Wine
It's been a week since we've been officially together and slowly but surely, we are both accompanying each other into these new transitions that we are experiencing in this relationship.
Dahil ibang-iba ito sa nakasanayan namin. There are adjustments that we need to make. This includes habits, mindset, and routines. We are no longer kids, after all.
I know we didn't officially and verbally established the idea of adjusting with each other. But I know that somehow, there's a silent mutual understanding between us when it comes to this part.
Honestly, within just a week, everyday's experience has been refreshing with him.
Akala ko kilalang kilala ko na ang sarili ko. Dahil sa ilang taon ko nang namuhay na mag-isa, kabisado ko na ang mga pagkakataon kung kailan ako masaya, malungkot, galit, o 'di kaya'y manhid.
But now that he's here with me, the patterns of such mundane feelings are replaced with uncertain yet thrilling emotions.
Now, everyday's filled with new discoveries about myself and about him.
And I love how we just talk about random or bizarre things. Like sometimes, we talk about cute animals, habits, and stuff. But then as our conversation goes on, we delve deeper into politics, economics, and other sociological issues.
And then completely off that compass, we talk about the afterlife, reincarnation, and redemption.
I love how he inspires me to think, and ponder about things.
Kagaya na lang ng nangyayari ngayon, kung saan-saang topic na naman lumilipad ang isip ko kahit na magdi-dinner pa kami sa labas.
This is going to be our official first date. I mean, we're always on a date. Kung pagbabasehan ang palagi niyang pagbisita rito sa apartment ko sa nakaraang mga araw.
But this is different since we're going out together on public for the first time.
A knock on my door made me pause from putting on my mascara.
"You can come in," I said with a smile on my voice.
Alam ko na kahit hindi niya sinasabi sa akin ay naiinip na siya kakahintay doon sa living room.
I smiled more when he opened the door of my room. With his arms crossed, he leaned on the door frame, not taking his eyes off of me.
Ramdam ko ang pagsuyod niya ng tingin sa buong katawan ko.
Suddenly, I feel bare and naked even with my lace bodycon dress on.
I pursed my lips, feeling so exposed underneath his stares.
"What do you think about my dress?"
I asked. Since this is the first time that he's seen me dress up for our date, I want to know his opinion about how a woman dresses herself.
My lace bodycon dress is hugging my curves. And since it's neckline is also a deep v, it showed a bit of my cleavage, specifically my inner boobs.
I don't usually wear this but I want to know how he reacts.
"Hmm... nude looks good on you," he languidly said.
It seems like he is in a trance. He stood still, leaning on my door frame, and unable to move with his eyes not leaving my body.
At nang nakabawi siya ay marahan niyang inilipat ang tingin sa mukha ko. A small smile tugged on the corner of his lips.
I slowly smirked when his compliment just processed inside my head. May naiisip na namang kalokohan ay mapaglarong tinaasan ko siya ng kilay.
"Sure, nude looks good on me. But I also look better when I'm nude."
Napasinghap siya atsaka napailing. He chuckled and raised an eyebrow at me as well.
"Really? Don't make me ask you for an actual reference. Because in all honesty, I would like to know what really looks more better." A lazy smile remained on his lips.
Bahagyang napawi ang mapang-asar na ngiti ko.
Sometimes, I start things I'm afraid to finish. Dahil kapag sinasakyan niya na ang kalokohan ko, ang dila ko naman ang umuurong.
So, I ended up backing down, looking at my flushed face on the mirror just to hide from him.
His loud mocking laugh followed and I'm sure he's now celebrating his victory. Ganito kami 'pag nag-aasaran. Ta's kung sino 'yong nananahimik sa huli, talunan.
So, I'm clearly the loser here.
"Is Tequila still there?" He teased.
I rolled my eyes and gave him a silly face before looking back at the mirror.
"I'm not saying anything because I'm trying to put on my lipstick here."
Binalingan ko na ang dalawang shades ng lipstick na nakalahad sa desk ng vanity mirror ko.
Though his steps were silent, I felt him nearing behind me. One touch on my waist and I tilted my head to look at him over my shoulders.
His eyes immediately fell on my lips.
"Let me put on your lipstick for you," he huskily says along with the slow draping of his arms on my waist and stomach, hugging me from behind.
I stiffened a bit before slowly leaning back into him, trying to calm the sudden wobbling of my knees.
"Marunong ka?" marahan kong tanong sa kanya.
Nakatuon na ang mga mata ko ngayon sa kamay niyang nakapulupot sa tiyan ko.
The veins on his hands are visible. And though it looks like he can crush me with those, his fingers still gently splayed out against my flat stomach.
I sighed dreamily.
"I want to try. You can instruct me how to do it."
I nodded as he slowly loosened his hug, now ready for any instructions from me.
He looks so attentive as his forehead creased while looking at the unorganized make ups on the mirror's desk.
"You choose what color suits me first." Turo ko sa dalawang lipstick na nakalahad na.
Tumango siya at parehong pinulot 'yon. He silently read the color's label and immediately picked one.
"I'll just swipe it on your lips, right?" He opened the wine-colored one.
Not bad. He chose the color that goes well with my nude dress. And it's unusual with my go-to color. I always choose the nude lipstick, though I know it doesn't always go well with every color.
But oh well, Gon makes me want to wear even the boldest of red and be womanly sexy. And honestly, it feels good and exciting. It even boosts up my confidence.
He gently tilted my chin up with his thumb and index finger while his left hand rested on the small of my waist.
Nagsimula na siya ngayon sa marahang pagpapahid ng lipstick sa labi ko.
It was a slow and gentle swipe that made my lips part into a fraction.
