SETH'S POV
"Hey Seth. Glad you made it." Tambad sakin ng isang babae na may kasamang tatlong kaibigan, lahat sila may hawak na mga pulang baso. Tumango lang ako sa kanila at dumaretcho pa paloob ng club para hanapin sina Ross at Jason. Nasa isang hotel club kami na paborito ni Ross because according to him, 'we can go wasted downstairs and fuck upstairs whenever'. Good point.
Ross has been nagging me about partying for quite a while na. Its a Saturday and as usual, inaaya nanaman nya akong lumabas. It just so happened na naubusan na ako ng excuse para tanggihan sya so pumayag na din ako.
Either way, wala din naman akong balak tumanggi this time. I need this to unwind. It's been a month since school started and totoo yung sinasabi nila na third year's your hardest year in college. Patong patong yung requirements at pataas na ng pataas yung expectation ng school samin. It's an institution for the elite, after all. Bukod pa dito, may responsibilities din ako kay Simon at may modelling work pa ako. I need this night.
I greeted a few people that I know bago ko makita sina Ross at Jason surrounded with some of our friends. Si Jason ay naglalaro ng bilyar habang si Ross ay nakaupo sa may sofa sa left ng pool table at may kahalikang babae. I nodded at Jason on my way to the couch. Nung umupo ako at nagsasalin ng alak ay saka lamang ako napansin ni Ross.
"Holy shit. May life outside school ka naman pala." bati sakin ni Ross habang nginitian lang ako noong babae nya.
"Gago. Marami akong ginagawa recently so fuck off." Ani ko pagkatapos inumin yung alak na isinalin ko. Medyo ninamnam ko pa yung guhit sa lalamunan ko at naramdaman agad yung pamilyar na init ng katawan gawa ng alak. Fuck, I missed this.
"Pero seriously bro, ang tagal mong nawala. You've been missing out here. Since the sem started, ang daming bagong chix dito." Komento ni Ross habang nagsasalin din ng sarili nyang inumin.
The club is exclusive at hindi agad agad nakakapasok dito. Unlike yung hotel sa taas na open to all who can afford it, yung club is for those na may membership lang. Its a few distance sa school pero it doesn't matter since I can see some familiar faces from different departments. At tama si Ross, may mga bagong mukha dito and they're not disappointing.
"Hmm. We'll see." Sabi ko bago itinaas yung baso sa labi ko at tinitingnan yung isang babaeng nagsasayaw sa dance floor. The lights are flashing so hindi ko gaano makita yung mukha nya but she got a voluptuous body wrapped in a bodycon dress with killer long legs. I think I found one that's interesting for the night.
Bumalik na si Jason sa table namin after nya maglaro ng bilyar at nag-inuman pa kami ng ilang minuto doon like the good old days. Nung may babaeng lumapit at naupo nanaman sa lap ni Ross ay saka ako tumayo to have my own fun. I went to the girl na tinitingnan ko kanina, she's already at the bar with her friend at mukhang nagpapahinga from dancing. I got a clear view of her finally and decided na I'm going to have my fun with her tonight.
"Hi." Bati ko doon sa babae na kinakausap yung short-haired friend nya. Malakas yung music around us but thankfully, narinig nya naman ako. She looked at me at nakita ko kaagad yung recognition sa mga mata nya. She told something sa kasama nya at maya maya ay naiwan na kaming dalawa.
"Hi. You're Seth, right?" Bati nya pabalik habang hawak ng parehong kamay nya yung shot glass sa harapan nya.
Sumignal ako sa bartender for a shot bago ko sya sinagot. "I'm surprised you know me. May I know your name?"
"Maddie."
"I haven't seen you around here before. You new here?" Naupo ako sa stool na katabi nya at ipinatong ang kamay ko sa may tuhod ko, just a couple of inches away sa hita niya. Hinihintay ko kung kakagat sya, and she did. Humarap pa sya sakin lalo, sakto lang para dumikit yung dulo ng daliri ko sa may gilid ng legs nya. I know when a woman is inviting me and I'm not about to decline.
"I'm a freshman and I had a friend na member dito. She told us na usual hangout place to ng mga students sa Beaufort and that I had to try it here."
Needless to say, a couple shots after and one drunken dance with her later, we found ourselves inside a hotel room busily grinding and making out. Thank God napilit ako ni Ross magpa-member.
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"Ughh." Nagising ako when I felt something gliding on my body. Napansin ko na may kamay na gumagapang sa katawan ko and getting closer to my junk.
Fuck, ang sakit ng ulo ko. Pagmulat ko ay nakita ko ang pamilyar na kisame ng hotel room. I've forgotten how many times I've woken up to that view, all with different women beside me. Nagflashback yung mga ginawa ko kagabi and I looked at the girl that I spent my night with, still caressing my body.
