Dagger Series #7: Unbalanced

Chapter 15: Freedom

"Do you want me to get a chair or—"

The moment he turned to look at me, I was already beside him. He couldn't finish his sentence since that's when I tiptoed and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Ignoring the warmth on my cheeks, I looked at him shyly under my lashes and said, "Thank you for the breakfast."

He just stared at me with unblinking eyes. Para bang napako siya sa kinatatayuan at hindi siya makagalaw. Nag-iwas ako ng tingin at umabot ako ng piraso ng prutas na nasa tray at sinubo ko iyon. I kept the expression on my face neutral and innocent.

"What..." he whispered. "Did that just happen?"

I cleared my throat. "Nothing."

"Oh." Still spaced out, he pulled out a blanket from the drawer under the table. Sinimulan niya iyong ilatag pero sandaling tumigil siya at nilingon ako. "Are you sure that nothing really happened? Because I could have sworn that you just kissed me."

Pinaningkitan ko siya ng mga mata. "Shut up."

Sumilay ang ngiti sa mga labi na tinapos na niya ang ginagawa. Before I could move, he pulled me to him, and we both crashed to the floor. Well, he crashed to the floor while I dropped on his lap.

"You can't expect me to function after that, doll. I think you fried a thousand of my brain cells in one go."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever." Pinagkrus ko ang mga braso ko. "Are we going to eat or not?"

Imbis na sagutin ako ay nangingiting inabot niya lang ang tray at ibinaba niya iyon sa sahig. There's two plates in it with avocado toasts with bits of what look like sun-dried tomatoes.

"How very American of you," I teased.

"Actually, they said that it originated from Australia. Mas obsess nga lang ang mga amerikano sa ganiyang pagkain." He grabbed a fork, and he cut a piece. I tried to move so I could sit beside him, which would make it easy for him to continue what he's doing, but his hold on me tightened. "Samantalang sa mga Pinoy ginagawang dessert 'yan."

I stopped trying to struggle with his hold. "Really?"

Inumang niya ang tinidor sa bibig ko at kusang bumuka ang mga labi ko para tanggapin iyon. "They combine it with condensed milk here. Ginagawa nilang ice cream or ice candy. I'll make you some later."

"Condense milk has a lot of calories."

"Then you can just have one bowl."

I shake my head. "One spoonful."

"Seven."

My eyes narrowed into a slit. "Three."

"Five."

Humugot ako ng malalim na hininga at pinakatitigan ko siya. He's grinning from ear to ear, as if he's immune to the murderous look I'm giving him. "You're such a stubborn ass, you know that?"

"Yep." He cut another piece of toast and gave it to me. "So? Are we going to talk about the kiss?"

"Nope," I quickly answered.

"Why not?"

Kumuha ako ng prutas at isinubo ko iyon sa kaniya. Hindi pa ako nakuntento at dinagdagan ko pa iyon ng dalawa pa para hindi siya makapagsalita. "You need to move on. It's just a touch of the lips on the cheek. I'm sure you received plenty of kisses in your life."

He chewed and swallowed before speaking. "Not one that came from you. I don't care if it's a flying kiss. I won't move on from it."

I let out an "argh" which just further amused him.