Voices

So that this story will make sense, better read this first Running in Circles by Robin Van Persie. Or better yet, you can backtrack here.

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"Dana?"

Dana heard his voice but did not turn.

Move your legs, Dana! Dammit Move!! Dana forced her legs to walk quickly out the door of the house, into the cool evening air. She breathed a sigh of relief when she had walked a few meters from the house's gate and no one was following her.

She stopped for a moment on the sidewalk and looked down the street deciding which direction she will go. Dana was in an unfamiliar subdivision in Makati. Several cars were parked on either side of the street. Cars of the party guests. She doubted that there will be pedicabs plying here.

Good thing in these posh subdivisions, Dana thought, is that the streets are well lit.

Dana decided to walk down the street in the direction she and Jenny came from earlier, until she reached a guard house and ask the guards to get her a cab.

Hope it won't rain, Dana thought as she crossed her arms around herself. She began walking.

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Rob thought he saw a familiar face walking ahead of him and go out the main door. He called out her name. The girl didn't turn.

He was about to follow her when he felt a hand grab his arm.

"Woah, bro, just a sec!" Alex said, pulling Rob back.

He leaned close to Rob and said, "I know you, you're not coming back. But I might… you know… and maybe you could… " Alex grinned.

Rob rolled his eyes at his roommate. Forever the horndog, Rob thought. He brushed Alex's hand fron his shoulder. "I know the drill, Alex," he told his friend. "I will make myself scarce."

Rob only shook his head, forgetting about the girl he saw and walked out the door. He took pity on whoever Alex will be bringing home tonight.

Normally, when Alex brings home girls, Rob would lock himself inside his own bedroom, put his Sennheiser headphones over his ears, and turn up the music from his laptop to drown out the noises from the bedroom next door.

Hearing his roommate's female partner's moan from the other side of the bedroom wall used to also give Rob thrills. He used to watch porn and jack himself off while his roommate was fucking with some girl. There were a few times that they each had brought girls to their respective bedrooms simultaneously. But they've never swapped sex partners though. It was kind of an unwritten rule between the roommates -- no screwing with each other's girlfriend. That's where Rob drew the line between him and Alex. Alex can borrow his stuff every now and then, but never Rob's girlfriends.

For Rob, their arrangement was cool at first. But in time, it became boring. And later, annoying. Yeah, the parade of different girls in and out of Alex's bedroom has become annoying. Most of these girls also flirted with Rob. But he would always politely decline. He thought that maybe he should try something long-term with a girl.

Rob just shook his head as he unlocked the door of his Nissan pick-up. Maybe I should just soundproof his room, Rob chuckled as he climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine.

Rob drove down the street and turned left at the corner. He noticed a girl in black shirt and jeans walking ahead on the sidewalk. As he drove past the girl, he looked back at her through the rearview mirror.

He stepped hard on the breaks.

Dana.

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Dana looked up in surprise as a dark blue pick-up truck stopped a few yards ahead of her. Its hazard lights began blinking. Her heart pounding in her chest, she stopped and looked up and down the street. Though brightly lit, no one else walking down the road.

She knew that up ahead, about a quarter of a kilometer away, there is a security guard outpost where she can probably ask for help. At almost the same distance in the opposite direction, however, is the party that she just left. And Rob.

Did she dare walk past this car and towards the security guards? Or walk back to the party, to Jenny and Rob?

Weighing her options, Dana discreetly fumbled around her handbag for her cellphone and something sharp. As she pocketed her cellphone and felt inside her bag for her metal tipped mechanical pencil, Dana walked again, quickly towards the guard outpost.

Rob waited for Dana to walk closer to the vehicle, before turning on the interior lights and opening the passenger door. She called out to Dana, "It is you! Get in."

Dana froze and stared at Rob in disbelief. Oh, lord! Of all people! Her heart was caught in her throat. She couldn't speak. She clutched tight on the mechanical pencil in her bag.

She shook her head and walked faster down the street.

"What the fu….?" Rob exclaimed. He shifted the car into first gear and drove next to Dana, keeping up with her walking pace.

"Dana, get in!" He said. "I'll drive you home."

Dana stiffly shook her head and continued walking.

"Are you trying to avoid me?" Rob wanted to scream at her, but kept his voice normal.

Walk, Dana, walk! The voice inside Dana's head said.

Shit! She is avoiding me! Rob almost hit his fist on the steering wheel in frustration. Why the cold shoulder treatment, he didn't know. Had he done something wrong? Had he seen her do something wrong at the party?

Rob took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Look, Dana. For whatever reason you're mad at me, I'm sorry. But can you please get in the car. I'll take you home, I promise."

Dana drew in a ragged breath as she continued to walk. Unshed tears are stinging her eyes. She didn't look at him. She couldn't. She's afraid that when she looked at him, she'll want to throw herself into his arms.

Just walk away, Dana, the cautious part of her brain said.

My god, Dana! He doesn't deserve this! the sensible part argued.

A car behind drove past them. Its driver shouted through an open window, "Get off the road, asshole!"

Rob looked from Dana to the road and realized that he was almost straddling the lane. Cursing under his breath, he pulled over to the sidewalk. He quickly got out of the car and intercepted Dana, grabbing her by the shoulders.

