Mia stayed until the sesh was over. Pero busy ito makipag-usap sa sekretarya ng boyfriend nito sa labas while they were busy with the counselling. Pagkalabas nila, tsaka tumayo ang kaibigan at lumapit sa kanila.
“Done?”
“Yep. Papahatid na’ko.”
“Ginawa mo pa’ng driver ang boyfriend ko.” Mia pouted. “Kumuha ka ng sarili mo’ng driver kaya.”
“Papahatid ka rin diba?” tanong niya sa kaibigan. Tumango ito. “’Yun naman pala, ‘wag ka na magreklamo.”
“For the second time, Asia Winnessa, stop taking advantage of my boyfriend’s kindness.”
&n
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There are different kinds of struck: star-struck, awestruck, wonderstruck and dumbstruck, to name a few— and it was obvious which kind of struck would she fall into, if categorized: dumbstruck. “So shocked or surprised as to be unable to speak.” There was definitely no deny it. Asia found herself staring at a gorgeous pair of greyish eyes, which were staring back at her with equal intensity. He didn’t look quite surprise at all, if anything, he was simply studying her and her reaction intently; eyes never leaving hers, holding her gaze and staring into her eyes as if he was looking right into her soul. She couldn’t let go of his either, parang hinihila n
Nanlulumo siya’ng naka-upo sa passenger seat ng kotse ni Drew habang binabaybay nila ang daan papunta sa Acosta compound. Hindi man lang niya nalaman kung sino ang operator ni Liam. Baka si Rence pala ‘yung crush niya, hindi pwede! Rence already has Izza, and Awa knows love when she sees one. Hindi siya pa’ng third party, nor is she a relationship wrecker. She sighed again, na hindi nakatakas sa pansin ni Drew. Saglit na lumingon ang binata sa kanya bago binalik ang tingin sa daan. “Are you okay, Awa?” he asked, eyes glued on the road. “Kanina ka pa bumubuntong-hininga diyan.” “I’m fine,”&
As they stood outside the mall to wait for Asia’s ride, the operators circled around her, thanking her for the chocolate treat. “Grabe ka, Asia,” Kian enthused, eyes sparkling with excitement and adoration. “Ang mamahal kaya nito tapos ni-libre mo kami’ng lahat!” “Dinaan sa discount ‘yan,” she joked. “Oo kasi pinsan mo rin ‘yung may-ari, diba?” pagsakay ni Kian sa sinabi niya. “Swerte! Thank you rito!” “Wala pa ba jowa mo, girl?” singit ni Niel, craning their neck to check the car she told them about. “Sure
Carmela Cole: so u finally have an identity now, huh Liam Skye: tho to be completely honest I wanted to keep the anonymity going Carmela: for all I know, you’ve known me for some time now May seen sa baba ng message niya pero wala’ng reply. Asia waited for a few minutes pero wala pa rin reply ang magal
“Hello, babe.” Asia wasn’t imagining it, she swear she could her a smile in his voice. Something she didn’t imagine he’d what with the impression she had of him earlier. Pushing her phone away from her for a second, bahagya siyang napalunok. Kinurot pa niya ang sarili dahil baka ay nananaginip lang siya. Binalik niya ulit sa tenga ang phone at nakinig. “Babe? Are you there?” She didn’t reply. Baka manginig lang ang boses niya and it might give her away. “If this is
She decided to answer the call. Mukha kasi’ng na-i-istorbo na niya ang pahinga ng pinsan. She pulled her AirPods out and connected it to her phone. Hindi siya nagsalila. She waited until he said his hello, which he did. “Hello? Babe?” Babe? They’re not together pero bakit babe pa rin ang tawag nito sa kanya? They’re talking not as Liam and Carmela, but as Jae and Asia, so what gives? “Hmm?” “I wanted to apologize,” Asia felt her breath hitched. Was that a prank? April fools? Was he teasing her? Or a test or somethi— “But not for what I said, I meant that.” Oh. “I wanted to apologize for taking you by surprise with that, I should’ve waited for the right time to say that.” There was a nervous laugh elicited from Jae. “I didn’t mean to scare you or make you think I was some sick psycho stalker or anything, but I really like you. Like… a lot.” “Um
“Not really,” Lies. “Tapos na meeting niyo?” pag-iiba nalang niya sa usapan. “Actually, hindi pa.” nangunot ang noo niya. “I just excused myself for a moment, wanted to call you first,” parang kiniliti ang puso niya sa narinig dito, “baka kasi naghihintay ka, kasi diba sabi ko tatawag ako? We might be here for an hour pa, medyo marami pag-uusapan, e.” “That’s fine,” nangingiti’ng sagot niya rito, she can’t help it, kinikilig siya. Bakit ba? “You could’ve texted me nalang sana para ‘di abala sa inyo.” “Hindi ka abala,” may ngiti at assurance sa tono ng lalaki. “Besides, I wanted to.. hear your voice first.” Tuluyan na siya’ng napangiti sa sinabi nito. If paasa moves lang ‘to ng binata, congrats dahil umaasa na siya. And they haven’t even talked for a long time, well, at least, not as Jae and Awa at that. “Well…” ang tangi’ng nasagot niya nalang. There was a chuckle from the other
