#CTG46 Chapter 46
I was watching Iñigo from afar.
We're having a celebration because finally, after waiting for a position to be available, he's officially a prosecutor. Matagal din siyang nagtiis sa PAO kahit na ang daming offer sa kanya ever since he managed to bag the first place in the elusive BAR exam.
Everybody wanted a piece of him, but the guy's focused on his goal of becoming a prosecutor so he stayed in PAO hanggang magkaroon ng bakanteng pwesto para maging prosecutor siya.
And it finally happened.
Prosecutor Borromeo.
It has a nice ring to it.
"Ayaw niyo man lang bang magpost ng picture niyo online?" Gracey asked. She's now dating my brother, which was weird, but I love Gracey like a sister so it's fine with me... Plus my Dad really likes her. Muntik niya na nga akong ipakasal kay Rhys dati. It all ended well—magiging kapamilya niya pa rin ang mga Arevalo.
"Why?"
"Wala lang... Nagtrending na naman 'yung picture ng housemate mo," she mentioned. I was used to it already. Ever since Iñigo topped the BAR and news about him being single got out, his messenger is always filled with messages from girls. I wasn't bothered about it. If Iñigo decides to cheat, alam niya na ako pa ang magdedeliver sa kanya sa kung sinuman iyong babae niya.
"Besides," she continued. "Feeling ko kailangan na akong swelduhan ni Iñigo dahil feeling ko naging official na tanungan na ako kung may girlfriend siya. 'Di yata na-gets ng mga tao iyong speech niya nung oath taking."
My eyes were on Iñigo as he was talking to one of his colleagues. Mukhang naramdaman niya na naka-tingin ako sa kanya kaya napa-tingin siya sa akin. He smiled at me and mouthed if I needed anything from him. Simple akong umiling. This was his night. He could do whatever he wanted.
"Hay, ewan ko sa inyo!" Gracey exasperatedly said nang wala siyang makuhang matinong sagot sa akin.
I just couldn't be bother with labels anymore.
I'm happy and contented with what we have.
And... we're partners. Kagaya nang sinabi niya nung speech niya nang magtop siya sa BAR. I could still remember how he looked at me while everyone else was looking at him.
'This won't be possible without my..." he said as he struggled to find the right word to describe us. "My partner," he continued with a small smile on his face as he was directly looking at me. "Some may say that it's because of my hard work, but we both know that you're really the reason why I'm here. Thank you for taking care of me. Thank you for the late-night reviews. Thank you for staying up late so that I won't be alone reviewing. Thank you for the random pop quiz. Thank you for feeding me always. Thank you for making sure that I'd be at my best. Thank you for staying. Thank you for pushing me to be the best version of myself... And just thank you... for believing in me when I doubted myself."
With that in mind... I really didn't care about labels anymore.
Iñigo Borromeo is mine.
"Cha."
"What?" I asked when suddenly, Iñigo's beside me again.
"Pagod ka na ba? Gusto mong uwi na tayo?" he asked.
"No, okay lang," sagot ko.
"At saka sure ka ba na ayaw mong sumunod kina Jax sa Japan? Okay lang naman akong maiwan," sabi niya.
Today's Katherine's wedding and Jax really got away by dragging Rory to Japan with him. He asked me if I wanted to come, but I knew that it would coincide with Iñigo's celebration and as much as I love Jax, I'd choose to be with Iñigo.
Isa pa, that trip's for the brokenhearted. Hindi ako makaka-relate sa kanilang dalawa.
"No," I said.
Napa-tingin kaming dalawa kay Gracey na nagmakeface. Minsan parang bata talaga...
"Ano'ng problema nun?" natatawang tanong ni Iñigo.
"Pinipilit na magpost tayo ng picture sa facebook. Napapagod na raw siyang maging tanungan kung single ka."
Iñigo laughed. "Tayo laging problema ni Gracey. Sabihin mo nga kay Chester bigyan ng problema," he said and then kissed the top of my head again. "Basta housemates tayo. Bahala na sila sa iisipin nila."
Tumingin siya sa 'kin.
"Speaking of housemates... Ayaw mo pa bang lumipat ng apartment? Tumaas na 'yung sweldo ko. Lipat na tayo sa mas malaki?" he asked.
"Bakit tayo lilipat?"
"Wala lang... Baka gusto mo lang sa mas magandang lugar."
"No, it's fine."
