Letting my imagination run wildly..

A slight breeze blew through me as I jumped out of the van, completely ignoring Chad's outstretched hand; but I gave him a low-five just so he wouldn't be embarrassed. He rolled his eyes at me but I gave him a wink before turning my back on him and following the others. Already, I could smell the sea.

Roger jogged towards me and we walked side by side, soaking in the scenery. Even though it was still pretty hot, there was something about this place that lured you as if under a spell, no matter what the weather was. It could be the sound of the rolling waves as they crashed against the shore, or the cooling color of blue that stretched as far as the eye can see, or the sound of sea gulls as they circled high above crying in their shrill voices, or the sight of the sunset with its orange and pink light as it said goodbye to the world; it could be anything, really. It soon became our favorite place to hang-out whenever we had the time.

When we were in first year, after being friends for a few months, we decided to look for places where we could chill and relax; the farther away from the university, the better. But we didn't have to look far. It was only a few minutes drive, but with the ever-present traffic, sometimes it took longer. We always chose a small pavilion that had the best view of the pier, where we would watch people run back and forth, take pictures and even juggle; well, the guys did and until now I don't have the faintest idea as to why they even bother, since they really suck at it.

The others were already at our spot and Roger and I were the last ones to take our places; even Bear was fast enough to overtake us without me even noticing. Our new friends sat on the graveled pavement in front of us, all four faces looking somewhat happy and relaxed.

"So, this is where you guys go. Nice", said Cornelius matter-of-factedly as he tilted his head back and sighed.

"It's not much, but its better than being cooped up in a classroom all day", said Angela.

"You have no idea how true those words ring", said Joey as he gazed wistfully at her. "It's a nightmare to be stuck in there from seven-to-seven".

"A whole day?", I said in disbelief. "Are you serious?"

Joey nodded stiffly. "But we don't have classes on Fridays, which is sort of like a bonus", he ended with a tiny smile.

"What I would give to have Fridays off", said Carly dreamily.

"You? So what?", snorted Bradley. "So you can go around the city in search of books that people have never heard about?".

"Hey, I resent that", warned Carly and her eyes narrowed at him.

"You know I'm just kidding, right?" cooed Bradley, batting his eyelashes.

That sent us in a flurry of giggles and snorts, but he showed that he didn't hear us; and Carly's face softened but a sight scowl replaced it. "Ugh. I hate it when you do that".

I rolled my eyes. "I can't believe you fell for that".

She shrugged. "I have no experience with guys. You all know that", she said as she glanced at all of us as if daring to contradict her.

"Then that means that Charlie doesn't count?" asked Bear.

"He only asked me out once", answered Carly sniffily.

"Right. And that doesn't count?" pressed Bear.

"No. If he asked me out on a second date, then that's the only time that it will count", said Carly.

Cornelius was about to ask something when Angelo waved at him, signaling him to keep his mouth shut. He pursed his lips and said instead, "Do any of you have boyfriends or girlfriends?" he said in a rush.

Some of us laughed but in a way we were thankful for that distraction. None of us wanted to hear Carly's ramble about her non-existent love life and we wouldn't want to bore our guests.

"Strangely, no", said Roger thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, we're all single. Well, Kelsey was the last one who was in a relationship", he nudged me a little but I rolled my eyes.

I noticed that Anthony, who hasn't said anything so far, was looking at me very closely and I could see that he was trying to remember something. I was about to ask him when comprehension dawned on his face. "No wonder you look familiar", he said slowly. "You were Chris' girlfriend, right?"

Clearly, I wasn't expecting that so I started in surprise. "Yes, I was", I managed to say without laughing. Somehow I imagined it to be hard for me if I hear someone say "were" if they were talking about my previous relationship with Chris, but I didn't feel anything. And that made me feel good. Really good.

"I saw you once, after his P.E. class, actually, our P.E. since we were classmates", he said quickly.

"That was a long time ago", I noted.

"To you, probably", he said as he shrugged. I gave him a questioning look but he only smiled at me. Hmmmm. Seems like he's hiding more than I would have thought.

"He's got a new girlfriend, right?" asked Joey as he turned to me.

"Yup", I said in reply.

He grimaced. "That girls' a bitch. Seriously".

"What makes you say that?" piped in Rosie, her face alight with curiosity.

"She walks like she owns the university", stated Cornelius. "And the way she talks to you, it's like she's talking to a second-grader!".

"She clings to him and makes love to his wallet. Disgusting", added Anthony.

"He keeps on saying how much he loves her and all that mushy stuff, and he doesn't even notice that he's broke!" cried Jerry. Then he said in an undertone, "Poor bastard".

"Well, that's what he gets for breaking our Kelsey's heart", said Ellen boastfully. "And he deserves it".

"I bet he's too proud to break up with her because he'll end up looking more of a loser than he already is", said Amy with a laugh.

"I would have to agree with you on that one", said Joey. "I don't even know how he fell for her in the first place. I just find it odd. Oh well. That's love, eh?"

"Gee, don't I know that well", I said sarcastically.

"Do any of you guys have girlfriends?" asked Amy as she looked at them, chuckling.

"Nay, dear lady", said Cornelius, while attempting to sound like Prince William; "we are all simple bachelors". He stood up, and bowed low.

"Dear me, that is astonishing!" cried Ellen as she widened her eyes in mock horror.

