Chapter 02
To say that my pride was wounded would be the understatement of the century.
Nawasak.
Tinapakan.
Niyurakan.
I immediately wanted to withdraw my enrollment doon sa advance review, but then I told myself na ang kapal naman ng mukha niya and ang influential niya naman sa buhay ko kung irere-adjust ko na naman iyong schedule ko dahil hindi niya lang ako tinext?
So, the next few days, dumadating ako sa class kapag papasok na rin iyong lecturer namin. Nagpapa-save na lang ako ng upuan sa mga sis ko tapos doon na ako didiretso.
I mean, it kinda worked. Nasa likuran ko naman si Lui kaya hindi ko rin siya nakikita. Sure din naman ako na hindi niya ako tinitignan. Fine by me. Naka-survive naman ako ng buong law school life ko na wala siya. I'd be totally fine.
"Sama ka?" Hazel asked me.
"San?" I asked.
"Elyu," she replied.
Kumunot iyong noo ko. "Elyu?" I asked again and she explained na pupunta doon para lang uminom. Kakatapos lang kasi ng mock bar namin sa CrimLaw. It was freaking brutal! Mas lalo lang tuloy ako na-stress sa BAR exam. Kung mock bar pa lang e namatay na iyong brain cells ko, paano pa sa actual exam?
I actually just wanted to go home and sleep, but I hadn't been outside for a while na rin kasi diretso condo and review center lang ako. Na-pressure kasi ako dahil nag-ask iyong Tito ko about sa review ko and if may kailangan ba ako. Parang wala akong room for failure kasi super supportive ng family ko sa akin na tipong ibibigay talaga nila kung anumang support ang kailangan ko. Na kapag bumagsak ako, ako talaga iyong problema.
"Next time na lang," I replied. "I just want to sleep."
"Okay," Hazel replied tapos ay kausap niya na iyong ibang mga kasama nila sa Elyu. I saw her talking to some of Lui's friends. Baka goods na rin na hindi ako sumama kasi baka kasama doon si Lui. I had been trying my best to avoid him kasi wala lang. Hindi pa nakaka-recover iyong pride ko na hindi niya pinansin iyong sticky note ko. Feel ko naman at one point ay makaka-recover din ako, but definitely not now.
Nauna na silang lumabas while I had to go to the office to ask about the mentorship program. Nung nagtake kasi ako ng mock exam sa Remedial Law, parang na-shock iyong buong pagkatao ko dahil wala akong nasagot halos. It was no surprise na 55% lang iyong grade ko sa mock bar. 75% pa naman iyong passing sa mismong BAR exam tapos wala dapat grade lower than 50% sa mga subjects.
Ano ba 'yan—my stress is through the roof na.
May kausap pa iyong kailangan ko kausapin sa office kaya naman nandon muna ako sa labas. I was just standing doon sa usually tinatambayan nung mga naninigarilyo. I don't really smoke—and ako ata iyong minority kasi halos lahat ng kakilala ko sa law school ay naninigarilyo.
So, I was just standing there, contemplating my life choices, when I heard someone behind me. Napa-tingin ako sa likuran ko and saw that Lui's standing behind me with a stick of cigarette and a lighter on his hand.
I just gave him a small nod. Ayoko lang magsalita around him kasi feel ko ipapa-hamak ako ng bibig ko.
"Di ka sumama sa kanila?" he asked.
"Nope," I simply replied. "You?" I asked again because he took a few more steps hanggang sa magkatabi na kami. He put the cigarette in between his teeth and then tried to light it up. I knew that I shouldn't gawk at him like a freaking idiot, but why was that so hot?! Ni ayoko sa naninigarilyo, but with him, baka ako pa ang magsindi ng sigarilyo niya.
"I'm here, obviously."
Mabilis na napa-awang iyong labi ko with that jerky response. Kumunot iyong noo ko sa inis. I rolled my eyes. Kaka-receive ko lang ng 55% na grade tapos gaganituhan niya ako? No, please.
I tried to walk away, but he quickly grabbed my arm as if stopping me from leaving. Inalis niya iyong sigarilyo gamit iyong isang kamay niya tapos ay natawa.
"No, please don't leave," sabi niya.
Kumunot iyong noo ko. "Then, stop being an asshole."
Binitawan niya iyong braso ko and then raked his hair through his fingers. "Fair enough," he said. "But really, I wasn't being an asshole."
"You were."
"Was I?"
Kinunutan ko lang ulit siya ng noo. "Yes, you were."
"I mean, obviously hindi ako sumama sa kanila kasi nandito ako."
"Well, pwede din naman na sumunod ka sa kanila, 'di ba? 'Di mo naisip 'yon?"
He was just looking at me. Binalik niya iyong sigarilyo sa bibig niya at saka humithit nun. Ako naman na parang tanga, pinapanood iyong bawat galaw niya. It's so unfair how fascinated I was with him.
"Fair," he replied. "Pero hindi ako sumama. Ikaw?"
"Obviously hindi kasi nandito rin ako, 'di ba?" Natawa ulit siya. "May nakaka-tawa ba?" I asked with a brow furrowed.
Tumango siya. I stared at him and waited for him to explain to me kung ano ba ang nakakatawa sa mga sinasabi ko at pinaguusapan namin.
"Nothing," he said.
"Ano nga?"
He just stared at me and slightly cocked his head to the side. "It's just funny that in bed, you're submissive... but outside the bedroom, you're very argumentative."
Agad na nanlaki iyong mga mata ko sa sinabi niya. I felt my whole face heating up. Muli na naman siyang napahalakhak dahil sa reaksyon ko. He smoked his cigarette again and then tapped the end on the railing.
