A Tale In Session (City Series #1)

Chapter 11

Nanliit naman ang mata ko sa kanya dahil paboritong kulay ko talaga ang pink, pero ayoko lang talaga aminin.

"Whatever, smarty pants!" I scoffed. "Your turn!"

"What's going on between you and that Claude guy?" tanong niya bigla.

Tumaas naman ang kilay ko sa kanya.

Ang bilis naman! Kulay lang tinatanong ko kanina, e!

"Uh..."

Ano ba sasagutin ko? Hindi ko rin naman kasi alam! Sinabi niya na ba sa akin na gusto niya ako? MU ba kami? Nanliligaw ba siya? O ice-claim ko nanaman na boyfriend ko siya at bawal niya lang malaman?

Lumingon si Vale sa akin at tinaasan ako ng kilay. Marahan ko siyang tinulak at tumawa.

"Di ko rin alam!" I laughed. "But... I've never felt this kilig before! As in."

"Not even with Jaxon?"

"Medyo." Nagkibit balikat ako. "I mean, I felt super kilig with Jax... pero... ewan! Parang iba na ngayon.. hindi ko alam!"

Nagbuntong hininga ako kaya naman napatingin ulit siya sa akin.

"Ang lalim ng hinga natin d'yan, ah,"

Maliit ang ngiti ko sa kanya. I don't know, whenever it's Jax we're talking about, it's like another story again. Ibang iba kay Claude.

"Why are you holding back?" tanong niya sa akin. "Whenever you talk about Jaxon, you always do this. Ewan na lang yung sagot mo."

Ngumuso ako at bumaba sa sasakyan dahil nakarating na rin kami sa kakainan namin. Dumiretso ako sa pila habang si Vale naman ay nag-hanap na ng uupuan namin. Nag-order na ako ng sinanglao at pigar-pigar na malaki para sa aming dalawa. Apat na kanin na rin ang binili ko dahil napaparami talaga ang kain namin kapag nandito kami.

"Well?" pagpapatuloy niya pagkaupo ko.

"I don't..." I started, but stopped when I saw his face.

I don't know ulit dapat ang sagot ko. Ngumiti naman ako sa kaniya.

"You still love him?" tanong ni Vale sa akin.

I looked at him and saw the concern in his eyes.

Nagkibit balikat ako. "I'm scared na... I don't know how to love anyone else like how I loved him na. Alam mo 'yun? Like, he was my first love. I'm scared na I won't get to love Claude the same way I loved Jaxon."

"He's not your first love," sabi ni Vale sa akin.

Kumunot lang ang noo ko sa kanya habang nag-aayos siya ng sawsawan namin sa platito.

"And you don't need to love someone else the same way. I know you won't. No one loves the same way naman, eh." Nagkibit balikat siya. "That doesn't mean you'll never love anyone again."

Kinagat ko yung labi ko. Vale spoke nonchalantly, as if he was just teaching me how to cook.

"You don't need to compare. We don't fall for the same people or the same things when we fall in love. Wag mo ikumpara yung gubat sa dagat. You can't love everyone the same way. You fall in love with the little things of another person, and you fall in love with someone else's worst things. Like short car rides or their fake evil laugh,"

Hindi ko napigilan ang ngiti ko kay Vale. Hindi siya nakatingin sa akin but I feel like I could just capture this moment in itself. Here in a small eatery, he's teaching me one of the most unique things about love.

"Alam ko namang hindi mo makakalimutan yung naramdaman mo kay Jaxon," he said and pinched my nose. "But there's always gonna be someone who will be better than him. Someone who'll choose you first, even after he's seen your worst days. Hindi yung ginawa nung kupal na 'yon sa'yo."