Te Quiero (hiatus)

2 - The Highway Of Dreams

2

Both the sunset and the sunrise were spectacularly mesmerizing in this place. The Baguio of Negros, they call it, because of the endless rice paddies, hills, and great mountain view. Far across the balcony, sea of clouds were rolling in, making the already cool temperature to drop even further.

I zipped my jacket up to my chin, blowing air to the scalding hot coffee in my hands. One thing I liked about Jomax Peak was the unlimited supply of free coffee. Kahit ngayon pa lang, I was happy I made the trip. The view, combined with the tasty aroma of the coffee, was made even more special because the experience was a first for me.

I also proved another truth about myself: I was a true social butterfly and I couldn't help but get naturally attracted to other people on the same wavelength as me when left to my own devices. I met new friends na kasi kagabi kaya may kasabay akong mag-coffee ngayong umaga. They were a group of five—three girls, two boys—who, like me, were going to commute all the way back to the city. I approached them last night when they were huddled by the fire, narinig ko kasi na taga-Taguig lang 'yong isa sa kanila. I'm a Makati girl myself, so I couldn't help but make small talks with her. That move introduced me to her other friends, who turned out to be just as much a party animal as I was, so I ended up spending the rest of the night chatting away. Who said I couldn't make friends during the trip?

"Grabe. Bilib ako sa 'yo. That's a very bold move you did there," Lucas, the oldest of the bunch, told me as I sipped my coffee. According to his friends, he was already twenty six, four years older than me, and still single dahil kagagaling lang nito sa break-up. He goes by the nickname Klay because that's his second name.

"I was thinking kasi na if I need to step out of my comfort zone at some point, why not now? I need to begin somewhere and Negros felt like the right start at the time," I answered.

His little sister, Lillie Klare, nodded her head, the fringes of her full bangs shaking with the motion. "Damn, girl. Tell him. Ayaw akong payagan ni Kuya na umalis nang mag-isa, e. KJ."

"'Cause you're marupok, Klang. Wherever you go, you always bring a guy's number home with you. Buti if fling lang, but you fall hard as fuck," Bea answered with a click of her tongue, an amused expression etched on her doll-like face. She was the one who lived in Highstreet with her roommates, the first friend I made here. "What about you, Callie? You have a boyfriend?"

"Nah. NBSB here," I said with a slight laugh, pointing a finger at myself. "And I tell you. That's the number one source of stress of my friends."

"Yee! Baka may type ka sa tropa namin. Single si Jigger. Or baka si Kuya Klay bet mo!" Sunny said, her lips pulling up into an excited grin. She elbowed her boyfriend, Jino, to get him to agree.

Jino was the silent type of the group, so he didn't say anything and just smirked as he snaked a protective arm around Sunny's shoulder. He reminded me of my closest guy friend, Joaquin. While Sunny was the male version of our other frisky friend, Noah.

"'Wag, Sun. You'll make things awkward for Callie," Bea chided, sending me an apologetic smile, which I waved off with a shake of my head.

"It's cool. I'm used to people fixing me up with others 'cause my friends seemed to have taken it upon themselves to fix my love life. They think I'll end up alone forever if wala silang gagawin. Minsan, I wonder if they're right, if I'm really in the wrong."

"Really? But I think it's okay if you're still single. You're just being careful, and that's not a bad thing. Let the people talk. 'Di naman sila ang papasok sa relasyon—it's you," Lucas told me in his solemn, knowing voice.

I beamed at that. Finally, someone who could understand! I quite liked Lucas. Pakiramdam ko he could be a great kuya to me, especially since I had no siblings and I'd always wanted to have an older brother.