KNOWN BY MY HEART (2 page)

The long distance between North Carolina and JFK helps Monica fall asleep while travelling. Still, she holds onto the hope that she is about to meet her prince charming very soon.

Marco arrives in the US earlier than expected wearing his best self more than usual. He is a stand out from the many Caucasians who travelled with him on the plane. He strolls further into the airport where he finds American teens turning their heads to give this South American computer geek a second and even a third look. Surely Marco felt handsome this time more than how he felt while he was still in Brazil. This excites him more to meet and date Monica or perhaps Monica and Venus.

At the airport, Marco was looking for "Monica," the girl he knows from the photo of Jasmine’s face.

Marco feels like giving up on finding "Monica," as he is looking closely ad repeatedly at every female face at the airport. He thinks, "Monica wasn’t serious about meat all."

Monica, on the other hand, is already at the airport and is watching Marco all the while. Admittedly, she is starstruck by Marco’s presence, and has been having second thoughts on whether she should approach him. Monica feels insecure and guilty that the picture she used was not hers. She remains silent and lets Marco pass her by several times.

Finally, Marco gives up on looking for Monica and decides to call Venus who is about to finish doing her hair at the beauty parlour. Surprised that Marco has called her, Venus immediately leaves, looking like an actress.

Venus reached the airport with an impressive air for someone just picking up a passenger. Even at a distance, Venus was already waving her hand to greet Marco who sees her and hears her high heels striking the floor as she is running to greet him. Marco already expected this, and wasn’t impressed at all with Venus’ appearance.

Venus’ approach to Marco was even bolder as she draws her face and upper body  too close to Marco’s face to kiss him right on the lips. Marco, caught off guard, smiles and supports Venus from falling as she holds onto him. She melts into a French kiss, which gets Marco’s adrenalines going, making him too weak to defend himself from Venus’ advances. Soon, Marco and Venus are in her car, something which Monica fully witnesses before leaving the airport with a heavy heart and tears.

Being a first-time visitor to the United State’s east coast, Marco is convinced that it would be better for him to stay with Venus in her condominium. To celebrate, Venus suggests they open a bottle of wine.

Being a gentleman, Marco tries to be friendly and accommodating to Venus’ invitation to drink wine. After a couple of hours, however, Marco’s strength has already been exhausted by both the effects and the demands of wine drinking. Given the long trip and the wine, it doesn't take long for him to get sleepy and drop his guard. Venus, unlike Marco, was used to drinking wine, and as such is still able and aware of what's going on. With her spaghetti strap falling down from her left shoulder, Venus offers to massage Marco’s temples then gradually moves her hands to the nape of his neck and then to his back which compels Marco to take off his shirt.

Marco, with his blurred vision and tired head, cannot see her image clearly, but her  long black hair and seductive black lace cocktail suit that emphasizes her beautiful breasts are apparent. Venus pretends to be drunk as she draws herself closer to Marco. Feeling the touch and scent of a woman, Marco’s instincts move him to hold her, moving his hands down her back to her hips then around to her chest. Venus feels good, and Marco responds to her with a whispered, "Monica."

Momentarily alarmed, Venus continues her seduction. At almost 4:30 am, Marco and Monica are suddenly awakened by Marco’s mobile phone alarm at that time of the day. Marco is fully awake, and stronger than last night. He recalls where he is, remembering he is in the US. He goes back to sleep until he noticed the sleeping woman besides him. He expects her to be Monica, but as he looks more closely, he realizes it is was Venus. This realization makes him stand  up and get dressed.

Standing in the condominium’s balcony with a coffee in his hands, Marco is restless and feeling guilty. He holds on to his mobile phone trying to figure out how to reach Monica. Finally the text message has reached Monica who replies, "I was at the airport and waited for you. I saw you get into a car with another woman. And so I bowed my head down and left…"

It didn’t take long for Marco to find a way to call Monica after her text message. Despite the choppy connection, Marco gets his message across that he is truly sorry and will look for her in North Carolina, if only to show his sincere intentions. "Monica, you are the reason I came here, and I will search for you no matter what," are Marco’s last words to her before the call cuts off.

