Love in All the Right Places (Chick Lit bundle) (26 page)

But I was barely two steps away when I remembered something, prompting me to turn back. "And some of us are polite enough to keep the elevator door open when someone shouts hold," I added huffily, glad to get it off my chest.

Stunned was the only way to describe his face. On his and Simon's faces actually. But Meghan's was a mix of disbelief and amusement. She shrugged at them and followed me back to the conference room.  Five - 2, Elevator Guy - 0.

Chapter 3

#AllMyBagsArePackedImReadyToGo

AS EXPECTED, LIBBY PULLED THROUGH with her travel guide. She sent me an email a few days after the briefing, listing everything I needed to know. While Miss Dorie's briefing had the makings of a great tourism guide, Libby's was even better because not only was her mile-long missive as comprehensive as a Lonely Planet travel guide, it was customized for me.

Libby's email wasn't the only one I got the day after. I also received one from my American boss granting me the requested vacation time as long as I didn't leave any loose ends lying around, and as long as I could be contacted in case of a work emergency.

The last email was another one from the Macau Tourism Board, making sure we had copies of the handouts and slides from the briefing. Aside from that, we were also asked to answer a questionnaire about our personalities and what our tentative plans for our free time were. Pulling up Libby's travel guide and Miss Dorie's briefing documents on my computer, I had a field day making a checklist of the things I wanted to do that weren't on our itinerary. A lot of the things I wanted to do, like see the House of Dancing Water, eat at the 360-degree revolving restaurant, explore Senado Square, and visit the casino strip were all included in our itinerary already, so I had to consult Libby's list for what else I could possibly want to do.

Five's To Do List

1. Explore Senado Square and the surrounding streets at night

2. Share a meal with the locals

3. Taste every stall's offering along the road to St. Paul's

4. See St. Paul's ruins at night

The last item took a bit longer to write down. Mostly because while I knew what it was, committing it to paper made it something I had to do for real. And I wasn't sure if I really wanted to, considering how cowardly I was. But sometimes, a girl has to do what she has to do.

5. Bungee Jump off the Macau Tower

Before I could change my mind, I hit the Send button. Her instructions were for a tentative list, so I knew it wasn't necessary for us to complete what was there. We could even totally change our minds when we got there. But personally, I knew that once I wrote down the bungee jump thing, I had to do it. I've always believed in my ability to kick-ass. What better way to announce it to the world, right?

WAITING FOR THE TRIP TO COME AROUND was torture. Despite being preoccupied by the holidays and falling into multiple food comas from too much good food—there's only so much crispy pata a girl can take—I found myself wanting to fast forward the days.

I kept reading up on our destination, writing and rewriting my packing list, shopping for clothes, and reading other people's blog entries about Macau. The print-out of Libby's guide became tattered and smudgy with my personal notes written around the margins. My personal trip preparation list kept growing longer, too.

A corner of my room started becoming my staging area for the trip. My old cold weather clothes were soon joined by coats, scarves, bonnets and gloves that were bought or borrowed from friends. Not only was it my first time in Macau, it was the first time I was visiting a country during winter. Sure, it didn't snow there, but I was excited about the need to wear winter clothes.

My elder sisters were just as excited for me as Libby was, going through their closets for stuff they could lend me. My dad, with mom's prodding, insisted on buying me a new coat, saying I travel a lot anyway so it would be good to invest in a fall and winter wardrobe.

As the trip grew nearer and nearer, I spent more and more time online, researching and trying to find a good handle for the trip on my blog. Since there would be four of us blogging about the same trip at roughly the same time, I knew I had to do something special to make my posts stand out. I already knew that it was going to be a series. And I also knew that Libby's notes would be handy in making the posts unique. But how? Should I include a lot of asides and trivia bits from Libby's days there? Or maybe I could do something gimmicky like taking photos of a wandering gnome as we went from tourist spot to tourist spot. Hours and hours were spent strategizing. While it was time-consuming and took my attention off work, it also made the waiting time more bearable.

You'd think I was busy enough with making sure work's done, the holidays, and trip planning, but somehow, I still found the time to succumb to the inevitable. I looked Mr. Arrogant Elevator Guy up. It wasn't a difficult task. Our basic info was written on one of the provided trip briefing sheets.

