AGS 1: The Love Investment (PUBLISHED)

15. Emotionless

"You're scary," he said as he scanned the picture. "Mga banned guys ba 'to sa buhay mo?"

"They are my friends. They told me na hanggang friends lang ang kaya nilang ibigay sa 'kin. Tinanggap ko naman 'yon wholeheartedly. Tanggap na tanggap ko kaya nga open pa rin ako sa communications sa kanila."

Naririnig ko siyang may ibinubulong. Mahina at hindi ko maintindihan. Sana lang, hindi niya ako kinukulam o dinadasalan. Wala rin naman sa itsura niya ang nanghe-hex.

"Wow. They're 53." He closed the album and looked at me like a proud man showing off his trophy. "Record-breaking pala ang pag-friendzone sa 'yo. I'm surprised."

Poker-faced lang ako habang umiinom ng juice. Patawa-tawa pa siya habang ibinabalik sa drawer ang album na nakuha niya.

"Gusto mong maging pang-54?" tanong ko, dahilan kaya nawala ang ngiti niya.

Nagtaas siya ng mukha at sinukat ako ng tingin. And Rico, with his green-and-gold eyes, looked like he was castigating my question inside his head.

"Your jokes are too dark, Miss Rosenthal," he said, and drank his juice. "And I'm not your friend, for the record."

Unti-unti akong natawa dahil sa sinabi niya. Ang bilis naman niyang mapikon.

Siguro kahit anong analyze ko sa kung paano ba tumatakbo ang utak ni Rico, never ko siyang maiintindihan.

"Why do you keep those photos?" he asked seriously. "Remembrance ng dissociation ng personality mo na once naging masaya ka sa kanila pero nakalimutan mo agad?"

I looked him straight in the eye. "We can call that evidence, Mr. Dardenne."

"You're scaring me, Miss Rosenthal."

"You don't look scared."

"Dapat ba, sumisigaw ako hysterically? You always stereotype people. Baka kaya walang nagtatagal sa 'yo kasi iniisip mo, pare-pareho lang ang lahat ng tao."

"Hindi ba?"

"You tell me, pare-pareho ba?"

Natitigan ko siya, hindi ako agad nakasagot.

If there's one thing Rico has always amazed me with since the day he talked to me frequently, ito na 'yon. Ganitong mga usapan namin na kapag may sinabi ako, kinokontra niya, dinedepensahan niya, hanggang umabot kami sa point na natatahimik ako para lang mapangiti.

Ramdam kong inaatake niya 'ko sa area na mapapaisip ako. Pero hindi ako offended, kasi alam ko sa sarili kong nasasagot ko naman siya.

Kung may nakakausap man ako nang ganito, hindi mga nasa age gap niya. Most of the time, mga 50s and above. And I find him so sexy because of that. Kahit boses lang siguro niya ang nasa harapan ko, mapapangiti at mapapangiti pa rin ako. Pinatataas niya ang adrenaline rush ko kahit naka-rest mode kami ngayon.

"When you say you're my boyfriend as per our agreement, what do you really mean by that? Kasi naguguluhan ako," tanong ko na lang para sa isang bagay na ilang araw na ring bumabagabag sa akin.

"Naguguluhan in what sense?" tanong din niya. "So we can break down the details one by one."

He's good. We could discuss this all night, and I don't think mabo-bore ako sa topic.

"Label, yes. We're a thing," I explained. "Limitation of the agreement, kapag nakikita lang tayo ng barkada mo. Recently, hindi ko pa nakikita kahit na sino sa kanila, so basically, kapag wala sila, you're just what?"

"I'm your investor."

"Okay, investor. And what about the kiss last time?"

"That was one of those occasional intimacies we couldn't avoid."

"All right, occasional intimacy." I nodded. "And you visiting me here in my condo is under what process? You being my boyfriend according to our agreement, or you being an investor?"

"The last time I was here, it was for professional reasons involving my franchising plan. I'm here right now for a personal reason, and that's because I badmouthed your best friend, and I felt like I was obligated to make it up to you for feeling bad about it."

"Obligation." I was nodding slowly, digesting that one. "So, by tomorrow, since hindi ka na obligated, hindi na kita makikita rito sa condo ko."

"If you're in Puple Plate, doon mo na ako makikita."

"What if wala ako sa Purple Plate?"

"I have enough means to find you."

"Stalker ka ba para hanapin ako lagi?"

"Nope. But I can give you reasons para hanapin ako lagi."

"Wow." Napaiwas agad ako ng tingin habang natatawa.

Hindi ko matandaan kung kailan ako huling may nakausap nang ganito kakalmado at kaseryoso. O kung meron ba akong nakausap before na ganitong klaseng tao.

Napaurong ako sa inuupuan kong couch bago nagde-kuwatro saka pahilig na ipinatong ang kaliwang braso sa armrest. "You know what, Rico, tingin ko, iba ang definition ko ng love life sa definition mo."

Nagde-kuwatro din siya at nagkrus ng mga braso. "Iniisip mo ba na gaya ako ng barkada ko? Na dadaanin ka sa cheesy lines, flowers, and movie dates?"

Napatango ako roon. "Sorry, but yes."

"Then, hindi ako ang barkada ko. And I don't think gaya ka ng ibang babaeng tinu-two time nila."

"Really? You think so?" I asked, smiling at him mockingly.

"You hurt my friends, Miss Rosenthal."

Nawala ang ngiti ko dahil doon. Tinitigan ko lang siya kung may iba pa bang intensiyon ang setup namin ngayon na hindi papabor sa akin.

"Your friends hurt me too, Mr. Dardenne," I replied, no emotions written on my face.

"No, they couldn't. They don't own that kind of power to do so."

Wow.

I should be offended. Parang lahat ng sinasabi ni Rico, dapat akong ma-offend, pero hindi ako napipikon kasi kaya niyang mapagsabay ang offensive remarks sa praises about me. It was . . . new to me.

Feeling ko, kaya kong makinig ng assessment niya sa akin whole day kahit nakakapikon.

"And you're here for what?" I challenged. "For revenge?"

"I'm here to invest in you," he said, as calm and serious as he could deliver. "And I'm here to protect my friends from you. Hindi ko kailangang gumanti. Ang kailangan ko lang, mawalan sila ng dahilan para habulin ka."

Napapailing na lang ako sa kanya. "You're risking too much, Mr. Dardenne."

"And I'm exposed to risk, Miss Rosenthal. But don't worry. After this, hindi ako papayag na may malugi sa ating dalawa. After all, hindi ako sumusugal sa alam kong matatalo lang ako."

♥♥♥