All the while Marco is in the balcony, Venus is picking herself up and heading to the bathroom where she takes a pregnancy test. Seeing a negative result, Venus suddenly throws the kit into the trash can and finds herself back with Marco, who is now seated in front of his laptop searching for North Carolina hotels and travel information.

"My family owns a good hotel in North Carolina, and I can help you get there in no time." Venus declares, as she starts massaging his back. Marco is surprised to see Venus looking at his laptop screen from behind. All he can manage is to reply, "Really? Can we get there soon? I need to meet a good friend of mine." Venus lips were already close to nibbling Marco’s ears when she seductively replied with a "Sure…"

Marco and Venus are able to arrange the necessary transportation and hotel while in  front of the computer, and that same night they are nearly ready to transfer to Casa Martin, Venus' family-owned hotel in North Carolina.

Marco excused himself from Venus if only to escape from her lure that is slowly working Marco’s hormones again. While Marco goes to her condo's gym, Venus takes the opportunity to map out her next move.

"I’m getting married tonight!" exclaims Venus as she contacts her cousins from North Carolina. After hearing the news, they break out screaming and ask about the upcoming wedding. In no time, her cousins volunteer to prepare the hotel for a 7:30 pm event that very night.

Venus’ plan looks good and feasible if only everything will be working well at the right time. The car rental they ordered will be picking them up at 3:00 pm, but will  take them six hours to reach North Carolina. If they fly there, she plans to book a plane that will leave New Jersey at 6:00 pm. This way, they would arrive at the hotel without giving Marco time to refuse the wedding. With all these in mind, Venus immediately surfs the Internet for the right bookings that suit her plan. The best scheme she finds is to book for a flight at 4:00 pm, so she plans to use the extra time to take Marco to visit several beaches just in time for them to get married at the hotel.

Marco, just back from the gym, finds Monica busily surfing the Internet. When asked why, Monica replies that there are problems with their previous booking and she has to arrange for another one. She informs him that they will have to leave earlier, but will have time to stroll on the beach at sunset. Marco smiles upon hearing the words. This time he shows his appreciation by giving her a friendly hug. Venus is about to make something more of of it but for Marco telling her, "You’re really such a good friend, Venus!"

At the airport, Marco is beginning to notice Venus' physical beauty as he also begins to appreciate Venus caring for him. Marco extends his arms to warm Venus from the cold airplane chill while they watch the beautiful landscapes below. Their lips nearly touching, the airplane suddenly starts jolting and shaking more than usual. The pilot attempts several landings when suddenly an explosion is heard, and the plane falls into the ocean near  the North Carolina airport. Several parachutes are spotted landing in different places, while a good number of bodies are also reported to be missing from the area of concern.

Meanwhile, Jasmine bids goodbye to Monica who, after keeping her company on the seashore, has to leave for a new online date with whom she has been preoccupied the past few days. "I'm sure you found the right guy for you, Monica! Take care!" Jasmine shouts to her best friend as she is leaving.

It is almost dark when Jasmine chooses to stay by the seashore and enjoy the cool breeze. Suddenly, Jasmine sees a man in the water far off asking for help. Almost instantly, Jasmine swims toward the spot where a man is holding onto a piece of luggage. Jasmine finds Marco wounded and half-conscious. Even with her frail body, she ferries him back to the beach where she is able to closely examine his now-unconscious face. Mesmerized by his handsome features, it took takes a while for Jasmine to apply mouth to mouth resuscitation  until Marco starts coughing. Finally, Marco’s eyes open, and he sees the lovely face he has been searching for.

The image of Jasmine made him smile, and he wants to speak until Jasmine herself advises him to rest before speaking. Now positioned beside a bonfire, Jasmine waits for Marco to regain full consciousness. She asks for his name and tells Marco that she will go get help from the local police when suddenly Marco holds Jasmine’s hand to stop her. "No, miss. Please don’t let anyone know that you found me. Somebody wants to kill me - I love to stay here by the ocean, beneath the stars and close to you," lies Marco out of exhaustion and inspiration.

