Thethings5

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Chapter 5

Several weeks have passed since Mark, Paul, Christian and Ben came to live in the house with Jewel. She had been getting along well with her housemates. One night, Christian took her clubbing. She never goes to the club often, but she enjoyed Christian�s company. Then another day, Ben went shopping with her. They were giving each other fashion advices. And just the other day, she went to the movies with Mark. It was a new Disney film, so they both enjoyed it.
As for Paul, well, he has been the closest one to her. She could tell him just about everything that�s on her mind. He would always make her laugh, and she enjoys his company a lot. She�s glad that she�s got a friend in him, and vice versa. Paul feels comfortable with her. He could act silly with her, and just go about being crazy. And then there are times when he could just be with her and not say anything. He�s really happy that he�s got a best friend, aside from his male buddies.
One night, Jewel came home from the office with a headache. Paul was in the living room when she arrived, watching television. When he saw her, he asked, �Hey, what�s the matter?�
�I�ve got a splitting headache,� she groaned. �It�s been terrible at work today.� She put down her bag and sat on the sofa beside him.
�Here, let me help,� he said. He made her turn her face towards him, and started massaging gently her temples.
She closed her eyes. �Mmm� That feels nice.�
Paul watched her face as he massaged her. She looks beautiful, he thought. Then a thought came to his head. I wonder what it feels like to kiss her. Then he tilted his head and moved closer to Jewel�s face. Then he caught himself immediately. What am I doing? He suddenly put his hands down.
Jewel slowly opened her eyes. �Is something wrong?�
He hurriedly looked for an excuse. �I was just thinking� erm��
�Yeah?�
�Umm, maybe you have a headache because you�re hungry� erm, did you have lunch today?�
�Well, I just had a small sandwich for lunch.�
�I think you�d better get some dinner. I�ll arrange the table for you,� he started to stand up, but Jewel stopped him.
�No. I can handle that,� then she stood up. �Thanks for the massage, Paul.�
He smiled. �No problem.� When Jewel disappeared into the kitchen, he slapped his forehead. What was I thinking? That won�t happen again, I�ll make sure of that!

One day, Paul was in his room, trying to add a few more lines to the song that he�s composing together with Ben. But at that moment, he couldn�t think of anything to write. All he could think of was Jewel. He didn�t know what came over him that night. It was as if something just sparked and spread a flame inside of him. Well, only water can quench fire. And I know just the thing, he thought. He decided to take a dip in the pool for a while. After changing into his swimming trunks, he grabbed a towel and headed for the pool.

Yup! I definitely need more days like this, Jewel thought as she laid on one of the chaise lounges by the poolside, listening to a catchy tune on her portable radio. She was wearing her bright blue, one-piece bathing suit and had on her black sunglasses. Then her thoughts suddenly drifted to that night with Paul. It was strange, she thought. I felt something happen, but I�m not sure what. It was probably just my imagination. But still�
Suddenly, she felt that something blocked her sun. She slid down her glasses a bit, and saw Paul standing before her.
�Hi! Like some company?� he asked.
�Sure,� she put her glasses back on the top of her nose bridge. She watched as Paul walked over to the chair next to hers and removed the t-shirt he was wearing. Mmm, he does have a nice body, doesn�t he? she thought. Then she shook her head a little. What on earth am I thinking? This is just Paul! She tried to organize her thoughts. I�ve been in the sun too long. I think I�ll take a dip in the water. She took off her sunglasses and dived into the water and made a splash.
�Hey! Leave some water for me!� Paul shouted.
Jewel stuck her tongue out at him.
�Oh, I see. You just wait out there, missy,� he threatened, and then jumped into the water.
�Paul, look at what you did! You just displaced at least half of the pool water!� she joked.
�Okay. You asked for it!� he started to swim after her. Jewel shrieked and tried to swim away from him. When Paul caught up with her at the corner of the pool, he put his hands on her waist and then started to tickle her.
�Gotcha!�
�No! Stop it, Paulie! Stop!� she laughed.
He stopped tickling her. �Alright. Just because you called me that name, you deserve more of this!� he said, and started to tickle her again.
�Stop! Stop it! Paul! Please!� she tried to say, despite of her laughter.
�Oh, alright,� he finally gave in.
As Jewel tried to catch her breath, they looked at each other. Their expression became serious. They stared in each other�s eyes, as if searching for something. Jewel wanted to look away, but Paul�s eyes were locked on hers that she just couldn�t even if she tried. They weren�t touching at all; only their eyes are in contact. Then suddenly�
�Hey, you two! Nice day for a swim, huh?� Ben greeted them. Christian and Mark were behind him, all in their swimming trunks.
They both jumped apart. The spell was broken.
�Uh, yeah,� Jewel tried to regain her composure. �Come on and join us!�
�Don�t mind if we do,� Mark said and jumped into the pool.
Soon, they were all playing about and swimming around in the pool. But Paul seemed to be in a world of his own. I came down here to quench the fire, he thought and then stared at Jewel who was fooling around with Christian. But it feels like it�s just gotten bigger and hotter.
All through that day, Jewel tried to avoid being alone with Paul. She would try to talk casually to him when the others are around. The other three noticed but didn�t say anything. She still couldn�t get over the way she felt with him in the pool. And it scared her. A lot.

