Chapter 24: Chapter 24

My frustration ruined my mood that I insisted on going home after checking into one hotel only. We were supposed to do resort hopping, but because I was afraid Zed would notice my foul mood after an unsatisfied petting, I made my lack of sleep as an excuse. Zed always understood so, in less than three hours, we were back in the city.

“Want an ice cream? It’s too hot today.” I knew Zed wanted to let my mood cool down, but he blamed it on the sunny weather.

“Okay,” I forced myself to answer.

I should understand that Zed just wanted to protect our baby. He was afraid that my pregnancy was delicate, and we would lose our child by indulging in our carnal desire. We often heard from older folks that a pregnant woman should abstain from any sexual stimulation to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

Zed pulled over in front of an ice cream castle. A few minutes later, I ordered a banana split. It had three scoops of ice cream with split bananas on each side, topped with some fruits, nuts, whipped cream, and syrup.

I ate one serving fast and ordered another set. Zed got worried that I might be prone to infection because of too much sweet. But since he always doted on me, he only sighed and made sure I got a lukewarm saline gargle when we arrived home. And he was right; after I consumed a generous amount of sweets, my mood got sunny again.

I called Ara and invited her into the house. A few minutes after, our door buzzer sounded.

“Where were you? I called you many times yesterday, but you didn’t pick up my calls.” She placed her hands akimbo, emphasizing the heavy bulge on her lower abdomen.

Little did she know that I blocked her yesterday, and I deactivated all my social accounts, so she couldn’t reach me. I was afraid I couldn’t hold myself from telling her the truth.

“I was out of town yesterday to do some auditing,” I replied, without looking at her. I placed the food I ordered for her in the microwave.

“Who was with you?” Seeing that I was preparing food, she pulled a chair under the dining table and made herself ready to eat.

“My colleagues. Then Zed picked me up after his lecture last night.”

Ara rolled her eyes. “Wow! I’m so envious of you. You can go out anytime and stay late at night, but instead of getting a beating, Zed picks you up.”

“He has no reason to scold me,” I reasoned while placing a tray of garlic bread and baked lasagna in front of her.

“And do you think Tim had reasons to fight with me for three days every time I come home late for just thirty minutes?”

“He is unreasonable, indeed.” I pitied my friend. I couldn’t imagine how her heart would break if she knows how Tim betrayed him.

“The worst part of it is that he always accuses me of playing fire at his back.”

“So despicable. The talker is always the doer; do you know that?  He has to wait and see how I would bust his eggs!” I was fuming in anger that I wasn’t able to hold back my tears.

Ara took a bite of her favorite garlic bread and frowned at me. “Relax. Why are you even angrier than me?”

Realizing that I gave away my emotion, I laughed. “Am I not sympathizing with you?”

“Silly!” Ara also laughed, and we ended up giggling for no enough reason.

We continued eating, and we were silent for a while; each got lost in our thoughts. Ara was perhaps thinking about Tim while I was fighting over the urge in my mind to tell her about Tim’s betrayal.

“Ar, when is Tim coming back?”

“Maybe tonight. He hasn’t called yet.”

“And you don’t complain?” I felt my blood was already boiling at that moment.

“He asked permission before they left. And besides, he was driving for Maezy and Kim.”

To keep me from spilling over the secret, I changed our topic. I suggested that we watch the latest trending movie. Ara agreed right away, and soon I got my laptop from the living room and brought it to the dining table. We could watch movies here while continuing to eat.

“Where’s Zed?” Ara suddenly asked.

“Preparing his slides for his next lecture.”

Ara’s eyes then glowed, and I got horrified at her next word. “Can we watch erotica?”

“Ara!” I pulled my face into a frown and glared at her. I was afraid that Zed might think I was getting wild.

“What’s wrong?” I sank when I realize that Ara was serious. Anything about sex wouldn’t make her uncomfortable, and I got horrified.

“I need to prepare my mind for our moment with Tim. He always wants me to prepare mentally every day.”

My eyes got wider than a 10-peso coin. “You are already six months pregnant, and you still do it?”

“Why? I can do the best-suggested position for pregnant women.”

“What is it?”

“Woman-on-top.”

My mouth hung open.

I imagined how long Zed could hold if we were to do that. What always played in my mind was his limping rod every time I wanted him.

“Tim is insatiable. One round is never enough.”

I sighed, pretending I could relate. Little did Ara know that I was also envious of her because of her fulfilled sexual desires.

While Ara was watching the movie of her choice, I picked my phone and typed on the search box.

Why do some men’s dicks suddenly limp?

And my eyes flew wide at what I read. Erectile Dysfunction syndrome or going limp in the bedroom could signal a larger problem.

I read further while my heart did a rapid throbbing in my ears. I could hardly breathe.

Studies have found that erectile dysfunction syndrome correlates to serious health issues such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, and endothelial dysfunction. There are several reasons apart from these. It includes alcohol consumption, obesity, low testosterone level, and age.

I ran upstairs, completely forgetting that Ara was there.

“Zed, come down. Hurry up?”

“Yen, what’s wrong? Is there a fire?” Ara shouted from the doorframe of the dining room.

Zed slowly stepped down from the stairs and asked,

“Dear, what is it?”

“Hurry up! I’ll take you to the doctor.”