| Fan Fiction |
by kglove
It took a few seconds before Kim realized it was Gerald who called. “Ge? Is everything okay?” she glanced at the clock on her bedside table. “It’s only four thirty in the morning.”
“I know and I'm sorry if I disturbed you but I can’t sleep. I can’t stop thinking about you.”
Kim smiled to herself. “I was thinking about you too before I fell asleep.”
“I can’t wait to see you later. Are you sure you don’t want me to pick you up?” Gerald asked.
“We already talked about this, didn’t we?”
“Okay, alright, I'm sorry to bring it up again. I just thought you’d change your mind after sleeping on it.”
Kim smiled to herself. “No, I haven’t. Let’s go back to sleep, shall we?”
“Yes. I love you Kim.”
“And I love you too, Gerald.”
***
Kim and Gerald were hanging out in her apartment a few weeks since they got back together. They just finished eating lunch and Gerald was doing the dishes while Kim was looking at him.
“You know, you look really cute washing dishes.” Kim teased.
“Baby, I always look cute.” Gerald retorted.
Kim chuckled. “Okay, whatever you say.”
Gerald finished the last plate and walked to where Kim was standing. “So, what do you want to do next?”
“I was looking forward to taking a nap. I woke up really early because of Ate Twinkle’s call.”
“I’d love that. I can cuddle my baby again.” Gerald hugged Kim and kissed her forehead.
They proceeded to Kim’s room. Gerald turned on the TV and was channel surfing when Kim went out of the bathroom and lay next to him.
“Aren’t you going to sleep, baby?” Kim asked.
“Maybe not. But don’t worry; I’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Why don’t we watch the DVD movie that you brought last week instead?” Kim offered.
“I thought you want to sleep?”
“I do, but I don’t think I can sleep with you watching beside me.”
Gerald turned the TV off. “I’ll stop watching TV then and watch you sleep instead. You know I can do that all day.”
“That’s exactly what I meant! I know by watching TV you mean staring at me while I'm sleeping. You do that all the time even before.”
He laughed and snuggled Kim closer to him. “My baby knows me too well. I think I'm going to start doing new things. I'm getting very predictable, am I?”
Kim pinched Gerald’s nose. “Yes, you are sir.”
“Okay, let’s take a nap then. But you have to put the alarm on so that we won’t be late for our dinner with Xian and Cathy later.”
“Done! Cathy’s been looking forward to seeing us and she’s not going to be pleased if we’re late.”
“Your best friend can be a little demanding sometimes if she wants to. She didn’t stop calling me until I said yes for this dinner even if I told her I might be doing overtime work today.” Gerald complained.
“Well, it’s good that Mike was out of town and you weren’t required to come to the office today.”
“I know. He’s been pressuring me to finish the manuals for the next batch of trainees. You’re lucky that you were only gone for a week that’s why he isn’t bullying you to do stuff here and there.”
“Baby, relax. You have to understand that he is under a lot of stress because of all these new site requirements that our clients has been asking him to do. I'm actually thankful that I don’t have his job.”
“Let’s just go to sleep, shall we? I don’t want to talk about work when I have my Kimmy in my arms.” Gerald kissed Kim on her forehead and they both fell asleep right away.
***
“So, are you guys getting married anytime soon?” Cathy asked Kim when they went to the ladies room after dinner.
Kim rolled her eyes. “Cathy, we just got back together. We have a lot of things to do first before we can even think about getting married. It’s at the bottom of our priorities right now to be honest. We haven’t even talked about moving in together let alone a wedding.”
“Wait, what? You haven’t moved in with him? Seriously?” Kim nodded. “Why?”
“I guess we’re both not ready to go to the next level yet. We’re taking things one step at a time.”
“Does that mean you haven’t…?”
“No. Trust me, there have been a few close calls but no, we haven’t.”
“Wow!” Cathy exclaimed. “Wow. It must be really hard for both of you to talk about stuff like this because of the circumstances of your break up. That’s probably the reason why you haven’t talked about it.”
