Voices (alternate)

So that this story will make sense, better read this first http://pserotica.com/node/7734. Or better yet, you can backtrack here http://pserotica.com/node/7706.

This is actually an alternate to the other Voices. :)

Warning: If you're looking for straight sex, this is not for you. Sorry, I'm a hopeless romantic. :)

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Dana stopped and turned, her hand still on the doorknob. She watched Rob walk to her, weaving his way past people. He was sporting that cute, boyish grin of his. His eyes twinkling as he kept it on her.

Oh, god! Oh, god! He's gorgeous! Dana thought. She had little time to think as Rob neared. If I go out this door, he'll most likely follow. Do I dare be alone with him? Above the heads of the other guests, she scanned the room for Jenny.

"Dana! Hi!" Rob said breathlessly as he stopped and stood close to her, grinning more broadly. His eyes were twinkling.

Dana smiled awkwardly. "Rob! Hi! I didn't know you were here."

Rob nervously ran his fingers through his hair. "Nah. I was just leaving. How about you?"

Great! He's leaving.Dana thought. Out loud she said, "Oh! I thought I forgot something in my friend's car."

"Oh? You're here with someone?"

"Yeah…" Dana stood on tiptoe and above the heads of other guests, pointed to where Alex and Jenny were across the room.

Rob followed Dana's gaze. His eyebrows frowned. She's here with Alex? Rob almost wanted to run towards his roommate and to punch him in the face.

"Sorry, I'm blocking your way." Rob turned to Dana when she spoke again. "I'll go back to my friend now. It was nice seeing you again," Dana said as she hurriedly side-stepped Rob and made her way towards Jenny.

Rob quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her back, close to him, their hands on his chest. "Wait," he said.

Dana almost stumbled against Rob's body. She couldn't look at his face, afraid that she might not stop herself from kissing him. Instead, she looked at Rob's hand on hers. Her hand felt cold against his warm skin. Damn! His whole body is warm! Dana thought as she felt herself slightly shiver.

"I tried calling you…" Rob whispered in her ear, letting his breath fan the side of Dana's neck.

As Dana almost felt the stubble on his chin graze her skin, her knees wobbled. It felt like she was in a cocoon with Rob, and everything else, everyone else was far away. With her knees against his, her stomach pressing against his navel, Dana felt warmth spread between her legs.

Rob breathed in Dana's scent. She was not wearing a perfume but the subtle scent of lavander was almost overpowering… making him want to drag her into his car and bring her home so he could kiss every inch of her. He pressed his hardening mandhood against her soft body.

Dana struggled to free her hand from his grip and pushed his chest with another, giggling nervously. "Oh, you know Globe." Liar! The voice inside her head screamed. Dana took a shaky step back and bumped into another guest. "Sorry," she mumbled to the guest. To Rob, she said with a nonchalant wave, "Well, I guess, I'll see you around…"

Rob let go of her hand and watched her turn around and walk away to Alex's direction. He frowned, surprised at the coldness in her demeanor. His thoughts went back to last Saturday morning, to time they said goodbye. He replayed the scene in his mind. Though looking tired and sleepy, Dana had clung on to him as they kissed. When the kiss broke, she was smiling, almost invitingly… inviting him to stay longer and cuddle next to her. Rob was tempted to stay, but was afraid that they had gone too fast and too soon. Like a lighted matchstick, burning out to its tips quickly. With a legs heavy as lead, and a final wave at her leaning against the door jamb, Rob left her apartment.

Now Rob watched Dana walked towards Alex and Jenny. He watched as she giggled and playfully slapped his roommate's shoulder over something he said.

Rob walked over to join them.

"I thought you are going home, sweetie," Jenny said, rubbing Dana's shoulder. "Glad you're feeling better."

"I think she decided to steal me from you, Jenny," Alex said with a laugh.

Dana giggled and slapped Alex's shoulder. "Haha! No. I realized that I don't have a ride home because you have monopolized my friend."

"I monopolized her? She's monopolizing ME!" exclaimed Alex. He then turned to Rob who had just joined them. "Heya, Rob! This pretty lady here needs a ride home? Wanna volunteer and be her knight with your pick-up as your steed? Hiyaah!" Alex waved his hand over and around his head as he mimicked a cowboy.

Dana stiffened when she felt Rob by her side, pulling away as his right arm brushed against her. She cursed Alex inwardly for letting Rob know that she was leaving.

Rob chuckled at his obviously drunken friend. So she was going home, huh? Next to him, Dana fidgeted.

