Jeric woke up the next morning with a smile plastered on his face. It is going to be a good day. He has no training today, so he lazily got up and checked on his phone. He has two unread messages.
From: Kevin Ferrer
Paps, may gagawin ka ba ngayon? Bonding naman tayo, miss ka na namin e. Hahaha.
He smiled upon reading this text and immediately replied.
To: Kevin Ferrer
Wala naman. Wala kaming training. Tara, G ako, san tayo?
As he waited for Kev's reply, he checked the other message.
From: Sophie Dela Paz
Hey there! Thanks again for yesterday. Anyway, have a good day! :))
He again smiled, he just realized that his relationship with Sophie has improved a lot ever since their first meeting. Aside from that, Sophie's attitude towards other people has improved too, he wasn't able to see that harsh and mean girl that he was able to see in that photo shoot. He smiled again. He remembered the first time that he saw her. He immediately felt something for her, that something makes him want to see her so bad, it makes him want to see right through her, because inside her, there is something broken that he needs to fix, but she just won't allow anyone to see it. He wonders why he feels that way, but, it's just the way that it is. And based from what he is seeing right now, it seems as if he is succeeding, she is opening up, and she is improving in a lot of ways.
He replied to the message.
To: Sophie Dela Paz
Hey, I already said no prob. Do you have any plans today?
He waited for a reply. He hopes that she is, he wanted his teammates to get to know her. After about a minute, his phone vibrated.
From: Sophie Dela Paz
I have some appointments this morning, something with some University stuff, but after lunch I'm already free. :))
He smiled again. Looks like the odds are in his favor.
To: Sophie Dela Paz
Okay, I'll fetch you. :))
From: Sophie Dela Paz
You could. But you don't know where my house is. Hahaha. Anyway, kita na lang tayo sa may Rockwell. :)))
To: Sophie Dela Paz
Okay, I'll just see you there.
After sending the text message he got another text. He checked it.
From: Kevin Ferrer
Bowling na lang daw paps.
Good! He thought.
To: Kevin Ferrer
Bowling na lang sa rockwell. After lunch a. See you and the boys!!
He checked the clock, it's just 10:00 am. It's still too early but he got up and ate his late breakfast. It's going to be a very fun day.
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"Paaaaaps!!!!" The tigers chorused the moment they saw Jeric.
Jeric just laughed at them and gave each of them a fist bump and a manly hug.
"Paps, mukhang blooming na blooming ka a. Hahaha." Kev started the teasing.
"Oo nga paps mukhang may mga hindi ka na kinukwento samin a. Tsk. Tsk." Aljon followed.
He just looked at them. These guys really know him so well. And he knows them too well that he already knows that they already have made their own research before asking him any questions.
"So papi, who's the lucky girl?" Kim asked.
"Chill lang mga papi. Babawi ako sa mga kwento, and you'll know her soon." Jeric explained.
"Yunnnn!" They chorused again. As they walk their way to the bowling alley, Jeric excused himself to call Sophie.
It took her a few rings before she was able to answer.
"Hello" she said sweetly.
"Hey. Are you at Rockwell already?"
"Yeah. What about you?"
"I'm already here. Where are you?"
"I'm still with my parents. I'll just go to where you are later, we're kinda discussing something." She said. Jeric somehow heard uneasiness in her voice, but since she's not saying anything about it, he just decided to let it go.
"Okay, I'll be at the bowling alley. I'll wait for you."
"Okay." She said and then ended the call. He became worried but decided to just ask her when she's already with him. That way, he can see her reactions.
He caught up with the tigers and they got inside the bowling alley. They immediately started playing the moment they got inside. Jeric played with them but kept his phone on his pocket, so that he can easily know if Sophie will text him.
"So papi, going back to you." Kev started. He just smiled at them, ready to tell the whole story, since it looks like they are not going to give up the topic.
He told them the whole story, from the moment he met Sophie, to all the recent developments. He made sure to leave out the parts that he knows she's not going to be comfortable talking about.
"Naku papi, hindi ba high maintenance yan? Ang yaman ng pamilya e." Aljon commented the moment he finished his story.
"Hindi paps, kasi unang una, hindi ko sya girlfriend" he immediately got so many negative reactions right after he said that. "Saka pangalawa, laki siya sa hirap kaya sobrang cowboy nya. Kahit nga sa basketball court mo lang dalhin, masayang masaya na yun e."
"Marunong mag-basketball papi?" Tata asked.
"Oo. Hindi lang marunong. Magaling." He proudly said.
"Gusto ko yan. Mukhang one of the boys." Kev said and gave Jeric a high five.
"Pero teka, ano nga bang status nyo?" Kent asked. All the tigers curiously looked at Jeric.
"Right now, we're just good friends. We are happy with it, I also don't wanna rush things, so I really think I am just going to enjoy the moment as it is" he answered.
"But you like her paps?" Kent asked again.
Jeric just looked at his former teammates and brothers. He also doesn't know the answer to this question. Does he like her? He looked helplessly at them again. At that moment, the tigers knew that they should not press on anymore and just decided to let the topic go.
"So, kelan nga namin sya mami-meet?" Kim finally asked after a moment of silence.
As if on cue, Jeric's phone vibrated. He checked it and smiled the moment he saw who the caller is.
