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CHAPTER 12
*RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING*
Sinubukan kong buksan yung mata ko. Habang ginagawa ko yun, sinubukan ko na ding hindi maasar. Chineck ko yung orasan sa tabi ko at nakita na 6 am pa lang.
6 AM?!? Seriously?
At sino naman kasi tong tumatawag? Grabe, ang sarap murahin.
"Hello?"
"Andreiaaaaaaaa!" three voices shouted. I winced and groaned. "Guys, six am pa lang dito. Utang na loob," sagot ko.
"Eh sorry! Hindi naman kami sanay dyan sa mga time differences na yan kagaya niyo ni Reeve! Ang sungit mo ha!" Aubrey shouted. Sumakit lalo yung ulo ko. Parang pumipintig na.
"Sorry. Too much frozen margaritas last night. Sakit ng ulo ko."
"Hmph! Ayan buti nga sayo," sagot ni Aubrey.
"Soooo. Lasing ka... Did anything interesting happen?" MC asked.
Umikot ako sa kama at humiga ng mas komportable. Kasabay nun, I sighed. Eto nanaman tong si MC.
"Wala no. After ng wedding reception, pumunta kami ni Reeve sa fountain. Nag-usap hanggang after midnight. Yun lang. Tapos hinatid nya na ko sa room ko,"
"Ano ba yan! Ni hindi mo man lang siya kiniss!"
"Do best friends kiss each other?" tanong ko.
"No. Pero that would be the case kung best friends nga lang talaga kayo. But we all know na hindi naman ganun. I know na complicated ang relationship mo with Reeve pero one thing's for sure, you guys are sooo not only best friends," sagot ni Ellie.
"Tamaaaa!" sigaw nanaman ni Aubrey.
"Guys. Maawa naman kayo sakin. May hangover ako at 6 am pa lang. 6 am is like 3 am in Vegas!"
"Fine. Ang sungit talaga! Tumawag ka na lang samin pag may kwento ka na. Byeeee!"
I clicked end call and covered my face with a pillow. Salamat naman at makakatulog na din. I closed my eyes.
Parang kakapikit ko pa lang ng bigla nanaman akong nagising dahil may kumakatok sa pinto. But when I checked the clock again, 9:30 AM na. Grabe naman talaga. Gusto kong magmura hanggang sabunin na nila yung bibig ko sa dumi.
Parang kulang na kulang pa yung tulog ko. Ganito yung feeling pag nagpuyat ka kakaaral. Tapos matutulog ka at parang kakalapat pa lang ng ulo mo sa unan, biglang kelangan nanaman gumising at pumasok.
Tumayo na ako. Buti na lang nawala na yung sakit ng ulo ko.
"Who's there?"
"Drei, it's me." Shet. Si Reeve! Napatingin ako sa kaliwa kung san may mirror. Yung buhok ko mukhang pugad ng ibon. Yung ilalim ng mata ko maitim dahil kulang sa tulog at yung ayaw matanggal na mascara. At ang putla ko pa!
"Reeve?" I squeaked. "Wait lang!"
Biglang bumukas yung pinto. Pumasok siya and huminto ng makita niya ako. Napahinto din ako sa gulat. Una, ang gwapo niya talaga. Pangalawa, ang aga aga tapos bihis na siya! Nakasuot sya ng fit na black shirt at denim pants. Then, rubber shoes. Yung brown niyang buhok, medyo basa pa at halatang kakashower lang niya.
"What the hell?!?" sigaw ko nung natauhan na ko. Reeve threw back his head and laughed. He kept on laughing and laughing even though I glared at him. Nabwisit na ko. Di ko talaga to araw. Tinalikuran ko siya at lumakad na papuntang banyo. Baka pag nagshower ako, mahimasmasan na din ako at mahugasan lahat ng kamalasan ko.
I stopped when Reeve ran and blocked the door.
"Move," I hissed. Hanggang ngayon tumatawa pa din siya. Badtrip.
"I'm sorry for laughing. You just looked so cute. When I opened the door you looked like a kid who got caught with his hand still in the cookie jar."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not cute. My hair looks like a bird's nest and my face still has traces of make-up I wasn't able to remove coz I'm drunk. Now move so I can finally have a bath!" tumawa nanaman siya. I stomped my foot. "Go wait for me in the lobby. Your presence irritates me," sabi ko.
Tumigil na siya tumawa. He frowned. "What? Why?"
