One More Chance

I couldn't help but laugh at Dana's cringe reaction.

"So you're disappointed because he didn't even want to touch you?" I asked, biting my lower lip.

"Yes, and he was so slow!"

"You're only dating for what, I mean, how long--- two weeks? And you already want to give your body and soul and everything to him?" Dana's eyes went wide.

"Because I love him but I don't know if he really feels the same and correction, we have been dating for three months, duh!"

"Jeez! Love cannot be measured by giving him your body or for how long you have been together!"

"Martha, you know what, to be honest, I admire him. I admire Toni for not touching you." I emphasized the word not with a smile as I suddenly remembered Luke with Toni. "That only means he truly loves you and by not touching you, he only shows how he cares for you. He respects you."

"That's right! And speaking of Toni, he's now walking back to our table with the widest grin in the world!"

We all stopped discussing Martha's complaint and looked at Toni who now has a plate of lemon slices in his hands.

"Girls, look who I bumped into on my way to the counter?"

"Who---" we haven't finished asking yet when he stepped aside and there behind him was Martin, standing and smiling. He has a bottle of beer in his hand. "Martin!" My voice came a bit louder as I gulped and kicked Dana's feet lightly enough for her to get the message. -'Why is he here?'- I asked in my head. "Oh, hi, Martin! You're here too!" Dana then spared me a quick glance.

"Yeah, I was waiting for someone, but I saw Toni and he asked me to come and say hello to you guys."

"Well, then, hello, Martin, since you said you're still waiting for whoever that someone is, why don't you join us for a while?"

-'Jeez!'- my inner mind's reaction when Martha invited the man to join us and worse, Toni agreed and asked him to sit down. "Of course!"

I felt Dana's elbow on my side the moment Martin was seated in front of us.

"Whoa! Martin! The guy who your boyfriend is jealous of!" Dana whispered in my ear which made me close my eyes and sigh at the same time.

She's right. I'm glad I don't have to explain to her as she got the message on her own.

"Well, it's alright, he is still in Davao, so he won't know that Martin is here too." She continued to whisper which actually it can't be called a whisper because she was almost screaming near my ear due to the loud music. "But you know we've already talked about it!"

"Yes, but having Martin in our group doesn't mean you're already doing something awful behind him. You are friends and you are just friends and it's not like you're cheating on him just because you're friends with Martin, duh!"

But then I chuckled when she rolled her eyes.

-'Well, she's right,'- I let out a sigh of relief.

I was about to say something but Martha stood up and suddenly took both Dana's hands and mine and dragged us onto the dance floor.

"Martha, you are already drunk, why don't you just stay in your seat?" Dana asked her worriedly, but the woman didn't listen to her.

"Come on, this is my party! A continuation of my birthday celebration yesterday, so let's dance to the wonderful music and drink after this!"novelbin

Since I haven't had alcohol for quite a while, I can now feel the slight numbness on my face and hands even though I only have four shots. But hey... I'm not drunk. I'm not yet drunk.

And yeah, since our minds and bodies had already been influenced by the fucking tequila, we slayed and rocked on the dance floor like there was no tomorrow and like it was the last. We could have actually turned the club upside down if it wasn't for Toni who came to get his girlfriend who was obviously drunk and swaying like a madman in the middle.

"Haist! You're such a killer mode, babe!"

We were all laughing as we followed the two back to our table. Martha kept complaining but Toni didn't let her back on the dance floor again.

"So, how are you and your boyfriend, Sam?"

Although I was a little surprised by the question, I turned to Martin with a smile and answered...

"We are fine," and I shrugged. "We are slowly filling the lost years with new memories."

We were left alone at the table as Dana and the others went to the restroom.

"Hmm... that's great to hear. I'm happy for you, Sam."

I felt the sincerity in his voice, so I returned it with a sincere smile.

"Thanks, Martin, how about you? I mean, how are you? The last time we met was at Dana and Caleb's wedding."

"Yeah, that was the last time we met and there were a lot of things that happened to me and in my life after that."

"What do you mean?" I asked, suddenly becoming confused.

"You see--- I'm getting married."

"Huh!" My mouth dropped open and my eyes widened in shock when he showed me his hand with an engagement ring on his ring finger. "Seriously?" "Yup!"

"Oh, my God, that was fast!"

"Yeah, that's what I thought too," he shrugged. "Everything is so overwhelming."

"Care to share some details?"

