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“Hey. Which way to Plaza Singapura?”
“Where are you?”
“Um, walking in front of Concorde.”
“Hm. Just walk the way to Dhoby Gaut.”
Sweaty, tired, and nursing a nasty cough, Gerard did as he was told and continued walking. Ironically, all he could think about was lighting a cigarette. He continued walking until he reached his destination. He fished his phone from his pocket and took a picture. Gerard tapped his Line app and sent the shot to his tour guide.
“Already here.”
Seven train stations away, at Mountbatten, Alicia’s phone buzzed with a new message. She looked at the picture and her eyes grew big.
“Omg you walked all the wayy”
“You said it was just straight. So I walked. Hahaha”
“Galing! So proud of you. Hahaha”
“Haha! Thanks! Anyway, I’ll probably be here for the next three hours. Um, wanna meet?”
Alicia began to type a reply but stopped. She had to wait for a friend and wasn’t sure if she could leave right away.
She also hesitated because it would be the first time she would actually meet Gerard.
Back in Plaza Singapura, Gerard found a smoking area outside and lit a stick. As he exhaled a cloud of smoke, he started thinking about Alicia.
They actually met online three years ago. Gerard, out of boredom, joined an erotica writing site or whatever it was called. There, he pretended to be a writer and shared his own stories, fantasies, and whatnot. Alicia, being the kind and friendly girl that she was, commented on some of his works. He, in turn, read her stuff and eventually realized what a sham he was at writing. They would exchange comments and one thing led to another and yada yada yada, they began chatting on LINE.
And that’s where it got really, really interesting.
“Sure, just meeting up with a friend. See you around 2:30?”
“Coolness! Let me know if you’re on your way. I’ll just look around.”
Alicia put down her phone and closed her eyes. She was finally going to meet the complete stranger she has been talking to on LINE for the past three years. As she remembered their late night conversations, her lips began to form a sly smile.
Harmless chitchat would turn into playful flirting. Playful flirting would turn into sending NSFW pics to each other. Sending pics would then turn into steamy sex conversations.
Those were really hot, she thought. She wondered if he’d bring those up later when they meet. Nah, he probably won’t. Besides, apart from those steamy convos, they’d talk about other things like work, movies, music, etc.
Still…
Her thoughts were interrupted by a text message from her friend.
“Can’t go. Have my period. Ugh. I’ll text you. Mwah!”
In an instant, she was in her underwear, changing into her white shorts and black shirt. She was just slipping on her shoes when her roommate TJ walked in.
“Going anywhere?”
“Yeah, remember my, um, college friend who’s here for the weekend? Gonna have coffee with him.”
“Oh. What time are you…?”
“Later. Bye!”
A few minutes later, she was on a cab going to Plaza Singapura.
Gerard sipped his frap and headed again to the smoking area. He had moved around but wasn’t able to buy anything. His…