Chapter Thirty-Six

"WHAT!?!?" I shouted.

I couldn't close my mouth in shock. Did I really hear her say that? The combined forces of awkwardness and embarrassment crept their way to my flustered face.

"Hahahahahahaha!" Claire, all of a sudden, burst into fits of laughter.

She was laughing so hard that she couldn't find the will to stop.

"That wasn't funny!"

"Hahaha! It is." She managed to say as she continued to laugh.

After another fit of laughter, she was able to calm down. I didn't feel insulted. Just embarrassed. Very embarrassed. Besides, it is so rare to see Claire laugh like that.

"That was so awkward! You do realize that you're still a woman despite being a lesbian."

"Of course, I do. That's why I have these..." she said as she touched her chest with one hand.

What the hell is she doing!!!

"...and this." As she said that, her hand began to travel downward. And I panicked.

"No!!! Stop! I get it. Okay! I'll just hold on to your shoulders." I frantically cut her off.

Claire stopped. But without dropping eye contact with me, her hand continued moving downward.

"Stop! Just drive! For the love of all things holy, just drive!"

Claire stopped only to laugh hysterically at me. But still, thank God she stopped. How much more can I get embarrassed in just one sitting? Damn! This woman is an emotional sadist for finding humor in a situation like this.

"Okay. Okay." She said as she turned away from me and I placed my hands on her shoulders.

She put on her helmet and started the engine. Without another word, she began to drive. It was slower than I expected. It isn't bad at all. I like how the wind was pleasantly swooping on my face.

Did she slow down on purpose so I don't get scared? If that is it, she's so thoughtful. One of the things that I grew to like about Claire is her subtle way of caring.

But as I was pondering on that, I noticed that we slowed down. Up ahead I saw that the traffic light was on red. Overtaking some cars, Claire made it in front. But we were not the only ones. Soon, other motorcycles joined in at the front.

When the stoplight countdown timer hit fifteen seconds, I heard motorcycle engines roaring. It grew louder and louder as if taunting the other motorcycles to do the same. At the ten-second mark, Claire also roared her engine. It felt like we were bracing for a motorcycle race.

"Hold as tight as you can." She warned.

Then, the light turned yellow as fear and thrill began to tingle my nerves. The moment I saw the green light, my body froze.

Oh no!

Claire sped up like we were on a freeway. Because of shock and fear, I ended up holding on to her waist. I had my eyes closed not wanting to see how fast we were going. My mind only has one thought.

I DON'T WANT TO DIE!!!

Actually, that's a lie. There is another thing that is on my mind. It's the fact that I had my arm around her waist. My front is pressed on her back. I can feel warmth and softness. When was the last time I hugged someone like this?

Though I was terrified, the feeling of my arms around her made the fear lessen. Still not opening my eyes, I leaned my head on her shoulders. As if in an odd dilemma, I wished the moment to end but also to last forever.

"It's already over. You can let go now." Claire said followed by a giggle.

"Oh!" I opened my eyes as I immediately let go of her.

When did she stop driving? Was I concentrating too much on back-hugging her to notice? Well... that was embarrassing.

"You did that to scare me on purpose!" I said both calling her out and shifting the topic.

"Yeah! And it was funny and so worth it." She said as she flashed me a giggling smile. And just like that, my irritation evaporated.

"Get off now," Claire said.

"Oh!"

I got off the motorcycle. Then, I took off my helmet. That is when I got a good look at where we are. We were in a parking lot in a place that I used to pass by. Across the parking lot is a restaurant that has umbrella dining tables outside.

"Come on. All that excitement and laughing starved me." Claire said as she patted my back.

With her hand still on my back, she gently pushed me to walk forward. Noting our closeness, I let myself get pushed to our destination. The restaurant's name is Fiesta de Pasta. I can already tell what's their specialty.

It was already late in the afternoon. So, there aren't many people around. Looking at the menu board, I was overwhelmed with the different kinds of pasta they offer. It was indeed a pasta party.

In the end, I ordered some Beef Lasagna while Claire ordered Chicken Carbonara. We both ordered mango shakes for drinks and a basket of garlic bread. After paying (Claire only because she won't let me), we went out to pick a table.

While waiting for our order, I was on my phone checking on Facebook. But when I looked up at Claire, I saw her about to open her electric cigarette. She still hasn't quit smoking.

"You know that's not good," I said.

Claire looked at me. I could tell on her face that she already thought of a snarky remark to say to me. However, her facial expression softens. Then she said...

"Oh, right. I almost forgot about your weak lungs."

Though she put away her electric cigarette, it surprised me that her reason for doing so was because of me.

"This isn't about me. You know that's bad for your health."

"I know." She replied but her eyes seemed distant. As if she's not mentally with me.

I was about the ask what is she thinking when our orders arrived. The moment I saw our plates of pasta I forgot everything else. We decided to share them so we could both have a taste of each dish. They were both delicious.

"How did you know of this place? Wait! Don't tell me you own shares of this restaurant." I asked with wide eyes.

"No." she simply said.

That's a surprise. With her wealth, she can buy any company she likes. I wonder why she didn't buy this one. The food's great. The ambiance is also comfortable and pleasing to the eyes.

"Really? What didn't you like about this restaurant?"

Claire looked at me with amused eyes.

"Do I look like I'll buy any restaurant I like?"

"Well... With your status, you can acquire restaurant ownership as you please."

Claire let out an amused laugh.

"Just because I like the food in a restaurant, it doesn't mean I'll buy ownership of it."

Oh? Don't rich businesspeople like buying small businesses? I guess I was wrong about Claire.

"Besides the owner doesn't want to sell their family business to big corporations like us."

"Aha! So, you did want to buy ownership of this restaurant in the first place."

"Well... yeah. But I don't push people to sell their businesses to me. If they say no, I'll let it go. Besides, I can still go here and buy the kinds of pasta I like." She said with a smile.

Then we went into another conversation of random topics. Ever since we became real friends, there was never a moment when we didn't have something to talk about. Getting lost in the conversation, we eventually finished our pasta.

I was taking a sip of my mango shake when I noticed someone passed by. I turned to look. I didn't know the woman but she was definitely eye-catching. She was very pretty. With her take-out on one hand, she looked like an office worker. Her clothes were hugging her tight and I could very well see the voluptuous shape of her body.

She's gorgeous, yes. But if compared to Claire, she didn't stand a chance. Justine Claire is still the most beautiful woman I have ever seen so far. She has a nice sexy body too. If only she isn't into women...

As if the woman is begging to disagree with my thoughts, she bends over with her backside facing my direction. She seemed to pick up a paper that had fallen at her feet. Talk about a display.

But then, I heard a flirty whistle near me. I was about to turn to the whistler when the woman immediately turned in my direction. She gave me a death glare. I was stunned. She thought it was me.

I turned to Claire. But she had a shocked expression on her face as she stared at me. Why is she looking at me like that? I looked back at the woman only to see her still glaring at me.

Wait! Is Claire the one who whistled? Did she pretend to be shocked to pass the blame on me?

Oh God! Not again!