"Indeed, it is", said Carly, keeping up with them.

"May I inquire as to why, your grace?" said Anthony, looking at Carly, while he was trying to keep a straight face.

Carly paused, pretending to be deep in thought. "Well, let me see", she said finally, crossing her legs and delicately putting her second finger on her chin; "you are all ruggedly handsome"--there was a pronounced gag from Angelo, but she ignored him--"you are into sports, and very charming. What's there not to like?"

"I beg to differ, dear lady", said Jerry politely, but we can see that he was ready to burst at any minute; "hasn't it occurred to you that perhaps we have not found the right woman to lavish our attention and wealth on?"

"What utter nonsense!" protested Rosie.

"I say, old chap, there are plenty of lovely ladies to choose from", interrupted Chad, still adapting the false British accent that they started; "surely, there are some that have caught your eye".

"Yes, there are some", admitted Cornelius. "But beauty is only skin-deep. After that first glance, nothing changes".

"How kind of you, sir", I said. I just had to say what was on my mind before I completely lost it. "Hardly any man would dare to say such words of flattery. Which makes me wonder, are you really telling the truth, or"--I gasped--"are you, dare I say it, not a real man?"

"Are you implying, my dear lady, that we are", said Jerry. He gulped. "Homosexuals?"

"That is preposterous!" cried Bear in an outrage.

"Blasphemy! Blasphemy!" said Carly, pretending to hyperventilate.

"My children, oh my poor, poor, children", wailed Angela.

"But, nay, fair lady, we are all good men. Real men", said Cornelius seriously as he looked at me.

I had to choke back the laughter that threatened to spill from my lips. "I was merely inquiring, my lord", I said as politely as I could. "Forgive me".

"There is nothing to forgive", he answered graciously.

"If only there were more men like you", sighed Ellen dramatically, as she waved her hand as if to fan herself. "The world would be a better place".

"Would you care to dance with me, my lady?" asked Joey. He was already standing in front of her, with his hand held out.

Ellen had the grace to blush but she laughed a little. "Why, yes, dear sir, I would like that". She took his hand and stood up to our cheers and applause.

He twirled her around as we began to clap and chant some waltz that was badly off-key, but they continued anyway. I broke into laughter as we did this, but I was not alone. As I watched them twirl, dip and skip, I found myself looking over at the boys, my eyes drifting from one to the other.

They were all laughing as they clapped along, their faces shining with amusement. It was always great to make new friends. I always consider them as a blessing that I never fail to be thankful for. And somehow, deep down, I knew that a lot of us are going to paired off to them very soon. Not that we haven't looked to our own group; I still hear people wondering how we managed to snag the most good-looking guys in the classroom. But none of us ever thought of going out with each other. We just thought that it would feel too awkward since we already consider ourselves as a family. And as far as pairing off is concerned, I'm not saying that I'll be one of them. I did just get out of a relationship after all; but then again, what's the harm in just thinking about it, right? But hearing the echo of that question in my head made me think twice about it.

I shouldn't be thinking about this now. Maybe after a few more weeks or even months. But definitely not now.

Although..

I couldn't help but notice how--as Carly pointed out earlier--ruggedly handsome they all were. It would have been okay if one or two of them were, but all of them? It kind of makes you wonder if God sent down His angels all at the same time. I'm not exaggerating; they're all really, really good looking. Adonis could have been their father for all I know.

Jerry's blue eyes were dancing as he laughed; his body was lean and muscular and his brown hair whipped his face when the wind blew. Cornelius had prominent cheek bones, perfect nose; as if his face was carved to perfection. Joey reminded me of Chad in the height department; but other than that, his smile was enough to make you look twice on him. And Anthony, he had this way of looking you in the eyes as you speak, as if your the most important person in the world; anyone can melt under his piecing gray gaze.

Great, I'm being silly. Fawning--no, scratch that--admiring these guys who we've only met. Silly, isn't it?

I suddenly had this feeling of someone watching me; I could feel a pair of eyes gazing at me, or maybe past me. As I turned, I caught Anthony's eye. He was still clapping along, with a wide smile on his face but he wasn't paying attention to the two dancers almost in front of him. No. He was looking at me.

I was kind of expecting him to look away, but strangely, he didn't. And for some strange reason, as we looked into each other's eyes, I felt a chill go down my spine and I wondered if it was a good thing or a bad thing. The other thought that crossed my mind was, did he feel it, too? Whether he did or not, he was good at hiding it because his expression didn't change and he didn't slow his pace in clapping. I wanted to break the reverie that we were slowly dragging ourselves in, but I couldn't look away; his eyes, his stormy gray eyes..

For a fleeting moment, I thought he really zoned out because he was still staring at me. I looked behind me just to see if he saw somebody he knew and that he was staring at that; but when I looked at him, his smile got even wider, as if mocking me. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks but that was enough to finally make me look away.

Joey and Ellen were already sitting down but we laughing their heads off, along with the others. I quickly joined in, hoping that nobody noticed my little "moment" with Anthony. From my peripheral vision, I could tell that he was still looking at me, and that he was still smiling. I ground my teeth in frustration. It's bad enough that he didn't elaborate further on what he said about me and Chris; somehow I think that he's trying to infuriate me.

I turned to him, but to my surprise, he turned away and immediately struck up a conversation with Cornelius.

Interesting.