bowed.

"Thank you, Ben..." I said and nodded at him.

The boys got excited when they heard it and we helped them grabbed all our stuff.

"Wait! Niko! Put down my things... Let Mike carry them..." Pam said as he stopped Niko from carrying her stuff.

"What? But you got the most stuff in here..." Mike complained.

"Oh? Who's your master again? Or you're backing down? Huh! I knew it! You're all just talk..." Pam taunted him.

"No, I'm not! I'm a man of words!" Mike defended himself.

"Then stop whining and carry my stuff!" Pam led him.

"Fine!" Mike uttered scowling.

"What did you say?" Pam was being absurdly bossy.

"Yes! Master!" Mike said against his will and it was hilarious.

I just remembered Mike's face when we got the results of our finals. They both passed but Jenna got a higher average than him. They had this deal that the loser will serve the winner. Pam was giving Mike a hard time but a deal is a deal so Mike has to do everything she asks him to do.

We all went inside and I was able to look around. I was happy that our staff was able to make this place as beautiful as it is. My mom would be happy too when she sees this and I know she's watching from above with a smile on her face.

It's summer break and all of our friends were here today. Our third year in college came to an end and a lot had happened. I'm just glad that we're able to gather for this day.

We were in the lobby getting our keys to our respective rooms. Unlike before more rooms are available now so we can pick whoever we want to stay with. Kris and I will stay in the master bedroom. The next room from us will be Jenna and Alex's room. Pam and Wendy will be together in one of the rooms. Niko and Miya will stay in the room adjacent to Pam and Wendy's. Then Jessie and Mike will share the room closest to the stairs.

We all put our stuff inside our respective rooms and will meet at the dining hall for our lunch.

Kris and I were changing our clothes when I noticed his phone got an alert message.

"You got a message..." I said then I bent down to pick up the phone over the bed.

Kris immediately grabbed his phone out of my reach. He's been like that for the past days.

I saw Kris checked on his phone.

"They're here!" He smiled and hurried out of the room.

I followed him after a short while. I made my way to the dining hall to meet everyone. At the same moment, Kris came to announce some good news.

"Everyone! Guess who's here to join us?" He asked then Claire came from behind followed by her brother Chad and Chad's boyfriend, Demi.

The girls screamed in excitement and went up to Claire. Chad and Demi waved hello to everyone and I just nodded to greet them back. This is our first surprise for everyone. Kris begged me to ask them to join us. He didn't have to do it actually, since I already talked to them beforehand. But I just found him cute when he begs for something.

Chad walked up to me and said, "Thanks for inviting us here..."

"That's nothing... I'm glad you made it..."

"The last time I'm here, I did something horrible so I was hesitant at first but Claire convinced me to come here after telling me what you did for her..." Chad said. I can feel that he's still kind of aloof being here but I want him to feel carefree.

"What happened before was all in the past and it doesn't mean a thing now... So you don't have to worry about it... By the way, could you do me a favor?"

"Sure... What is it?"

"Uhm... Could you keep it a secret first? You know, the thing I did for your sister... I haven't told anyone about it." I plead.

"Oh! I see! Sure! I can do that..." Chad agreed.

"Thank you... You can ask Ben over there to escort you to your room... Then come back here for lunch..."

"Thanks again..."

I nodded and smile then he called Demi's attention who grabbed their stuff and went to talk to Ben. On the other hand, Claire was chatting with the girls who were all happy to see her. She didn't make it last time and seeing her here right now is as good as a surprise to everyone. I interrupted the girls to tell Claire to check their room first. On her way, I told her to keep our secret first. I'll find a good opportunity to tell everyone about the news.

-----

We had our lunch and we all decided to stay at the beachfront. The weather was so fine. Miya, Jenna, Pam, and Claire we're playing beach volleyball against Niko, Jessie, Mike, and Alex. Demi and Chad helped Kris set up the barbeque. They said they wanted some barbeque along with the light beer. Wendy just came out of the house and went up to me.

"I can't believe how beautiful this place had become... I was here once when your father threw a party for all of his friends..." She said.

"That's also the first time we met you, right?" I asked as I recalled our younger days.

"Oh! Yeah! That's right... I can still remember you both scared me with an octopus..."

"We ran from there up to here then you tripped and your face was covered with sand... That was priceless!" I can't stop chuckling while saying it.