Jesse Ruiz

http://havecamerawilltravel.blogpages.com

[email protected]

twitter / instagram: wanderingcamera

I carefully copied out his blog URL on my web browser and waited as a mostly black and white page loaded. The site was very minimalist and quite easy on the eyes. Not what I expected from an art director. Or maybe it was. Obviously, he's smart enough to pick a clean layout to showcase his entries. And what interesting entries they were.

"
The old man and his granddaughter leisurely walking toward the escalator was a marked contrast against the busy Singaporeans hustling towards it, making me appreciate that old line about stopping to smell the roses,
" he wrote about rush hour in Singapore.

"
I took a break from paddling to ask my companion why the water below us was suddenly so dark. 'Dude,' he told me, 'We're over the Marianas Trench now. Paddle faster!' Well, that definitely had me paddling on turbo,
" he shared humorously about paddling in Guam.

"
As we saw the crowds making their way out the arena and onto the street, we wondered how long it would take to get a cab. I realized that the best part of this trip, other than the concert itself, was being billeted at a hotel that was connected to the concert hall,
" he observed during an overnight Manila-Hong Kong-Manila trip where he flew just to catch his favorite band in concert.

Before I knew it, I had wasted more than an hour on his blog, taking in all his observations, enjoying his stories about countries I haven't had the chance to visit yet, and slowly getting to know this guy who I vowed to hate.

I had to admit, it was becoming difficult. Because honestly, if I didn't know that this Jesse was Mr. Arrogant Elevator Guy, I would've wanted to meet him. Jesse's posts were full of good humor and wit. It was easy to see he was adventurous. His entries were peppered with scuba diving and off-roading photos. His shots were breathtaking, I grudgingly admitted. Most were even better than mine, but of course, I'll never say it to his face.

But then, that just goes to show how people are different online and in real life, I reminded myself, remembering the awfully rude, opinionated guy from the briefing. At least now, I know better than to be taken for a ride by his glib persona and mischievous dimples.

Chapter 4

#Turbulence

LIKE WITH MOST THINGS, DIFFERENT PEOPLE approach traveling differently. I was always the kind who gets to the airport three hours before an international flight, as recommended by the airline. One reason was because I'm usually excited. But mostly it was because I didn't like panicking about missing the flight due to unforeseen issues, like extra long check-in lines or traffic jams on the way to the airport.

So, it's easy to see how frustrating it was for me to be at the airport on time, only to be held back from checking in because someone from your tour group was late. This was exactly how the familiarization trip to Macau started. I was there on time. Well, a little bit early, actually. Gail emailed us beforehand to wait near the travel tax counter, so we could check-in together because she still had a few announcements to make.

I knew I was early, so I found a comfortable spot and pulled out a well-worn copy of Pride and Prejudice. I always revert to Austen when I'm in between books. P&P has always been my favorite, so it was the book I decided to pack for this trip. Gail arrived half an hour after I did, but seeing how I arrived 20 minutes before the prescribed three hours, it wasn't too late.

Meghan and Simon arrived soon after each other. It was a surprise really. I didn't think Megh, as she insisted we call her, would get to the airport early. She looked like someone who was always fashionably late. But like I said, it was still early, so it was no big deal. Soon, an hour passed. Then an hour and a half. Where was Mr. Arrogant Elevator Guy?

"Jesse was held up by work, but he's on his way," Gail informed us after calling him. "Let's just wait for him. We still have enough time before check-in anyway." Despite her relaxed manner, I could tell Gail was a bit worried. After all, she was our babysitter. Her job would be on the line if we end up not getting to Macau because we missed the flight.

A member of the ground crew brought out a sign reminding passengers that the check-in counters will close 45 minutes before the flight. While we still had an hour and a half left, Mr. Arrogant Elevator Guy was still in transit. Even Megh was starting to get worried.

So understandably, there was a collective sigh of relief when he came bounding through the airport's security check with just 20 minutes to spare. Gail immediately went on autopilot, brushing aside his apologies and assuring him it was okay before demanding for his passport. Once she had all our papers, she systematically managed to accomplish everything she needed to do, from paying for our travel tax, to ushering us through group check-in and baggage check in 15 minutes flat.

"Sorry, guys," Mr. Arrogant Elevator Guy said as soon as he got to where Megh, Simon and I were waiting.  "Today was supposed to be the start of my vacation leave, but something came up at the shoot, so I still had to go to work. I kept trying to leave but somehow, things kept cropping up. I'm really sorry you guys couldn't check-in because of me."

