SPO4 J. dela Cruz

I must say it is too risky to be involved with police officers in a man to man relationship.

Names I would easily forget but faces, certainly not. When I saw him sitting opposite me inside the PUJ I could not help but looked for a second and memories just went up memory lane. What a small world indeed. What a coincidence since just last night we were just talking about how small the world is, Manila in particular, with a friend. He saw someone he had fucked before while he was sending his boyfriend off to a taxi.

I did not notice him immediately when I boarded the jeep but it is always a habit for me to scan the people inside when I finally seated. We caught each other’s eyes and we just nodded to signify recognition. After that, we dropped our gazes. However, in that short moment I made some matching of the face and the faces I have encountered before in my head. He is not an officemate. He is not a neighbor, a gym mate, or a badminton acquaintance. He certainly would not fit as a schoolmate. That leaves him as one of my public encounters. Then I remembered him. I saw him in my favorite cinema several times. The first time, we ended up jacking each other off, and the second time, which is the last time; I made him go down on me just for a number of strokes because he was telling me that he has not done it before. Men like him are unforgettable for me.

To validate the images in my head, I was tempted to look at his direction again. He still has that short hair, that kind of military way. He is tall and dark. He is not the boy-next-door type but certainly, his face is something to behold because of the well-defined jaw line and full lips that seem to be slightly open always. That makes him sexy. My look moved down from his face. He was wearing a V-necked white undershirt, dark-blue pants with a light blue stripe on its side hem, and black polished tie shoes. I raised my head again to find on his lap an empty gun holster placed over a binder. My mind was busy processing the information and there is only one conclusion I could make. He is a police officer.

Darn. I immediately looked away from him before he could catch me looking at him. There is some slight thumping inside my chest. Of all professions, I just do not like cops. I do not have good memories with them. I remembered once I was caught jaywalking in Cubao. I noticed that the cops only selected six or seven of us and put in their van. Later, I was the only one remaining for the cops were able to extort bribes. I was just a student then and coming from a state university, I was firm not to tolerate any form of corruption. The officers kept on bullying me and I thought that would be the end of my life when I heard them saying, “Pre, tuluyan na natin to.” Salvage was all over my mind. They drove me to the police station when it was turning dark and from there, they let me off the hook. That was the start of my “bitter romance” with the cops.

Of all profession, why would he choose to be a cop? “Sayang siya.” He would just turn to be a pig. I mean the physique and not necessarily the character. Police officers today have negative images although I believe that they are not to be blamed but the system. Was he a cop during our encounter? Maybe he is a cadet still because this morning when I saw him, he was not carrying a gun. In case he was already a cop, was he doing some undercover work? It is already irrelevant now, I think. What matters is that it was a one-night-stand.

I must say it is too risky to be involved with police officers in a man to man relationship. That would be too cinematic but it is always good to avoid people with guns and by guns, I mean power. I am not sure, if he remembered me the way I remembered him but I am sure that whatever it is, it is better to forget it and move on with the present.

When I got off the jeep, he also got off. My imagination worked up again. He would follow me and would find a way to isolate me then silence me down. Nice.