"Sure ka? Kasi nagta-trabaho akong mabuti para mabigay ko lahat ng gusto mo."
"I know."
"And? May gusto ka ba?"
I was about to tell him that I didn't want anything else nang mapa-tingin kami sa isa't-isa dahil narinig namin iyong pangalan ni Katherine at Kier. They were discussing about the wedding that's happening right now.
"Ikaw, hindi ka ba aattend sa kasal talaga?"
Iñigo said na hindi na sila nag-uusap ni Katherine, but he still received an invitation. But he said na pag-iisipan pa niya kung pupunta siya dahil alam niya na kapag pumunta siya roon ay makikita niya iyong mga ka-frat niya na matagal niya ng tinataguan.
"Hindi," Iñigo replied. "Pero nandun naman si Deanne."
I shrugged. Ano'ng magagawa ko kung ayaw niya?
Iñigo's arm snaked around my waist, pulling me closer. I felt him kiss the side of my head.
"Papaalam lang ako tapos uwi na tayo," bulong niya sa 'kin.
"Mukhang 'di pa kayo tapos magcelebrate. Mauna na lang ako," I offered.
I understand office politics. Okay lang naman sa akin na magstay si Iñigo. Kahit naman ako minsan napapa-stay ng matagal sa office kapag may mga ganito. Umiinom din ako minsan kasi kailangan, but Iñigo always picks me up after 2 hours. That's my limit.
"No, uwi na tayo," he said, kissing my cheek again before going to his colleagues para magpaalam.
Habang pauwi kami ay narinig namin ni Iñigo na binabalita sa radyo iyong tungkol sa kasal ni Katherine. It seemed like Jax was right in leaving the country dahil kalat na kalat sa balita iyong kasal. It's starting to feel like a national concern, this Ramirez-Arellano wedding.
"I really thought she'd marry Jax," I said.
"Ako rin," Iñigo replied. "Nung nasa law school pa kami, lagi 'yung sumisilip sa classroom niyo."
"I know," I said dahil nakikita ko si Katherine dati na parang tangang pabalik-balik sa harap ng classroom namin para sumulyap kay Jax.
"Pero baka masaya naman siya ngayon. Pinakasalan, e."
I shrugged. Whatever may happen, I hoped she made the right call.
* * *
People say that time flies when you're having fun.
And I was having the time of my life.
Iñigo's work as a prosecutor was doing great and I just got promoted again... Pero kasalukuyan kaming naglilipat ng gamit dahil gusto ni Iñigo na lumipat ng apartment. Because with his track record, binibigyan na siya ng mas mabibigat na kaso. He just received the Carson case—iyong kaka-huli lang na drug lord from China.
And he knew that things were starting to change.
Kaya naman naka-tayo kami ngayon sa gitna ng bago naming apartment—double the rent of our previous apartment, but Iñigo insisted dahil mas safe dito kaysa sa dati naming lugar.
"Cha," he said while we're opening the boxes containing our things.
"What?" I asked while I was trying to figure out kung paano namin aayusin 'tong apartment namin. We're both really busy. Pareho kaming halos sa trabaho na naka-tira. Paano kami hahanap ng oras para ayusin 'yung gamit namin?
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think we should hire people to arrange our things," I said as I lost hope while looking at all our things. Living together for almost 4 years, ang dami na naming gamit.
Hindi sumagot si Iñigo kaya napa-tingin ako sa kanya.
"Iñigo," I called because he's in deep thought.
"Ha?"
"Sabi ko hindi natin kayang ayusin 'to. May pasok pa tayo sa Monday," I told him.
"Ah... Sige, kung gusto mo," sagot niya. Naka-tingin ako sa kanya, hinihintay kung ano ang gusto niyang sabihin dahil halata sa itsura niya niya. "Cha..." pagtawag niya ulit sa pangalan ko. "Kuha ka na ng license para sa baril."
"I already told you ayokong humawak ng baril."
"I know... Pero 'yung mga binibigay kasi na kaso sa 'kin puro mabigat na... Tapos alam naman nila na ikaw 'yung—" sabi niya at biglang napa-hinto. "Please? Kahit para sa peace of mind ko lang."
Hindi ako naka-sagot agad.
Ayokong humawak ng baril. I felt like it'd do me more harm than good. Paano kung aksidente kong makalabit? Paano kung may mabaril ako na hindi dapat? They're just so many things I needed to consider.
"I'll think about it," I replied.
