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Note: Sorry natagalan yung update ngayon. Grabe sa work. Pamatay po sa pagod. :((
CHAPTER 19
I woke up with a smile on my face.
Unang beses yata sa buhay ko na hindi ako galit sa mundo paggising ko. Na hindi ko kailangan ng kape at ng shower para lang maramdaman kong tao na ko ulit at kaya ko nang harapin yung araw.
I rolled over on the wide bed at ang una kong nakita eh yung red rose na nakatali sa isang puting balloon. Kinuha ko yung unan ko at nilagay sa mukha ko para mapigilan yung kilig. Binili ni Reeve to kagabi nung naglalakad kami malapit dun sa fountain. Tapos ako naman, binilhan ko siya ng gummy bears. First time daw nya makakain nun at tuwang tuwa siya. So bumili pa kong isa.
All in all, it was a great night. A memory that's going to last in my heart forever.
Pero balik realidad na ngayon. Sabi ko kagabi, hindi ko muna iisipin kung ano yung mga pwedeng mangyari kasi baka mabaliw lang ako at syempre panira din yun ng moment. Actually, ayaw ko pa din isipin ngayon.
Sabi nga ni Reeve: we'll figure things out together.
I checked my watch and sobrang aga pa pala. It was just 6 AM. Natawa na lang ako. This is a first for me. Ang aga kong nagising tapos hindi ako badtrip. At parang ayaw ko na din bumalik sa kama.
Hmm... Maybe I can be the one who'll surprise Reeve for a change.
Nagmadali na kong maligo at magbihis. After twenty minutes, I was dressed in a white cashmere sweater, jeans and flats. Dumerecho agad ako sa baba ng hotel para bumili ng breakfast.
Inorder ko na yung favourite na yogurt ni Reeve pati na din yung mga croissant na gusto ko. Dinagdagan ko pa ng ibang food na hindi pa naming nattry. While waiting, I retrieved my phone from my bag and scrolled through my Facebook newsfeed.
Libo na yung likes sa picture namin ni Reeve.
Tapos ang dami ding comments! Karamihan galing kina Ellie, Aubrey at MC. Yung iba naman, galing sa mga chismosang nacurious sa kagwapuhan ni Reeve at tinatanong kung sino sya.
I snorted. Sorry, akin siya.
I continued scrolling through comments when I saw one from Mike.
Michael Go: Three-month rule, Andreia? Or is this just a rebound?
Tapos may 21 likes yung comment niya.
Pagkabasa nun, nandilim na yung paningin ko. Ang kapal ng mukha! This just ruined my perfect morning.
Oo, alam kong mabilis ang mga pangyayari.
Oo, alam ko yung tungkol sa three-month rule.
It's an unspoken rule that you'd have to wait three months before going into a new relationship. It says that those three months are needed to heal your broken heart and to prepare you for the next relationship. This is to stop people from falling too quickly and entering a rebound relationship only to get their hearts broken again.
If this were ordinary circumstances, I'd follow that rule. Baka sobrahan ko pa nga sa isang taon kesa tatlong buwan lang. Kasi after Mike, parang ang hirap na magtiwala.
But being with Reeve? It's different.
I think what we have even surpasses all unwritten rules of relationships.
Some would say that we're a disaster waiting to happen. I'd say we're a love that happened sometime between all those years that we were apart and was only acknowledged now.
Iba din kasi kapag best friend mo yung minahal mo.
Kilalang kilala mo na siya. There's no awkward getting-to-know-each-other phase. You already know each other and it's much deeper than what is known during the dating phase.
On the other hand, meron ding mga negative sides yun.
There's a very thin line between love and friendship. It's so easy to cross that line. But once you've crossed it there's no going back. What happens when love fails? I'm not sure either. But what I know is that things will never be the same again.
As they said: If two ex-lovers can still be friends it's either they're still in love or they never were. So... yes, may chance na maging friends pa ulit but it's one hell of a complication. I hope Reeve and I would never reach that point.
Nakakatakot tong kinalalagyan naming ngayon. We're standing on thin ice that can break any time. We're also on the edge of a cliff. We're on our way to safer ground but one wrong move and we'll fall on churning waves and jagged rocks below.
I sighed.
Ano ba naman tong mga iniisip ko. Masyadong nakakadepress. For now, I'll just live in the moment and face each day as it comes.
And as for Mike? Ignore. Sabi nga sa psychology class, kapag nagtantrum ang isang two-year old, iignore mo na lang kundi magiging spoiled. And that's exactly how he's acting right now: a spoiled, little two-year-old.
At para sa mga chismosa?