Wednesday afternoon, right after her meeting adjourned, hindi pa nga siya tuluya’ng nakakalabas sa conference room, tumunog ang notification ng phone niya: a message from Rafa. Rafa Migue: hi Asia, they decided na kumain nalang tayo sa labas for tonight tapos we can go to a bar or club or something oks lang ba ‘yun sa’yo? Asia A.: ofc, just text me w/c restaurant & what time I’ll be there may isang meeting nalang ako and I’d be free to go Nang mag-send na ang message niya sa kaibigan, she rose to her heels and marched out of the conference room. Wala si Mia sa may table nito pagdating niya sa harap ng opisina niya, baka ay may inaayos sa ginawang minutes kanina sa meeting. Pumasok siya ng opisina na deretso lang ang tingin, kaya ay
Kanina pa pa-ikot-ikot si Awa sa higaan, samantalang ‘yung tatlo’ng katabi niya ay ang hihimbing na ng tulog. Slowly and carefully, she slipped out of the bed and tiptoed her way out of the room.Naabutan niya si Europe, naka-upo sa high stool sa may kitchen island, may hawak na isang can ng beer. Hindi pa ba lasing ‘tong lalaki’ng ‘to?Tumikhim siya to announce her arrival. Lumingon si Europe sa direksyon niya, nginitian niya muna ito bago siya dumeretso sa fridge, buti nalang at may stock ng gatas sa fridge ni Europe. She grabbed the carton and poured herself some before making her way to the island and sat comfortably at the other stool. There was a moment of silence between them, hindi niya na makayanan ang katahimikan, so Asia decided to break the ice.“Do you think it was my cousin, Raf, that Rafa was talking to earlie—““Did you mean it?”“Mean what?”“What you said earlier,” Europe answered. “Did you mean it?”“I said a lot earlier, Europe, alin sa mga ‘yun ang tinut
The game went on for a few rounds, the questions and dares got a little harder than she expected. Questions such as: ilan na ang naging boyfriend niya, to which she answered three, na hindi sila gaano’ng convinced so she drank two shots of alcohol. Also questions like: who was her first love and how she moved on from her exes, and with whom was her longest relationship with and if she ever had sex before. “The longest relationship…” she mumbled. “I’d say… Troy? Probably Troy, yea.” “Troy? As in, Troy Cruz?” gulat na gulat ulit na tanong ni Kian sa kanya. “Mm-hmm.” “You were exes?!” “Yep.” sinamahan niya pa ng tango. “But he’s married now so… and wer’e still friends, too, so everything’s well.” “Diba you did a project together just recently?” “We did, yea, special request kasi ng photographer friend ko from New York, di ko matanggihan. He was basically the reason why I survived living independently abroad.” “You lived abroad?” “Yep, my whole career as a CEO basically start
After maka-ikot at makabalik na ulit sa kanya ang tanong, Kian excitedly asked, na mukha’ng kanina pa talaga nito hinihintay. “So, Awa, which entertainment company do you own?”Shaking her head and smiling, she replied, “You take a guess.”There was excitement in Kian’s eyes at the thought. “Imposible’ng Joy kasi hindi mo aura ‘yung ganun. OT?”Still smiling knowingly with her lips slightly pursed, she kept herself quiet. Rafa at the other end was chuckling quietly to herself. Lumipad ang tingin ni Kian sa kaibigan at nanungot ang noo nito.“You know something, don’t you?”Everyone looked over at Rafa who just kept herself quiet. “You do know something, Rafa.”“I might but it’s not my question to answer, Kian.”“WA.” she suddenly blurted out. Agad-agad lumingon si Kian sa kanya, nanlalaki ang mga mata. Kahit si Niel ay nilingon siya, unblinking, shocked, speechless. Mahina siya’ng napatawa dahil sa reaksyon ng mga kasama. “For real?” halos panabay na sigaw ni Kian at
The answer to that was to be expected, but of course, hindi pa rin nila mapigilan hintayin ang magiging sagot ni Izza sa tanong na iyon. So when Izza finally replied, “Of course, Rence, I will.” with such glee, they all cheered for them, umulan bigla ng throw pillows. “Wow,” Richard muttered under his breath, a little shocked. “Holy shit!” natatawa’ng sabi nalang ni Greg. For a few moments, the whole living area was filled with clapping and cheering, of Congratulations and Thank you’s. “Gagi, hindi kami ready sa proposal mo, Rence!” na-iiling na bulalas ni Kian. “Pero, potek na ‘yan, bakit ang romantic pa rin?!” “Girl, inggit ka lang, iinom mo muna ‘yan.” tukso ni Niel. “Congratulations ulit sa inyo’ng dalawa,” bati ni Awa sa dalawa. To which they both replied in unison with, ‘thank you.’ “Siya, we’ll celebrate it again later, for now…” nakangiti’ng anunsiyo ni Niel at tumingin sa dereksyon niya. “it’s finally Awa’s turn to ask.”Since si Rence ang huling nagtanong, ito na
