Starving For Genius - Episode 15

Erotic Substance

---

---

From the slums of Manila to a five-star hotel, I could only imagine what this mother and daughter were thinking, as well as the staff after seeing what I h-ad brought in from the streets.

Suite 393. With two bedrooms, I had more than enough room for the woman and her two children, and after showing them around I had Gemma help me order some Filipino dishes for them.

Over dinner we laughed at Gemma’s broken English, and my pathetic attempt at a few Tagalog words. The three were still covered in slum grime, and I was unsure if they had any plans to remove it.

Once everything was eaten I brought them in a set of clean towels, a bar of soap, two hotel robes and one of my t-shirts for the baby. Mother finally got the hint, and took her two offspring to the bathroom for a much needed washing.

Maybe I should have been more blatant, because when they returned they still had dry hair and smudged dirt here and there.

The woman hugged my hand and again placed her daughter’s in mine before heading off to bed with her infant son

It created a stir within me how Gemma just stood there, waiting for me to make the decision on what would be done next as she kept our palms together, the pads of her thin fingers wrapped around my hand as if letting me know she would follow whatever lead I would give her.

And with such realization I walked her to the bathroom. The tiles in the shower were dry, the only sign of water having been used coming from the sink and a nearby dampened washcloth

“You guys don’t like the shower?”

“My mother say we get sick if we take bath at night.”

“Really?” I replied. “I wonder how she came up with such a superstition.” As I finished saying this it occurred to me that she probably didn’t understand the choice of words I had used, and so I tried to simplify it. “Water alone, uh, water only cannot make you sick.” I gestured to myself. “I bathe every night, and I am healthy. No sick.”

She mirrored my smile, but I wasn’t sure if she was getting it, so I turned on the shower and adjusted it to a nice warm temperature before guiding her hand, which was still in mine, under the flow of water.

“See. Very nice, huh?”

Her smile grew, and she added her other hand as well. “You want to try?” I suggested. “You bathe in here.”

She let go of my hand and went for her robe, but before she could remove it I was heading out the door.

“Let me know if you need anything,” then closed it and stood there with the knob at my back, still in my hand.

My heart was racing with excitement, my mind spinning to catch up. What was this rush I was feeling that I hadn’t experienced since I was this girl’s age?

Schnapps. I needed some peach schnapps and orange juice to simmer down, but within steps of reaching the mini bar