Love in All the Right Places (Chick Lit bundle) by Chris Mariano, Agay Llanera, Chrissie Peria Read Free Book Online Page B

nodded. “ Aceradon jubatus . Pteropus vampyrus . Two species of flying foxes. They’re some of the largest fruit bats in the world and the golden-crowned flying fox is endemic to the Philippines. They eat fruits and figs and nectar.” He was surprised that Min Hee was letting him continue the lecture, so he pointed to the trees in the distance, heavy with dark shapes. “As long as we don’t disturb them, we should be fine. They rest and eat in the daytime and fly out to the mainland in the evening. If we’re lucky though, we might get to see a daytime flyout.”
    “Will I get to see one up close?” Min Hee asked.
    “I told you earlier, we really shouldn’t disturb their roosts,” Gio explained patiently. “Besides, the bat caves can be dangerous. It’s a steep and slippery climb down. But Manong Ben is taking us to his friend’s house near the hills. It’s got a good view of fruit bats roosting in their trees during this time of the year. It’ll be safe.”
    “You always like safe.”
    “Safer for the bats,” he told her.
    The tricycle could only take them partly up the road; they had to walk the last hundred meters or so. Soon, they arrived at Manong Ben’s friend’s house. It was low but roomy, built of nipa and wood against the hillside. The sea breeze rushed through the large open windows. Only the friend’s wife was home, but she lent them a pair of binoculars so they could see the bats closer.
    “There are so many of them,” Min Hee murmured, training the binoculars on some trees.
    “There were more before,” Manong Ben replied. “Now only few.”
    Min Hee put the binoculars down. “That’s a shame.”
    “It is,” Gio answered. “People keep on building and developing and the bats’ roosts whittle down every year. Sometimes we have our eyes fixed on the beaches that we forget the rest of the things that make up the island.”
    Min Hee scrambled over some nearby rocks as gamely as she could, perhaps hoping to get to a higher position. “Careful,” Gio warned her softly. “Rocks here can be slippery with guano.”
    “I’m not—” she began, turning to face him abruptly. But the move made her lose her balance, Gio rushed to catch her before she could hit the ground.
    “Careful,” he said again, holding her firmly, one hand on her upper arm, the other on her back. Her fingers raked against his back lightly as she clutched his shirt. He felt something twitch in him at their unexpected contact, a lightning storm in the middle of a hot afternoon.
    “I heard you the first time,” she told him rather breathlessly.
    That was when Gio realized that he was still holding her, that maybe he was still a little too close, a little too forward. He helped her straighten up. “You’re good,” he said, a little too loudly.
    “Gio?”
    “Yes?”
    “Thank you.”
    “You’re good.”
    She smiled. “You said that already.” 
    When they came down from the hills, it was already past three in the afternoon. Gio felt keenly aware of Min Hee’s presence. All the way back to the beach, he tried not to be too conscious of the way their knees touched during the bumpy tricycle ride or the way that her arm leaned against his.
    He wondered what it would be like to be blind as the proverbial bat, flying in the darkness boldly, content with what his other senses told him instead of the distractions that sight might offer. Maybe he’d just follow the scent of vanilla home.
     
    * * * *
     
    Genrose was waiting for them at her eatery. “I found Lolo’s album!” she told Gio excitedly, holding out an old photo album. The pages were black, quite unlike the magnetic ones that they kept at home. Genrose flipped the pages gently, until she arrived at the folded pieces of paper that she had been looking for.
    There were three sketches, all done in pencil. The first one was of Lolo Godo, balancing on an outrigger and holding a long bamboo pole in his hands. The other two were of Boracay. He recognized the