Primal Scream (Box Set #1, Taboo Sex + AFF) (7 page)

But it seems to be going along good...and I realize that if someone asks, “How do you know this is love?”...I don’t know
how
to answer...I just know that it is.

Everyone has an opinion...but how do you define a belief. People make statements without bothering to comprehend...all I know is that Ed and I are two people who are able and willing...to tune into each other’s complexities...this is stimulating in so many ways that I just can’t express...and real love, real
love
. If this is what it is...how can we be wrong?

[Ed / 25 June 2008]

Rafiz, he’s The Man. Oh man he was online and Julie was on too. Ruffy and I were chatting about the TEFL thing, and Julie and I were chatting about how lost we are, I mean we’re still there for each other but we’re both really so confused and don’t really know what to do
but I still love it/her/Julie/life/everything
. Ruffy asked about Julie, so I told her he said hi, and she asks if Ruffy can be trusted and I say “yeah I think so,” and she says “is it ok if he knows about us? just for somebody’s opinion/perspective on this,” and after a while I say ok, and so he’s the
only
other soul that knows about us, and
sworn
to the grave to secrecy.

I started with “hey Julie came over to my place for a couple of weeks,” and Ruffy said “that’s cool,” then he asked if we liked staying together. I said “yes very much.”

And then I got straight to the point and said “we’re in love, what do we do.” I added “if you don’t understand, it’s ok...just keep it to yourself.”

At first he said “just do what lovers do.” I said “uhm I’m talking about Julie and myself...as in we kind of like each other, that way,” and Rafiz said “what? how involved are you”...and I said “like...uhm...it involves a bed. yeah.”

He typed: “OMFG” and

“
I just fell off the chair!!” and

“
THAT’S SOOOOOO HOT!!! I support you 100%, love is love...”

And I said to knock it off coz the caps and exclamation points are getting scary, and Rafiz says “no problem” and that if anyone asks him about us, he’ll say he’s not in contact with us anymore. Ignorance=Bliss.

He said “if you feel this is what you want, go for it!” and “ok, focus. yes, this conversation never took place...”

And so I said what do we do, because I wanna go for this teaching/traveling thing, but you’ve gotta be 21 so Julie has to wait for a bit if she’s gonna do it too, and he says “excellent, this is so cool.”

He says no matter what we decide to do, he thinks it’s best to keep it quiet from people we know here (besides him), and have fun for now.

Then he goes on about going for a trip far away and having a date, and how over there we could “go to a nice restaurant and hold each other’s hands in public,” maybe wait till there are “some people around, and you could lean across the table and kiss,” and I say “do you have a secret sister that I don’t know about?” and he says no but that he’s “sooo jealous” that I do, HA-HA-HA...he also says that “this is no one else's business,” and not to listen to judgmental people, who are the ones that hate and start wars.

Dammit, he should run for President.

So I guess I’m gonna sign up for the thing...one more month’s savings should be enough...see how it works out...everything looks like it’s somehow falling into place?...and if by some miracle all does go well...I’ll be in some country, I dunno where, with freedom
ah, brilliant freedom
and flexibility...

Only intensely, painfully, agonizingly, waiting upon the stars and moon and all the universe, for one last thing:

Julie.

[Julie : 18 July 2009]

One year ago, Ed and I embarked on the most incredulous, insane plan anyone could ever have conceived. We are completely indebted to Rafiz. He knows about us, and he is so cool and supportive. At present, he’s rising up the ranks in Starbucks. He started off as a barista and is now assistant store manager.

I worked, Ed worked, we begged, borrowed, owed, paid up, opened PayPal accounts, transferred cash — and came up with the $1500 course fees. Ed found a teaching center in the city, where they were having a one month intensive course in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Ed signed up for one of the courses they were having in August.

When he had the cert, he first volunteered four times a week, as a Teaching Assistant for an EFL Class. Three months later, the professional instructor he was working with got him a referral for a teaching post in Bangkok, Thailand.

I got a job as an admin assistant filing customers’ accounts. The pay was $7 an hour. I scrimped and saved as much as I could.

I knew what I wanted...but spent the time thinking it through, until I was sure about my decision: I wanted to be with Ed.

So I followed in my brother’s footsteps, and did the exact same thing. I signed up for a course that started smack on 3
^rd
April this year, on my birthday. After that, I sent a blizzard of twenty-seven resumes out, and went for interviews over the next three weeks.

I was determined to ace each interview. I projected an outgoing personality, intelligence, confidence, professional competence, anything that would make a good impression. One call answered my prayers.

After a
further
agonizing six weeks, in which the school that hired me paid for and handled the paperwork required for the Work Permit and Teacher’s License, (while I applied for a Non-Immigrant B Visa), and I packed and re-packed, and said my farewells to the people that matter — I got to Thailand in one piece.

I thought of all sorts of disasters throughout the flight. But shortly after the plane touched down...I was back in my brother’s strong, loving arms.

The time we spend with each other is simply: magical.

Not to forget the fun in staying here too. The students that are keen to learn, the hospitality of the locals, the fantastic food, the breathtaking environment, the ancient culture...every other sight and sound that pervades the senses.

