XNUT (Published under Pop Fiction)

x29: One Crazy Invitation

no dedic porr this ud. sarreh. may prob yata acct ko :/

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x29: One Crazy Invitation

[CJ's PoV]

Just parked my car in front of the North branch of our steak house. Then I checked my phone. It was 5 minutes to 12 noon.

Napaaga ako ng punta dito. Dapat yung sakto lang eh bago magsimula ang shift ni Hazel. Tsk.

Hazel.. Naalala ko naman bigla yung DEAL namin kagabi.

DEAL daw yun, sabi nya-- yung aarte sya bilang girlfriend ko para makapagtrabaho pa sya dito sa steak house namin at para di matuloy ang pag-arrange sa kasal namin ni Shane.

But heck. What kind of DEAL is that? All of the benefits of that DEAL is in favor of me-- even yung pagtatrabaho nya pa rin dito. Request ko yun eh. Pinilit ko lang syang wag magresign kasi.. kasi gusto ko ngang nasa paligid ko lang sya..

So, isn't that deal unfair for her? Wala naman syang benefit na makukuha sa deal na yun eh. Mahihirapan lang sya-- sa pagtatrabaho kahit ayaw na nya at sa pag-arte bilang girlfriend ko kahit di naman kailangan.

I sighed, covering my eyes with one hand. Naiinis ako sa sarili ko. Because of my selfishness, just because I want Hazel to stay close to me, naipasok ko sya sa isang napaka-kumplikadong sitwasyon.

Hazel.. as my FAKE GIRLFRIEND.. Tsk.. Di ba pwedeng as REAL GIRLFRIEND na lang? AH, NO, NO. What I only mean is, mas magiging kapani-paniwala kami kung magiging totoo na lang ang relasyon namin, diba? But I know, we can't just go straight to that level. Not yet. And not with the situation we have right now.

Again, I sighed, resting my arms and head on the steering wheel.

Nalilito ako. May nararamdaman ako ngayon na naramdaman ko na dati. It was when I found out that I AM HAZEL'S FIRST KISS. Nung malaman ko yun, I had the sudden urge of being her first on everything-- first suitor, first boyfriend, first date date, FIRST EVERYTHING. And this is so weird..so crazy.

Ginulo ko ang buhok ko. Nakakainis mag-isip ng mga bagay na ang hirap intindihin. But why strain myself from thinking about it when I can just go with the flow? Nangyayari naman ang mga gusto ko talagang mangyari eh which is mag-stay pa si Hazel sa trabaho nya kasama ako, pati na rin ang hindi pagtuloy sa pag-aarrange ng kasal namin ni Shane.

Right. Go with the flow, CJ. JUST GO WITH IT.

Pumasok na ko ng steak house. Lahat ng staff na nakasalubong ako ay binati ako. Dumiretso ako sa office at pumwesto na sa table ko. Papers sana ang una kong hahawakan pero ginamit ko na muna ang phone ko. I texted Hazel as the REAL ME. Tinanong ko lang kung nasaan na sya.

Minutes passed and I received NO REPLY from her!

Tinext ko ulit sya, as CRIZEL this time. Ginamit ko yung isa ko pang phone. I sent her my usual greeting na 'hi' with a smiley.

A couple of minutes passed and SHE TEXTED BACK! What the.. Kay CRIZEL, nagreply! Pero sakin mismo na boyfriend-- or FAKE boyfriend nya, hindi nagreply?!

Tsk. Binasa ko na lang ang reply nya.

'Crizeeeel!u're aliiiive!pero saglit lng ah!my problema kc aq!ausin ko lng!' - Hazelnut

Problema? Ano naman kaya yun?

I texted her again, asking what her problem is. Pero di na sya nagreply.

Damn it. She's making me worry. She's supposed to be on her way here, right? So ano naman bang naging problema nya papunta dito? Did something happen to her?