I waved my hand and indicated him from his perfect brown hair down to his sneaker-clad foot. "How can someone look so perfect in the morning?" I sighed. Tapos napatigil ako. Nanlaki mata ko ng narealize ko kung ano yung lumabas sa bibig ko.
Reeve also stopped. Then, he smiled and something flashed in his eyes. Sobrang laki ng ngiti niya na parang tumigil nanaman yung puso ko.
"Awww. That's so sweet, Drei!" he teased.
"Shut up."
"You should try writing poetry.
"Shut uuuuup."
"Your shower awaits, milady," Reeve said with a smirk.
Then, he bowed gallantly and stepped away from the door. Napa eye-roll nanaman ako. Parang ewan talaga tong lalaking to.
- ☎ -
Thirty minutes later, bihis na ako. Ginaya ko na lang yung bihis ni Reeve and wore a simple blue blouse with black leggings and pumps. No make-up. Powder lang and some lip gloss and I was good to go. Paglabas ko ng kwarto ko, wala na dun si Reeve. Buti na lang no. Ang weird naman kung nakita niya akong naka-towel lang.
So bumaba na ako sa lobby and went directly to one of their five-star restaurants. Pagpasok ko, nakita ko agad si Reeve. It was as if we had this connection that I don't know how to describe. When I go into the room, I immediately feel his presence and know where he is without even looking for him.
Weird, di ba? I don't think I even described it properly. There are just no words.
Nakaupo siya sa isang booth malapit sa may bintana. Dahil dito, nakaderecho sa kanya yung araw. The sunlight turned his brown hair gold and it looked like a halo. Right now, he seemed like some sort of angel.
Nakapikit siya pero saktong pagpasok ko ng restaurant, he blinked and looked straight at me. He smiled when he saw me and it lit up his entire face.
"Hey," bati niya as he pulled out the chair for me.
"Good morning," sagot ko.
"I ordered coffee for you."
Kape! Tuwing umaga para akong lobat na cellphone at kape ang charger ko. Hindi ako makakausap ng matino hanggat wala akong kape.
"Yay! Thanks!"
"I see that the shower cooled down your temper."
Muntik na kong masamid sa iniinom kong kape. "I'm not a morning person," sagot ko.
Reeve just raised an eyebrow.
"I don't know how people can wake up so early and just be cheerful about it. I can't. I need a shower and a cup of coffee first."
Reeve nodded. "Noted."
Ayan nanaman yang noted na yan. Ano ba ibig nyang sabihin dun? Ugh.
"So do you have anything planned for today?" tanong niya.
"Nope. You?" sagot ko habang binabasa yung menu na inabot nung waiter. Naglalaway na ako habang tinitignan ko yung mga pictures. Grabe na yung gutom ko.
Umiling siya. Then, he leaned forward. "But right now, I'm thinking that maybe we could go shopping."
Shopping? Did he just say shopping? Pumalakpak yung tenga ko.
"Count me in!" I shouted.
Reeve smiled and drank his coffee.
"So what are you getting for breakfast?"
"Can't decide." I flipped through the pages again. Ang daming choices at ang sasarap lahat pero wala talaga ako mapili.
"I've tried most of their dishes here. Let me order for you?"
"Okay," sagot ko sabay baba sa menu. Tinawag na ni Reeve yung waiter who quickly introduced himself.
"She'll have the Monte Cristo Sandwich and I'll have the Almont Crusted French Toast with a plate of poached eggs and bacon. Then we'll also have the buttermilk crepes. Two, please."
"Excellent choice, sir. For the crepes, would that be raspberry or peaches?"
Reeve looked at me. I opened my mouth to speak pero inunahan niya na ako. "She's allergic to raspberries. She hates peaches. Do you have any mangoes? That's her favourite."
"Yes we do, sir. I'll tell the chef. And for you?"
"No fruits. Please just add yogurt to my crepe."
Nung umalis yung waiter, yung taas ng kilay ko hanggang buhok ko na ata. Una, naalala pa ni Reeve na allergic ako sa lahat ng fruits na nag-eend sa berry at na ayaw ko ng peaches. Pangalawa, yogurt?
"What?" tanong ni Reeve nung nakatingin pa din ako sa kanya.
"Crepes and yogurt is weird," sagot ko.
"Well, dipping bananas in tomato ketchup is weirder, Drei," he tossed back. Then, he acted like he was going to vomit.