"Now." He said then looked at them first before answering his phone.
The tigers were left dumbfounded, completely clueless of what their captain mean. They helplessly looked at each other, and decided to just wait for him to come back.
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After a few minutes, Jeric came back together with a beautiful lady. The tigers were all stunned by her beauty. She's just wearing a plain v-neck shirt that fits her body, and a high-waisted floral shorts and a flats.
It was when Jeric started to speak when they realized that they're all staring at her.
"Mga papi, nahihiya na si Sophie jan sa kakatitig nyo e." He said and they think he's right, because when they looked at her, she's blushing. "Ngapala mga papi, si Sophie, kaibigan ko, Soph, eto nga pala ang UST Growling Tigers, si Kent, Kev, Aljon, Tata at si Kim." He introduced.
"Hi." Sophie said shyly.
"Hi, Sophie, nice to finally meet you." Tata said. He was the first one to recover.
"Hi." The tigers said in unison.
Sophie smiled. "Hi, are you already playing?" She asked
"Yeah, you wanna join?" Aljon nicely said.
"Can I?" She asked worriedly.
"Of course!!" They all said.
They then started playing bowling. They were all shocked that Sophie can play bowling very well. They exchanged more stories, and jokes. After quite some time, they were already very comfortable with each other, especially Sophie. Being one of the boys, and having four guy best friends, she's really used to being around guys. However, on the other hand, she feels sad. She really misses them, she wanted to talk to them, say how sorry she was, but she guessed she'll have to wait for that. But for now, she's just going to enjoy the moment.
After hours of playing bowling, they were all tired, and their arms are all hurting. Exhausted, they decided to eat at the nearest restaurant from the bowling alley.
All the guys seemed surprised with the amount of food that she ordered, but she just decided to ignore them since she was so hungry.
"So, Sophie. I heard from our beloved captain that you are good in basketball" Kev said.
"Well, I can't really say that I am good, what I can proudly say is that I defeated your beloved captain in a one-on-one game, and I won by 14 points." She said proudly and smirked at Jeric.
"Whoah cap. Pinakain ka ng alikabok dun a." Tata said, and it earned a lot of laughs from the tigers and Sophie.
They continued bantering and teasing Jeric until they finished dinner. Before leaving the restaurant, Jeric excused himself to go to the men's room.
"Hey Sophie, thanks for today." Kent said, the moment Jeric is out of the vicinity.
"I think I'm the one who should thank you guys, for letting me come with you," she said and smiled.
"No, it's fine, you seem to make our captain happy." Aljon responded.
"Yeah, and that is another thing. Thanks for that." Kev said. Sophie doesn't understand what the guys are talking about so she gave them a confused look.
"Maybe you won't understand that. It's a long story, but in summary, we haven't seen him this happy for quite a long time now. Something happened and after that, he was broken and devastated, and even though how much he try to hide it, we can all see it. We can all see the pain that he's feeling. He pretended to be happy, and maybe, he really is happy, but it's just.... different. But, when he started hanging out with you, it all changed. We can see the spark in his eyes again. And we think that we should thank you for that." Tata explained.
She is still confused but she just saw Jeric walking towards the table, signaling the end of the conversation, so she just decided to let it go, for now.
After dinner, the boys all agreed to walk Sophie to her car since her driver is waiting in the parking lot. The other boys are walking ahead of them, giving Jeric and Sophie some time to talk.
"I could've just taken you to your house. You didn't have to bother your driver." Jeric said, disappointed that the day will be over just like that.
"No need na. Besides, you don't know where my house is." She said while smiling at him.
"Then you can just show me, so that I'll know next time."
"It's fine Jeric, there are still a lot of opportunities for that. You're my escort right?" Then she smiled again, obviously teasing him.
"Fine." He said defeated. "Anyway, is something bothering you?"
"Me? Nope. Why?"
"It's just that, earlier, you sounded really uneasy, so I got worried, I thought something might have happened" he said, still worried.
"It's fine. I promise" she said and at the same time, gave him a reassuring smile.
They reached the parking lot and they all bade Sophie goodbye. The boys, however, made her promise that she will hang out with them again.
After they saw her car left, they all bade their goodbyes to each other and went to where their cars are parked. Kev and Jeric walked together since their cars are parked near each other.
"Paps," Kev said when they're almost at his car.
"O?" Jeric inquired.
"We all like her." He smiled then continued. "She's nice, she knows how to mingle with guys, and most importantly, she makes you happy. We're glad that you're back, and we all hope you the best. Plus, she looks so awesome in everything and she's really beautiful. Nice catch!" He continued then get to his car.
Jeric just smiled with what Kev said. These guys are all like his brothers, and he knows that they really care for him. But most of all, he likes the idea that they like Sophie for him. At that point, he realized something. He knows that he's been out of the dating he for quite sometime, but the feeling that he's having towards her is really familiar, and right now, it looks like he will be able to identify it. He smiled again and went inside his car, he started his engine with the smile still on his face. I think I like her, he thought and drove home, happy and contented.
Author's Note:
Hi guys, here's a new update. Please enjoy! I would love to hear your comments and suggestions. Thank you for reading!!
Please don't forget to vote! :)))