Master Casanova

Chapter 12 - Deal

I watched how the people excitedly enter the gymnasium. They brought some cartolina with the names of the team they will support, balloons and other kinds of stuff to show their support from the team.

Napatingin ako sa mga players na nag-uunat na para game. It was another game with another school who visited Thaguro University para makipaglaban sa aming team.

Hindi tulad noon, wala akong dalang cartolina na may nakasulat na 'Go Staven! Go #8' Mayroon na kasing susuporta sa kaniya at masakit isiping hindi ako ang makapagpapawi ng inis niya kapag nadadaya siya sa court o kung ano man.

Napayuko nalang ako at wala sa sariling binuksan ang phone ko at tignan ang mga litrato namin ni Staven.

Binalik ko muli ang mata sa court. They're warming up. Staven dribble the ball and jump to shoot it at nang ma-i-shoot niya ito ay nakipag-apir ang mga kasamahan niya.

He smiled at them. Napakagat labi ako. I miss him. I miss his smile. I miss him so damn much.

I saw Aebril waiting for him down there. She has the privelage to be with him in their bench because she's the girlfriend. Pinunasan niya ang pawis ni Staven and I can't help but to stare kahit ang sakit sakit na.

Noon, I really wish I could do that. Punasan ang pawis niya pagkatapos niyang maglaro. I want to take care of him. I want to devote myself to him pero hindi ko na magagawa lahat ng 'yun.

Hindi ko alam kung bakit narito parin ako at sumusuporta sa kaniya. Even though he have said hurtful words to me hindi parin mababago ang fact na siya ang lalakeng una kong minahal.

Before the game started. I saw Aebril pulling Staven patungo sa isang lamesang may mga taong nakaupo. Base sa kanilang mga mukha at kasuotan ay mukhang mga importanteng tao.

Mukhang ipinakilala ni Aebril si Staven sa mga taong 'yun dahil nakipagkamayan pa ito sa kanila. Hindi ko alam ang nangyayari roon pero may alam ako. Some important people in PBA.

Aebril is the daughter of the President and CEO of the Philippine Basketball Association. At hindi ko maiwasang isipin kung totoo nga ba ang sinabi ni Tita Evelyn sa party ng mga de Ayala na engage na siya kay Aebril.

Di kaya iniwan niya ako danil ro'n? But why would he talkshit about me? Why call me a w***e? Dahil ba naniniwala parin siyang may nangyari samin ni Castielle?

Litong-lito nako. I don't know what to do now. Naalala ko ang pinag-usapan namin ni Loraine. She wants us to manipulate Master Casanova like how he and his cousin manipulate people inside the University.

Because, I am the particular person they believed Castielle has a crush on, they want to use me.

Kung iisiping mabuti wala naman talaga akong mapapala. Ayoko ng maging konektado pa sa buhay ng lalakeng 'yun. If he's trying to manipulate me then I should avoid him right? Kahit na ba, planado niya pa ang lahat.

But who am I fooling? That guy! Presensya niya palang, apektado nako. The way he stare at me with his brooding eyes, the way his lips twitch, everytime he wear his infamous flirty smile and his smell! Everything affects my system not because I somewhat have feelings for him, it's because that's him. The Master Casanova, Castielle Ongcuanco.

Habang nanonood ng game di nakalampas sakin ang mga bulongan mga babaeng nanonood.

"Siya yung babae diba?"

"Crush daw siya ni Master Casanova."

"Crush my ass. Ano high school? We all know hindi 'yan uso kay Master."

"Eh ano 'yung tungkol sa rumors?"

"Heard, Castielle dumped her already."

"Narinig ko rin! Ayaw niya na sa babaeng 'yan!"

"Haleeer! Hindi niyo ba napanood ang hot na hot na sayaw ni Castielle sa bagong bukas na club sa Taguig!? She's dancing with him!!"

"Omygooood really!? Panood!"

Holy s**t.

And that's my cue to stand up and leave. Ayoko ng mapahiya ano! Ano nalang ang maririnig ko sa kanila after they watch our video. And there's a freaking video!!

