And For Ever More

Dancing in the Moonlight (Toploader)

Angry tears swiftly spring to my eyes. This scenario feels all too familiar—it's like an instant replay of what I witnessed between Tiffanee and RJ last week. How does the saying go again? Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me? This makes twice that I've been fooled, at naiinis ka ako sa sarili ko.

I stumble blindly in the other direction, towards an unoccupied table for two, and flop onto one of the polished wooden chairs. I wave to get a nearby waiter's attention and order a pitcher of frozen margaritas and some buffalo wings. This may come as a surprise, but I'm actually a pretty impressive drinker, and Marga and I live by the wise words, "When life gives you lemons, make margaritas." And eat your feelings, of course.

My mind is a whirlwind of mixed emotions. He said that they were just friends—really old friends—and that they only dated casually from time to time. But the way she was leaning into him, and the too-close-for-comfort way he was touching her...it seemed more than friendly.

Am I just too conservative? I don't have many male friends, so I'm not an expert on male and female friendships; I don't know what the dynamics are supposed to be like. But even if it was nothing, even if it was just a harmless kiss (is that even a thing?) isn't it still kind of off that he would be hanging out with some other girl when he was supposed to be meeting me? Granted, this isn't technically a date, since he invited Marga too, but still.

Ugh, I hate how I feel right now. I hate overthinking. But most of all I hate how complicated my life seems to have become ever since RJ Faulkerson and I crossed paths. It's only been a little over a week since I interviewed him, but I've already been through more emotional turmoil than I usually go through in a year. Darn him and his stupid dimple.

My order arrives, and I hungrily dig into the buffalo wings. I use my fingers, not caring anymore about looking poised or ladylike. I'm vaguely wondering where Marga is when I sense someone staring at me and look up, feeling wary. A tall, slightly foreign-looking guy with thick, striking eyebrows is sitting nearby, smiling pleasantly at me. When he sees me notice him, he promptly comes over and takes the seat opposite me.

"Hi," he says in a friendly voice. "Ikaw yung nasa Campus TV kanina, diba? Si Shutanginamez?"

Oh, my God. He laughs as I let out a groan.

"Ang benta kaya nun," he goes on, chuckling. "Sobrang cute mo, although medyo halata na kinabahan ka. I'm Derrick, by the way."

He holds his hand out and I shake it reluctantly. I won't lie—he's very attractive, but I've decided that tall, cute, mestizo boys are way more trouble than they're worth, and I am done with them. I'm just going to stay far, far away from them all from now on. Still, this Derrick seems harmless enough, and I don't want to be rude.

"Ang awkward ko nga kanina eh," I say sheepishly, shaking my head. "First time ko kasi. I've never been on camera before."

He shrugs. "Well, I thought you were very charming." This makes me blush, and I look away, feeling slightly flustered. "Thank you," I mumble quietly.

He shifts in his seat and rests both elbows on the table, his arms folded. "Alam mo, feeling ko magkaka diabetes ako ngayon. Ang tamis kasi ng ngiti mo."

Hala. Ang cheesy ni Kuya. I'm not sure how to respond to this, and I can feel my cheeks heating up, so I merely let out a nervous giggle. Derrick continues, unfazed. "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name. May I just call you mine?"

Emeged, I cringe. I'm feeling more uncomfortable by the second, and I'm wishing fervently that Marga would finally show up when RJ suddenly appears from nowhere, pulling up a chair and casually draping his arm over Derrick's shoulder.