“You're probably right but we’ll figure it out in due time. Come on, we don’t want our men to wait for long, do we?”
***
Gerald was on his way back to his office from a meeting when his phone rang. “Hi mom! What’s up?”
“Hijo, can you pick me up at the airport. Ken was supposed to do it but your brother is having troubles with his car.”
“What, now? I can’t leave the office until six in the evening.”
“Really? Well, I guess I’ll just take a cab then. Thanks anyway, son.”
“No, wait. Kim is getting off from work early so I can ask her to pick you up instead. Can you wait for her?”
“RJ, I don’t want to disturb her from her work. I know she’s as busy as you are.”
“I'm sure she wouldn’t mind. Like I said, she gets off earlier than me so it’s okay. Let me just ask her then I’ll call you back in a bit, alright?”
“Okay. But let me assure you that in case she can’t, tell her I wouldn’t take it against her.”
“Just stay there, okay?” Gerald ended the call and immediately walked towards Kim’s office. He knocked softly and heard her sweet voice asking to come in. When he opened the door, he saw her shuffling through some papers scattered on her table. “Busy?”
She smiled upon seeing him and shook her head. “No, just trying to re-arrange my paperwork according to the dates. I tend to get confused which one I already finished with the ones I haven’t.”
He approached her and kissed her on the cheek. “Good. I was wondering if you could do a little favor for me.”
“Okay, what is it?”
“Mom just arrived from her trip to Macau and Ken was supposed to pick her up but his car broke down. I can’t leave because I still have a meeting so I was hoping you could pick her up at the airport and drop her off at Ken’s apartment because her car is there.”
“Of course, I’d love to. Just give me 10 minutes to get ready and I’ll be on my way.”
“Thank you so much, baby. Mom actually offered to just take a cab but I can’t let her. Hang on, let me just call her back to let her know.” Gerald grabbed his phone. “Hey mom, I already talked to Kim and she’ll be there in about half an hour, okay? Just wait for her.”
“So, I’ll just see you tomorrow?” Kim asked Gerald before leaving her office.
“No. I’ll drop by later.” Gerald said as they were walking towards the elevator.
“Are you sure? Baby, you know that I don’t really mind if you can’t. You can use the time to rest.”
“All the stress that I go through at work goes away when I kiss and hug you at the end of the day. Now, go and get my mom at the airport and call me later. I love you.”
“I love you.” said Kim as she gave him a peck on the lips before going inside the elevator.
***
“Hi Tita!” Kim greeted Gerald’s mom. “I'm really sorry it took me so long to pick you up. Traffic’s really bad.”
Mrs. Anderson smiled. “It’s okay Kim. It’s not my place to complain anyway, you’re just doing a favor for my son.”
“Tita, this is a favor that I don’t mind doing all the time.” Kim smiled. “Hold on, let me just call Gerald real quick. He already called me twice on my way here. I’ll just let him know that we’re on our way to Ken’s apartment.” Kim dialed Gerald’s number on her phone. “Ge, I’m with your mom already.”
“Perfect! So just drop her off at Ken’s apartment like I said earlier and Ken will take care of the rest, okay? Drive safely, baby. Bye!”
Kim drove off from the airport after ending the call. “How was your trip?”
“I can’t say I enjoyed the trip because I never really got the chance to explore Macau since I was there for a business trip. I’d love to go back there for a vacation someday.” Mrs. Anderson replied. “Oh by the way, before I forget, I have something for you and RJ. I already put it on a separate bag since I know I won’t have time to go through my luggage once I get back. I’ll leave it here at the back seat.”
“Thank you. It’s too bad you can’t stay long. I'm sure Gerald would have loved to have you stay with him even for a day.”
“Well, I love to take care of my sons for a few days but duty calls. I have an early meeting tomorrow that I can’t cancel. But when I get some free time, I will surely visit them. I’d like to see your new apartment.”
“New apartment?” Kim asked.
“Yes, the one where you and RJ moved in.”