Bumaba ako ng bleachers na nagmamadali ngunit nakatingin parin kung nasaan si Staven. Biglang nag-time out at di sinasadyang nagtama ang mga mata namin ni Staven.

My heart automatically aches just like that. Para may kung anong kumurot sa puso ko dahil para siyang nagulat ng makita ako.

Ako na ang nag-iwas ng tingin at mabilis na bumaba para umalis na. f**k. Nararamdaman ko nanaman ang mga mata kong gustong maiyak.

Why? Why did I even looked at him? Nakita ko ang reaksyon niya. His eyes became sad and it feels that he longed for me.

Ang sakit. Ang sakit sakit na talaga. Mahal ko talaga siya.

Nakabalik na si Papa. Pagkauwi niya ay pinaglutuan ko siya and I was the happiest when he came home with a lot of pasalubong.

Ikwinikwento ni Papa na naikwento niya ako sa boss niya so she was happy to buy me some things kaya marami akong pasalubong. Kung sino man siya, super bait niya.

I was reading a book when Erene entered my room. Hindi katulad noon, sobrang lamya niya.

Oh. Oo nga pala. Ivan and her broke up. Yes, officially. I don't know but Ivan kept on texting me about Erene. I think misunderstanding lang naman.

"Hi..." halos walang gana niyang sinabi at tamad na sumalampak sa kama ko.

I closed my book and put it in my side table. "Still mad to talk to him?"

She started sniffing. I know she's at the verge of crying again.

"He had s*x with another woman habang kami, Nari. What could be painful?" she asked and hugged my pillow while she's crying again.

"What could be painful? That the person you love isn't yours anymore so, yeah. It's painful." I said trying to contain myself from crying too.

Humiga ako at tumabi sa kaniya. Were both facing each other with our dreary eyes. Were in the same boat. The man we love hurted us.

"Ayoko ng magmahal, Nari..."

"Ayoko narin. But, in your case, I think you should listen to Ivan first. He kept on texting me at walang palya, Erene. He wants to talk to you and he wants me to say that he loves you."

"But he betrayed me!"

"That's why you need to listen baka naman it was an accident?"

Bumusangot siya, "Nari naman! Ano 'yun? Biglang nag-slide 'yung kaniya sa ano nung babae?? It's so impossible!!" aniya at humagulhol nanaman ng iyak.

Gusto kong matawa sa reaksyon ni Erene but I think its not the right for that. I remember Staven refusing to listen to me and choose to hate me.

"Erene, just try and listen. Ivan and I are the same. We accidentally did something and when we tried to explain, we were shutdown and hated."

Doon siya natahimik. She's just sobbing and burried her face on my pillow. Bigla namang may kumatok mula sa pintuan.

"Maam Narian. Pinapatawag po kayo ni Sir Nate," sabi ni Tuning mula sa pintuan.

Iniwan ko muna si Erene sa kwarto para puntahan si Papa sa baba at nang makababa ako papunta sa living room natigilan ako ng makitang nakaupo si Staven sa couch.

Nakita kong mayroon siyang bruise sa bibig ko. Seryoso siyang nakatingin sakin na may halong pangungulila.

I looked at Papa who's now standing in front of me. "Gusto niyang makipag-usap sayo." seryosong sabi ni Papa.

Napakagat labi ako. "What have you done to him, Pa?" tanong ko at sinilip muli ang pasa sa mukha ni Staven.

"I just taught him a lesson." sagot ni Papa at tinapik ang balikat ko. "Ikaw na ang bahala sa kaniya," dugtong niya at umalis na.

Naiwan akong nakatayo roon. Hindi ko alam kung anong unang gagawin kundi ang tanungin ang sarili kung bakit siya nandito?

"Nari, can we talk?" Staven asked when he stood up.

Lumapit ako sa kaniya at umupo sa katabing couch na inuupuan niya kanina. He sat again and looked at him like he used to looked at me like he was f*****g in love with me.