"You're both meanies! I cried a lot that time..." Wendy said pouring her lips.

"Those were happy times..."

"I know... I'm happy that I'm back here with a handful of friends..." She said with a smile on her face.

"Uhm... May I ask you something?" I asked.

"Huh?"

"How are things going on with your father?... I heard from Kris what uncle Benjamin used to do to every person you tried to befriend with..."

"We talked about it and he apologized for what he has done... It took someone brave enough to knocked some sense to my father's head..."

"I see... That's good to hear..."

"I got mad at first but I understood his reasons so I just told him I'm not a child anymore and I want to experience life to the fullest like you guys... Good thing Kris was able to talk it through with my father... I'm so grateful..."

"Kris has always been like that... He can't stop himself from helping his friends as long as he could and I like that about him..."

"He sure does... He's also helping me now with something..."

"Really? What is it?"

"Uhm... I can't tell you yet... But you will know it soon..."

"That's odd..."

Why didn't I know about it?

"I'll go and help them... Thanks, Luke..." She said.

"Oh! Sure... Enjoy your time here..." I said then she made her way to where Kris was.

He sure does keeps a lot of things from me nowadays. But what bothers me most was that he's texting with someone else. I remember the day when I saw him smiling while reading some messages from someone. I tried to check who it was but he got mad and went inside his room. The fact that someone makes him smile other than me really nags me. I must know what it is, who it is.

After a while, Pam and the others took a break from their game and she asked Mike to give her a massage and get something to drink. I was there behind them when I heard Jenna talked to her as Mike stepped away to get her a drink.

"I really have a good feeling about the two of you..." Jenna said teasing Pam.

"What are you talking about? He's just facing the consequences of looking down on me... He lost on our bet..."

"Hmmm... Don't you find him cute? He's one of the hot guys in the faculty of Accounting..."

"Well... If you will focus on his facial features, it's true... He's cute..."

"So?"

"But he's so full of himself like his twin brother Jessie... And they're both playboys... Did you know? I just found out the other day that they dated most of the beautiful girls in our school and then they dumped them after a week..."

"They are just working on their charms..." Jenna said.

"Charm my ass! I don't like those who play with people's emotions, you know..."

"Let me tell you this... I used to think the same as you do about those two... But after Kris told me about their reason... I finally understood them..."

"Reason?" Pam uttered looking a bit confused.

"There's something more than what you see... I think it would be better to find it out yourself..." Jenna said and I'm happy that she was able to impart something on Pam about my two buddies.

"Oops! Here he comes... Remember, not to judge by what you see... Try to know him more..." Jenna said as she sat straight and acted like they haven't talked about him.

"O-okay..." Pam uttered and did the same thing.

"Hey, Luke! Chad and Demi want to talk to you..." Mike called out on me.

Jenna and Pam were shocked to see me behind them.

"How long have you been there?" Jenna asked. Both Pam and Jenna had this funny expression on their face when they knew they got busted.

"Long enough to hear what you're talking about... Don't worry I won't tell my friend here..." I said as I put my arm over Mike's shoulder.

"Oh! Is it about me?" Mike asked innocently.

"Just do what your master asks you to do, okay? I'll have to go and meet Chad and Demi... You guys enjoy your stay here..." I said then walked away. I took another look at them and I'm with Jenna with this one. I think Pam and Mike suit each other well.

-----

"Chad! Mike told me you're looking for me?"

"Yes, we wanted to ask if you know a place nearby that sells those fireworks... We thought it would be nice to have a fireworks display tonight..." Chad said.

"That's a great idea... Hmmm... I'm not really sure if there's a place nearby that sells those... I can ask Ben to look for some... We still have enough time to get a set of those..."

"Let me ask him... I'll go with him as well..." Demi volunteered.

"Are you sure? I can ask one of the staff to help him..." I offered.

"That's okay... I want to help out as well..." Demi insisted.

"Let him be... It's his idea anyway..." Chad said.

"Oh! Okay... Just tell Ben that I agreed to it already..."

"Sure... I'll go ahead, hon... I'll be back as soon as possible..." Demi said then went his way to talk to Ben.

Chad and I watched him walked away from us.

"It's good to see your relationship getting stronger and stronger..." I said.

"Of course we do... We can't let you and Kris be the only one to have a happy ending, you know..."

"Oh..." I uttered then I thought of something.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" He asked as he put his arms across his chest.

