CHAPTER 29
NABITAWAN KO yung razor na hawak ko nang makarinig ako ng katok sa pinto kasunod ng boses ni Ryo.
Yes, boses ni Ryo.
Unfortunately, hindi inabot ng umaga ang celebration namin dahil nagsi-pag-alisan ang mga lintik na kabanda ko. Sina Luke at Yohan ay umalis na may kasamang babae habang si Rhyken naman ay hinatid namin pauwi ni Ryo dahil natulog na naman siya kalagitnaan ng pagsasaya namin.
Kaya naman kasama ko ngayon dito sa apartment si Ryo.
"Jon, are you done yet? Magda-dalawang oras ka na diyan. I'm getting worried. Are you okay?"
Nagpakawala ako nang malalim na hininga bago sumagot.
"P-Patapos na! Okay lang ako. R-Relax ka lang diyan!" nauutal na sabi ko.
Oh, dear God.
Naiinip na ba siya? Shit! I am so nervous!
Calm down, Jona! It's not like Ryo will eat you... or he might?
"Shit, shit, shit!"
Hindi ko alam kung para saan yung malakas na kabog ng dibdib ko. I feel excited and nervous at the same time!
Pinulot ko yung razor at mabilis na tinapos ko na ang paliligo.
Sinigurado kong walang naiwan na feathers ko sa sahig. God, that would be embarrassing!
Pagkabihis, kinuha ko yung razor at isinuksok ko sa maruming damit ko. I definitely can't let him see this!
Pagkalabas ng banyo, agad na sumalubong sa akin ang mabangong amoy ng nilulutong ramen ni Ryo.
I hurriedly put my dirty clothes sa laundry basket at isinuksok ko iyon sa ilalim ng kama bago ko siya nilapitan.
"Gutom ka?"
Agad na napatingin siya sa akin nang marinig niya ang tanong ko.
"Yeah. A bit. And probably you are, too. Wala tayong nakain masyado kanina, eh."
"I know, right? Can't believe Yohan is that much of a glutton!"
Seriously, akala ko ako na yung pinakamatakaw sa banda bilang ang papayat ng mga ulupong. Pero nagulat ako nang halos si Yohan lahat yung nakaubos ng pagkain namin.
"That, he is. Anyway, ang tagal mo palang maligo. Do you usually take a bath this long?" tanong niya bago pinatay ang stove.
"Y-Yeah! You know, girl thing," sagot ko. Ramdam ko ang pagtabingi ng ngiti ko.
"Hmm... I'm surprised. You don't look like someone who takes her time bathing. Guess I was wrong," aniya bago siya sumandal sa sink at tinitigan akong maigi.
I laughed nervously before licking my lips.
"T-Tama! M-Mali ka nga!"
Jona! What the fuck are you saying?!
He chuckled and reached for the towel on my head.
"Yeah. It seems like I still have things I don't know about you, hon," nakangiting sabi niya at marahang tinanggal yung tuwalya sa ulo ko.
I stilled when he started drying my hair.
Bakit pakiramdam ko nasa isang shoujo manga ako? I can't believe na mararanasan ko ang ganito – yung kikiligin ako sa mismong love life ko at hindi sa love life ng mga fictional characters na nababasa ko.
"R-Ryo, hayaan mo na iyan. Matutuyo din 'yan. Uhm, kain na tayo?" sabi ko at kumuha ng dalawang mangkok.
I could feel my cheeks burning. Kinikilig talaga ako. Shit!
Parang doon lang niya naalala na may niluto siya at lalamig 'yon kung patutuyuin niya pa yung buhok ko.
"Ahh. Nga pala, bakit puro noodles at junk food yung pagkain mo dito? Are you even eating properly?" he asked and put the bowls on the table.
He pulled a chair for me before settling himself on the seat beside me.
Oops. Ang totoo niyan, puro instant food lang ang kinakain ko because I suck at cooking.
"Ano kasi... I am a ramen lover like Naruto, d-dattebayo!" sagot ko at nagsimulang kumain.
I could feel his piercing stare, but I did not dare look at him.
"You can come over to my place any time. I'll cook for you."
Doon ako napatingin sa kanya. More like napatanga.
Bakit ang tahimik niyang kumain ng noodles? Habang ako rinig na rinig ang bawat paghigop ko.
Nakakaloka ang pogi niya pa rin kahit kumakain.
I wonder how he'd look like when he eats me...
Santisima! Nilumot na ng tuluyan ang utak ko!
Pinilit kong iwaksi ang mga makamundo kong isipin at nagpatuloy kami sa tahimik na pagkain.
Nang matapos, nagprisinta pa si Ryo na siya na ang maghuhugas na agad kong pinigilan.
"Huwag ka nga. Nakakahiya nga na ikaw yung bisita, ikaw pa yung nagluto," saway ko sakanya.
"But I'm not just a visitor. I'm your boyfriend," pagkontra niya habang nakadikit sa akin sa harap ng sink.
Kinagat ko yung labi ko para pigilan ang tili na gustong lumabas mula sa bibig ko.
"B-Basta! Ako na dito. Maupo ka na do'n," pagtulak ko sakanya gamit ang bewang ko.
He sighed and eventually gave up.
"Fine. I'll go take a bath first. Wait for me in bed, okay?" he whispered on my ear.
Pakiramdam ko nanayo lahat ng balahibo ko sa katawan dahil sa init ng hininga niya na tumama sa sensitibong bahagi ng tenga ko.
Hahampasin ko sana siya pero agad siyang nakalayo sa akin habang tumatawa patungo roon sa sofa kung nasaan ang mga gamit niya.
