Him
“what are you doing now?” she asked
“i’m right by the beach looking at a really nice sunset” I said in reply while sitting on the beach with sand between my toes and my phone near my ear.
“really? I’m looking at a pretty sunset too!” she said in a positive tone
“is that so? Well that’s perfect!”
“how is that perfect?”
“it means we’re looking at the exact same sunset. It doesn’t even feel like i’m far away from you anymore”
“that was so cheesy ravena”
“ganon talaga. I miss you po”
I’m currently in Iloilo right now with my teammates. Flew here to play a couple of games and also bond with the team. We arrived days ago, and today is actually our last night before leave for manila tomorrow. Funny how our stay here was actually less than a week but it sure felt longer than that.
Flashback
“flight number PAL637 to Iloilo is now boarding” one of the flight attendant’s just announced.I grabbed my carry on and fell in line to our assigned gateway which lead to our plane.
“good morning Mr. Ravena” a kind flight attendant greeted. I returned the smile.
“Bro where do you wanna sit?” Thirdy asked while placing his bags on the overhead compartments.
“the usual window seat” I take my seat and buckled my seatbelt. I took my phone out from my pocket and started typing a message
“I texted Mama na we’re inside the plane” Thirdy said
“ah ganon ba? I’ll just text....nevermind” I stop at mid-sentence
“Mika?” he asked teasingly
“....yeah?”
“how was your visit to taft pala?”
Double flashback
I parked my car in greencourt near starbucks. I made my way to archers which was right across. I stood at the steps of the entrance and I placed my jacket’s hood over my head. Not before long, I felt someone poking my waist.
“BOO!”
“ay shet”
“hahahaha did i scare you?” she said while chuckling
“ay hindi. Hindi talaga”
“sorry naman mr. Grumpy”
“i’m not grumpy!!!” I answer defensively
“whatever you say...”
“bully mo talaga”
She had her tongue out and was then followed by a smile and fluttering eyes.
“why are you dressed like that? Kidnaper ba ang peg natin?”
“baka may maka recognize eh. I’m atenean whose basically standing at a lasallian’s territory”
“don’t tell me you actually take the rivalry seriously?”
“syempre hindi! Just taking precaution. You know how alumnis are”
“touché. Oh but kiefer?”
“yeah?”
“maybe next time, try not to wear an atenean jacket”
I look at my jacket and I didn’t realize the jacket had a huge Ateneo word written in front.
“oh damn. I meant to use my normal gray jacket. Looks like I grabbed the wrong one”
“oh well papel”
“saan mo gusto kumain” I said in attempts to shift the conversation
“somewhere in or around MOA” she answered firmly
“tired of taft food?” I asked
“well no. but I don’t want to get weird looks from people around here”
“gotcha, MOA or around MOA it is!”
We made our way to the parking lot where I had just parked. Before getting in the driver’s seat, I opted to open the door of the side where she’ll be sitting first.
“naks. Is this what you call chivalry?” she said teasingly
“syempre I’m a gentleman” I reply proudly
We eventually decided to eat at a ramen restaurant not far from MOA. We figured that if we pursued eating in MOA, there would be greater chances of strangers oddly staring at us.
While I gleefully feast my soup and noodles, I could sense two eyes staring quite intently at me.
“why’d you stop eating? Ayaw mob a inorder mo?” I asked after swallowing a spoonful of warm soup
She remained mum with eyes still glued to mine
“what’s the matter? Can’t keep your eyes off me?” I teased while raising both my eyebrows
Still mute but she managed to form a smile.
I dropped my chopsticks and spoon then proceeded to wipe my mouth with a handkerchief
“what’s on your mind miks?”
“if they ask…what should I say? What will we say?”
“ask about?”
“us?”
“keep them guessing” I said and continued to eat my food. I looked up at her once more and it seems like she was not satisfied with my answer.
“Mika, we don’t owe them an explanation. Unless it’s our parents, family, close friends and teammates. Of course.”
She nodded and diverted her attention back to her food. Before picking up her spoon, I reached out for her left hand and placed my right one top of it.
“Miks, sa totoo lang I wouldn’t mind telling them we’re dating. But I know how much you value privacy and I will do the best I can to not take that away from you. We’ll figure this out..okay superstar?”
She smiled back. And all throughout dinner, I didn’t realize I held her hand the entire night.
We’re back in La Salle and currently parked right outside her dorm’s gate. I speedily went out and opened her door again.
“thank you for dinner Kief. I had fun”
“same here! I’ll see you in a week?”
“what time does your flight leave tomorrow?”
“around 10am most likely”
“text me pag nasa plane ka na ha”
“ooooh looks like someone’s concerned” I pinched her waist and she answered by lightly hitting my head
“Goodnight na nga!” suddenly I could feel her lips come in contact to my cheek. The palm of my hand now rests on where she had just left her mark. It took me roughly 5 minutes to compose myself and returned to the driver’s seat.
Double flashback over
“okay naman. We ate ramen and talked”
“so ano na kuya, may chance ba?”
“ewan ko ba. Pero can I just say, I completely understand you now” I tell my brother
“understand what?”
“why you had a crush on her”
“FINALLY! Sabi ko sayo she’s really likeable. Pero syempre I don’t see her that way na since we’re friends”
“so is that a signal saying I can now pursue her without hard feelings from you”
“ilan beses ko ba kailangan sabihin…I’M FINE. Bro, pursue her na. I have this really strong gut feeling she’ll be worth”
Flashback over
Her
“Ravena, I have to go na. I still gots night training you know”
“oh geez right! Sorry sorry. Have fun sa training! But don’t tire yourself too much. Mamaya you’ll get sick and I won’t see you tomorrow”
Couldn’t help but let out a chuckle when he said that. I gave one more look at the window
“I’ll see you tomorrow Ravena?”
“I’ll see you soon Reyes.”
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