Asia Winnessa Acosta, or most commonly known as Awa, is close to losing her nubility feeling left out. Lahat ng mga taong nakapalibot sa kanya ay ipina-paalala lang na isa siyang dakilang single. Even her cousin, who’s a few years younger than her, has had more… experience on this field beyond what her mind could imagine. Samantalang siya? Bokya pa rin hanggang ngayon. Her last attempt at flirting had been a total fiasco, she flirted with a freaking poser. Awa’s first shot at online dating and she failed miserably. Dati pa siyang may apprehension pagdating sa online dating na iyan, mas tumindi lang tuloy ang pagkamuhi niya ―for lack of better term― sa ideya ng online dating. Ngayon, sinusumpa na niya ito. And she swore never to date anyone she meets online. That poser fiasco made her ask herself: gaano ba siya kamalas pagdating sa dating at love, n
“Let’s drink?” Napa-angat ng tingin ang sekretarya sa kanya mula sa phone nito. Nagtataka. Nagdududa. “Raincheck muna, Awa.” “Why?” “I have a date tonight.” Sana all. She wanted to say, but she bit her tongue before she could utter a word. “Parang lagi kang may date, ah?” she asked instead, pinagkrus niya ang mga braso at isinandal ang pwetan sa edge ng mesa.
If not getting hangovers the day after swigging heavily is a superpower, then Awa wanted to have one. To say they got wasted was only putting things mildly. They were wasted beyond comprehension. Sa kalasingan nilang lima, hindi na nila nagamit ‘yung higaan na pinagpaguran niyang ayusin. She knew they would end up like that, dahil kailan nga ba hindi? They do have high alcohol tolerance, except for Ember, but they all drank past that and got themselves shitfaced drunk. It’s a good thing they were inside the confines of her unit, otherwise she wouldn’t live to see and remember the mortification of doing shit things while drunk, if ever the
“Here’s the final draft for HD’s concept.” Barely looking up from what she was doing, she replied, “Pakilapag nalang diyan sa tabi. Thanks, M.” “Anything else?” “Coffee,” she pleaded, groaning, as if caffeine was her lifeline. “Coming right up.” Asia’s week had mostly revolved around her paperworks, and, well, her work in general: phone calls with sponsors, meetings with the whole HD team, signing papers. The only break she had was that day they met Jed’s girlfriend: Venus McGraw.&nb
Between papers and the dread she was feeling, she’d gladly choose the former. She’d rather stress herself out with work, which provides monetary support to the company, the employees and her talents, than stress herself over the embarrassment she’d feel later. Yes, she was seriously overthinking this party. Sa opisina palang, hindi na siya mapakali and it was obvious by the way she was trying to busy herself with work that wasn’t even hers. Ang ginawa ng magaling niyang sekretarya, pinauwi siya nito after matapos ang pag-present ng financial report. Hindi pa nga umiinit ang pwet niya sa swivel chair sa opisina niya, tinaboy na agad siya ni Mia paalis.
She moved hastily as she packed her things she thinks she might need for whatever plan her mind has devised. Nang masiguro’ng nadala niya ang mga importanteng gamit, lumabas na siya ng condo niya at bumalik ulit sa sasakyan. She typed in the place she planned to go and she was already back on the road in no time. Mahigpit ang kapit ng mga kamay niya sa manibela ng kotse, too tight her knuckles were turning white. Sinabi lang naman niyang kapag may magtanong, sign na ‘yun. She didn’t expect it to be given to her this soon. Hindi pa naman siya ‘yung tipong hindi paninindigan ang sinabi niya, kahit hindi pa sa isip niya lang sinabi ‘yun.&nb
Ella Wp Hi, thank you for reading my story, it means a lot! I’m more than happy to know that you liked it. And as to your question, yes, there’s another book for TGC. I’m actually writing it right n
“I heard about what Russ did.” ang bungad ng Kuya AJ niya when she visited his office. Busy ito mag-check ng mga documents na naka-pile sa mesa nito. “Nag-enjoy naman ba kayo?” “We did.” Inabot niya rito ang isang folder na ipinasuyo ng Papa nila. “Especially ‘yung apat.” “How about you?” “I did, Kuya, don’t worry.” Tuluyang binitawan ng kapatid ang hawak na dokumento at sumandal sa swivel nito bago sinuri ang mukha niya. “I’m glad you did. You deserve that break, bunso.”
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