She slowly stepped away from me.
"'Yun 'yung problema..." I said. "Mataas ang respeto ko sa'yo, Ingrid, pati na sa pamilya mo at wala akong gagawin na alam kong ikagagalit ng Daddy at Mommy mo pati na nina Ate Ice at Kuya Fire. Pero, kung tayo kasal na, I don't think I could be as firm as I am now. Kasi iisipin ko, asawa ko na 'to and I have a legal right to initiate sexual contact—shit, this is awkward. Can you forget about what I just said?"
She nodded. "Okay..."
"Hindi pambabastos sa'yo 'yung sinabi ko, okay? I hope you won't consider it as such. Gusto lang kitang i-real talk para alam mo rin kung ano ang tumatakbo sa isip ko. I am not as innocent as you think and although I really try to keep my thoughts about you as pure as I can but..."
"You get wet dreams about me?"
Shit naman...that did not go well as planned...
I wanted to say no kasi alam kong kahihiyan ko ang pag-amin sa kanya. But, I didn't want to lie to her.
I nodded before I sighed. "Sana h'wag mong isiping manyakis ako o kaya ay masama akong tao. Ayokong matakot ka o mailang ka sa akin, I swear wala akong gagawin—"
"Aleph, come on, I know what wet dreams are. Believe me, some of the girls and I have satisfied our curiosity by reading what we can about them. Baka mas marami pa nga kaming alam tungkol d'un kaysa inyong mga lalaki, eh, because we've had thorough discussions about those kind of dreams."
I wasn't sure why I wasn't surprised hearing what Ingrid had said. Hindi naman ako ipokrito para isiping kaming mga lalaki lang ang may karapatang ma-curious tungkol sa sex. And as much as society would like to portray girls or women as more reserved when it comes to topics regarding sex and sexuality, I knew that it isn't so. Still, I wasn't sure if it was okay for Ingrid and me to talk about it.
"Ahh..."
"What now?" She frowned at me.
"Hm..."
"What does your hm... mean?"
"I seriously do not know what to say."
"Come on, Aleph, ano ba, walang nakakahiya d'un, it's normal. Are you turned off that I dared to broach that subject?"
"No..."
"So, ano pala?"
"It's just that I am embarrassed to talk about something...that...couples our age don't usually talk about..."
"Why, what do couples our age talk about?"
"I don't know..."
"They don't talk about sex because they're doing it."
I felt my face redden at what she said.
"At sobra ka nang namumula. I am frank about it with you but just because I am doesn't mean that I want to...have sex..."
It was her turn to blush.
"Okay, can we stop talking about sex?"
She laughed softly. "Bakit?"
"Kasi nahihiya ako. And it enforces some not so pure thoughts in my head."
"So, let's talk about wet dreams then."
"I don't want to talk about that as well..."
"Bakit na naman?"
"I don't think kahit 'yung mga kaedad kong lalaki ay komportableng pinag-uusapan itong topic na ito."
"Why, is it supposed to be a secret?"
I nodded. "Sort off..."
"Aleph, paano naging secret 'yun when there are books, movies, and even songs written about it? Besides, it's a natural occurrence and both men and women get them—"