I looked up at him while he was too focused on what he's doing. His eyebrows are almost drawing together and his lips pressed together but in a relaxed manner.
The lighting on my room casted a shadow on half of his face, making his bone structure even more prominent.
And the best part? My favorite feature on his face is being highlighted, his narrow nose that looked like it has been broken for some time.
Nagpatuloy lang siya sa pagpapahid ng lipstick sa labi ko kahit pa titig na titig na ako sa kanya.
After what seemed to be like the longest seconds of my life, his gentle hold on my chin and waist was gone as he closed back the cap of my lipstick.
I sighed.
And maybe he heard my disappointment within that tiny sigh when he looked back at me, squinting his eyes and trying to adopt a serious expression, when clearly, I just saw a flash of amusement and playfulness in them.
"Let me see your work of art," I said breathlessly.
But before I could look at myself in the mirror, he gently pulled my elbow and made me face him again.
"Wait, I messed up a bit."
With that, he softly ran a thumb over the right corner of my lip to wipe off the lipstick stain there.
And then swiftly, he pressed his thumb to his lower lip, only to let his tongue swirl over it, tasting the residue of lipstick that was once on the corner of my lips.
Napsinghap ako at napakurap-kurap sa ginawa niya.
"Excuse me?" I said, confused and overwhelmed.
"I'm sorry. The label on your lipstick says wine, and I thought I should have a taste test. To see if it really tastes like wine." He chuckled sexily.
I just felt a drop on my blood flow and then suddenly, winged insects are starting to flutter around in my stomach.
And our eye contact? It's making me dizzy.
I let out a small laugh and shook my head.
"I said, excuse me? that's disrespectful of you, Gon. You should taste my lips instead. See if it really does taste like wine? I mean, you can't really tell how it tastes with just that-"
And my words were cut off when he gently squeezed my waist and his lips came crashing down to mine.
But opposite from his aggressive start, his tongue licked my lower lip, gently, almost in a feather-like manner.
I gasped and I felt him smiling against my lips as he tasted it more, sucking my lips like it's his favorite candy.
His fingers then touched my neck, wrapping around my nape just to pull me closer as if our proximity isn't enough.
I let out a chuckle in between our kisses and mimicked the languid movement of his lips and tongue.
Then he stopped just to mutter silent curse words.
He let out a sigh, as if trying to calm himself as he hugged me tight.
"W-Well, what does it taste like?" My lips shivered.
But I didn't really get an immediate response from him when he is already building up another spark inside my system.
He's starting to kiss my exposed shoulder, and runs his lips on the side of my neck towards my ear. But he didn't go that far when he stopped there.
Ramdam na ramdam ko ang mainit niyang paghinga malapit sa kanan kong tenga. Nakakaliyo at tila ba kinakalat at tinatapon din nito ang init sa buong sistema ko.
And almost instantly, desire pulsed in my chest, in my stomach, down to the center of my thighs.
"W-What does it taste like, Gon?" Tanong ko ulit para lang mabaling ang atensyon sa ibang bagay.
Because right now, I feel so hot and bothered from his touch and kisses.
"It doesn't entirely taste like wine... It tastes exactly like my tequila," he whispers excruciatingly slow in my ear.
"And there's something more that we need to do."
He added after the long stretch of silence with just our pantings and syncing breath meshing well together.
"What?" I whispered back weakly.
But the tension and excitement is already building up inside my body and my mind. I don't know, siguro nagbabakasakali pa ako sa iba pang mga bagay...
"To get out of this room before the reservations we made for our date get cancelled."
He gave me a lopsided grin and I can't help but smile along with him. Para lang mapagtakpan ang naghuhurumentadong pihit ng dibdib.
Fortunately, we were still able to get out of my room, get in his car, and reach the restaurant where we will be having dinner.
It's a fancy restaurant where all women were dressed fancy and men were either in their dress shirts or suits.
Mangha kong pinagmasdan ang paligid at mga tao. Some were eating in a separate and more private area underneath big and grandiose chandeliers.
And we were just about to be lead by one of the waiters in one of those when a familiar man came to us.
The man's eyebrow quirked up as his eyes fell down Gon's hand on my waist.
His lips pursed as he looked back at us in a more formal manner.
Pero kahit pa man nag-iba na ang ekspresyon niya, ay bakas pa rin doon ng kuryosidad at pagkaaliw sa kung ano.
"Good evening, Kuya. Didn't expect to see you here with someone."
I blinked upon the way he greeted Gon.
Wait, is this Arcus?
He looks taller and more mature now. His physique changed but I can feel the same aura he had when I met him back in their mansion in El Valencia.
"Tequila, right? It's good to see you here after so many years."
A look of surprise immediately etched on my face. Hindi ko inakalang mamumukhaan at maaalala niya pa rin ako dahil kaonting panahon lang din naman kami nagkakilala at ilang taon na rin ang lumipas.
I didn't had that many interaction with him when I was still in their mansion. But it honestly overjoys me to meet someone I've known back in El Valencia besides Gon.
"Yes, it's been years! How have you been, Arcus?" I beamed at him.
"Hmm... I've been doing good."
We were stalled for a while because of our greetings. Gon talked a bit with his brother and I can somehow feel how he's trying to be patient when he clearly wants him to go away already.
I smiled and chuckled lightly.
Pareho silang napalingon sa akin.
Gon looked at me closely and his brother smirked at him.
"Well then, I'll be going, Kuya. Tequila." He nodded at me.
"I was really wondering about how Kuya's therapy was going. But I heard he didn't sign a contract for one. He got it in a different way, huh?" was what Arcus muttered to me before walking away with a mocking smile at his brother.
And once again, Gon and I were left alone with our teasings and banters with each other.