Hindi ko alam kung paanong nakita ko pa iyon.
"Last game na lang daw, Atlas. Feeling ko talaga ikaw ang susunod na captain, dude!"
I bit the tip of my tongue when his gaze went to me as he brushed his hair up because some strands were covering his eyes. His shirt was still up, which is why I couldn't avert my eyes from him. And I think he noticed that because the side of his lips was slowly rising for a smirk.
I almost rolled my eyes and scoffed. Anong akala niya? Nakatingin ako sa abs niya? Meron din ako niyan!
"Kukunin lang namin ang bola." ang lalaking sumunod sa kanya ang dali daling kinuha ang bola at tumalikod din ngunit itong lalaki ay nanatiling nakatingin sa akin.
I raised my eyebrows, silently asking why he was looking, but he averted my gaze and turned his back on us.
"Cuevas." I uttered when I read the name on the back of his jersey.
So Atlas Cuevas, huh.
And he's a soccer player? Sa ilang beses naming pagtambay dito sa soccer field, ito ang unang beses na nakita ko siya. O baka ito ang unang beses na napansin ko siya?
Pakiramdam ko ay nakita ko naman na talaga siya noon pa ngunit hindi ko lang napapansin. Nitong mga nakaraang araw lang dahil doon sa nangyari sa parking lot.
It's funny how he was suddenly everywhere after that incident at the parking lot. At kapag nakikita ko siya ay napipikon ako at hindi ko alam kung bakit. Parang ang yabang niya para sa akin lalo na kapag tumataas ang gilid ng labi niya. Pakiramdam ko ay iniinsulto niya ako.
"You can stay in my condo muna if you want." I took a deep breath when Elijah went back to our topic earlier.
"It's okay. I can't leave mom at home."
Minutes had passed and I just found myself watching Cuevas as he professionally kicked the ball to gain a goal. He's good. The way he successfully got the ball from the opponent, who is probably his teammate too. The way he runs with it while dodging the opponents that come his way. The way he passed the ball smoothly to his teammate. He does everything smoothly and attractively.
And yeah, he's good at this.
And I can't believe I was so focused on watching him that I literally ignored my friends' questions and forgot about my problem.
"Sumunod na lang tayo kina Kiel. Ang boring dito." I tilted my head and glared at Aiden.
"Huwag na! Just watch the football game. It's fun!" I said to stop them from leaving.
"Kailan ka pa naging interesado sa football?" hindi makapaniwalang tanong niya.
"Since I was a kid. You know, my mom enrolled me in a football class when I was in grade school..."
That's when I started telling them about it to distract them. Hindi ko alam kung bakit pero parang ayaw ko nang umalis dito.
"Kaya pala ang galing mong magbasketball." I heard our friends laughed.
"Right." saad ko habang tumatango, sinasakyan ang kagaguhan ni Aiden.
Bumalik ang tingin ko sa mga naglalaro, lalo na kay Cuevas na ngayon ay hinihingal na nakatayo hindi kalayuan sa amin. He looks exhausted at basang basa na rin siya ng pawis. But he doesn't look dirty. He was just sweating a lot.
Paano ba naman ang init na dito sa soccer field. Kahit pa sabihing pang umagahang init ito ay mainit pa rin.
"Ayan, bobo." I muttered when the opponent snatched the ball from him. Paanong hindi maaagaw, eh, kung san-san nakatingin. "Agawin mo ulit 'yung bola!" before even I could stop myself, I screamed those words out of my lungs out of frustration, causing the players, including him to look in our direction. "Go, Cuevas!" I bit my lower lip to stop myself from smiling after shouting his surname.
Chapter 3
Start from the beginning
