Hot and Cold

Forty-five

"Hey!"

I blinked three times as a finger snapped right infront of my face. Di ko man lang napansing nakatulala na pala ako. A worried face of a handsome italian man was plastered sa harapan ko. May pagtataka at pag-aalala ang mga titig niya sa akin kaya ngumiti ako.

"Hi"

He stared at me for a moment, probably trying to read what's on my mind but when he found none ay agad din naman siyang ngumiti sa akin.

"Why are you here?" Nagtatakang tinignan niya ako. He raised an eyebrow on his secretary na ngayon ay parang natakot. "Bakit di ka pumasok?"

"Leave Adel alone," I softly chuckled as he held my elbow for support, inaalalayan akong tumayo. "Ako yung nagpumilit na wag pumasok. Tapos na ba ang meeting niyo?"

Marahan siyang tumango. He held my waist as we enter his massive office. It's still 8am, pero heto ako ngayon sa opisina niya at namumulabog. It's his graduation tomorrow, he should be out there, having fun, pero heto siya at nagtatrabaho.

His scent welcomed me as we enter his office. Dumeretso ako sa mga couch at umupo. He then occupied the vacant space beside me.

"Busy ka?" I asked dahil nakita ko ang nakatambak na mga papel sa mesa niya. "Should I come back nalang later? After your work?"

"Nah, just stay"

Pumulupot ang kanyang kamay sa bewang ko, he then leaned closer towards me para maisandal ang kanyang noo sa balikat ko. Huminga siya ng malalim kaya bahagya akong natawa dahil sa kiliting dulot ng pagbuga niya ng hangin.

Ilang minutong ganoon ang posisyon naming dalawa. Nakasandal ako sa back rest ng couch niya habang siya naman ay nakayakap sa akin galing sa gilid at nakasubsub ang mukha sa leeg ko. Di ko alintana ang mumunting kiliti sa leeg kldahil sa paghinga niya. Kung pwede nga lang ay ganito nalang kami, I would pay a million bucks just to stay like this. Sana ay di na matapos to. Sana ay ganito na lang palagi.

"Bibi-bear," tawag pansin ko sa kanya. He nudged. He blew air on my neck kaya mahina akong napatawa. I gently pushed his body away from mine and then smiled as our eyes met. "Tara, date?"

I was sure he would reject my invitation dahil nilingon niya ang kanyang mesa. But he surprised me when he stood up and offered his hand to me.

"Tara"

May pagtataka sa mukha niya but he said none, kaya nginitian ko siya. He went to his desk to grab his car keys and his wallet as I stood beside the door, waiting for him. Nakatingin lang ako sa bawat galaw niya hanggang sa makarating sya sa tabi ko. He courteously opened the door for me.

"Where do you want to go? Have you eaten your breakfast?"

I shook my head making him frown. I can't help but chuckle dahil sa nakikita kong inis sa mukha niya. Nakabusangot lang siya hanggang sa makarating kami sa harap ng elevator. And as we wait for the elevator to open, I stared at our reflection on the closed door.

We stood side by side, ako nakangiti, siya nakakunot ang noo. I noticed the distance between us so I slowly reach for his hand and fill in the gaps between our fingers.

His gaze flew to where our fingers were intertwined, unti-unti ay sumilay sa nakabusangot niyang mukha ang isang ngiti. The smile on my face never left as the elevator door opened.