The Boyfriend

Nathan asked her to pack light, but prepared a few outfits just in case they got wet. So she packed a few change of clothes and a beach towel. It seemed like Nathan wanted to do the video by the water. It’s a remote area where not many people know, it’s barely touched by tourists.

They packed up all the equipment needed in one giant backpack. Nathan stuffed his seasonings in a duffle bag. They made it as light as possible, but it was quite some baggage. They rode on a pick up truck that came to take them to the beach. Julie chose to ride on the back, Nathan joined her and leaned on their stuff while enjoying the scenery along the way.

She filmed their trip across the island when they passed the paddy fields, through narrow roads in villages, sometimes rocky roads by local farms where there were cows and goats fed on the green grass. She turned her camera to Nathan who at some point fell asleep. The trip to the beach took almost four hours only to find out that they had to take a motor boat to cross the water for another two hours.

She put on her sunblock generously. It was almost 11 AM when they jumped on the small boat and carefully placed their belongings not to get wet from the splashing water. Julie was not a fan of small boats, she wasn’t a very good swimmer, and the wobbly movement of the boat made her nervous. She hugged her knees, tried to stay still as much as she could. Her face was pale, she closed her eyes whenever the boat jumped against the wave.

Nathan took her hand, pressed it between his hands. “It’s okay, we’ll be there soon … you’ll be fine.” His words were comforting, but not as much as his hands were. She wanted to take it back, but she needed it more than she wanted to avoid it.

When they finally arrived, she shook off her nerves that piled inside of her for two hours. The white sand beach looked almost pink. It was smooth without any trace of footsteps as far as the eyes can see. A few hundred meters ahead were wooden stairs leading up to wooden cottages a hundred meters apart from each other. The cottages were lined up neatly facing the ocean. It was a resort island with only 10 cottages to accommodate visitors at a time. They were the only ones there at the time.

“Welcome to Uomo,” Nathan said with a wide smile.

The boat driver took their stuff off the boat, he was getting ready to leave.

“He’s leaving?” Julie was surprised. Given the time it took to get there, it dawned on her that they might need to stay the night.

“He’ll be back to pick us up tomorrow,” Nathan said casually.

A local came running from behind one of the cottages to help them out with their baggage. She was half wet from the boat ride and her skin was burnt. The sun was right above their heads in the clear blue sky, the fresh breeze blew her hair against the wind. She doesn’t let her hair down very often, it had grown all the way to her waist. It was a beautiful place, but Nathan was admiring something else that was more beautiful in his eyes.

“Come on, let’s put our bags in the cottage and then we’ll get something to eat,” he said.

She followed his footsteps, mesmerized by her surroundings. Everywhere she looked, she saw the pureness of the island. She thought of ways they can make a really good video out of it. The fact that they were going to spend the night there was in the back of her mind.

The cottage was only one big room with different sections used for different functions. There was one sliding door on the right of the entrance to divide the room from the bathroom. There were two mattresses on the floor opposite from each other, a doorway to the veranda, facing the ocean where they came from.

She leaned against the wooden railing in the veranda, it was even prettier from a higher ground. The trees by the beach were equipped with swings and some with hammocks where people could climb up and use them. Small row boats lined up on the far side of the beach. Local fishermen use them to catch fishes, lobsters and other delicacies for visitors to dine fresh out of water.

“This place is a gem … I’ve never heard of it before,” Julie said to Nathan who joined her in the veranda.

“It’s fairly new, not many people know about it, it’s very small and the locals don’t want it to be swarmed by tourists … ten cottages are enough to add to the island’s revenue, mainly to support their health care and water supplies,” he seemed to know much about the island.

“You’ve been here before?”

“Twice … this would be my third, are you hungry? We should record everything we do here, it would make interesting content.”

“It sure would,” she agreed.

She recorded everything from following the fisherman catching their soon to be seafood, to the process of cleaning them. Nathan cooked, seasoned, and plated everything by the beach. Half naked and wet, his toned muscles made him look more like a swimmer than a chef. The wind was a bit of a problem, but they learned by doing. They video the locals when they took coconuts straight from the tree and cut them open for their drinks.

