Of (Heart)Beats and Bylines [Completed]

Chapter 9

Hi, RJ.  This is Maine.  Thank you for the flowers.  Where can I meet you to give back your jacket?

I typed this on my cell phone two days after receiving the flowers.

An hour after sending the message, my phone rang.  It was RJ.

"Hello," I answered in a flat tone.

"Hi Maine.  Are you free tonight?  I can meet you for dinner."

Dinner pa?  Bakit?  "Ummm..."  Think Maine, think.

"Where will you be?"  I cringe while replying.

"In Makati. What resto do you want to eat in tonight?"

"Ummm... is it really necessary?"

"Sige na.  My treat."

"But you already sent me flowers, " I whined.  "Really, ok na yun."

"Do you want to do just keep my jacket?" He asked in a firm yet teasing tone.

I was about to scream 'no' when he said out of the blue...

"May magagalit ba?  Boyfriend or something?"

My heart raced so I kept quiet.

"I just want to apologize some more."

Ah, okay.  Wait a minute, am I disappointed?

"Ah... wala.  I mean, walang magagalit."

"May gagawin ka bang iba tonight?" RJ pressed further.

"Wala rin.  Sige, let's meet.  Does Italian sound good?"

"Of course.  I like Italian."

"Any Italian resto then," I conceeded.

"See you at 7:30?  I'll just text you where after I make reservations."

"Okay."

~~~~~

The receptionist guided me towards our reserved table.  RJ was already there.

He stood up to greet me.

"Hi.  Good evening."

"Good evening to you too.  Before I forget... here."  I presented him his jacket.  "Thank you for lending it to me.  Nalabhan na yan," I added. 

He laughed.  "Okay lang din naman kahit hindi," he said as he claimed the jacket from my hands.

We both took a seat facing each other.  "Let's order," he said.

We are both quiet as we perused the menu.  After we gave our orders to the food attendant, a wave of awkwardness blanketed us.

He broke the silence.  " I trust that your interview with Senator Lee still went well."

"I was a little unnerved and  unfocused but nakayan naman," I answered honestly and bluntly.  After all, if there is anyone who could best relate to my experience, it would be him.  He is my fellow reporter and writer AND he was the cause of my discomfort.

He opened his mouth to say something but I caught it in time by raising my right palm. 

"Before you say anything, I'd like to make it clear that everything's fine now."

We looked at each other.  "What an experience," I added and we ended up smiling at each other.

Our smiles turned into wide grins that ended into laughter.

This broke the ice and both of us are visibly more relaxed.

"You know what," he said when the laughter died down, "this is my sixth month in the office." I just got regularized so I really wanted to eat out.  A celebration of sorts."

I was taken aback.  Why would he want to celebrate this milestone with me?

I didn't want to voice out my curiosity on this so I went on to ask safe questions.

"Oh congratulations!  Maganda ba benefits sa The Post?" 

It worked. 

There were no more awkward silences that night as we talked about company benefits and policies.  Minus the confidential details, of course.

We also talked about our bosses.

"Pano mo nga pala nakuha yung number ko?," RJ asked.

"The newspaper world in Manila is small, RJ.  Of course my boss knows people from your paper.  He asked around and got your number.  It wasn't too hard."

I checked the time; it was almost 9 pm.  Tomorrow's a Saturday.  It was still a work day for me so....

"How about some desserts?"

"Maybe some cake and ice cream.  Can it be my treat naman?" I offered quickly despite my hesitation.

Damn.

We decided to transfer to a cafe in the same mall.  This time, we exchanged stories about college life.

We have more in common than I thought.  He is from Laguna, so like me, he spent his tertiary education living independently.  He was not in the student council, but he joined a fraternity and participated in a few student rallies.

We parted ways at almost 10:30 pm.  While driving home, I realized how he was so easy to talk to.  Our banter tonight was the most natural conversations I've had in recent memory.  It's almost as if we have this natural chemistry.

I was already in bed when I received this message. 

Hope you got home safely and without a hitch.  Goodnight. :)

I typed back. 

I did.  Hope you had a safe drive as well.  Goodnight RJ. 

I typed another message.

Or do you prefer Richard? 

RJ calling.

"RJ's fine.  I just write Richard on my articles.  It looks more formal in the byline."

"You called just to say that?"

"Well... yeah," he said with a small laugh.  "Goodnight."

I said goodnight with a bit of a laugh too. 

I was still smiling when I put the cell phone down.  Then realization hit me.

He does have a pleasing personality... almost... charming.  But is he a charmer? 

As I was unsure of the word's definition.  I immediately googled the meaning. 

Charmer: a person with an attractive and engaging personality, typically one who uses this to impress or manipulate others.

Hala!! Is this definition on point to describe him as a person? 

I ponder on this for a minute.  You use your best qualities to let you get ahead in life.  But to use them to manipulate others?  

Hindi naman siguro siya ganung klaseng tao. 

I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt.  For now, I'd watch my back and put my walls up when it comes to him.

Like walls as high as 10 feet.