After dinner, she tried staying away from Europe. Emphasis on tried. Dahil after nila mag-dinner, they decided to watch a movie, totally random picked, at talaga’ng sinadya silang pagtabihin ng mga kasama nila. The movie was… not entertaining enough to them. Laging kinu-kontra ni Niel at Kian ang mga scenes althroughout the movie. “Bakit pa ba natin kasi pinanuod?” maktol ni Greg. “Lalaitin niyo lang naman pala.” “Constructive criticism ang tawag dun.” depensa ni Kian. “Aling banda doon ang constructive, ha?” “Lahat, duh!” Actually, talaga’ng nilait lang nila ‘yung movie. Minsan tinatama pa nga kasi hindi naman daw ‘yun ang nangyar sa libro. And she completely understand; nabasa na rin niya kasi ‘yung libro, in fact one of her favourites, and they totally ruined the whole story. After watching, since maaga pa sa kanila ang ten o’clock, they moved the table to the side and they formed a circle in the carpet. Niel decided for them to play: truth or dare. They have this rule:
Nakakunot ang noo ni Awa nang magtanong siya. “Why? Aren’t they friends with her?” Iling ang naisagot ng binata sa kanya. “Not really.” “Can I ask why?” “For reasons that are: one) we’re more like an arranged couple.. or something like that, two) they didn’t entirely like her personality.. and to quote Niel, “she’s a bitch.” “And three) because she took us for granted.” “Wait…” she paused, her hand hanging halfway out of the ecobag, “what do you mean arranged couple?” “You know how in corporate families, arranged marraige is a common thing.. to further expand the company and the connections, right? So both our parents wanted the same but since we were still in high school then,they settled for us to become a couple.. for the time being. “I was friends with Rence, Enzo and Greg, then. So they know all about that deal. Aya was, then, my first and only girlfriend. I admit, I didn’t like her at first but eventually I came around. “Himala nga at natagalan namin ang isa’t isa at
“Wait,” Last urgently said, she could swear she’s making this sniffing sound. And knowing Last, kinakabahan na siya dahil sa talas ng memorya at amoy nito. Sigurado si Awa na may ideya na ito kung sino at kanino’ng amoy iyon. “I know this smell…” “What?” naguguluha’ng tanong ni White. “This smell is familiar,” “Baka si Raf lang,” dinig niya’ng sagot ni Ember sa background. “Nandito siya, e.” “No,” mabilis na sagot ni Last, “I know how Kuya Raf smells…” “The fuck?” natatawang sabi ni Raf, “And how exactly do I smell, Last Alaine?” “Amoy malandi at playboy.” mabilis na sagot ng nakababatang pinsan, na tinawanan nilang lahat. “Totoo kaya!’ “That was rather harsh, Huli.” “Truth hurts, Kuya, suck it up.” “Para’ng hindi tayo mag-pinsan, ah, need I remind, you that we’re all basically carved from the same wood.” “True, but you were carved first, so there might be slight differences here and there.” Last retorted back quickly. “Anyway, as I was saying, Ate Awa… sinong nagnakaw sa
Chapter Sixty Eight “You, guys, are always heavy on food,” Asia commented as she swallowed a spoonful of baked potato casserole she ordered. “And alcohol.” She added before chewing her food, to which her eyes bulged and darted down her food. “Holy Hera!” she softly exclaimed. “This is delicious!” That earned a laugh from her friends, probably starting to get weirded out with her. Sue her, it was her first time eating a baked potato casserole and it automatically hit her top fave food. She fished her phone from her bag and took a snap before she continued to savour heaven in a form of potato. Nasa isang food park sila malapit sa, as usual, bahay ni Europe. Hindi ba niya alam ba’t trip ng mga ‘to lagi tumambay sa bahay ng binata. At, oo, mag-o-overnight na naman sila mamaya. According to Kian, libre raw ng manliligaw ni Rafa ang lunch nila ngayon. They actually got to meet them earlier, kaso may biglaang lakad ito kaya umalis
“San ta’yo?” was Kian’s question after the event. May iilan pa’ng libro’ng tinatapos na pirmahan ni Rafa, kaya hinihintay nila ito sa may tabi. “Nag-aya si Rafa, e. Libre niya raw.” “Tapos deretso overnight?” umaasa’ng tanong ni Greg. “Oo yata.” “Saan tayo mag-o-overnight?” asked Niel and everyone’s eyes flew over where Awa and Europe were standing. Mukha’ng napansin ito ng binata kaya agad ito’ng lumingon sa kanila at pinagkunutan ng noo. “What?” “Overnight daw,” “Geh,” was his only reply. Binalik ng binata ang tingin niya kay Asia. “Coffee?” Asia turned to face Europe, a wicked, teasing smile on her lips. “Ikaw, ha, are you low-key trying to ask me out on a coffee date?” Europe shrugged and looked at her straight in the eyes, “Maybe.” For a brief moment, they held each other’s gazes, as if they were in their own little bubble, like everything around them turned into a blur. “Absolutely,” Asia beamed, “pero pwede ba’ng iba puntahan natin? I know a place.” Tumango lang n