But friendship seemed to mean more to them because just after a couple of days, they were in normal speaking terms again. Without talking about it, they just decided to try to forget that moment. I won�t let something like that destroy our friendship, Paul said to himself. I just won�t.

And so, life had been pretty normal at the A1 house. The boys have been recording a few songs and were kept busy. Jewel has been pretty busy with her work as well.
One night, just after dinner, Mark suggested that they go to a club, to which they all agreed. After an hour of getting ready, they all piled up in their car with Paul behind the wheel. Moments later, they arrived at the club. Many people were on the dance floor, while some are drinking and talking.
�Yeah! I�ve been wanting to do this for the past few weeks!� Paul exclaimed. Then, taking Jewel�s hand, he said, �Come on, Jewel! Let�s dance!�
�Sure!� she has to raise her voice so he can hear her.
Mark, Christian and Ben went to look for a table and then ordered some drinks.
Paul is a terrific dancer, and it made Jewel feel shy to dance with him. He noticed that, so he tried to teach her some moves. They were enjoying themselves so much that they continued to dance for the next three songs.
�Paul, let�s take a break for a minute, okay?� Jewel said.
�Alright.� They looked for the others, and when they found them, they sat at their table and ordered their drinks.
�This place has got nice tunes,� Christian commented.
�Yeah, and nice girls, too!� Ben grinned cheekily.
�I think I�m going to dance to this song,� Mark stood up. �See you guys later.� And with that, he went to the dance floor.
�Yeah. It is a nice tune,� agreed Paul. �Want to dance again?� he asked Jewel.
�Oh no. I�m still tired from our last number,� she replied. �You go ahead.�
�Alright then,� he said then joined the other dancers.
�I think I�m going to talk to those girls over there,� Ben motioned to a couple of girls across their table.
�I�ll come with you,� Christian said. �I hope you don�t mind being alone for a while, Jewel.�
�No, just go ahead. I still want to catch my breath.�
�Alright. See you in a while,� he said as he and Ben went over to the girls� table.
Jewel took a sip of her drink and looked around the club. Her eyes fell on a couple sitting in a table not very far from her. They look like they�re arguing, gesturing wildly with their hands. Then the guy suddenly stood up, said something to the girl and then left the club. The girl was left on her own, crying. Jewel looked down on her glass. I will never let myself get hurt like that. It�s just not worth it, she told herself.
A slow song suddenly came on. She glanced at the dance floor. The crowd is splitting up into couples. Then she saw Paul running towards her.
�May I have this dance?� he asked as he extended his hand.
Jewel took it and smiled. �Yes, you may.�
He led her to the dance floor and placed his hands around her waist.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. They swayed to the music, but her mind is somewhere else. She glanced again at the girl, who was now getting ready to leave. I will never fall in love. Never, she thought. Then she noticed that Paul was looking at her. When she turned to look at him, he held her closer. Her breath got caught in her throat. Everything around them seemed to have melted, and they were the only ones left. This was the first time that they danced like that, but for them, it felt as if they have been dancing that way forever. Confused by the sudden change of emotions, Jewel laid her head on Paul�s shoulder. She could smell his cologne. She closed her eyes and tried to push away this weird feeling that she has.
She was silent on the way home. Paul kept glancing at her while he was driving. I wonder what she could be thinking, he thought. She must be as confused as I am. He saw her look out the window. I didn�t mean to do this to her, but I just can�t help it! What is going on with me? She�s my friend, for heaven�s sake!
They were both asking themselves the same question, both confused and terrified at the same time.