ex·hil·a·rat·ing

/iɡˈziləˌrādiNG/

Adj. making one feel very happy, animated, or elated; thrilling.

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“Eunice, how can you live your life to the fullest if you keep on putting yourself away from reality?” Lea mumbled. “It’s not wrong to be different – I already told you that – but it’s not even right if you just remain like this for your whole life.”

I tucked my chin towards my chest and squinted against the Monday afternoon sunlight entering the glass window. If there is one thing I hate the most other than men, it is her, forcing me to find a boyfriend. I noticed how her mindset changed after reading erotic books. I know for a fact that she used to think just like me, but now, she’s completely a different person from the way she thinks. But I never hate her for that. I just couldn’t possibly agree with her.

“Why do you want me to have a boyfriend immediately?”  I sighed and glared at her. 

“…Because I want you to be happy,” she trudged towards my seat. 

“And what reality are you talking about?”

“…The reality that all of us are bound to find someone who can love us unconditionally, and give us pure happiness. Why do you keep on denying that?”

“Having a boyfriend isn’t a passport to happiness, Lea. True happiness lies beneath the hands of success. If I already reached my goals in life, then I can be happy,” I said, running my fingers down the length of my hair. “If you think you can be happy with having a boyfriend, then go for it. I am in no position to decide on your happiness. And take note, I don’t care if I will not have one. I breathe air, not man.”

“Having the man who can love and give you the happiness you deserve is a success, Eunice.”

“No, it’s not,” I chortled and let a heavy breath out. “Don’t romanticize it too much. It can be the start of a miserable life if you believe in a fairytale-like romance that is far from reality. People, especially men, are always vulnerable to temptations that they forget how to value women and focus on their damn desires. They are only good at the start, or if they want you to feed their fantasies, the rest of the story will be the end of your fairytale perspective.”

“We are all vulnerable to temptations, but we can control our urge,” she muttered.

“That’s my point, except for your idea of controlling. Men can’t control their sexual urge.”

She sighed and rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. 

Measured footsteps of our classmates echoed off the hallway. Their elicited laughter and buzzes increased as they neared the Bread and Pastry lecture room, making Lea rush to her seat. My eyes individually pinned each face that entered the room, hoping to see Christian. As they finally got to their intended seats, I sighed when I didn’t see his face. I returned my gaze to the doorway, thinking he might just be late, but Mrs. Sy’s face showed up instead.

I shook my head when I realized what I was doing.  I forced myself to believe that the reason why I wanted to see him was to ask him about the books and the flowers, and if he’s my sibylline admirer, but no matter how I fought my thoughts, my heart won. I wanted to see him because I wanted to.

“Good morning, class,” Mrs. Sy’s face glowed up. “I just wanted to remind you about your projects. I thought that maybe I should reward the best pairs with the best presentations. For those who can amaze me with their presentation, a mark of A+ and exemption from the exam will be rewarded to you. I am only going to choose three pairs, and the unselected pairs will still get good scores but they have to take the exam. This is your major subject, so please do your best to make your project presentation stand out.”

Waves of claps domineered the entire room as Mrs. Sy finished talking. I could see my classmates’ faces glowed up and some of them were even laughing with joy. It was indeed motivating to do the project with the best that we can, knowing that a good score awaits us.

As she started discussing again, I looked miles away outside the window and found myself mesmerized by the beauty of the clouds. I stared at it for almost a minute only to think about Christian’s tattoos again when one of the clouds formed a shape of an odd dragon. I used to not think about a man – except for my dad, of course – but his charisma was so dominant that even my toughest mental shield was broken by him. I let him dominate my mind for a moment, and I thought of how different he is. I wanted to hate him for being so unpredictably narcissistic and mysterious, but I can’t. There is something inside me that pulls me away from hating him.

“Ms. Reyes?”

“Yes, ma’am?” I suddenly shifted my gaze to Mrs. Sy as I heard her calling me.

“I forgot to bring my phone. Can you get it for me, pretty please?” she asked me, her voice sweet. “It’s in Mr. Simon’s office. I left it there.”

“Okay, ma’am,” I smiled.

“Thank you.”

I bobbed my head and stood up to get going. I sighed when I saw the warning sign posted on the elevator door saying it’s under repair. I had no choice but to go the other way and use the stairs. As I reached the women’s comfort room near the stairs, I decided to go inside and have a pee. 

My eyes grew wide when I saw Christian standing in the doorway as I opened the cubicle door after having a pee. He closed the door and paced towards me with his eyes screaming unexplainable desires. The smell of his perfume was mixed with the scent of cigarettes and alcohol. 

“Wait, what are you doing?” I yelled as he neared me. “Stop right there, Christian!”

“What’s with you, Eunice that makes me go crazy?” his voice was deep.

I tried to scream and pull him away from me, but his chest covered my face already. He stroked my hair repeatedly and sniffed it like a fresh flower he picked from the garden. His toned muscles seemed to be the coziest surface I ever got to feel. He tightened his hug and ran his hands from my neck to my waist. The warmth slithering all over my body escalated as he remained his right hand on my waist while the other cupped me in the face. His eyes were gleaming, and I could see pure desire on them – the kind of desire that I also felt.

A certain kind of electricity traveled from one point of my nerves to another as his lips touched mine. His warm breath with hints of cigarette and alcohol was filling my mouth, and I unexpectedly returned every twist of his tongue. I could hear him moan, and I was too. He continuously ran his free hand all over my body until it reached my buttocks. The sensation I felt within my body was pure bliss I can’t resist. I tried to resist, but I completely lost my defenses, and my body gave in.

“I wish you were mine, Eunice,” he whispered sexily.

I was in the middle of being hypnotized by him when loud knocks on the door echoed inside the comfort room; waking me back to my senses and loosening our tight embrace from each other. I fixed myself and paced to the door to open it while he hid inside the cubicle that was closed for maintenance. My eyes almost fell to the floor, and my jaw dropped when I saw Lea, and just like me, her eyes grew wide in surprise.