Nag-iwas ako ng tingin at tumahimik nalamang. A cue for him to start talking.

"Owen told me you were there with Castielle at the gymnasium when he verge into our shower room." malumanay niyang sinabi.

I don't know what he wants to say. Dahil ba sa pagsama ko ay may relasyon na kaming dalawa ni Castielle?

"And...you were crying when you left...alone..."

Nagulat ako sa sinabi niya. Something touched my heart from what he have said. Wala namang touching sa sinabi niya but on how he said it mukhang alam ko na.

"I know maybe you heard me. But, I was just mad. Galit ako sayo dahil sa ginawa mo. Na sabi ko lang 'yun dahil akala k—"

"It doesn't change the fact na'yun nga ang pinaniniwalaan mo, Staven! For God sake! Ilang taon na tayong magkakilala, hindi mo ba ko kilala?" mariin kong sinabi.

"I'm sorry, galit lang ako, Nari. Masakit isiping may nangyari sa in—"

"Wala ngang nangyari samin Staven!"

"Yes, I believe you now, I'm sorry please..."

"Sorry for what? For everything you've done to f*****g hurt me?" tanong ko na ikinatahimik niya.

"Ang sakit. Sobrang sakit ng maging kayo ni Aebril. Para mo kong literal na sinaksak, Staven..." may namuo ng luha sa mga mata ko kaya bahagya akong tumingala.

"Nari, hindi ko sinasadyang saktan ka. I'm sorry. Kailangan ko lang gawin 'yun."

Pinanliitan ko siya ng mata. "Dahil ba engaged kayo?"

Nanlaki ang mata niya. "P-Paano mo nala—"

"Bullshit! Bakit hindi mo nalang sinabi sakin Staven!? Hindi 'yung patuloy mo kong sinasaktan!" sigaw ko at napatayo na.

I was about to leave him but he hugged me from the back. "Nari, ikaw ang mahal ko..." he said that with his voice about to crack.

Napapikit ako ng mariin. Pinipilipit ang puso ko sa sakit. Mas masakit pala ito. Alam mong mahal ka niya pero hindi ka naman pwede sa kaniya.

"Kaya pala...kaya pala hindi maging tayo kasi hindi talaga magiging tayo." sabi ko at unti-unti ng tumulo ang mga luha ko.

Staven burried his face in my neck while hugging me from the back tightly. "Sobrang sakit din, Nari. You're the girl I want to be with, but I can't. I'm sorry for all the pain."

I cried that night. Erene and I cried together. Para kaming mga sira. Hindi kami makainom dahil nandyan na si Papa. Strikto pa naman 'yun.

Hindi kami makatulog ni Erene so we decided to watch a movie after kung ikwento sa kaniya yung nangyari sa baba pero naiiyak nalang kami dahil tragic love story pala ang pinanood namin.

"You know? What if gumanti tayo?" tanong ni Erene. "Ako, ipapa-salvage ko ang babaeng naka-s*x ni Ivan."

Umiling ako. Naalala ko si Ynesa at Loraine. "It's absurd tsyaka as if namang makakapatay ka."

Umirap siya, "Tsss, joke lang pero sa isip ko? Nagawa ko na."

Natawa nalang ako at natahimik.

"But, like on the movie, she did everything to take her man back. Dinaan niya sa dahas. She planned to break them apart."

Kumunot ang noo ko. "Hindi ko magagawa 'yan."

"Even if Staven doesn't love Aebril at ikaw ang mahal niya? If I were you, gagawa ako ng paraan para magkahiwalay sila."

Mas lalong kumunot ang noo ko, "How can I even do that?"

"Simple, let Master Casanova help you with that. Make a proposition. If you want to be with Staven again, you need to move or else tuloyan na siyang makukuha ni Aebril."

Napakagat labi ako. She has a point. Castielle is known to be an expert on this. Ika nga ni Loraine, marami na siyang nasirang relasyon and maybe he could help me and at the same time manipulate him like what Loraine and Ynesa want us to do.

Knowing Castielle, hindi siya basta-basta tutulong na walang kapalit and I don't know if I could handle what will he want in return.