Kim realized what Mrs. Anderson meant. “Oh. Uh, Tita, we haven’t moved in together.”
“Oh really? RJ never mentioned anything about it so I just assumed that you’re back to living together.”
“We haven’t really talked about it. Maybe in a few months, maybe when we’re already married, who knows? Right now we’re focusing more on making the relationship work once again and I think if we live together at this point, it might compromise what we have started.”
Mrs. Anderson nodded. “You and RJ have really matured a lot. Before, all that he cares about is being with you. When he first told me that you will be living together, I didn’t really approve of the idea. I thought that you were both too young to be in such a serious relationship. But that was what he wanted so I had no choice but to respect his decision. I'm glad that you are now taking things slowly but surely.”
“I really like for our relationship to be stronger this time around, Tita. I sure hope Gerald feels the same way too.”
“He does, I can assure you that. I guess he realized after your break up how much you really mean to him. So now that he has won you back, I can bet my life that he will do everything it takes to keep you.”
***
Gerald is already on his way out of the office when Michael caught up with him.
“Gerald, can I have a word before you go?”
He hesitated for a while. “Uh, Mike I'm actually in a bit of a hurry. Kim’s waiting for me.”
“Don’t worry, this will not take long.”
“Okay, what is it?”
Michael took a deep breath. “As you know, we are opening a new center in Visayas in the next few months. We need all the manpower that we have to make sure that everything will work according to our client’s expectations. And with you being one of the best trainers that we have onboard, I need you to make sure that the quality of training here in Manila will be the same for the new site.”
“I'm doing everything to give you the best training manual for the Visayas site. Just give me a few more days.”
“That’s not what I meant. I want you there to personally make sure that training goes smoothly.”
It took a few moments before Michael’s word sunk in. “Mike, that’s not part of the agreement that we had when I transferred to your department.” Gerald argued.
“I know that. But a lot of things have happened since your transfer. Look, I'm giving you a few days to decide. Think about the things that you can do for this company if you will be assigned in Visayas. With your experience, I have no doubts that in a few months time you can be promoted to Training Manager for Visayas.”
Gerald was shaking his head in disbelief. “Can we just talk about this tomorrow? I'm tired and I don’t have time for this right now.”
“Of course. I’ll see you tomorrow, Gerald. Have a good night.” Michael shook his hand and went to his office as Gerald entered the elevator.
***
Kim opened the door to her apartment. “Hi baby!” she kissed Gerald and let him in. “Have you eaten? I prepared something for you just in case you want to eat.”
“I always knew you’re the one who could make me feel better after a long day at work.” He hugged Kim from behind.
“Give me a few minutes to fix the table then we can eat, okay? In the meantime, check out what your mom brought for you.” she handed him a paper bag before proceeding to the kitchen.
“How is she? She called me right before she left Ken’s apartment but I was on a meeting that time so I wasn’t able to pick up.”
“Tired, but she’s okay. She wanted to stay and have dinner with you and Ken but she has to be at the office very early tomorrow so she decided to just go home and get some rest. There’s a really important meeting that she needs to attend.”
“I told her she doesn’t have to work anymore. I mean, dad shoulders Ken’s education and I can give her monthly allowance.”
Kim handed Gerald a glass of orange juice. “Baby, your mom is enjoying her work. Besides, if she stops working what will she do instead? You don’t expect your mom to just stay at home 24/7, do you? Not unless either you or Ken lives with her.”
“That’s very unlikely to happen right now.”
“Exactly. So just let your mom do what makes her happy. She would have resigned a long time ago if she’s not having fun with her work.” Kim started to put some rice in Gerald’s plate.
“Baby, you know you don’t have to do that, right?”
“I know, but I want to. I love taking care of you.” Kim replied.
“I love you for that, but I can manage.” Gerald stood up and pulled out Kim’s chair and asked her to sit down. “Just sit down and we’ll eat together. I need to talk to you about something.”
Kim frowned. “What about?”
