Date: Sat, 8 Sep 2012 19:34:34 -0700 (PDT)
From: John Michaels <mmanlookin@yahoo.com>
Subject: FILIPINO LOVE - Chapter 21

			       FILIPINO LOVE
				    BY
				    JM

Email: mmanlookin@yahoo.com

Disclaimers and other info: see chapter one


			    CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE


     We managed to get changed into our suits without TOO much teasing and
groping and were soon headed out the door, sharing a collection of
beach-time requirements.  Between us, we were carrying a small blanket,
towels, sunscreen for yours truly (I was determined not to leave here
looking white as a ghost but didn't want to burn to a crisp in the process!
Getting sun poisoning on your second day of a 2-week vacation is NO FUN!!!
Happened once. Never again!), and a picnic cooler, with bottled water.  As
we stepped onto the beach, we could see Ronni's friends, Mario and Dhomz,
at the water's edge, seeing who could push who into the water first and
laughing in those so-sexy teen voices.  They were so engrossed in their
play that they didn't notice our arrival.  I was surprised to see that we
seemed to be the only ones on the beach.  I could see a few others maybe a
quarter mile away, but it was like having our own private beach.  I guess
if you've lived your life in paradise, it doesn't seem to have the pull as
it did for someone like me or for kids with free time.  It was also
mid-day, so I'm sure that kept working families away.

     "Dhomz!  Mario!" Ronni hollered to them.  They heard him, waved and
came running up to greet us, still laughing and shoving one another in the
manner of rambunctious teens.

     I couldn't help noticing again how good-looking they were.  While
definitely not in Ronni's league, they were very attractive.  Dhomz looked
to be slightly taller than Mario, about Ronni's height, and his face was
slightly oval while Mario's was more rounded.  They both had short, dark
hair and the sleekly muscled bodies of active young teens.  I started
laying out our things as Ronni ran to meet them, and they were soon all
headed in my direction, talking away excitedly.  They arrived just as I was
settling myself on the blanket, my ever-present sun glasses in place.
Ronni' of course, flopped down beside me while his friends settled down
beside us.  Dhomz and Mario had gotten exceptionally quiet when they sat
down, and I could sense that they felt a little nervous around me, so I
decided to break the ice.

     "It's good to see you again, Mario...Dhomz," I said, nodding my head
slightly at each as I said their names, so that they'd know that I
remembered their names correctly.  Being a teacher, I quickly learned to
put names with faces, and it paid off now as both boys grinned with
pleasure that I'd remembered them.  The ice was melting.  With Ronni as
translator, we got to talking about life in Lapu-Lapu, school (professional
curiosity), family, friends and girlfriends.  This got a furious blush from
both of them as they shyly admitted there were no girls in their lives.  I
had to suppress a laugh at their embarrassment.  Typical teen!  When asked
about Paulo and Jareth, the other two friends I'd met my first day, I was
told they were doing some chores for their respective families and might be
along later if they finished in time.  When I asked Dhomz why he didn't
have to do chores also, he said the he and his brother Paulo took turns,
and it would be his turn next time.  While were talking, I was reclining on
my arms, and Ronni had taken up a position with his head on my stomach.  I
noticed raised eyebrows at this from the other two at seeing such easy,
comfortable contact between two people who didn't even know each other a
few short days ago.  But when Ronni started softly rubbing my chest with
his hand, I thought the eyes of the other two were going to pop out of
their heads.

     I honestly don't believe that he was doing this to shock his friends.
I'm positive it was just an unconscious move on his part.  I was his
"comfort zone", and what he was doing was just a natural and automatic
reaction to his feelings for me.  I saw the others look at each other, then
back to us.  I was wondering and, yeah, a bit worried, too, how this would
all play out.  Then, I noticed how the boys were sitting with their hands
propping themselves up, and also noticed Paulo surreptitiously rubbing his
thumb across the back of Mario's hand.  AHA!  But I didn't say anything and
neither did they for a few minutes, but it was a comfortable silence after
the initial shock.  It wasn't too much longer before I realized that I was
getting quite warm from the sun and decided to see if the boys were ready
to go swimming.  Getting enthusiastic responses from all, we got up and
headed toward the water.  Ronni immediately grabbed my hand and started
pulling me along faster.  Mario noticed this and reached out to take
Paulo's hand, who quickly looked at me to see my reaction.  I smiled and
nodded, bringing a big grin to his cute face, and we all ran into the surf.

     It quickly became "Jump On Phil" time, started by you-know-who and
quickly joined by the others.  I spent a while picking each boy up and
tossing him to splash down, whereupon they'd rush back at me, laughing and
waiting for their next turn.  And since each waited for the other two to
get their turn, there was no jockeying for position.  We kept this up until
my arms had enough, and the boys didn't seem to be disappointed when we
stopped.  Mario and Paulo went off a little ways and began splashing and
trying to dunk each other, their youthful laughter echoing up and down the
shore. When they'd moved off, Ronni was immediately in my arms, his legs
wrapped around my waist and his arms around my shoulders.  He gave me such
a look of love as he leaned in and rubbed his nose against mine.

     "I love you so much, my Phil," he said.  "You so good to me AND my
friends.  I so...I AM so happy!"  He put his head on my shoulder and
thrilled me with a soft, gentle kiss on my neck.