Pakiramdam ko balak talaga niyang mag-stay over ngayong gabi kasi grabe yung kahandaan niya, eh. May dala siyang tuwalya at damit pampalit.
Nagulat na lang ako kaninang pagbaba namin sa sasakyan na may dala-dala siyang bag.
Ma, Pa, mukhang magkakaroon na kayo ng apo sa paborito niyong anak.
Mabilis na tinapos ko yung paghuhugas ng pinagkainan namin at pagkatapos ay umupo ako sa sofa.
Nunca na sa kama ko siya hihintayin!
Binuksan ko yung TV at nanood ng nakaka-depress na news habang nagpapatuyo ako ng buhok.
"Didn't I tell you to wait for me in bed?"
Mabilis na lumayo ako at tumayo na ikinatawa ni Ryo.
"Asa, Goryo! At bakit ang bilis mo namang maligo? Nagwisik ka lang yata, eh," pang-aasar ko para maitago ang pagkagulat.
Pasimpleng pinasadahan ko siya ng tingin.
Normal Ryo is hot.
Vocalist Ryo is hotter.
But just-got-out-of-the-shower Ryo is the freaking sun himself!
"Nah. I just wanted to cuddle with you quickly," aniyang kumindat pa.
Pakiramdam ko nanuyo ang lalamunan ko. Linsiyak na lalaki 'to.
Umupo siya sa sofa at tinapik ang espasyo sa tabi nito.
"Come here, Jon. I won't bite you."
He tried to look serious but the mischievous glint in his eyes gave him away.
"Sinungaling," mahinang sabi ko pero naglakad papalapit sakanya.
He laughed and pulled me onto his lap.
He instantly embraced me before I could pull away and rested his head on the back of my head.
My heart started hammering inside my chest.
Parang saluyot talaga itong si Ryo. Sobrang dulas ng mga galawan!
"H-Hoy, Goryo..."
"This feels nice. Being able to perform with you in the band, going home together after the gig, teasing you and cuddling with you... I have never felt this satisfied in my life, Jon. Ngayon pa lang. Sa'yo pa lang."
I felt the sincerity in his voice and the truth in his words that I could feel myself melting.
Forget about the butterflies. With Ryo, I can feel the damn animal kingdom in my stomach.
My fingers started drawing circles on his arms as I told him how I felt.
"You're also the first person I have ever had strong feelings for. I'm glad it's you, Ryo."
His embrace tightened.
"Jon?"
"Hmm?"
I felt him kiss the top of my head.
"Ai shiteru."
My hand stopped moving but my heart was furiously beating in my chest.
I have watched enough romance anime and read a lot of shoujo manga.
He was half-Japanese and he clearly knew what that word meant.
While most Japanese people express their feelings to their partner by saying Daisuki, very few use Ai shiteru.
Why? Because of all the ways one can express love in Japanese, ai shiteru is by far the heaviest, most deeply felt way of doing so.
It could even be translated more closely to something like "I love you deeply" or "I am deeply in love with you."
And hearing Ryo utter those very words to me was one thing I would never have imagined.
Marahang tinanggal ko ang pagkakayakap niya sa akin at pagkatapos ay humarap ako sakanya.
He was looking intently at me, waiting for me to speak.
"I love you, too, Ryo," nakangiting sagot ko.
I watched as his eyes dilated and his ears started to turn bright pink.
Natawa ako. Daig talaga ako nito pag nagba-blush!
My laugh was cut short when he pressed his lips to mine.
His right hand travelled to the small of my back and pulled me closer to him while his left hand was softly touching my cheek as he rained small kisses on my lips.
And before I could even respond to his kisses, he pulled away.
"As much as I want to take you right here and right now, we need to stop, hon. Ayaw kong ma-bad shot sa mga magulang mo," he said smiling as his thumb was gently wiping my moist and maybe swollen lips.
I couldn't speak.
Why was he so damn perfect?!
Nagulat ako nang tumayo siya at pagkatapos ay binuhat ako at dinala sa higaan ko.
"It's late. We should sleep now. Good night, Jon," aniya bago ako ginawaran ng magaang halik sa noo.
Bago tuluyang umalis, may kung anong dinampot siya sa sahig at pagkatapos ay inilagay iyon sa bedside table ko.
Agad na nanlaki yung mata ko nang mapagtanto kung ano iyon.
"Oh, by the way, you shouldn't really leave your razor lying around. Baka masugatan ka," nakangising sabi niya.
Pakiramdam ko gusto kong lumubog ng mga oras na iyon.
Diyahe naman, Jona! Tinamaan ka na naman ng kahihiyan at kamalasan!
Kumuha ako ng unan at sinalpak ko iyon sa mukha niya.
"Unan mo! Good night!" sabi ko.
Kinuha niya iyon at tatawa-tawang bumalik sa sofa.
"I appreciate your effort to shave, hon, but I don't really mind, you know. I'll take you as you are," pahabol na sabi niya na kumindat pa.
"Goryo!" inis na sabi ko at ibinalibag sakanya yung nirolyo kong kumot. "Kumot mo!"
He easily caught the blanket, of course.
Agad na nahiga ako at nagtalukbong ng kumot.
Ramdam ko pa rin ang pag-iinit ng pisngi ko. Nakakahiya sobra!
I heard him turn off the lights and the slight screech of the sofa when he laid down.
Mayamaya pa ay narinig kong muli ang malamyos niyang boses.
He was singing softly, his voice as beautiful as ever.
It was the same song he wrote for me – I Kinda Like You.
Kaso ngayon, wala ng kinda.
Sa wakas, klaro na.
At hindi na lang siya basta like.
It was love, finally.