The Birthday Present

3. Roxanne

Roxanne's lips spread into a lazy smile as she stared at Martin who was thoughtfully munching on a hotdog. He met her eyes and smiled back.

From the moment he walked in the hotel room, Roxanne had been waiting to feel the familiar sickening feeling in her stomach whenever she finds herself in the presence of a guy, any strange guy. It surprised her how at ease she felt all alone in a room with him, a complete stranger. Maybe it was because he was Jam's relative, Roxanne thought, as if the one degree of separation offered security somehow. In any case, she vowed not to let her guard down.

As a 40-year old woman in Manila who's been single for five years since she'd parted ways with her ex-fiancé, she'd unfortunately met her fair share of, what did their group of friends call them back in college? Frogs! As in you have to kiss a lot of frogs to meet the prince. Or something. Later on, Roxanne would send a silent apology to all frogs because really, some men! She mentally shook herself from her reverie and tried to focus on the eye candy in front of her.

Martin had a half-eaten lumpia in one hand and a plate that had remnants of the spaghetti. He was also glancing at her every so often, and Roxanne tried to hide a smile.

"I have a question. Or questions."

Martin straightened up in his chair and met her eyes. He adjusted the sleeves of his Henley to reveal his forearms and Roxanne bit her lip so he would not hear her whimper. "Shoot."

"Why? Why did you agree to do this?"

He seemed to have been expecting the question because he smiled widely, and the effect on his face was...there was no other word for it—disarming.

"I head the security team for La Solaris and it's..." he cleared his throat. "Very taxing to say the least. It will sound cliche but I literally have no time to find a date. When Jam showed me your profile photo, and told me the terms, I...I was intrigued." He was looking at her face and Roxanne could not help but see it, plain as day: desire, for her.

It was her turn to clear her throat. She felt her cheeks burning so she reached for a glass of soda, it was a children's birthday party handaan after all. It had been A While. Before she'd given up on dating a couple of years ago, Roxanne always enjoyed the feeling of knowing the man she wanted wanted her too. It made her feel powerful, and she wielded that power well in the bedroom (or maybe sometimes elsewhere in her apartment). Sadly, emotional connections were so much harder to forge, she'd found, and it became even more challenging as the years went by.

"What terms did Jam tell you?" Roxanne set down her glass and sat back in her seat.

Martin spread his hands and sat back in his seat too. "She told me I was to be your birthday present. Maybe she felt she was hitting two birds with one stone, I didn't ask. She said you thought I was handsome and looked younger than I really am..." he chuckled.

"Well. Too bad our friendship had to end this way," Roxanne joked prompting Martin to laugh. "You don't have a problem with it?"

He cocked his head to one side and furrowed his brows. "With what exactly?"

"Usually, a man gets 'gifted' a woman. Do I really need to spell it out?"

"I wouldn't be here if I had a problem with it. And if you mean being objectified," he smirked, and made a sweeping motion down his torso with one hand. "Objectify away. The long hours at the gym must be good for something." He paused, his face turning serious. "But also, I want to say that we don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with. It's your call."

His words registered in the part of Roxanne's brain that was still keeping score. Roxanne swore his chest muscles were flexing underneath his Henley. Really it was rude of him to wear that kind of shirt out of all things. But he did say it was okay, so Roxanne allowed her eyes to roam toward his shoulders and biceps—they weren't straining against the fabric when he arrived, were they? Rude. Then again, she wondered how it would feel having his arms wrapped around her. She balled her hands into fists. She wanted to reach out and touch his chest, how would that solid wall of muscle feel on her palms? So much for keeping her guard up.

"If you keep biting your lips like that I'd have no choice but to take that as a compliment," Martin said, breaking through Roxanne's lustful thoughts. She met his eyes, and he looked amused.

"Jam did me dirty."

"Huh?"

"How come it took her this long to set this up? And how come I never see you at her family's parties. I'm almost always there."

Martin laughed and Roxanne decided she liked how it sounded full and deep. "I'd have been working, most likely, especially on weekends. I take it you like what you see?"

She began to nod, but changed her mind. She stood up and made her way to the couch, crooking one finger toward him. "I need to be thorough."

He stood up and made his way to her. "Maybe a closer inspection would help?" he said as he sat beside her, half-facing her. He held out his hand and waited.