I opened my instagram account and opened the photo of the red rose tied to the balloon that I took before going to sleep last night. Nilagyan ko na din ng filter para mas matingkad ang kulay.
Then for the caption...
@AndreiaTan: He's a secret I'm not yet willing to share...
Tapos nilink ko na din sa Facebook at Twitter account ko. Bahala na silang mamatay sa kakaisip. Wala na akong pakialam.
Saktong pagkapost ko, dumating na yung order. Umakyat na ako agad to Reeve's penthouse suite. I walked as fast as I could ng biglang may humarang sa daan ko.
"Hello," a familiar voice said.
Nawala bigla yung galit ko. "Oh! Musta, Ryan?" tanong ko.
"Ayos naman. Ikaw ang kamusta?" tanong niya.
"Uhh... Medyo naging busy," sagot ko. Medyo namula yata yung pisngi ko sa kasinungalingan ko.
Ryan laughed. "Oo nga eh. Masyado kang busy hindi ka man lang nagrereply!"
Napakunot yung noo ko. Nabasa ko nga yung mga text niya kahapon at kagabi pero hindi ko na nareplyan. Last night, I was living inside my own world; a bubble of happiness no one could pop.
Pero ngayon naguilty ako. Sinamahan ako ni Ryan nung panahon na iniwan ako ni Reeve para sa Gizelle na yun. Dahil sa kanya, meron akong isang memory na never ever kong makakalimutan. Lalo lang akong naguilty nung naisip ko na kahit sina Aubrey, Ellie at MC ang tagal ko nang di kinakausap. Eh dati hindi lumalampas ang isang araw na hindi kami magtatawagan.
"Sorry..." yun na lang ang naisagot ko kay Ryan.
"It's okay. But you owe me, though. Bukas, babalik na ko sa Pilipinas. I'll call you when you get home, okay? Hmm... You owe me one big slice of pizza and root beer."
Parang gumaan yung loob ko sa sinabi niya. At least magkikita pa din kami. At makakabawi naman ako pag nilibre ko siya. Matutuloy din yung pinangako ko na magkkwentuhan kami.
"Okay, deal," sagot ko.
Ryan beamed. "Alright then. Bye, Andreia. See you in the Philippines!"
He placed his fingers near his temple and sent me a salute. I couldn't help it and I giggled. Ang cute tingnan eh. Para siyang bata. Kung si Reeve seryoso, si Ryan yung parang sobrang carefree na tao. And I guess I can admit na gwapo din naman sya. He certainly had his own charm.
Pero iba pa din si Reeve eh.
Nung naisip ko yun, mas lumaki yung ngiti ko. Nakangiti pa din ako nung dumating sa harap ng suite ni Reeve. As usual, andun nanaman yung bodyguard niya. He even inspected the food I brought but that's okay. It's for Reeve's safety.
Pagpasok ko ng kwarto niya, madilim pa. Nakatakip pa sa bintana yung mga kurtina at isang lamp lang ang nakabukas. Madaming pinto at hindi ko nanaman alam alin dun yung bedroom. Basta yung unang pinto sa kanan ay yung parang office so hindi na yun.
Alin kaya dito?
Bubuksan ko na sana isa-isa yung mga pinto ng biglang sumilip ulit ung bodyguard ni Reeve. "Double doors straight ahead," bulong niya. "Gotcha," tapos dumiretso na ko papunta sa kwarto.
Dahan-dahan lang yung lakad ko para di siya magising. Dahan-dahan ko ding binuksan yung pinto. Pagpasok ko, nakita ko na si Reeve. Nakaputing silk pajama bottom lang siya. Wala siyang suot na pangtaas!
My jaw dropped.
Even in the dim light, he's perfect.
Relaxed na relaxed yung mukha niya habang natutulog. Tapos yung posisyon niya, nakatagilid tapos may yakap siyang unan. Pero nasa may bandang mukha niya yung unan kaya kitang kita ko yung abs niya.
Yes, abs.
Six-pack. Abs na tipong pagpapantasyahan ni MC pag nakita niya. Ganito din kaya yung abs nung Vince na nakabody shot niya? Kung oo, ay grabe lang. Grabe talaga.
MC was the abs kind of girl. Ako naman, biceps. Napatingin tuloy ako sa braso niya. Napalunok na lang ako sa nakita ko. Yep, biceps were totally my thing. And now I have a new favourite: Reeve's.
Yung katawan niya, hindi yung mataba hindi din naman payat. Tama lang. Lean and muscled were the perfect words to describe him. Yung muscles na dahil sa gym o sa sports. Hindi yung gawa ng steroids na muscles na sobrang exaggerated.