Aba! Bwisit talaga tong lalakeng to! Wala na, natahimik na ako. Guilty. Masarap naman talaga isawsaw yung saging sa tomato ketchup eh! Tamis-asim! Reeve smiled. Yung ngiti niya, ngiti ng nanalo. Sige, I concede this time. Sya na ang nanalo sa round na to.
Reeve grabbed his phone at naging busy na sya dun. So kinuha ko na lang din yung telepono ko at nagcheck ng mga notifs. Narealize ko lang din na hindi ko pa pala napopost yung mga pics. Pinili ko yung pinakawacky naming pic ni Reeve and posted it on my Facebook.
Caption: Finally, it's real.
As in totoo na talagang magkasama kami. Bahala na sinong makakita. Bahala na isipin nila. Wala akong pakialam sa mga chismosang napakaboring ng buhay kaya kelangan nilang pag-usapan yung ibang tao. Bahala na kung iisipin nila na rebound ko siya kay Mike.
Basta sa sarili ko, alam ko ang totoo.
Wala pang ilang segundong nakapost, may twenty likes na! And three comments.
Ellie Alcantara: Daaaaamn.
MC Reyes: 9/10 on the hotness scale.Tanong mo shoe size nya so we can estimate his you-know-what! Shoe size divided by two plus one equals the number of inches.
Aubrey Gonzales: OMG! This is it!
Ellie Alcantara: @MC Reyes Sometimes I wonder why we're even friends. *facepalm*
Aubrey Gonzales: @MC Reyes Mehehehe. <3
Padami pa ng padami yung likes at comments. Sobrang natawa ako dun sa iba. Yung iba naman nagtatanong sino daw yun. Halatang gustong malaman para sa chismis. Buti na lang dumating na yung food at binaba ko na yung phone. Pareho kaming tahimik ni Reeve habang kumakain. Grabe na kasi yung gutom ko at hindi talaga ako makapagsalita kakalamon. Hindi ko napansin na nakatingin na pala sakin si Reeve.
"Please don't eat the plate," he teased.
I rolled my eyes. "I'm hungry."
"Glad to know you eat like a horse rather than like a rabbit like those supermodels."
"I love food. Besides, I eat what I want and not get too fat. I'm a lucky girl," sagot ko in-between ng mga subo.
Kumain na din si Reeve at siya naman yung tinitigan ko. Ang gwapo niya talaga. Teka, ilang beses ko bang uulit ulitin to? Daang libong beses pa siguro. Totoo naman eh.
Naubos ko na lahat ng pagkain ko at di pa tapos si Reeve. Ang bagal niya kumain! Eh gusto ko na magshopping! Nagulat na lang ako when someone called my name.
Reeve stopped eating and looked up. So did I.
It was Ryan Ayala.
"Hello,"
"Hi! Ryan this is Reeve. Reeve, Ryan." Buti na lang naalala ko yung manners ko at inintroduce sila. They shook hands pero parang may tension sa gitna nilang dalawa. Si Reeve nakatingin kay Ryan na para bang may gusto siyang alamin. Si Ryan naman parang cool lang.
"Join us, please," sabi ko to ease the tension.
"Thanks," sabi ni Ryan sabay upo sa tabi ko. Di ko naman akalain na tatanggapin nya yung offer. Para lang sana yun maging polite. Kumbaga tayong mga Pilipino lagi tayong magyayaya kumain sa kahit sino pero offer lang naman yun.
"Di kita nakitang umalis kagabi ah. I wanted to ask for your number," sabi ni Ryan as he handed me his phone.
"Err..." Yun na lang nasabi ko while I punched in my number. After, I glanced at Reeve. Ako lang ba o parang nanlilisik yung mata niya? If glares could kill, patay na siguro si Ryan.
Sa wakas napansin din ata ni Ryan yung kilos ni Reeve. He leaned closer to me and whispered. "Boyfriend mo?"
I shook my head. "Best friend."
Suddenly,there was a loud noise. Natabig ni Reeve yung orange juice nya and it was flooding the table! Nagulat ako sa ingay and turned towards my best friend He was busy wiping away the stain on his shirt with a huge scowl on his face.
"Ahh. I see," Ryan said. Parang may nag-iba sa tono niya. He actually sounded smug.
Ryan stood up and faced Reeve with a huge smile on his face. "Nice meeting you, Reeve. I'd better go. I have to meet somebody," sabi niya.
Then, with one last glance at me, he walked away.
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Sinong pupuntang PFF 2? Akoooo! hahaha. See you, guys! <3