"Thank you," he said. "Sorry kung nadadamay ka sa trabaho ko."
I rolled my eyes as I continued to unpack. "Baliw."
Then I felt him hugging me from behind. "Sorry na, hindi ako kasing tapang mo," he said, placing a kiss on my nape. "Kapag damay ka na, ibang usapan na 'yun."
I held his hands.
"I'll be okay," I assured him.
Ever since he became a prosecutor, it's been his nightmare. Muntik na siyang magresign nung unang beses na maka-tanggap ako ng death threat dahil sa isang kaso na hawak niya. I tried to ignore it, but the same one came the next day...
And Iñigo was so mad.
He's scary when he's mad.
He's like an entirely different person.
But I knew that he loves his job... and I'd never ask him to give up something that he loves.
Huh.
Maybe I'd end up owning a gun, after all.
Or maybe a pocket knife, if Iñigo would compromise.
* * *
Days passed and we're still not done with unpacking.
Sa sobrang busy namin ay hindi na namin naasikaso na maghanap ng mag-aayos... And we're a bit hesitant dahil may mga importanteng documents na kasama doon. God. Mabubuhay yata kami sa paligid ng mga karton hanggang maka-hanap kami ng oras sa pag-aayos.
"Cha, donate na lang kaya natin 'yung mga gamit? Ang dami talaga," problemadong sabi ni Iñigo.
"This weekend kailangang matapos na natin 'to," I told him.
"Okay..." sabi niya sabay hatak sa akin pabalik sa kwarto—iyong nag-iisang lugar sa apartment namin na maayos.
Iñigo quickly showered kisses on my neck while he was busy trying to get me naked again. I seriously wonder where he's getting all the energy. Pareho lang naman kaming nagta-trabaho, pero wala ako ng lakas na kagaya ng sa kanya. I'd always end up falling asleep dahil ayaw niyang tumigil.
"May meeting ako bukas," I said while I was feeling his fingers in me.
"Ako rin naman," he answered while licking my neck. "May arraignment ako bukas at saka 'di pa nagagalaw 'yung cases sa mesa ko, Atty. Viste."
Iñigo's mouth wandered around until he reached his favorite spot. I held his head in place as I was trying to even my breathing.
"Nagpa-sched ka na ng leave?" I breathed as his tongue did its magic.
Itinaas niya iyong ulo niya at tumango. "Yes, Queen Elsa. Five days sa September. Lock and loaded. Walang makaka-pigil."
I rolled my eyes.
We'd been so busy with work na minsan hindi na talaga kami nagkikita dahil pagdating niya o pagdating ko, tulog na. We really needed to have a vacation. Napapagod na rin ako.
Iñigo resumed his duty. I was breathing heavily. I thought I was about to reach climax when I suddenly felt him thrusting inside. Agad na napa-awang ang labi ko. God, I'd really never get used to him.
"Cha..." he moaned while thrusting.
"Hmm?"
"Tuloy pa rin ba 'yung deal?" he breathed. "Na kapag nanalo ako sa case... walang condom?"
I nodded.
He stopped and removed the condom and got in again.
Iñigo and his positive reinforcement. Always needing a prize every time he does something commendable.
* * *
Like always, I fell asleep at around 2am because I was dead tired.
I woke up at around 7am from the vibration from my phone. I opened my eyes and saw that Iñigo's already gone. Nauna ng pumasok sa trabaho.
Agad na kumunot ang noo ko nang makita ko iyong pangalan ni Jax sa cellphone ko. Bakit siya tumatawag ng ganito kaaga?
"Jax?" I asked, my voice still hoarse from last night.
"Cha..."
My system became alert. His voice... sounded off.
"Why?" I asked, standing up. "Ano'ng meron?"
"Are you free right now? Can you come to my condo?"
"Okay," I replied. I sat on the table and opened my laptop and quickly typed an email to the HR saying that I wouldn't be able to make it today. "I'll be there in an hour. Ano'ng meron?"
My heart was beating so loudly.
I felt shivers in my spine.
His silence was unnerving.
"Katherine..." he said, his voice barely audible. "She's a suspect in parricide. I don't think I can do this alone. I need your help."
Fuck.
"Okay," I said. "Calm down. Stay where you are. Nandyan na ako in 30 minutes, okay? No, I'll be there in 20," I said, but he didn't answer. "Did you hear me, Jax? Stay where you are. Papunta na ako."
Pero hindi siya sumagot.