Am I hearing correctly? Was Mr. Arrogant Elevator Guy apologizing? "It's all right, bro," Simon replied. "We're still on time, no damage done." Meghan was quick to agree, so that just left me.

"It's okay. No big deal," I said. A tad cold, but civil enough. I still hadn't forgotten his cutting generalization about bloggers who accepted sponsorships and advertising during the briefing. That, plus the annoying elevator incident. Our conversation was cut short when Gail came back from checking us in.

"Simon and Meghan?" She called out before handing them their tickets and passports. Then she called out, "Five and Jesse?" before handing us ours. "The attendant couldn't get us seats together since the plane is almost full already, so I just asked her to pair you guys up with your travel buddies. I'll be seated separately near the back of the plane, but if there's anything you need while we're in flight, don't hesitate to look for me." She kidded, "Well, except if the fasten your seat belts sign is up. We don't want the captain throwing us out, do we?"

Wait. Did I miss something? Buddies? FIVE AND JESSE? Since when did we become travel buddies? This must be some sort of mistake. "Gail? Is this right? I thought I'd be paired up with Meghan," I asked her, just to make sure.

"Meghan? Did Miss Dorie say something like that? Sorry if she did," Gail apologized. "But during one of our meetings, we decided to pair you guys up based on your personal questionnaires. You know, the form I emailed you? We matched you guys up based on the things you planned to do during your free time. Well, that and your personalities. Have you and Megh made plans already? Oh dear, I'm sorry about that."

"Oh, it's nothing. I just assumed—" I started, "but it's no big deal." I plastered a fake smile on my face, just to reassure Gail that all was well. Despite hating the whole set-up, I didn't want to be the ungrateful whiner who found fault in everything, especially since we were the tourism board's guests.

Relieved, Gail started ushering us through immigration. Since all of us were seasoned travelers, there was no need to tell us what to do. We all grabbed our own departure cards and started filling them in. "You and me as travel buddies, Five?" Megh said as she sidled up beside me, big Cheshire cat grin on her face. "I don't mind hanging out with you, but what's this antipathy with the hot camera guy over there," she murmured, gesturing towards you-know-who with a surreptitious point of her lips. "Is this unresolved sexual tension I detect?"

"Are you nuts?" I snorted loudly, almost sputtering saliva over my departure card. "Jesse Ruiz is the last person in the world I would sleep with. Yuck, Megh! Who'd want to go out with that pretentious arrogant hipster? I don't know where you got the idea, but you are so wrong."

"Stop being defensive, honey, I heard you the first time. You really don't have anything going on with him? He's fair game?" she asked, to which I nodded vehemently. "Thanks, Five. As long as it's okay with you." She licked her lips like some vamp character from the B-movie of the week. Then, she returned her pen to her bag before moving on to stand beside Jesse, purring something about borrowing his pen. I was filled with indignation as I watched things unfold. Megh ran a slender, well-manicured hand along Jesse's bicep while Jesse laughed at something she said. Ugh. They deserve each other.

I MANAGED TO AVOID JESSE during most of our pre-departure wait. It wasn't difficult, seeing how Megh was always by his side, laughing at his jokes, then finding excuses to touch him. It was disgusting, their display. So, I just avoided looking at them. Too bad I could still hear Megh's laughter even as I looked away, continuously rereading the same paragraph in my book.

My luck finally ran out when we boarded the plane. It was one thing to avoid Jesse in the airport, but while seated side-by-side in the plane? Tough luck. I slipped into my assigned window seat as soon as I could, slipping on a pair of dark sunglasses (I don't care if I'm technically indoors, I will wear my sunglasses!) and my phone's earbuds. This way, I didn't have to put up with unwelcome conversation. Sure enough, it seemed to work. Jesse took his assigned seat beside me. He made a few hesitant gestures, like he wanted to say something, but decided against it.

I was mentally congratulating myself when the flight attendant stopped by our row. "Ma'am, may I ask you to turn your smartphone off?" She gestured to the phone on my lap. "We're about to take off and safety regulations require that all electronic devices be turned off during take off. You can turn it on again when the get up in the air."

How could I forget that? I did a mental facepalm and slowly removed the earbuds, which I wound around the phone. Beside me, I heard Jesse clear his throat. Can't ignore him anymore, I guess. "Five?"

