Anthology

took a faithful leap

He froze. If Kesh told Dan something...that means...Zade had told Kesh something. Or rather, Kesh had forced Zade to tell something about their relationship. Si Kesh na kasi ang bagong best friend ni Zade ngayon after ma-upgrade ng status niya to boyfriend. (That's Zade's explanation, though. For the others, especially Mars, si Kesh talaga ang best friend ng girlfriend niya ever since, at siya? Potential boyfriend status since Day 1.)

Holy shit. The girl talk. So that means...Mars knows something, too? Fuck.

"Ano naman sinabi niya sa 'yo?" He tried to calm himself by biting huge chunks off his burrito.

Dany eyed him for a second. "Nothing much. Nabanggit lang niya na napapadalas ang sleepover ni Zada sa condo mo lately."

Oh, that. He sighed in relief.

"Yeah. Pinaghahandaan namin ang promotion ng Tila for Cinemalaya and ginagawa rin niya ang thesis proposal niya. I help her out," he said matter-of-factly, only to find Dan smirking at him like an idiot when he looked up. "What now?"

"Is thesis proposal a code for something?"

"It was nice knowing you for 22 years, Roldan. Fuck you."

His asshole of a best friend laughed for a good minute. Tuwang-tuwa talaga 'tong gagong 'to sa mga kahihiyan niya sa buhay. It makes you grounded, dude, he'd remembered Dan saying years ago. Grounded his ass. "Pero 'di nga? Wala pa? As in kahit ano?"

Dan knew he's still having a hard time (no pun intended) talking about...these kind of stuff. Kay Zade lang naman siya mas open ngayon sa ganito kasi, ahem, she's also a (willing) participant. He feels oddly exposed when talking about the intimate things. He's working on it, though. But not like this.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Hulaan ko na lang, ano?" When he didn't answer, Dan went on. "Wala pa...pero muntikan na. Ano, tama ba ako?"

"Ewan ko sa 'yo."

But...yeah. The asshole got it right somehow. Something did almost happen. A couple of times, actually. They'd almost lost their control and things we-- He didn't want to relive those pretty good and vivid memories in the presence of his best friend and in public. He shouldn't be thinking about this right now at all.

Suppressing a blush, Andreau resorted to sarcasm. "Piece of advice, Dan. If you're sexually frustrated, stop acting like Cupid and re-embrace your manwhore ways. Don't live your sex life vicariously through us."

"Oh, not through you and Zades. Wala nga kayo, 'di ba?" Dan retorted back, smirking.

"Gago ka talaga."

"And correction, I was never a manwhore. I'd been in a monogamous, albeit on and off relationship for the past five years. I'm still nursing a heartbreak. Don't be harsh on me."

Andreau rolled his eyes at that. Last month, umuwi si Diane galing sa US para sana i-celebrate ang 5th anniversary nila ni Dan sa Siargao. Halos dalawang buwan ring pinlano ni Dan ang extravagant anniversary celebration na 'yon...pero nauwi ang lahat sa wala nang makipagbreak sa kanya si Diane after the romantic weekend.

Honestly, hindi na sila nagulat sa break up. Ine-expect na nila 'yon for almost a year now. Si Dan lang naman ang denial na magtatagal silang dalawa ni Diane eh.

"Look, Dreau. I'm sorry for invading your privacy. Hanggang ngayon kasi excited pa rin ako para sa inyong dalawa. You know... kayo na talaga. Hearing the frequent sleepover thing from Kesh was a major development. And also, may FOMO ako lately. Ang hirap maging adult puta."