"Nothing... We're fine..." I said trying to convince him.

"Hmmm... Okay... Can I share something with you?"

"What is it?" I asked.

"I did love him a lot... Kris... From the day we met at the convenience store until the day he admitted that he loves you... I used to hate you for being there for him before I came into his life... But... When I got to know Demi... He saved me from the darkest days of my life... Then I knew, what I went through from loving Kris was just God's plan for me to be who I am today, where I am today..."

"That's deep, man..." I said as I listened to him.

"All I'm saying is that... Kris loves you more than anyone else... So if you have doubts right now, maybe it's you who's not trusting him... He deserves more than what you think of him right now..."

"Huh?"

"Even if you don't tell me... I know something is bugging you inside... I've been there... I know how it feels..."

"No... It's nothing... Really..." I lied again.

"Fine, whatever... Don't think too much Luke... Just have a little faith in him, okay?" He said then patted me on my shoulder.

Actually, he's right. I can't believe he saw through me. Am I that obvious? Maybe he's right. I should have more faith in Kris. What am I thinking?

-----

I went to where Kris was. I thought of what Chad told me. I love Kris and I know he loves me too. I should have faith in him. I walked up to him and he was still grilling barbeque. I went behind him unnoticed and hugged him.

"Luke... Stop it... Can't you see I'm busy..."

"Just let me do this... I missed your body close to mine..."

"You do? Hmmm... Why does it feel like you did something bad and this is your way to say sorry?" Kris said.

"I did... I'm sorry..."

"Huh! I knew it! What is it this time? Did you get into trouble again? Did you knock someone out? I told you not to get into fights, right?"

"No... Nothing like that... Just forget it..." I said and sniffed on his nape.

"Luke! Stop it! It tickles..."

"I won't stop till you drop..." I teased as I sniffed again.

"No! Geez! Look! It got burnt!" He said as he picked up one of the barbeques with the charred underside.

"That will still taste good..."

"Enough... Okay?" He said with an annoyed tone.

Then he got an alert from his phone. I let go of him as he pulled his phone out from his pocket. I noticed him gazed at me then turned around so that I can't see the message he received. Why does he keep on doing this? What is he hiding from me? Chad told me to have faith in him but with what he's doing all this time, I'm having second thoughts again. I wanted to confront him but I'm afraid to know the truth. Does he like someone else? Is he going to break up with me and be with this mysterious guy? I don't know what to think anymore.

"Kris!" Niko called out to him.

Kris looked in his direction.

"The seafood that we ordered just came... I want you to check if we got everything before we pay the delivery guy..." Niko said.

"Oh! Sure! I'll be there in a jiff!" He said then turned to face me.

"Will you watch these barbeques for me?... Just have them sit on there for a couple more minutes then put them on this plate with the others..."

"Sure..." I said with a stiff tone.

He looked me into my eyes. It seemed like he noticed how my mood changed. He scoffed in annoyance and made his way to where Niko was.

I clenched my fist and gritted my teeth. My heart was in pain and it hurts so bad. I wanted to get mad and talk to him about it but I don't want to ruin this day for him, for everyone. I don't know until when I can hold on to this feeling. My mind was in a loop when I heard a message alert tone. I looked around and saw his phone on the small table. He must've left it unnoticed. I looked to where he was and he's still busy checking their purchase. My mind was in jeopardy. Should I check on it? Or let it be? If I check it and confirm that he's texting someone else it would ruin me inside but if I will let it pass, the thought of it will still shatter me.

I looked a deep breath and picked his phone up to check who texted him.

--> I can't wait to see you.

As I read the message, I can't stop myself from checking their conversation.

<-- I'll be there to see you.

Kris sent this. It crushed my heart. All this time, after everything I did for him. I only wished to be by his side from the first time I saw him. He chose someone else. I was there when he needed me most. Where did I go wrong?

I browsed on their conversation and they've been texting for a while now. Based on their conversation they haven't met yet and they will see each other soon. We've been together for a while as well, and I know he loves me too. But why?

Maybe that guy has something that I don't. I don't know what it is but I have to know who this person is.

I called the number and waited till the other person answered it.

"Hello? I'm surprised you called me... Hello? Hello?" The guy said as he picked up the call.

By the sound of his voice, I know who he is.

Why didn't I see this coming? Wait... Something was not right. I need answers right now. Kris, why are cheating on me?

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