I stared at him through my dark sunglasses. Let him feel uncomfortable. "Yes?"

"Look. I know we got started off on the wrong foot," he began, shifting awkwardly in his seat. "I was wrong when I made a hasty generalization and questioned the integrity of all bloggers who accepted advertising. I put my foot in my mouth there, and I'm really sorry about that."

His sincere tone really surprised me, making my eyes widen considerably. "What did you say?" I asked, lowering my sunglasses.

"I know I've been an ass and I have no excuse. I just wasn't thinking. I don't want the friction between us to ruin the tour, not just for you and me, but for the others, too. Can we start over?" He stared at me with eyes that seemed to look right through me. Much like a puppy begging you for the last bit of bacon you're holding in your hands.

"What about the elevator?" I asked with matching lifted eyebrow. To my surprise, his face went red. "I... uh... that was a mistake I pressed close instead of open really sorry about that I was just too stupid that day," he explained, words clumsily colliding into each other.

I tried not to laugh, but I felt a smile starting to form from the corners of my mouth. "Fine. Apology accepted," I replied grudgingly. "I'm not sure about starting over, but let's just see how things go."

"Fair enough," he replied. I pushed my sunglasses up to cover my eyes again before turning away. Bereft of my earbuds and phone, I fished the airplane headphones from the pocket of the seat in front of me and tuned into in-flight entertainment. Conversation over, he turned away as well and started flipping through a copy of the in-flight magazine.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" I couldn't help blurting out as the plane lurched scarily. The flight attendants had just finished clearing our food trays, and I was just about to settle down for a nap when that horrible feeling of falling from a great height startled me from my drowsy, stuffed state.

"Turbulence," Jesse replied, teeth clenched.

Echoing him, the airplane's paging system came to life. "Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has switched on the fasten seatbelt sign. We are now going through an area of turbulence. We ask all passengers to please remain seated with your seatbelts fastened. Thank you."

This wasn't the first time a plane I was riding ran into some rough winds, but this was the worst. It felt like we were falling a couple of storeys and were being shook from side-to-side. I struggled hard not to panic as the turbulence seemed to worsen. During a particularly rough tumble though, I found myself shrieking and grabbing the armrest. It took two minutes more for the turbulence to end, but it felt like an eternity. "You okay?" I heard Jesse ask.

"Yeah," I replied weakly. Only then did I realize that I wasn't clutching the arm rest but his hand. "Oh, sorry," I apologized, retracting my hand quickly. He smiled kindly before flexing his fingers.

"Not a problem. It was a horrible patch," he said before gesturing to my lap. "You want to tidy up first?"

Only then did I realize that my shirt had a sickly orange stain that was slowly threatening to spread. There were also random orange splashes everywhere. The back of the seat in front of me. The wall beside me. The little drop-down table.  Everywhere but the empty cup of leftover orange soda resting in the cup holder.

"Holy shit," I cussed when I realized what caused the mess. I quickly apologized then rose to make for the restroom. Jesse stood at the same time, blocking my path. I almost snapped at him, too, until he exited the aisle to make way for me. Then, he held the overhead bin open, helping me reach for my suitcase so I can fish a fresh shirt out. When I was done, he took the suitcase from my hands and shooed me off to the restroom, telling me he'd take care of returning it.

It was difficult changing in the tiny airplane restroom, so I felt victorious once I was done. Still, I knew that a mess was still waiting for me in my seat. A mess that wasn't there when I got back.

"I got you a new drink," Jesse explained when I returned. He didn't just get rid of the old paper cup and wiped down all the stains; he even got me a new drink from the flight attendant.

"Thanks," I smiled in surprise. That was unexpected.  "You didn't have to but it's much appreciated."

"I wasn't sure what you were having, but I assumed you were having orange juice and not orange soda. I mean, who drinks orange soda anyway? It's all artificial flavoring and sugar," he added patronizingly, before slumping into his seat and slipping on the headphones for the plane's entertainment system. I did the same, picking out channel 6, OPM's Greatest Hits - 1990s, from the station list.

Just like that, we were strangers again, minding our own business, but somehow the air between us was a little bit friendlier. Sure, he wasn't the kind of person I usually hung out with. He was still annoyingly arrogant and self-assured. But I appreciated the unsolicited kindness that he showed me. Maybe we could be friends after all, this Jesse and I.