“Well, earlier when I was about to leave the office, Michael caught up with me and asked me if I’m willing to be assigned in our Visayas office. He said the site needs my experience since it’s just starting up.”
“What did you tell him? Did you accept the offer?”
“No, I told him I need time to think things over. Plus, I can’t make a decision without talking to you first.”
“Sure you can.” Kim said. “Baby, this could potentially be the biggest break of your career in this company. I mean, this is considered a promotion for you, isn’t it?”
Gerald sighed. “That’s exactly what Mike told me.”
“He’s right. You should take the job.”
“I don’t know, Kim. I don’t know if I can afford a responsibility as huge as this. I'm perfectly happy with where and what I am now. The last thing I need right now is a promotion.” Gerald held Kim’s hand. “And there’s the Kimberly Chiu factor that I have to consider as well.”
“Ge, even if you go to Visayas things aren’t going to change for us. We will make our relationship work even though we are apart. You just have to trust our love for each other.” Kim assured Gerald.
“Honestly, I was hoping that you wouldn’t say that. I knew that you will never ask me not to leave but I was keeping my fingers crossed.”
“Don’t waste this opportunity, baby. Take as much time as you need to think about it but I want you to know that whatever your decision will be, I will support you one hundred percent.”
***
Gerald and David were having lunch together a few days later. Kim wasn’t able to join them because she was asked to do final interviews for the applicants for trainer.
“Is it already part of your job description to interview applicants?” David asked.
Gerald laughed. “No, she’s just doing it as a favor for Mike. He really does the interviews but right now he is not at the office so he asked Kim to do them for the meantime.”
“Do you get to do interviews as well?”
“Yes, but the schedule that HR gave me was not until later this afternoon.” Gerald took a bite of his steak. “Dude, can we not talk about work?”
“Let me guess, still haven’t made a decision about that Visayas thing?” Gerald sighed and nodded. “What’s really keeping you from making a decision about it? Kim already told you that she wants you to take the job, even your parents approve of it.”
“David, I don’t want to make a decision just because everybody else is asking me to do it. I have to admit, Kim is a huge part why I haven’t made a decision yet. I know she understands but I can’t help it. We just got back together, we’re just beginning to re-establish our relationship and I'm not sure if I want to take the risk of leaving her at this point.” Gerald explained.
“Bro, don’t you trust Kim? She loves you very much and I know that you know that.”
“I have no doubt whatsoever about Kim’s feelings for me. It’s just… I don’t know David. I really can’t stand being away from her for long.”
David playfully punched Gerald in the arm. “Ge, you’re like a lovesick high school teenager.”
“I know. I acknowledge that I'm being immature about all of this. Making a decision would have been a whole lot easier if this offer came before Kim took me back.”
“Well it didn’t so roll with the punches. It might actually do both of you some good to be apart for a few months.”
“Don’t give me the absence makes the heart grow fonder crap, David. We’ve already been through that, remember? After I graduated and moved here she was still in school that time. We didn’t see each other for several weeks and sometimes even months.”
“I know that. You got pass that didn’t you? So what’s the difference now?”
Gerald sighed. “Okay, I get your point. I just... I just need a few more days to figure this out.”
***
“Knock knock!” Michael peeked into Kim’s office.
“Mike, come in. What can I do for you, boss?” Kim teased.
“Well, I just came here to thank you for doing the interviews I was supposed to do. My workload has been really crazy this month. Hopefully after the Visayas site is settled, I can finally sit back and relax.”
“You should start looking for a counterpart for the Visayas site if you want to get some free time.”
“That’s what I offered Gerald, Kim, didn’t he tell you?”
Kim smiled. “Of course he did.”
“And?” Michael looked at Kim with anticipation.
“What do you mean?”
“I haven’t heard from him since the day I told him. I was hoping you could tell me if he has made a decision yet.”
“Why don’t you go and ask him yourself?”
Michael sighed. “He has been avoiding me, Kim. You’re his girlfriend, just tell me his decision.”