And there, he started telling me what happened to him these past few months. He fucked up one night... just one night and he instantly impregnated a woman whom he didn't know even the first name. It just happened that the girl was only eighteen years old and the daughter of the highest-ranking military officer in the Philippines, so he had no choice but to do the right thing.

"Oww... but then, congratulations, Martin, I'm happy for you," I gave a cheerful smile after hearing his story.

But he just pouted like a child in front of me before drinking his beer.

"Hey, I'm serious, Martin! Because even your love life or your love story turned out to be like that, well, at least there is an angel that was formed despite everything and that's a great blessing!"

He didn't say anything, he just gave me a half-hearted smile.

"Thanks, Sam, for listening and for not judging me."

"Ahh... no worries and mind you, I'm not a judgemental type," were the only words I said as I nodded and was about to take my next shot when someone snatched it from me. "What the heck---"

But then I was stopped and my mouth hung in mid-air when I saw the man who did it. It's Luke. He drank it in one gulp without even touching the salt and then the lemon.

"L-Luke!" I blinked repeatedly as I stared at him in surprise. I then brought my hand to my throat as I imagined how bitter that tequila tasted and he seemed not even bothered. But what surprised me the most was his presence. What is he doing here when I asked him this afternoon if he could come to Martha's party and he said the meeting wasn't over yet and they still had to stay there until tomorrow.

"Mr. Williams," Martin uttered in shock too.

"Tss! You seemed surprised to see me." Luke uttered with a smirk, looking at the now-turned confused Martin. "Can I join your lovely conversation?"

My face wrinkled when he emphasized the word lovely. It wasn't the tone to use when you're mentioning that word. He's mad and even though I can't clearly see his face due to the dim ambiance in the club, I heard a hint of anger and jealousy in his voice. "Actually, I was waiting for someone and Toni invited me to join their group so---"

"I didn't ask for your explanation, did I? So why bother saying those things when no one is asking."

"Well, I thought you might have wanted to know since you saw us talking. You saw me talking to your girlfriend and I'm hinting just now that you don't like it." Martin shrugged, bringing the bottle of beer to his mouth.

"Yes, I don't like it! I don't like you hanging out with my girlfriend! And honestly, I don't even like you from the very start ---"

"Luke!" I decided to interrupt him as the conversation was now getting tense.

He turned to me and now I think I don't no longer have to ask myself if he was mad or not because seeing the way he looked was more than enough.

"Sam, I guess I have to go. I just got a text message from Gary and he said he's now in the parking lot."

"Oh, okay, sure," I nodded, smiling at him and grabbing Luke's hand at the same time.

"Thanks for the time, Sam,"

"Hmhm," I just hummed as a response and didn't wait for him to be out of my sight and immediately got Luke's attention. "What was that all about?" I asked him, but he ignored me and took the glass of alcohol from the table and gulped it without even looking at me. "Nah, I was just being friendly to your friend," he again emphasized the last word.

"Luke---"

"Mr. Williams!"

I was cut off by Dana's voice as they all now back from the restroom.

"Oops! Look, babe, Sam's boyfriend is here!" I bit my lip when Martha tugged her boyfriend's shirt as she pointed at Luke next to my seat. "Woh, hello to you Mr. Williams!" And she laughed afterward.

Toni and Dana simultaneously asked her to stop and when she did, she sat on the vacant seat next to Luke and without hesitation grabbed him by the arm.

"Look at me, Mr. handsome Williams!"

"Babe, what are you doing?" Toni tried to stop him but it was no use.

"Just wait for a second, babe, I just want to talk to him, okay?" She even raised her palm to shut Toni from talking and then turned to Luke again. "I just want to ask you a very simple question, Luke... oh, is it okay for me to call you Luke?" "Yeah, it's fine," Luke replied with an emotionless expression.

"Do you really love our Samantha?"

We were all surprised by her question, but I was more thrilled with what Luke answered.

"Yes, I love her. I love her so much that I had to keep my excitement when she asked me if I could come to your birthday celebration and I said no, I couldn't come because we still have a meeting but the truth is that I really wanted to surprise her tonight. And yes, I love her more than she ever knew that I had no idea it was me who would be surprised to see her talking to the man she knew I'm jealous of."

"Whoa!"

"Ohh..."

"Oh, my gosh, Sam, you really have long hair that I'm actually stepping on right now!" They all gasped in unison but Dana's comment made everyone agree but made Luke get up and leave. "Luke!" I called him but he completely ignore me.