Jasmine gives into his request as she also realizes that it would no longer be safe for her to walk alone dressed in a damp cotton white blouse that clung to her body. As they stay together further into the night, they both feel cold and start to shiver. Soon Marco forces himself to sit up and offers his body's warmth to Jasmine who trembling nods her ascent to Marco. His eyes feast on her beautiful face now inches away from his. His arms grow tighter against every cold breeze that passes in their direction. 

The bonfire grows weaker as a soft drizzle starts around midnight. Alone on the beach, Marco and Jasmine are left in the dark, cold, drizzling weather.

The coldness Jasmine was feeling turned into a comfortable heat that could only come from the human body as Marco wraps himself around her body. Marco, on the other hand, was feeling heaven, as he could imagine himself laying on the best fluffy and smooth clouds as pillows. With his arms and legs almost swallowing Jasmine’s whole body and Jasmine almost embedded in his sturdy physique, the two slept soundly, unconsciously rubbing each other’s body all throughout the night.

The morning sun strikes at Jasmine’s eyes which compels her to wake up. She knows  she feels tired, but she also believes that she had the best sleep of her life. Opening her eyes, Jasmine was surprised to find Marco half naked beside her. Slowly, without waking him, Jasmine gets up and cleans herself in the ocean water. Marco is already awake, but pretending to be asleep so he could secretly watch Jasmine sleep and move about. Marco delighted in watching Jasmine’s face, and examining her body in its still damp cotton blouse clinging to her chest and nipples. More flesh is revealed as Jasmine moves deeper into the water and takes off her clothes. From there, she washes her clothes and rinses her body, too preoccupied to notice that Marco has  followed her in that part of the ocean. Suddenly the pristine water showed pale reddish spots as Jasmine screams out in pain due to a jellyfish sting which causes her to lose drop her clothes. Stumbling in blind pain from the jellyfish sting, Jasmine steps on a seashell which cuts her foot. Fortunately, Marco is close by, and it doesn't take long for him to grasp her hand and carry her back to the seashore.

Jasmine is completely nude as Marco lifts her up from the water into their spot near the trees. He lays Jasmine on the sand, feasting his eyes at her exposed body. Marco grabs his coat and covers Jasmine up with gentle hands. When Jasmine got her senses back, she instructs Marco on which plant to apply to the cut as a temporary remedy.

The jellyfish sting is concentrated on Jasmine’s inner thigh, and Marco caresses the tender spot thoroughly with vinegar from the coconut tree he climbs. He delights in watching and listening to Jasmine groan with relief as he massages her inner thigh almost nearing her groin. Jasmine is leaning on Marco’s sturdy abdomen when several policemen suddenly appear from behind them.

"There’s the man I’ve been telling you. Go get my husband and take him to our hospital!" Venus commands to the policemen who accompany her. 

"Husband?" Jasmine’s eyes meet Marco’s, as hers fill with tears. As much as Marco would love to explain the truth to Jasmine, he doesn't get a chance as the policemen and medics immediately drag him off to the ambulance.

Marco is in a private hospital room when he regains full consciousness. From his bed, he finds Venus watching him closely from her seat on the sofa that has been moved closer to Marco’s bed. Suddenly a group of women around Venus’ age came in without knocking and talk to Venus in front of Marco’s hospital bed.

"Is he your lucky fiancé?" one of the women asks. Venus nods back with a proud smile. "Ooo, he looks yummy!" blurts out by another cousin of Venus. Although Marco has already been conscious, he pretended to be sleeping to find out more about what’s going on. "Venus, your wedding is rescheduled  for tomorrow night. And with your fiancée laying on the bed here, I suppose there’s no more escaping from you!" After a few more giggly, gossipy conversations, Venus’ cousins leave Marco’s room.

Alone again, Venus turns to Marco and asks him with a commanding tone, "Who was the girl you were with last night? Don't you know we're getting married? I don't want you to be getting close to any woman! You are mine, and mine only!" Though Marco is listening, deep inside, he pretends to be sleeping again if only to escape Venus’ nagging words. In his fake slumber, Marco is plotting his plan to escape from Venus’ influence before the wedding ceremony.