I spent the whole night thinking of that plan. Erene said she would help me. She even scheduled me na this Saturday namin pupuntahan si Castielle sa Prive dahil siya ang bartender.

So on Friday, nakipagkita ako kay Ynesa at Loraine matapos kung sabihin na makikipagtulongan nako and I was surprised dahil may apat pala talaga sila.

"Narian meet Kia and Penelope." pagpapakilala ni Ynesa sa mga kasama.

Nakipagkamayan naman ako sa kanilang dalawa. All of them are all beautiful. Ngunit ang mga babaeng to ay sinaktan lang pala ni Castielle.

Aaminin kong gwapo nga ang Master Casanova. Malakas ang s*x appeal at talaga namang hot na pati ako naapektuhan but I couldn't imagine myself chasing that immature flirty maniac guy.

Basta. It's just impossible. Maybe hahabulin ko siya ngayon dahil may kailangan ako but chase him to love me? Na-ah. Pumuti man ang uwak, I wouldn't ever chase.

"Pumapayag nakong makipagtulongan, but I want to do it in my own way." sabi ko sa kanila.

Kumunot ang noo ni Ynesa, "What way are you going to do? Ayos lang basta mapapaibig ko siya."

"W-Wait. Mapapaibig? Why would I make that guy fall in love with me? Nahihibang na ba kayo? Tuturuan ko lang ng leksyon 'yun!"

Ynesa laughed mockingly, "In what way will you teach the Master Casanova a lesson, dear? Be his friend?" she sarcastically asked.

"You should be his girlfriend. A serious one." ani Kia.

"Hindi ako papayag. Makikipaglapit ako kay Castielle kasi may kailangan ako sa kaniya. It's my personal reason."

"But making him fall for you is the only way to teach him a lesson, Narian. Pwede kanang bumalik sa lalakeng mahal mo pagkatapos." ani Loraine.

Napapikit ako ng mariin. Hindi ko alam kung ano tong pinasukan ko.

"Please, Narian. We need your help." pakiusap ni Penelope. "Arixton got my virginity and dumped me after." naiiyak niya ng sinabi.

Kumunot ang noo ko. "Arixton? If he did that to you bakit hindi siya ang saktan niyo?"

Ynesa rolled her eyes, "As if namang may babaeng magpapatino sa demonyong 'yun."

"He's hot but he's a devil, Narian. Hindi siya basta-basta mapapaamo, but Castielle is related to him. Kung mapapabagsak natin ang isa sa kanila, isa nalang ang problema." pagpapaliwanag ni Kia.

"Naguguluhan parin ako. Hindi ko alam kung kaya ko ba o ano..." f**k.

"Hindi mo parin ba alam kung anong katayuan mo sa buhay ni—"

"I'm not his crush!"

"Oh, really? Paano kung sabihin ko sayong pangalan mo ang tinatawag niya ng makipagtal—"

"Stop!!!" I was too shocked.

Ynesa rolled her eyes again. "T is the truth. Whatever plan you have there in yours, bahala kana. Basta mapaibig mo lang si Master Casanova mission accomplished at kung sakaling hindi mo magawa, then stop."

"Walang sisihan kung hindi ko magawa?" tanong ko.

"Just stay what you are, Narian. Make him fall in love without you changing yourself and also...without you giving your whole heart dahil ikaw rin ang masasaktan sa huli." Loraine said.

"So is this a deal?" Ynesa asked me. "A deal to make him fall in love and break him for us."

Wala naman talaga akong mapapala dito, but they need my help and I need Castielle's help then maybe I could do both at the same time.

I will make Master Casanova seduce Aebril while I seduce him while he do it. That's my plan and I don't know if it works but I'll try.

Kung totoo man ang sinabi ni Ynesa na may epekto ako kay Castielle then maybe I could use it at hindi itong puso kong naghuhumerentado at iniisip kung anong itsyura ni Castielle habang tinatawag ang pangalan ko habang inaabot ang langit.

"It's a deal."