Catching a Prince

Chapter 35 - Temptation

TEMPTATION

"Gising na, Sweet. Malapit na tayo..."

Boses iyon ni Mike. He was waking me up. Nakatulog na naman ako on his chest.

Nagbibiyahe kami noon from Bulacan to Manila. Nakasakay kami sa bus. It was a Sunday afternoon. One week na noon after magsimula yung first semester.

Naka-smile si Mike sa akin when I opened my eyes.

"Hi, Sweet," sabi ko sa kanya with a smile.

"Sarap ng tulog mo ah," sabi niya. "Did you dream of me?"

Lalo akong napa-smile. "Hindi e."

He laughed. And then he kissed me on my forehead. "Okey lang. Mag-ready ka na. Malapit na yung terminal."

I straightened up and looked outside the bus window. Padaan na kami noon sa Manila North Cemetery.

Malapit na nga, I told myself. A few more minutes, I'll be with Mom sa apartment niya sa Malate. Tomorrow, class day ulit. One week of studies to follow. Sa weekend, uuwi ulit kami sa Bulacan.

The same routine.

Ganoon na yung routine namin for the last two years after we graduated from high school.

For two years in college, Mike and I were a very sweet couple. Kahit mag-kalayo kami ng universities and city address, hindi naman napuputol yung communication namin. He would visit me sa apartment ni Mommy two or three times a week. Kapag hindi siya dadalaw, tumatawag siya sa phone, and we would spend hours and hours talking about a lot of things.

Mike was a very sweet boyfriend. Everytime dadalaw siya sa kin, he would never forget to bring something as a gift. Minsan flowers, minsan chocolates, minsan cute trinkets. And I loved them all. In fact, I had a special shelf reserved for his gifts. Actually, puno na nga yung shelf sa dami ng laman.

But of course, sometimes I would miss the times when we were in high school, lalo na yung last months namin before graduation. On those months kasi, super happy kami sa love namin for each other. We were young and we're enjoying it.

College lovelife was really different compared to high school lovelife. Aside from the fact na magkalayo yung tinitirhan namin sa Metro, lalo pang nagpapa-complicate yung hirap ng academics. Mahirap yung mga lessons, maraming projects and assignments, unforgiving pa yung mga teachers. Kahit nga kasama ko si Mike, a lot of times, studies pa rin yung kaharap namin. Tinutulungan niya ako, tinuturuan, and he would make sure na natatapos ko lahat ng school works ko. In the end, palagi kaming bitin sa quality time namin.

"Terminal na po!" I heard the bus conductor call. "Baba na po tayo!"

"Tara na," yaya ni Mike sa akin. He was already carrying both of our bags.

We disembarked the bus and lumabas na kami ng terminal. There was a taxi na naka-park just outside kaya lumapit kami agad doon.

"Saan tayo, Boss?" tanong ng driver sa amin.

"Sa San Marcelino," sagot ni Mike.

"Okay. Sakay na."

Sumakay kami sa taxi. Sa backseat kami pareho. Inakbayan ako ni Mike. I leaned naman on his chest. Pagod ako noon because of the bus trip. Ganon naman ako palagi since nag-college kami.

"Something wrong, Sweet?" tanong niya sa kin. "Parang iba yung dating mo ngayon."

"Ano namang naiba?" I asked back.