"Hi, hotshot." Bati nya sabay halik sakin.
Nginitian ko lang sya at tumayo ng kama. I don't make it a habit to cuddle with my bed partners after sex. Hinahanap ko yung cellphone ko to look at the time habang pinupulot din yung mga damit ko. Kita ko yung babae na nakasimangot na at nakatakip ang katawan ng kumot habang pinapanood ako.
Napansin kong may ilang missed calls at messages si Margaux sakin. That doesn't happen a lot. But when I looked at the time, it's already 9:34 am. Fuck. Nagmadali akong mag-ayos nung nagrealize kong tanghali na. Shit. I promised Margaux na uuwi ako before 6 am. What the fuck, Seth!
"Hey. Kailangan mo ba talagang umalis agad? It's a Sunday, you know? Want to spend the day with me?" Tanong sakin nung babae. I kinda forgot her name to be honest.
"Sorry. Got something to do." Sabi ko pagkalabas ng banyo at dirediretchong naglakad palabas ng hotel room. "Don't worry about the bill. I got it covered. Thanks for last night". With that, sinara ko yung pinto at dali daling pumunta sa parking.
Margaux told me na may group project sya na gagawin today at aalis sya ng 8 am para pumunta sa bahay nung kaklase nya. Nagpromise ako na uuwi ako ng 6am or before sya umalis para ako yung magbantay kay Simon. Holy shit.
I parked my car at dali daling pumasok ng bahay. I heard the tv bago ko pa man makita si Margaux na nakaupo sa sofa habang si Simon ay nasa carpet at naglalaro ng mga toy car nya. She's watching a movie pero tumingin sya sakin nung marinig ang pagbukas ng pinto. She just smiled at me at tinuon muli ang atensyon sa pinapanood nya.
Napakamot ako ng ulo at hindi alam ang sasabihin. Ngayon lang ako nalate sa usapan namin. "Hey. Sorry, hindi ako nakauwi agad. Napadami yung inom ko kagabi."
"It's okay." She looked at me and gave me a small smile again.
"Um, what about yung group project mo?" I asked her, habang nakatayo pa din sa may likod ng sofa.
"I told them na hindi ako makakapunta. Ipapasend ko na lang yung output nila and insert my part later."
"I'm sorry."
"Have you eaten na ba?" She paused the movie and looked at me for my answer. Saka ko lang naramdaman yung gutom at yung headache. Hangover's catching up nanaman.
"Not yet."
I watched her stand up and took Simon with her. "Can you take Simon sa room nya? Magluluto ako ng breakfast mo." She told me at pinasa si Simon sakin. With that, dumiretcho sya ng kusina at nagsimula nang mag-ayos ng pagkain.
Tiningnan ko pa ng ilang segundo yung pinto pakusina saka pumunta ng kwarto ni Simon at iniwan sya sa crib nya. Dumiretcho na rin ako ng kwarto namin to wash away last night's activities.
I feel kinda guilty for going home late. Alam ko kung gaano kastudious si Margaux. She likes finishing tasks as soon as possible, yet she adjusted some group project for me. Me who was out wilding and getting laid last night. I don't like this feeling.
Nagpapatuyo ako ng buhok nang kumatok si Margaux to tell me na tapos na syang magluto. I put the towel aside at lumabas na ng kwarto. Nakita ko si Margaux na naghahain sa lamesa habang nakaipit yung cellphone sa may leeg at may kausap.
"Yes. Kailangan din daw sa report ng financial analysis. May copy ako nung format, isesend ko sainyo later. Also, we have to explain kung pano naaapektuhan yung sales ng company depende sa iba't ibang factors... Yeah. Okay, ako bahala don. Thank you. Sorry uli." Ibinaba nya na yung call at saka ako napansin na nakatayo sa may tabi ng ref.
"Kain na then inom ka ng gamot. I'm sure masakit ulo mo." Sabi ni Margaux sabay patong ng ilang painkiller tablet sa tabi ng baso.
"Mga classmate mo ba yung kausap mo kanina?"
"Yeah. Medyo nahihirapan sila magkumpleto ng presentation since nasa akin yung ibang file na kailangan but we sorted it out naman na."
"Again, I'm sorry."
"And again, it's okay."
Naupo na ako at nagsimula nang kumain. Pinapanood ko si Margaux na maghugas ng kawali habang pasulyap sulyap sya sa kanyang cellphone na pauli-ulit umiilaw. Seems like hindi natapos yung usapan nya with her groupmates sa call kanina. I feel shitty on the inside. I continued eating while promising na babawi ako sa kanya next time.
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