Ang tagal ko lang siyang tinitigan. Siguro nung siya naman yung pumasok sa kwarto ko ganun din yung ginawa niya. A la Edward Cullen lang ang peg. Ngayon, ako naman.
As carefully as I could, I lay on his bed facing him. I tucked one arm under my cheek and just stared. Napakaunfair talaga ng mundo. May mga taong mukhang nahulog sa langit kapag natutulog. Ako? Mukhang kinaladkad ni Satanas paikot-ikot sa impyerno.
Slowly, Reeve's eyes opened and warm, blue eyes stared at me.
At first he looked confused but then he smiled.
"I can get used to waking up like this," bulong niya.
I scrunched my nose.
"Toothbrush first," I teased. Reeve rolled his eyes, opened his mouth wide and exhaled. Di naman talaga ganon kabaho pero nagkunwari akong sukang suka. Lahat na ata ng acting skills ko binuhos ko na dun.
Reeve laughed. In a move so quick that I didn't even get the chance to anticipate it, he lunged for me. I yelped in shock when the wind was suddenly knocked out of my lungs. Buti na lang di ko hawak yung mga pinamili ko kanina kundi nagkalat na yun sa kama ngayon.
I felt Reeve's weight on top of me as he pinned me down. But I resisted and tried to buck him off. We ended up rolling over the wide bed with the sheets tangling between our bodies.
Reeve was laughing and I laughed as well. Sinusubukan niya akong hulihin. Sinusubukan niyang hawakan yung batok ko kasi alam niyang napakalakas ng kiliti ko dun. Yung tipong mukhang kinokombulsyon na. Pero syempre di ako papatalo. Alam kong malakas yung kiliti niya sa paa. Habang inaabot niya yung batok ko, ako naman gusto kong hilahin yung paa niya.
Ang resulta? Chaos.
Sa sobrang kakatawa ko hindi na ko makahinga. Hanggang sa napagod na ko.
"Stop! I surrender!" I shouted. Reeve stilled and exhaled. Then, he closed his eyes.
Parang tumigil nanaman yung oras.
Bumilis nanaman yung tibok ng puso ko. Isang araw na lang talaga titigil na to eh. Di na kakayanin. Nag short-circuit na kumbaga. Pano ba naman, Reeve was pinning me down with that hot, glorious, half-naked body of his.
He opened his eyes and we were so close that I looked directly into his blue eyes. Time slowed even more.
Eto na yun di ba? Yung sa mga movies? Yung magkikilitian tapos biglang titigil at magmomoment? Yung biglang may tutugtog na slow na song na sobrang nakaka LSS? Tapos magtititigan yung mga bida.
And then boom, kissing-slash-intense-make-out-scene. One that's going to make you lose your breath and make you flush with heat.
Eto na nga ba yun?
Lalong bumilis yung tibok ng puso ko. It seemed as if several minutes have passed with us just looking into each other's eyes. I was waiting for him to make a move and I guess he was waiting for me as well.
Nung hindi pa din siya gumalaw, I decided for us.
I lifted both my hands and placed it on his chest. Then, I pushed with all my remaining strength. Reeve was so surprised at the move and he wasn't able to brace himself. He ended up rolling over the bed and directly onto the floor.
Bakit ko ginawa yun when I could've grabbed his head and pulled his lips to mine instead?
I guess I didn't want us to be another cliché.
Hindi naman kami mga artista sa isang pelikula. Hindi kami characters sa isang libro. Totoong buhay na to and things are different. Sa libro, boy meets girl then they fall in love. Throw in some drama and then the resolution. Then, they live happily ever after. Ayoko ng ganun.
Some things are good when it's fast but some things are better when it takes time. Parang love. Love is like the finest wine. The tastiest and most expensive ones are the ones that are aged slowly.
Whatever this is that we have, we're going to figure it out. We're not going to rush. We're not going to do things that would confuse us even more. We'll discover what it is that we have for each other then we can re-enact all the romantic book and movie scenarios in existence.
Reeve groaned. He slowly stood up and rubbed his hip. Then, he turned to me and pouted. Pero parang nakikita kong tumatakbo na sa isip niya yung plano niyang gumanti sakin.
"Oops!" i shouted as I held up both hands to stop him.
"What?"
"You can't be mad at me. And you can't get your revenge," sabi ko. Kinuha ko yung paperbag na naglalaman nung mga pagkain.
"I brought food!" sabi ko. Nilagay ko sa kama yung mga pagkain na tila ba mga peace-offering. Reeve only grunted but I heard his stomach growl. Lalo lang lumaki yung ngiti ko.
Without another word, we opened all the containers and ate our hearts out.
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Reeveted! <3
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