The Philippines. It's a beautiful place. Manila is really happening and the girls there look like an exotic blend of Spanish and whatever else it is. Apparently that's what most of the locals are. I think. I don't know. I might be drunk.

"Tom!" Someone shouted.

"Ja!" I replied. Whoever it was. I turned around and saw Bill coming towards me with a huge mug of beer. I think it was that.

"There she is!" Bill piped, nudging me and pointing to the crowd on the dance floor.

My eyes immediately darted. There she was. This amazing beauty whose name I did not know yet I fell for her already. Long brown hair, or was it black? And big eyes that stared straight into my soul when our eyes met earlier.

"Shut up," I frowned. I decided to stop drinking so that I would not make a fool out of myself. Our crew was half-wasted. We needed someone to be sane!

I kept my eyes on the girl. She was surrounded by guys and I felt a natural rage but I tried to keep my cool. Unless she was provoked. She seemed to have gotten through fine with her drinks and she met her two friends. Pretty, too, but only maybe second best.

Bill stared at her with me. Discreetly. "Plans?" He smiled.

I frowned and rubbed my face. "To get un-drunk," I sighed. He offered me his beer on purpose and I rejected it. He laughed.

"Un-drunk?" He said. "That's highly impossible."

"I'll try," I said. My eyes were kept fixated on one star. I needed to know her name.

According to Bill, it was close to three in the morning and the club closes at four. The girl stopped dancing a while ago and she started to smoke. And then I realized people were allowed to smoke. Which reminded me I need to smoke, too. But only in a designated area near the other end of the bar so that the dance floor won't be clogger. It could also have been dangerous to be dancing with a cigarette, wouldn't it?

I turned to see Bill, Gustav and Georg being drunk and believe it or not, Gustav had his pants off. What fun can guys have, really, without girls? And of course, they had a few pretty girls lingering around. Bill was getting cosy with a cute girl. Georg was exchanging intense stares with another while taking a smoke break. David Jost had two on either side and needless to say the other crew guys were already getting it on somewhere else.

I, ironically, felt no need for any girl. Just one. Not that I wanted to have sex with her (not that I would mind), but I wanted to know her. She was too good to let slip. Who knows when I'll come back to the Philippines for another show?

For the past hour, I've been drinking water and visiting the bathroom more than I'd like. I've been mostly detoxicated and proud. I put on my best and went forth beyond the VIP area. But wait, where was she now?

I squeezed through to the common smoking area but couldn't find her. Where was she?

My head ran wild trying to think up of all the possible places she could be. Her friends were still here. She couldn't be far. The toilet, maybe? So I waited outside it.

I checked my watch. Twenty minutes. She's still not out. She must be somewhere else. I looked back at the smoking are and... "Thank God," I mumbled to myself. I went towards her and she started moving away. She was not running from me, not running from anyone, just running out of the club. She looked beautiful even doing just that, running away. But from what, why?

I tried to be as normal as possible when I left the club through the back door. It was sleazy to a certain extent, seeing only one couple were just kissing against a car. I was distracted by a loud glass shattering somewhere beside me. My eyes widened when I saw her hurling yet another empty bottle at the wall.

"HEY!" I shouted, running to her and holding her hands. I had to, seeing how she had apparently provoked a girl trying to get lucky with her boyfriend nearby and they almost got trashed by a beer bottle.

"I DIDN'T SEE YOU, OKAY!" She shouted at the older female who was obviously irked. They started to quarrel, she in English and the other in Tagalog. I quickly held her back and the fight ended. I could never imagine her being so angry.

"Hey, hey," I said to her in a calming tone. "Relax, relax. Come on."

She turned to look at me with a beautiful death glare. I felt the pain from it, how she must have hated my guts. "Who are you?" She shouted. And then her face fell. "Oh, God." She covered her face and turned away.

I was confused.

"What's wrong?"

And then it hit me. Did she . . . recognize me?

"What's wrong?" I asked again, my fingers grazing her arm. I wasn't sure if I should touch her at all. Then I shook my head and decided to just get on with it. "What were you doing? You could have killed somebody."

"And I wouldn't have minded!" She raised her voice. And then growling, she continued. "Look, just leave me alone, okay?"

"Why?" I asked.

She stared at me. "Why not? Just go back in and dance with one of your groupies. God."

It was an endearing bitch fit.

It took me a while before I decided to ask. "What's your name?"

She made no response before closing her eyes, breathing slowly as I walked round to look at her. I must be annoying but since it got this far and this interesting, I was only spurred on.

"Shanna."

"And what happened, Shanna?"

She clenched her jaw. I could see her flawless skin tighten and her long lashes moving rapidly as she tried to think of something to say. It wasn't long before some tears fell. But she quickly wiped them away.

"My boyfriend just—" And then she laughed through her tears. "Jesus Christ, I can't believe I'm telling you about this. God, what am I doing?" She shook her head in delirious confusion.

She did know me. I'm positive.

I kept quiet and stared at her. I wasn't going to leave her now. She can't be left alone.

"He . . . he broke up with me."

That's harsh. Who would break up with her?

"By text. While I'm drinking and having fun he breaks up with me. On my girls' night out he breaks up with me. While he's overseas he breaks up with me. It's so simple for guys, isn't it? And I thought distance makes the love grow fonder. What kind of bullshit is that?!" And she kicked a can in her way that deflected and hit me on the arm. I gave the most shocked yelp in my life and I swear I sounded like a girl. God forbid she heard me.

She did. Shanna laughed. She was laughing.

"Oh. My. God!" She chokes in between fits of giggles. She looked so much better when she's laughing. I, on the other hand, was truly embarrassed.

I tried my best to maintain my composure. "At least you're laughing again," I said. Hey, that can seriously shocked me. I didn't see it coming! God.

Shanna slowly ceased and rubbed her face. She shook her head. "Sorry," she said. "I'm sorry that happened. You didn't need to hear my problem."

I shouldn't have, but I'm glad I did. At least I know you're single.

"It's fine," I said aloud, half-smiling as I recovered from my humiliation. "Now I know one guy in the world who made a big loss."

Shanna broke into a smile. It was gorgeous, just like when she was having so much fun inside. And the smile faded slightly. "I never knew you could be so funny. In person." She looked at me.

I shrugged and reached out my hand. "Tom," I said. "I'm from Germany."

"Shanna," she took my hand. "From Philippines. Well, it depends. Manchmal gehe ich nach Amerika."

I was surprised. "Sie sprechen Deutsch?"

"Mein Vater ist Deutsch-Amerikaner."

"Geil," I said. I was just bubbling with excitement. She speaks German!