Eh Yung Hindi Naman Tayo? (COMPLETED)

Restraint

June 20, 11pm:

"Hi!" Maine beams at RJ as she opens the door to her condo.

He immediately blushes and looks away when he sees her. "Hi. Uhm... Maine, pwede ka ba magbihis muna or mag-robe ganoon."

"What?" She asks then realizes she greeted him by the door in her sleepwear, a pair of body hugging satin tank top and shorts with her hair in a high bun and fluffy headband. "Oh, sorry. Buti na lang pala naka-bra pa ako." She laughs.

Her last statement only makes RJ turn even redder because that image immediately popped into his head. What with the Maldives photos and her standing before him in that darned outfit, it's not hard to imagine at all, and all that makes him ha...

"Pasok ka." He hears her say in that well modulated naturally sexy voice of hers.

Ano ba to? The Last Temptation? Umayos ka nga, RJ! Wag puro hard at pasok ang nasa isip.

"H-Huh? A-ano yun?" He asks, trying to shake the thoughts in his head.

"Pumasok ka. Para sa akin ba yan?" She repeats then points to the bouquet of flowers and paper bag of food he is carrying.

"Ah, oo." He smiles slightly distracted and hands her his gifts.

She takes them and smiles. "Thank you. Halika. Tuloy ka." She pushes the door wider and turns her back on him which momentarily relieves him of his misery.

Or so he thinks because the moment she starts walking away from him with her shapely hips and firm buttocks swaying from side to side, he feels his hormones pumping in his veins and all his blood rush down south. He closes his eyes shut and takes a deep breath before taking a step inside. He closes the door behind him.

She disappears into the kitchen to place the bag on the table and put the flowers in some water.

"Upo ka lang diyan, Jay." He hears her yell from the kitchen but he does not dare take another step as soon as he is in her living room.

He needs to know one more thing before he decides if he should stay and by the look of the condo unit, he already knows the answer.

"Si Dean?" He asks loud enough for her to hear from the kitchen.

"Wala pa siya. Sleepover ata sa barkada." She then comes out from the kitchen and stands a couple of feet away from him. "Bakit? May usapan kayo?"

He holds his breath as his eyes stray again to trace the shape of her slender body and the expanse of her silky skin but he quickly reprimands himself again and exhales sharply as he shakes his head more from his thoughts than to give her his answer.

"Hindi. Wala. Ikaw talaga sadya ko dito. B-baka busy ka." He tells her.

"Ah. Hindi naman kakatapos ko lang ng isang chapter sa book. I can take a break na." She says then seeing how he's struggling to keep his eyes away from her body. "Upo ka muna sa couch. Magbibihis lang ako."

"S-sige." He sighs in relief and she chuckles.

RJ sits on the couch while he waits for her and finds her open laptop on the table. He takes a little look at the screen which is open to her pictures folder. Big mistake.

Because in front of him in all its 15-inch glory is a picture of Maine in her yellow high-cut one piece swimsuit lying on the pristine white sand beach of Maldives with her sultry eyes looking straight at the camera and the beautiful sunset sky in her background.

"Juskopo!" He gasps and closes the laptop then opens it again then closes and opens it again before standing up.

RJ paces back and forth uneasily trying to calm himself down and recover his resolve.

"RJ? Okay ka lang?" She asks.

"Uhm... Uuwi na pala ako." What she's wearing now does not help him at all, an oversized shirt and denim shorts. He realizes he will always think she's hot no matter what she wears.

"What? Akala ko we're having dinner. Sabi mo sa text kaya ka pumunta dito di ba?"

"Oo. Pero..."

"RJ... What's wrong? Mag-usap nga tayo." She tells him and takes his hand. "Please."

The look in her eyes snaps him out of all his improper thoughts.

"Okay." He smiles shyly.

They sit on the couch with her still holding his hand.

"So, anong problema? You seem... tensed."

"Naaalala mo ba yung sinabi ko nung nasa Maldives ka?"

"Which one?" She asks and he frowns. "Jay, araw-araw tayong magkausap and spend hours on the phone. Marami kang sinabi. Ako din. Alin dun?"

"Yung..." He pauses and takes a deep breath. "Mahal kita at kasabay ng pagtibok ng puso ko ang..."

"Oh..." Maine nods her head. "Okay. Gets ko na. Sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable. I mean I don't mean to. Ayaw ko sanang may magbago sa atin. Sana gaya lang ng dati na chill lang tayo."

"I know. Ako dapat ang mag-sorry. I'm sorry. Ako ang nag-complicate ng friendship natin dahil di ko mapigilan tong nararamdaman ko para sa'yo." He sighs.

"Ano ba? Don't be too hard on yourself. I admire your restraint not a lot of guys can do that. It actually makes me feel really special. Thank you. Lalo kang napapama..." She stops before she can finish her sentence.

"Maine? Alam kong sinabi ko na ayaw kitang i-pressure that I don't need labels pero..."

"I love you too."

He stares at her in disbelief and sits speechless for a few seconds.

"M-Maine... Does this mean..."

"I love you but I don't want to tie you down in a relationship with me."

"Ano? Ang labo naman nun." He frowns.

"I still don't think I'm the perfect girl for you. I don't want you to think na you can be with that someone who is meant for you when you find her."

"Ano bang sinasabi mo? I found her. July 16, 2015. Nahanap ko na siya. Nahanap kita. Maine, kailan ka ba maniniwala na wala na akong ibang mamahalin kundi ikaw?"

"I don't know. Siguro kasi I don't believe I deserve your love. I don't want to be selfish and be the girl na itatali ka sa relationship na alam kong di ka na masaya."

"Maine..." He sighs and takes her hand. He holds it firmly and stares deep into her eyes. "Mahal kita. Walang bakit o paano. Walang dahilan. Ikaw lang ang nagpapasaya sa akin ng ganito. Kahit ako natanong ko na din kung deserve ba kita dahil sobrang angat mo para sa isang katulad ko pero naisip ko di ba pag nagmahal ka, nagmamahal ka lang dapat? Walang selfish dun."

She sighs and nods her head. "Sorry kung complicated ako."

"Okay lang. May point ka din naman. Sorry kung diretso ako masyado."

"Sakto lang. Pabebe lang ako." She chuckles and he smiles.

"Magpabebe ka lang. Yan ang unang minahal ko sa'yo. Diyan ko napatunayan na iba ka talaga sa lahat. Hihintayin pa din kita. Hihintayin ko ang panahon na ikaw na mismo ang magsabi sa akin na handa ka na at ikaw na ang Menggay ko dahil ngayon pa lang ako na ang RJ mo forever kahit anong mangyari."

She smiles and hugs him tight. There may be a lot of things she is uncertain of about herself in their complicated relationship but there is one thing certain about it, they will always have each other one way or another.

********
Unbeta'ed and not proofread and super pabebe. Hahahaha

Thank you for reading.