"S-shut up," I managed to say.
Ngumiti siya sa akin at nakita ko na naman 'yang bwisit na dimples niya. "So, why didn't you join them?" he asked. Naka-sandal na siya ngayon doon sa may pader. He was facing me and looking at me habang naninigarilyo siya. In other circumstances, kanina pa ako nakaalis dito dahil ayoko ng nakaka-sagap ng secondhand smoke... pero dito kay Lui? Ewan ko ba kung bakit nandito pa rin ako. 'Di na ako magtataka kung next time ay hihingi na rin ako ng sigarilyo sa kanya para maging bonding namin 'to.
Gosh, Italia! Ganon ba talaga ka-magical iyong dick na nabobobo ka na?
"I wanna sleep."
"You like to sleep," he said like it was a matter of fact. Napa-kunot iyong noo ko sa sinabi niya. "You slept for hours."
"What? You watched me?" sabi ko sa kanya. "You little weirdo."
Natawa na naman siya sa akin. I noticed how white and straight his teeth were and lutang na lutang iyon dahil sa morenong balat niya. "I woke up because I needed to pee. You were sleeping like you're dead to the world."
"I was tired, okay."
"Napagod kita?"
Namula na naman iyong buong mukha ko. Damn him and his flirty ways! Kaya may nagsasabunutan dahil sa mga paganito niya, e!
"Shut up," I said and humalakhak na naman siya.
"You did say to make it memorable," he said. "Was it memorable?"
Nag-iwas ako ng tingin. Tinalikuran ko siya at saka pinatong iyong magkabilang braso ko doon sa may railings. Still, I could feel him watching me. Buti na lang at naka-fitted pants ako ngayon and cute iyong butt ko dito.
"It was good," I said as casually as I could. And while I still wasn't facing him, I drew a deep breath to ask him a question that had been bothering me. "Was it good... for you?"
Hindi ako humaharap sa kanya. Ayokong makita iyong itsura niya o kung anuman ang gagawin niya kaya naman lumakas iyong tibok ng puso ko nung tumabi siya sa akin. Naka-sandal iyong likod niya sa railings. I could smell his cologne... Ano'ng brand ba 'yan? Parang gusto kong bumili tapos iispray ko sa unan ko.
"It was."
"Oh."
Then there was a stretch of silence.
'Don't ask anymore,' the sane part of my mind kept on chanting.
"Then why didn't you text me?"
It wasn't even cold but my hands felt so cold while I was waiting for his response. I was down on the freaking ground for him. I was doing and saying things that I normally wouldn't do and say.
"Just curious," I added when a minute passed and hindi pa rin siya sumasagot.
"Because of the heart," he finally replied.
Napa-tingin ako sa kanya at napa-kunot iyong noo ko. "Heart?"
He put the cigarette in between his teeth once again and smoked. I watched as the smoke slowly appeared from his mouth. "You put a heart after your name," he said.
Napaawang iyong labi ko.
I did?!
"So, I didn't text you," he continued. "I didn't want to lead you on or anything."
Muli kong binaling iyong ulo ko pabalik sa mga sasakyan na dumadaan. I drew a deep breath. Okay, fine. If I really did put a freaking heart on the note, it was kind of understandable na hindi niya ako imemessage. I mean, he literally took my virginity tapos bigla akong mag-iiwan ng note na may heart pa?! Baka inisip niya na pinaplano ko na iyong kasal naming dalawa!
"Idiot," I said.
"What?" nabigla na natawa na sabi niya.
I faced him again. "We're about to take the BAR. Did you seriously think na naghahanap ako ng love life?"
Napa-kunot iyong noo niya. I arched my brow at him. I could still hear my heart beating inside my chest, but I was good at controlling the expressions on my face.
"Really," he said like he wasn't buying what I was saying.
I nodded. "Really," I repeated.
"Okay... I just thought that—" he said and then paused.
"Thought what?"
He gave a small shrug. "Nothing."
"Come on," I said, annoyed na magsasabi siya ng ganon tapos hindi niya itutuloy.
"Because when you look at me, you look at me like you want me to be the father of your kids."
Napaawang iyong labi ko sa sinabi niya. "Wow, ang kapal."
Natawa siya. "I mean, that's how you look like to me."
"Little Mr. Delulu."
Tumawa siya at saka tuluyan ng pinatay iyong sigarilyo niya. "Was I wrong?"
"Yes."
"Really?" he asked, now in that flirty tone na ginamit niya sa akin that night kaya napa-punta ako sa condo niya.
"Really," I replied. "I mean, the dick is good. 10/10 would recommend."
Muli siyang natawa. "What the fuck are you? Google review?"
"I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if may Google review ka," I said as casually as I could. "No offense."
He just smiled at me and showed me his dimple. "None taken," he replied. "My turn to ask you a question."
"Sure."
"Were you disappointed that I didn't message you?"
Tumingin lang ako sa kanya. I could hear the beating of my heart. "Yes," I simply replied.
Instead of answering me, he got his phone from his pocket, unlocked it, went to the messaging app. I saw him typing Ta until my name appeared on the contact suggestion. He... saved my number.
'Hi,' he sent the message. My phone finally freaking vibrated with the notification that I had been waiting for.
And once again... I found myself in Lui's bed.
**
This story is already at Chapter 06 patreon.com/beeyotch. Subscription starts at 100php per month for all stories. You can also join the patreon facebook group. You can email beeyotchpatreon@gmail.com for assistance :) Thank you!