Jenny spoke. "Oh by the way, Rob. This is Dana. Dana, Rob." Jenny waved her hand as she introduced the two.

"Uh, yeah." Rob spoke before Dana could say anything. "We've met…" Rob looked at Dana sideways. Is she glaring at me?. "… kind of… at the door," He added quickly.

"Jenny, Robbie here is a writer…" Alex said as he put an arm around his roommate's shoulder. "You two will probably hit it off."

"Ooohh! Cool! I'd love to read some of your work!" Jenny gushed.

"Oh man, you should! They are hot and steamy!" Alex said.

Rob peeled off his friend's arm from aound his neck. "Dude, how'd you know that?"

"You left your laptop on one time and I took a peek," Alex said with a laugh. "Really steamy!"

Rob looked straight at Alex and mouthed, "Fuck you" at him. Alex's lips curled with a sneer and waggled his eyebrows.

Jenny squealed in delight and pushed herself between Jenny and Rob, latching herself unto his arm. "You have got to show me. I work in publishing and would love to see new talent…" she talked on.

Glad for her best friend's distraction, Dana slowly and discretely backed away from the three. But almost instantly, Alex was behind her. "Heeyy there…" Alex's arm snaked around Dana's waist. She gently pushed him away and giggled nervously. "Uh yeah… hey me… I'm just going to the bathroom again…" she mumbled.

"I can join you…" Alex offered with a naughty grin on his face. Eeeww! Sleaze-bag much? Dana thought. She politely shook her head at Alex and said, "Nuh uh… stomach… probably bad food…" She quickly turned around and walked away before Alex could protest.

Out of the corner of his eye, Rob watched Alex make his move on Dana as Jenny's voice went on and on, trying to convince him to show her samples of what he'd written. He saw Dana walk away.

Rob turned to Jenny and stopped her in mid-sentence, "Uh, you know what? I will email them to you. I just need to get a drink, okay? Good." Without waiting for a reply, he left Jenny.

Jenny, crossed her arms across her chest and pursed her lips as she watched Rob's retreating back. Alex appeared in her line of vision. To him she said, "You're friend is really weird…"

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Dana walked past the bathroom and outside the front door. She only stopped when she reached the sidewalk outside the gate. It was hot inside that house with that many people. Glad for the cool, evening air, Dana took a deep breath.

"Dana?"

Rob stopped and stood a couple of feet from where Dana was standing. He watched her turn around to face him and looked into her eyes. Aside from the muffled music and voices from the house, there was silence. There were a lot of questions he's meaning to ask her. Why didn't she want to let her friend know that they already know each other? Why the cold shoulder? Why does she seem to be running away from him?

Dana looked at Rob, anticipating his next move. Stop staring at me like that! Can't you see I'm running away from you? Yes, you with that look that is melting my insides into puddle. Damn it! But she did not dare say it out loud.

Rob's lips curled into that one-sided sexy grin. "Wanna ditch this place?"

"Duh?!?" Was all Dana could say.

He chuckled as he lead her to his pick-up truck.

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There was awkward silence as they drove out the subdivision. Rob kept shooting glances at Dana sideways, as she stared out the window.

He cleared her throat. "There must be something wrong with your phone line…"

"Maybe"

"You should call your service provider."

"I will."

"Sorry about Alex. He's quite a character."

"I don't mind. He is."

"Your friend Jenny seems nice."

"Yes, she is." Dana answered curtly, still staring out the window.

Rob clenched at the steering wheel. Jesus! Getting this conversation going is like pulling teeth! Is she playing hard-to-get? Haven't they bypassed that phase already?

Stopping at a red light, Rob boldly asked, "Are you mad at me?"

Dana turned to look at Rob. Her face blank. "No." She turned back to the window again.

He gritted his teeth. That does it!

Instead of driving to her apartment in Quezon City, Rob turned right to Kalayaan Ave.

Dana was surprised when they left EDSA. She was actually bracing herself for what might happen when he dropped her off her house. She planned on quickly getting out of his car before he can even shut off the engine, wave goodbye and lock herself inside her apartment. She was doing her best so far keeping his hands from reaching out and touch him. She didn't want to get into a conversation with him because she knew that they'd never stop talking when they start. Technically they don't know each other very well after having spent just a few hours together. But it seemed that they've known each other for a lifetime already. And with every second they are together, Dana dreaded that she will crave for more. Too fast, too soon.

"Uhm… Where are we going?" she asked softly.

"I need to show you something."

The car entered the basement parking of a condominium building. Rob expertly eased his way into his reserved parking slot and killed the engine. He quickly stepped off from the driver's seat, walked around to Dana's side and pulled the door open.

