27 Steps to His Bed ✓

[STWHB] Step 1

“What is this?” kunot noong tanong ko kay Ace pagkalapag niya ng isang plane ticket sa harapan ko.

“Might be the solution to your problem.” he shrugged.

“Dude, are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me? A trip to Cebu?” I shook my head. Sa tingin yata nito ay matatapos ang problema ko kapag nagbakasyon ako sa Cebu. Hindi ko ito kailangan. What I need now is to find Chastine.

“Ayaw mo? Ibibigay ko na lang sa iba. I just thought you might need this.” binawi niya ang plane ticket saka inilapag ang hawak niyang brown envelope.

“The hell. Go bother someone else, Ace. I don’t have time for this shit.” malamang ay report na naman ito tungkol sa kumpanya niya. I already told him na regalo ko na sa kanya yung shares na binili ko. Hindi naman talaga ‘ko interesado dito.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “Hindi mo man lang ba titignan ang laman niyan?”

“Don’t tell me malapit na naman malugi ang kumpanya mo?” inis na tanong ko saka ko binuksan ang envelope. He just cocked a brow at me.

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko pagkakita sa laman ng envelope. I was so shocked that I don’t know how I would react to this. I looked closer at the picture. Shit! Hindi ba ‘ko namamalikmata? Totoo ba ‘tong nakikita ko?

“I guess you might want to have it now.” inilapag niya ulit ang ticket sa harapan ko saka siya tumalikod para umalis.

“Ace.”

“You’re welcome.” he answered without looking back.

That bastard! Maaasahan talaga ‘yong gagong ‘yon. Tinitigan ko ulit ang hawak ko. Hindi ako pwedeng magkamali. Si Chastine nga ito. She was holding hands with two little kids, a boy and a girl. I frowned. Sino ang mga batang ‘to?

“What the?!” napatayo ako bigla at nagmamadaling umalis bitbit ang brown envelope at ang plane ticket na ibinigay ni Ace. Gagong ‘yon! He knew I wouldn’t waste any minute. I looked at my wrist watch. I have 50 minutes before my flight. Fucking 50 minutes! He should have told me earlier.

“Tarantado ka, Ace! Bakit hindi mo sinabi kaagad na alas tres ang flight na nakabook dito?!”

I saw him standing outside my house, waiting in front of his car.

“Ang dami mong alam, eh. Bilisan mo, baka maunahan ka na sa Reyna mo. Balita ko may masugid na manliligaw daw yun doon.” he smirked.

“Gago!” sumakay ako kaagad sa sasakyan niya at hindi naman siya nagaksaya ng oras at pinaharurot ito papuntang airport.

“Seriously, how did you find her?” I asked. All this time, ay nasa Cebu lang pala siya. Kaya pala hindi ko siya mahanap ay dahil nandito lang siya sa Pilipinas. Ipinahanap ko siya sa ibang bansa, particularly in US, dahil may record na umalis siya ng bansa patungong US. At walang record na nakabalik na siya ng bansa. How is that possible?

“Let’s just say I know a better investigator. And I’m fuckin’ annoyed with all your frustrations about finding her so I made a move.”

“Thanks, Pare.” I said sincerely from the bottom of my lungs.

“Just bring her home so I won’t have to listen to all your problems every day. It’s really annoying. Seriously.”

“Sure I will.”

--

“Excuse me, Kuya. Ikaw ba ang bagong lipat diyan? Ang pogi mo naman. Artista ka ba?”

Fuck! Bakit ayaw bumukas ng pinto na ‘to? Ito ba talaga ang susi nito? I was getting frustrated because of the goddamn door that won’t open.