Ed and I are taking things one step at a time. For now, this is splendid.

If something comes up, we’ll deal with it. Like Ed’s extension of his visa to a 1-year visa (a process that involves a
ton
of work more than it sounds). I’ll do the same before my first one expires.

This weekend, we’ve taken a four-hour train ride out to Hua Hin. It’s a quiet, laidback Thai beach resort. After plenty of late night, and/or all night sessions...it sure is nice to lounge around at the poolside.

A petite waitress brings our cocktails over. Her nametag says ‘Chirawan’. I ask her what her name means.

“
Eternal beauty,” she replies. Dang, that’s so cool.

She asks us if we are enjoying our stay, and what our names are. We reply that we love her home country, and are living it up here. And just for the heck of it, we introduce ourselves as Mr. and Mrs. Drake.

“
You look like such a happy couple.” Chirawan has the most genuine smile ever. Looking at Ed, she says, “At first, I thought you were her brother. You look alike!”

“
Yeah,” Ed says. Smiling, he takes my hand. “I know...we hear that a lot.”

# # # # #

[2] SWISS MISS

Summary
:
Listless Andy Acklin underestimates the hold his younger stepsister has over him, who’s blossomed into a full fledged hottie.

P.S. Due to their close relationship, Andy and Christina sometimes refer to themselves as “brother and sister” throughout this story [please “use your imagination” for this story].

=====

Swiss Miss

Chapter 1

“
Welcome to Changi Airport,” went the train’s cool, metallic voiceover.

Andy Acklin had been watching the couple sitting across his seat, who’d turned their trip on the train into a 20 minute make-out session, much to some of their fellow commuters’ annoyance. Andy had seen the man’s hand going up the woman’s micro mini skirt at one point.

From the moment Andy had boarded, the woman had been sitting on the lap of the man, who was touching and stroking her skin all over. The man even serenaded her at one point, while gently kissing/sucking on one of the lobes of her ears.

He knew they were a couple from mainland China, from the way they spoke Mandarin with a thick accent. The couple treated everyone else as if they were invisible.

A few disgusted commuters rolled their eyes at the couple. Others, too caught up in their own PDAs, didn’t even notice. A lanky girl shifted her body slightly towards the oblivious couple, holding her cell phone up. Perhaps she wanted some proof of evidence of the “public display of affection” she’d witnessed, when gossiping about it to her friends later.

Since it was hard to ignore their behavior, Andy didn’t fight any resistance, and watched the free show. He caught a sneak peek of the woman’s hot pink, lacy underwear. He thought she’d moaned a few times, rocking her pelvis. Or was that the movement from the train carriage?

Andy straightened his shirt collar once the couple stood up, and prepared to get off the MRT train, tuning out the voiceover which reminded passengers to “mind their step,” before the doors finally opened, after the fast train had come to a stop.

He knew the little jingle that had been playing to commuters, who were waiting at the station’s platform outside.

“
Train is coming, train is coming! Please start queuing, and love your ride! Ding Dong!”

It was a new song played when the trains came in at each MRT station. Andy had always thought it sounded a little pornographic. He wondered if that would happen in Europe—blasting a fairly childish-sounding and annoying jingle to travelers—because the people in charge would be more concerned with the quality of the transport service itself. The train stations here featured all sorts of “lifestyle”-related material:
Buy This! Buy That! Buy This Tomorrow! And Buy This Next Week!
90% of the overhead banners and posters in the train system displayed advertisements and junk, displaying useful/clear information perhaps 10% of the time.

Andy gave his reflection in the darkened train window a quick look-over, before alighting. It was the first time his sister was flying in from Switzerland to visit him in Singapore. The two countries were 6,000 miles / 10,000 kilometers apart.

He thought back, over the past year or so that he had been stationed in this city-state. He wondered if Christina would be any different as an 18-year-old. It was just a year older than 17.

It seemed so long ago, since he had been 18, though technically, he hadn’t even hit his mid-twenties yet. He still had a year to go, before he turned 25.

He’d gotten a good job, straight out of university. Singapore was a small but economically powerful country that welcomed foreigners with open arms, and Andy thought he’d enjoy living in a different place for a while. He loved the sweltering heat, humidity, and the vibrant nightlife scene.

Just got here,
he text-messaged Christina, who had just celebrated her birthday two weeks ago. She was coming over to stay for three weeks, before meeting a pen-pal from Malaysia, and traveling around Asia for a few months thereafter.

When he’d first gotten here, he’d been a little self-conscious of his height. He towered over many of the locals. But he now enjoyed the advantages of being tall. He surveyed the scene, looking at all the young couples swarming the train station at the hour, 9 p.m. He wondered how many of them were going at it like rabbits behind the privacy of closed doors.
Or maybe in broad daylight?

A couple walked by, the doe-eyed girl gazing up into the boyfriend’s eyes, one hand around his arm. They had the same nose, eyes, and smile.
Coincidence?
They could pass off as relatives.
First cousins. Maybe even siblings.