"Okay. Stop." He said, looking directly at her face. "What's going on here?"

Still not looking at his eyes, Dana shrugged off his grip and side-stepped Rob. "Nothing. Just leave me alone, okay?"

As Dana walked a few steps away, Rob grinded his teeth in anger. He's getting mad now.

"Nothing? Fuck nothing! Dammit!" He shouted at her retreating back. "Have you blocked my number? Even with the night we spent together? It was not 'nothing.' The way we said good bye last Saturday was not 'nothing'."

Dana nearly choked on her tears. Walk away, Dana, walk away.

Rob followed Dana, falling in pace behind her. "After I left, I texted you, right? You're the one who didn't text me back. But I gave you space… Okay, I'm sorry if I pressured you into anything you don't want to do… I'm sorry if I didn't take it slow… Damn it, Dana! Look at me!"

Rob pulled Dana's arm to turn her around and face him. "Whatever happened between us, it was not nothing to me."

Oh my god! Dana thought as looked at anything around her except him. With him standing close to her, she could breathe in the scent of his cologne. He smelled so good. What is happening to me?!?

She pulled her arms tighter around herself. It suddenly got colder. She stood there staring at the sidewalk.

Rob let go of her arms and stared at Dana's bowed head, expectantly. "Well?"

Silence.

He combed his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Damn it, Dana. Please talk to me," he pleaded softly.

Dana swallowed the lump in her throat and looked up at Rob. "It was nothing to me," she said.

Rob shook his head in disbelief. "What did you say?"

"Don't you get it? It was nothing to me." Dana realized that directing her anger from herself towards Rob was easier to take. She summoned all her anger. "It was just sex. I got horny. It was just for one night."

Rob just stared at Dana, still unable to believe what he's hearing.

Dana took a deep breath and continued, her eyes flashing. "It was a good fuck, Rob, but not good enough for a repeat performance. I'm done with you! Now, stick that into your thick skull."

With that, and all the false bravado that she could muster, Dana turned heel and walked faster towards the guard outpost which was now just a few meters ahead.

The two guards on duty were watching them curiously. But as soon as Dana started walking in their direction, they turned back to their log books, pretending to ignore what seemed to be a lovers' spat.

Behind Dana, a car door slammed and Rob's pick-up drove past her and the outpost at 80kph.

As soon as Rob's tail lights disappeared around the next corner, Dana leaned on a street lamp for support. Her whole body was trembling. One of the security guards approached her with a look of concern. "Are you alright, ma'am? He's a jerk for leaving you like this. Shall I call you a cab?"

"Yes, please," Dana choked. And no, she thought, I'm the jerk.

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It was a good fuck, Rob, but not good enough for a repeat performance. I'm done with you!

Rob almost floored the accelerator as he sped through EDSA. His hands gripped hard on the steering wheel. His jaw clenched in anger.

A good fuck, huh? Rob turned a sharp right to Kalayaan Avenue. He swerved to avoid another car also turning right. He pressed on the horn hard.

BEEEEP!!!

Rob felt used. Dana used him. For sex? So what? He had one night stands before. But none of those one night stands had the same attraction as he had with Dana.

Just a good fuck, huh? Horns blared as as Rob sped past a truck. Damn that girl for giving me a run around!

It was nothing to me. Zilch. Nada. Dana's voice echoed inside his head as he parked haphazardly in his parking slot.

Rob slammed the car door hard. He cursed himself for telling her that it was not nothing to him.

He slammed the front door and his bedroom door behind him, hard. The walls shook at the impact. He paced frustratedly around his bedroom.

It was just sex. I got horny. It was just for one night.

As Rob threw his car keys on the bed, his eyes fell on the gift-wrapped package on the bed. The gift he meant to give Dana. He quickly grabbed it and tore off the gift wrapper. He then threw both the wrapper and beige notebook into the wastebasket.

"There you go, you horny bitch," Rob screamed in anger.

He walked out into the balcony and lighted a stick of cigarette. He noticed that his hands were shaking.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" He cursed himself.

Rob took a long drag from the cigarette and blew hard. "She's one twisted bitch, Rob," he scolded himself. "She's just a tease."

For the next hour, Rob smoked one stick after another, calling Dana all ugly names he could think of. He wanted to kick himself for wanting to pull her into his arms when he saw her walking down the sidewalk. And that mouth. It took him all self control to stop himself from kissing her.

"Damn!"

Rob crushed the cigarette butt on the ashtray. A little calmer now, he reentered his bedroom. For a moment, he eyed the beige notebook inside the wastebin.

It was a good fuck, Rob, but not good enough for a repeat performance. I'm done with you! Now, stick that into your thick skull.

Rob quickly grabbed his car keys and left the condo, ignoring the obviously drunken Alex who had just arrived with a visibly drunken Jenny. "Shoo, Robbie," Alex slurred as the door shut behind Rob.

Within 30 minutes, Rob was pulling over outside Dana's apartment in Quezon City.

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I may be clawing my away around here, Robin. But let's see you run around this. :P

Next: Purple and Green Stripes by Robin Van Persie