It was a real island experience, different from Bhorma where it’s already modernized with luxurious resorts, cafes and high end restaurants. Everything in Uomo was still very much like how the locals do it. There was very little electricity supply on the island, they can only charge their equipment one at a time. They use oil lamps and torches at night for lights, and also bonfires.

They sat by the fire to check on the footage they’ve taken. “I don’t want to mention the location, I think we should keep it private,” Julie said while playing the video.

“Yeah, I think you’re right, people will ruin it, we’ll just say it’s Bhorma.”

She felt his breath in her ear, it made her nervous. She kept going with the video, tried to ignore that Nathan was leaning closer and closer as they went. She pointed out where the video was funny, discussed ideas on where to cut and edit. He couldn’t care less, he was quiet as he watched the bonfire reflected against her skin. Her mouth was moving, laughing, and he wanted nothing else but to kiss her.

Her hair was covering the side of her face, he tucked them behind her ear and ran his fingers all the way through its length. Julie and her long hair was a fatal combination for him. He put his lips on her shoulder.

She tilted her head towards him, slowly pulling her shoulder away. “Nathan … what are you doing?” she asked calmly, and turned to him.

He looked at her without flinching, “Looking at you.”

She looked away, her heartbeat was out of control. “Why did you bring me here?” she finally asked the real question.

“You want the truth?”

Her heart was throbbing but she nodded.

“I wanted to see if it’s true,” he said.

“What is?”

“These feelings I have for you … the thing that made us so afraid to be alone together,” he waited for her reaction.

She exhaled deeply, she was lost for words.

He took her hand, “Talk to me, we can talk about this.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“There’s everything to talk about … I can’t stop thinking about it, I can’t sleep thinking about it,” he was frustrated.

“What do you want me to say?” She pulled her hand away, but he wouldn’t let go.

“The truth … tell me the truth … I know you feel it too,” he was longing for her to tell him what he needed to hear.

She looked down, something was clogging in her throat. She couldn’t believe that it had come to this. He squeezed her hand, hoping she would ease his pain.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

“We have to do this right, I’m breaking up with her, Julie.” He stood up and pulled her in.

“And then what?” she folded her arms in front of her.

“And then we’ll be together, don’t you want to be with me?”

She stood there silent, she wanted to be with him. She has been for a while, but it was something she knew would never happen. She shook her head, “We can’t do that to her, Nathan, I love her, I can’t do it.”

“She cheated on me, I know you know that for a fact … and I didn’t even care because I was too in love with you.”

She was stunned by his confession, she felt a sudden chill, she hugged herself tighter. “She loves you, she chose you, that’s why she’s coming on Valentine’s day … you can’t break up with her, she’ll be devastated.”

He held the side of her arms, “Didn’t you hear what I just said? I wish it was you that day at the bookstore … but it wasn’t, and that’s just how we’re supposed to meet, and I’ve never met anyone that I’m sure I will never get tired of for the rest of my life.”

He was saying what she was feeling, but she could never admit it even to herself. Her heart was swelling, she never met anyone she was sure to be the one for her either. Her head was saying ‘no’. She put her hand on his chest, it was pounding hard. “I fell in love with you so hard that I wished I’ve never met you,” tears started to fall on her cheek. “Please don’t put me against her, if I have to choose between you and Kelsey, I will choose her, I can’t lose her.” There was a lump in her throat, a bitter truth she had to swallow.

Nathan pressed his forehead against hers, he held her hand on his chest. “It’s not gonna be easy, but at least tell me you’ll give it a chance … she will hate us, but then she will understand.”

Julie shook her head, “I can’t do it … I can’t,” she gently pushed him away. It was never an option for her. She stepped back, eyes swollen, her face wet with tears.

He knew it was tears of struggle, she was fighting her own feelings. “Are you going to let this go, just because I met her first?” he put it plain and simple.

“It’s not that simple.”

“It is,” he insisted.

“Stop … please, Nathan, I just can’t … I’m sorry,” she said and turned to leave.

He rubbed the back of his neck, he expected it from her. He knew she needed a lot of convincing. He had said what he wanted to say. He let it be for the night, hoping tomorrow he’ll have a better chance.