     "I love you so much too, my Ronni," I returned, rubbing his back.  "My
life is so full and good now that I have you to share it with me.  By the
way, I think Mario and Paulo are a couple like us."  If I was expecting a
big reaction to my revelation, I was disappointed. (Not really!)

     "I am not surprised," he said.  "I think so for a long time, but not
sure.  I not want to cause them shame if I ask and wrong."

     "But they know you're gay, right?" I asked.

     "Oo.  But that is ME.  I ok...I AM ok with me and gay.  If they not
say they gay too, they maybe not ready to say," he responded wisely.  This
guy never ceases to amaze me with his level of maturity.

     We spent a wonderful afternoon, splashing and swimming around,
sometimes as couples, other times all four of us, which included a few more
rounds of "Splash Down" much to the boys delight.  We'd alternate with time
relaxing on the beach to rest and drink some water so we wouldn't become
dehydrated.  Jareth and Paulo never did make it, but Mario said they'd
probably be able to come next time.  But all good things must come to an
end, and all too soon, it seemed, it was time for Ronni and me to leave so
we could have dinner and get to his parents at the appointed time.  I
started to gather up our things, getting ready to head to the cottage, when
Ronni pulled his friends aside and talked quietly to them.  I saw Paulo and
Mario blush crimson at whatever he said to them, and then I saw slow smiles
spread across their attractive faces as they looked over in my direction.
Ronni hugged each of them, and then they came up to where I was waiting.

     "Everything ok, Phil," Ronni said.  "They say they have love, and they
know I have love with you.  They not tell others, only when we ready."
Oddly enough, I didn't feel the worry I had when Josie caught on to our
relationship.  Somehow, this felt different.  We were two gay couples, and
although I was quite a bit older than Ronni, they had no problems with
that.  I also noticed that they were openly holding hands as we got ready
to leave.  I know THEY would have used different phrasing, but they looked
so damn cute together!

     I took Ronni's hand in mine, and said, "Congratulations, you two.  I
hope you'll always be happy together.  Always take care of each other,
too."  Ronni looked proudly at me as he translated what I'd said just in
case they didn't understand all the words.  I knew all the boys had at
least SOME English, but not everyone had Ronni's grasp of it.  I was
thinking that if we spent more time with them, I'd see what I could do to
help them improve.  They nodded their heads in tandem and turned to look at
each other with such sweet smiles.  I decided to take a chance and,
dropping Ronni's hand for the moment, went up to first Mario and gave him a
hug, which, when he got over the initial shock, he returned warmly.  I
turned and gave the same to Paulo, who hugged me without hesitation.  By
that time, we had to get going or risk being late for the meeting with the
Martinez'.  Gathering our stuff, and with a final "good-bye" to the others,
we headed back to the cottage to get ready.  Upon entering, I noticed we
had a little over two hours before we had to be there, and knowing it would
take about fifteen minutes to get there, decided we'd better get a move on.
We still needed to shower off the effects of our beach and surf time, as
well as prepare and eat dinner along with the attendant cleanup.  We
hustled into the cr, where we took off our suits and hung them on the towel
rack to dry before stepping into the shower.  We were both feeling randy
for one another, but even Ronni agreed when I said we didn't want to risk
being late to his parents and pissing them off, especially with the request
we had for them about the trusteeship.  But we definitely made plans to get
it on when we got back.  We managed to shower, wash and dry with only a bit
of stroking and kissing, then got dressed and went to the kitchen to get
something to eat.  We decided that since neither of us was all that hungry,
probably due to nerves and a feeling of uncertainty about what lay ahead,
we decided to just have a salad.  While I put the salad together, Ronni set
our places at the counter and we were soon eating and talking about
possible scenarios about what would happen when we met with his parents.
Ronni tried to present a totally positive outlook, but I could still detect
a sense of uncertainty about him.  We finished eating, got everything
ship-shape and headed out the door to follow the same route we had taken
the other day along the beach to get to his parents' house.  Unlike the
last time, Ronni was uncharacteristically quiet, obviously not all that
sure about how things would go.  This did nothing to ease my own thoughts,
knowing just how important to our plans this was going to be, and even the
gentle sounds of the surf didn't ease our mood.  We walked hand in hand and
finally came to the alley leading to the house, where Ronni paused for a
moment.  Then, he took a deep breath, gave me a shaky smile and we headed
down the alley to the Casa Martinez.  Again the door was open, and Ronni
took a hesitant step inside.

     "Nanay, Tatay," he called out.  I could see movement from the back of
the house as first Ronni's mother came down the short hall to the family
room, followed by a man about Ronni's height but stocky, obviously his
father.  While his mother had a smile on her face as she came toward us,
his father had a rather stony expression.  This didn't bode well.  A third
person was behind him, and I thought at first that it was Lola Sanie but
was surprised to see a rail-thin woman with graying hair and a distinct
scowl on her face.

     "Tita Sara!  Why you here?  Where is Lola?" Ronni asked, with more
than a touch of fear in his voice.


Ok. Sorry for stopping here, but this is potentially the first bit of
conflict so far.  The next chapter will hopefully bring everything around
to the positive side again.  Thanks for hanging around.  If you get time,
I'd love to hear your reactions so far.  And please thank the hard-working
folks a Nifty by giving your financial support. Please donate to
http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html.