Kim shook her head. “Sorry Mike, I don’t interfere with Gerald’s decision making. Yes, we talked about it but he never told me what his final decision is. I'm sorry.”
“Maybe you can talk to him again and encourage him to accept my offer. He’ll listen to you.”
“Mike, Gerald is a grown man and he can make a choice on his own. And if you must know, I told him to accept the job. I would never ask him to turn his back on an opportunity as huge as this. ”
“All the more reason to tell him that he should take the job. Just give it a try, please. That’s all I'm asking.”
“Gerald will be very upset with me after this Mike, but okay, you're my boss. I have to do what you ask me to do.”
Michael held Kim’s hand. “I'm not asking as your boss. I'm here as a friend. I just think that Gerald will miss a lot if he turns down my offer.”
“I know that. I'm just not very happy with the thought that he and I will argue over this.”
***
Gerald knocked on Kim’s door around eight in the evening. Kim greeted him with a kiss.
“Have you eaten, baby?” Kim asked as she made her way to the kitchen with Gerald right behind her.
“Yes, baby, I'm done. Why, did you wait for me?”
“No, actually I was just cleaning up when you arrived. Are you sure you don’t want to eat again?”
Gerald hugged her from behind and kissed the back of her head. “No thank you. I would love to cuddle with you though.”
Kim playfully slapped him. “Gerald, I'm washing the dishes, can’t you see?”
“The dishes can wait but I can’t.” he kissed the crook of Kim’s neck. “I missed you today baby. I barely saw you at the office.”
Kim turned around and held his face. “I was at the HR office for the most part of the day, remember? By the way, how was your lunch with David? I'm really sorry that I missed it.”
“Well, he joined those people trying to convince me to go to Visayas. I tried to change the topic every time he brought it up.”
Kim avoided looking at Gerald. “So, what’s your decision anyway?”
Gerald released Kim and made his way to the sofa. Kim followed him reluctantly and sat beside him.
“Baby, I know you’re having a hard time making a decision but you have to do it soon.”
“I understand that. I was just thinking - what if you move to Visayas with me. I mean, our office will be in Cebu and your sister is there, right? It’s an opportunity to be with her.”
Kim stood up. “You're not making any sense at all, Gerald.”
“Call me selfish but that is how I feel. I love you so much, Kim. I swore to myself when we got back together that I will do everything just so I wouldn’t lose you again.”
“You're not going to lose me. Come on baby, we both know that going to Cebu is not the solution.”
“Don’t you want to be with me, Kim?”
“Ge, this is not a question of me wanting to be with you or not because you know that I absolutely do.”
Gerald held her hand and kissed it. “Then go to Visayas with me. We can get married there.”
Kim tried to comfort him. “Woah, baby, back up a little bit. I understand that you're upset because of the circumstances but let’s not make hasty decisions, alright?”
“I don’t know what to do anymore, Kim. This whole job promotion is driving me nuts. I'm so scared to leave because I'm not sure if I'm strong enough to be apart from you for such a long time.”
“Gerald” Kim sat on his lap and held his face. “I'm scared too but we need to trust each other. We just have to find a way to make our relationship work despite the distance. You can always come home during the weekend or I can visit you there. We’ll make it work, I promise.”
Gerald nodded. “You're right, baby. I'm so sorry for being immature about all of this.”
“So, are you going to accept the job?”
He sighed. “I guess I am. I’ll talk to Mike tomorrow.”
Kim leaned in to give Gerald a kiss. “I love you, you know that?”
“I might have forgotten how much. Can you remind me?” Kim smiled and kissed Gerald again, this time with much more passion. When their lips parted, Gerald was grinning. “What’s with the grin?” she asked.
“Nothing, I just love you so much.”
******************************************************
I was finally able to update! so sorry it took so long. anyway, i know the story is kinda boring right now. blame it on writer's block. hmpf! i can't even think of a title for crying out loud! waaaaaaah! but i hope you'll still enjoy this chapter. til next chapter!