Mas lalong lumalakas ang tibok ng puso ko sa bawat paghakbang ko paakyat sa rooftop. Pinaypayan ko pa ang sarili gamit ang kamay dahil na rin sa kaba.
When I reached the doorway of the rooftop, I found Cy looking at the night view with his arms laid on the railings. Nakasuot ito ng pajama at pastel green na shirt.
Ah, him and his pastel addiction.
Nang maramdaman niya siguro ang presensya ko ay lumingon siya sa direksyon ko. Hindi ko man lang nakitaan ng gulat ang mukha ng lalaki gayong parang mamatay na ako sa kaba rito.
Nakakainis naman. I sighed and looked away.
"Are you mad?" Napairap ako. This man is truly insensitive. "Hey," he softly called again.
Napayuko ako nang makita sa peripheral vision ko ang papalapit niyang pigura. I bit my lower lip as his addictive scent filled my nose.
Ang bango naman nito. Parang baby. Tuloy ay kahit wala pang ginagawa ang lalaki, para na akong sinusuyo ng amoy niya.
"You made me question a lot of things, Cy," panimula ko at mataman siyang tinitigan. "You were gone like what? Two? Three weeks? Talaga? After those captivating words?"
"Saachi," malambing niyang tawag.
Napapikit ako at bumuntong hininga. "Gusto mo ba talaga ako? I don't think so." When I opened my eyes again, he was already arching his brow.
"Hindi ba halata?" medyo may inis sa boses niyang tanong.
Kumunot ang noo ko. "Ang ano? And why are you being mad?"
Namilog ang mga mata niya bago umiwas ng tingin. "I stayed at the beach for weeks. I thought I succeeded in my goal of being tan."
I bit my lower lip, suppressing my smile. "Gwapo ka pa rin naman kahit maputi ka." Napansin kong medyo nagkakulay nga ang balat niya pero dahil na rin siguro pinanganak talaga siyang maputi, hindi gaanong epektibo ang strategy niya.
I can't help being happy, though. Kahit hindi naman totoo 'yong sinabi ko na moreno ang bet ko, he really tried his best. And if it doesn't signify his intimacy towards me, then I don't know what else would.
"But you like the moreno type." He clicked his tongue, almost rolling his eyes in irritation. "I'll search on youtube for the fastest ways on how to be tan." Hindi niya sa akin sinasabi 'yon kundi sa sarili.
Nanatili lang akong tahimik, niyayakap ang init ng presensya niya. I don't know but with him, it feels so warm. It feels like home.
Nang magtama ang mga tingin namin ay biglang sumeryoso ang mukha niya at naglakad patungo sa nag-iisang mesa rito.
"Come here," aya niya sa akin habang may inilalabas sa isang brown envelope.
Lumapit ako kagaya ng sabi niya. He handed me a piece of thick kind of paper. Kunot-noo ko siyang ginawaran ng tingin bago ang papel.
My jaw dropped as I read the words written on it. The hell! Seryoso ba talaga siya? He spent his vacation on these? Making himself tan and now, this?
"I looked up on the internet which country has the finest coffee, and Brazil came out on top," saad niya habang nakaawang pa rin ang labi kong tinititigan ang nakasulat sa papel.
"What were you thinking, Cy? Bakit kailangan mo pang pumunta sa ibang bansa para lang um-attend ng training?" gulat na gulat kong singhal sa kanya.
This guy, really. He attended training in a famous cafe in Brazil and he even got a reward for being a fast learner.
His face remained emotionless. "I learned all types of coffee you could possibly like. But I was more focused on caramel types, though. I read your message."
BINABASA MO ANG
Hues in Diliman (Abstract Series #1)
RomanceWith him, the surroundings are covered with red and yellow which symbolizes love and happiness. Every corners and tainted walls of UP Diliman are witnesses on how they admired and loved each other. But how did the hues of red and yellow turned into...