He patiently waited for Dana to get out of the pick-up. When she did, he slammed the car door shut, grabbed her hand and pulled her to follow him. He only let go of her hand when they entered the elevator. More silence. The elevator doors opened to his floor, and Rob grabbed Dana's hand again.

"This is our unit," he said as he stopped in front of a door and fished out his keys from his pocket.

"Ohhhkaayy…" Dana replied, confused.

He led her inside the unit and walked straight to his bedroom. Dana stopped at the living room and looked around her surroundings. Ohhh no. I'm not following you anywhere else. It's enough that you "kidnapped" and brought me here, she thought.

Rob left Dana in their living room and grabbed the package on top of his bed. With her current behavior, he didn't want to make her think that he only wanted sex. Though, his hard on made it difficult for him to drive them there. Even inside the elevator, all Rob wanted to do was to push the emergency stop button and take her then and there. But no, he didn't want to just have sex with her.

Dana took a seat on the single armchair and waited for Rob to reappear. When he did, he gently placed a gift-wrapped package on her lap and sat on the chair opposite hers.

"That's for you." She heard him say as she awkwardly picked up the package.

"Uhm, my birthday isn't coming for a couple of months, but thanks…" she mumbled as she opened her bag to put the gift inside.

"Aren't you going to open it?" Rob looked at Dana expectantly.

Dana shook her head no. "Maybe when I get home."

"C'mon, open it."

Dana sighed and pulled out the package again. She noted the sloppy way it was wrapped and chuckled inside. Men! All thumbs. she thought. She peeled off the tape from one side.

"That's not how you open gifts!" Rob chastised.

Dana looked at Rob suspiciously. "Okay… what's in here?"

He grinned. "Just open it. The wrapping sucks, I know… So you can just tear it off, throw it away, whatever…I don't care haha…" He nervously laughed. He knew he had to stop babbling. Yeah, he was nervous. He'd never felt nervous with a girl over a gift before.

Dana sighed. "Okay, here goes." She tore off the wrapper to reveal what was wrapped inside. It was just a simple beige hardbound notebook with green and purple stripes. She gasped in surprise. The gift was a simple gesture, but it was from someone who seemed to know that her journal had only a few remaining blank pages. "Wow. Thanks so much!"

She smiled at Rob.

Ahhh, there she is! That familiar face that burned in his mind for the past few nights. The face that he had grown to love… huh? Wait. Did he just think of love? Rob mentally shook his head and stood up. "Okay, I'll drive you home now."

Dana quickly placed the notebook inside her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Uhmm… maybe I'll just take a cab downstairs. I don't want to trouble you… besides you are home now… So I'll just get a cab… yeah… Get a cab." She smiled at him awkwardly.

Aaannndd… she's gone again. It frustrated Rob how almost instantly that warm smile was replaced with the cold shoulder. It dawned on him that she is brushing him off. She'd probably blocked his number for good. So I guess this is THE goodbye, then…

Rob nodded slowly. "Okay… I'll walk you out."

"Really, thank you so much. I really appreciate your gift." Dana said as she walked through the door. "I'll call you." Liar, that nagging voice inside her head said again.

"Yeah…"

From his condo unit's doorway, Rob watched Dana wait in front of the elevator doors. He was hoping for a sign of that woman he met last week. The woman that burned on his skin and mind.

Dana felt his eyes on her. Don't look back, girl. She was touched by the simple gift. It was just a notebook, for crying out loud. But the simple gesture had different meaning. It was not expensive. But it meant that he had thought about her while she was trying hard to ignore his texts and cut-off means for him to contact her. He had paid attention to their conversations. He paid attention.

Dana tried to remember the other guys she slept with, and shared meaningful conversations with, aside from mind-blowing sex. It was a short list but only one name stood from the rest. Rob.

She shook her head. Why was she running away from him in the first place, when really there was no reason yet as far as she can see. So what if their attraction was almost instant? So what if she lost all self control with this guy? So what if she falls hard for this guy and might end up getting hurt like Jenny every few months? So what?

She was not denying Rob of anything. But she was denying herself of whatever happiness he might bring -- whether it's because of good sex or otherwise. So what if in the end they might not be even friends? So what? Stupid girl!

Ding!

The elevator doors opened.

Rob watched and waited for Dana to get on the elevator. He heard the door close again, with Dana still standing on the corridor. She looked at him with the same grin she had on last week, when he handed her his number.

"I still owe you breakfast, you know?" She said.

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The end. >