FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS (TAGALOG SPG/R18+)

Hindi ko nga alam kung ano bang nakain ko at pumayag ako sa blind date na 'to. Like, seriously, sino bang nagpauso na magandang idea 'tong mga ganito? Pero, sige na nga, dahil na rin kay Sandy at sa kanyang convincing powers, here I am—heading to a fancy restaurant na malapit lang sa apartment ko. Kasi, alam mo na, para 'di na hassle. Sabi ni Sandy, "Yssa, girl, this guy is the real deal. Malaki sweldo, gwapo, at mabait. Swak sa'yo!" Yeah, right. Kaso, wala naman talaga akong balak mag-date ngayon. Ang plano ko sana ay mag-chill lang sa bahay, binge-watch ng Netflix habang naka-pajamas at kumakain ng instant noodles. But no, here I am, wearing a dress, nakamakeup pa, and ready to meet some stranger. Haaay, buhay nga naman. “Siguraduhin mong magbihis ka nang maayos,” yan paalala ni Sandy. Like I need reminding. I mean, of course I’ll make an effort kahit wala akong expectations. Hindi ko naman pwedeng ipakita na 'di ako interesado, 'di ba? Kasi 'pag 'di ka nag-effort, parang sinasabi mo na rin na 'di worth it yung other person. And I’m not about that life. Pagdating ko sa restaurant, sinabi ko sa front desk, “My friend made a reservation,” tapos binigay ko ang number ni Sandy. After a few moments of typing and clicking, itinuro nila ako sa Table 15. So I walked over there, feeling like some kind of reality TV show contestant about to meet their potential love interest. Paglapit ko, nakita ko agad si Mr. Blind Date. Mukha naman siyang okay, to be honest. Matangkad, decent-looking, and from where I was standing, parang may pagka-chill naman siya. Hindi naman siya katulad ng mga dating pinakilala sa akin na akala mo may sariling mundo. Honestly, wala naman akong inaasahan dito. Casual meet-up lang with a stranger, gano’n. Siguro kasi, at my age—yeah, 30 na ako, deal with it—ang mga ganitong set-up na lang yata ang chance kong makatagpo ng someone special. Pero kung hindi magki-click, wala nang next time. Simple as that. Tumayo si Mr. Blind Date nung malapit na ako, at ngumiti. “Ikaw ba si Miss Yssa?” Sabi niya na parang hindi sure. Hah, as if may iba pang Yssa na nasa paligid. “Yup, that's me,” sagot ko. He’s nice enough to say na mas maganda daw ako in person kesa sa picture. Uy, thanks, pero nasabi na rin ‘yan sa akin before, so hindi na ako ganoon ka-impressed. Pero nagpasalamat pa rin ako, syempre. And so we sat down, ordered our food, and started talking. Usually, sa mga ganitong meet-up, you go through the basics. You know, weather, latest news, maybe a bit of celebrity gossip. Para lang ma-feel out kung may connection ba kayo or wala. Kapag okay, tuloy ang usapan; kung hindi, well, that’s the end of it. He started asking about my job, which, surprise-surprise, akala niya dahil lawyer ako, chill lang ang weekends ko. Typical misconception. “Hindi,” sabi ko. “Actually, kapag busy, 12 hours a day ang work, six days a week, tapos may mga business trips pa.” Which is true. Hindi ito 'yung type ng career na parang sa TV na all glam and free time. After an hour or so of somewhat forced conversation, lumabas kami ng restaurant. He walked me to the entrance of my apartment complex. Nagpaalam siya nang maayos, pero parang I could sense na iniisip niya kung kailan matatapos 'tong date na 'to. Pagdating ko sa bahay, nag-pop up na agad ang text ni Mr. Blind Date sa phone ko: [Nasa bahay ka na ba?] [Nandito na], sagot ko. Kasi, you know, polite pa rin kahit hindi talaga ako impressed sa kanya. Then, after a few minutes, another message came: [Magpahinga ka na ng maaga. Today's date was very pleasant, pero sa tingin ko hindi tayo suitable para sa isa’t-isa. But we can still be friends.] I mean, I wasn’t surprised. Hindi na ito ang first time na na-reject ako after a blind date. Medyo used to it na. Usually kasi, guys are looking for someone they think they can easily impress and settle down with. Pero kapag like me na may magandang career and a strong personality, they get intimidated. So, I get it. Hindi ako yung ideal housewife material na hinahanap nila. Nag-reply ako ng [Thank you for today, I will invite you to dinner next time if possible.] and left it at that. Then I went straight to the bathroom for a shower, kasi kailangan kong i-wash off ang stress of pretending to be interested. Paglabas ko, may reply na si Mr. Blind Date: [Don't mention it.] "Tsk!" napasinghal ako. Napaka-straightforward naman. Kung hindi ko lang iniisip na kailangan ko pang mag-maintain ng good manners, ewan ko na. Then, ayun na, dumating ang message ni Sandy: [Kumusta ang blind date?] So I called her, kasi medyo mas bagay ang ganitong kwentuhan sa phone. Sinabi ko lahat ng nangyari, and as expected, nag-react si Sandy. “Hay nako! Wala bang taste ang mga lalaki?” sabi niya na parang mas affected pa siya kaysa sa akin. "Hindi ko talaga gusto yung mga walang effort sa conversation, Yssa." “Hindi naman sa gano’n, Sandy,” sabi ko. “But yeah, failed nanaman 'to. Nakakasawa na talaga.” "Okay, sorry!" she sighed. "But, hey, may nag-add friend sa akin online na gusto raw kunin ang account mo." "Sino na naman 'yan?" tanong ko, curious kahit konti. "Ethan something. Kasamahan ni Farhan, remember him from our wedding?" Naalala ko siya, pero parang ang vague ng memorya ko. "Ah, ‘yung batang mukhang 95 years old na sinabi mo dati?" "Tigilan mo nga ako, nagbibiro lang ako noon! Actually, he's good-looking, and who knows? Baka he's the one for you! Alam mo, kahit hindi kayo mag-click, it's still good to have someone to talk to, 'di ba? Hindi magandang palagi kang mag-isa." "What's wrong with being alone?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "Don't you want a boyfriend?" she sighed again. "Kasi kapag matagal ka nang walang relationship, syempre wala ka ring ka-s*x—your hormones will get all out of whack!" Sure, wala akong boyfriend, pero that doesn't mean wala akong ka-s*x, right? I chuckled to myself and shook my head. "Oh? Bakit ka natatawa diyan? Hindi ako nagbibiro! Maaapektuhan ang hormones mo, Yssa! Concerned friend lang ako!” Then, suddenly, a new message popped up on my screen. Curious ako agad so I checked it. [I got off the plane and will arrive at your home at about 11, Yssa.] [I’m hungry and I want to eat you so bad.] [Be ready.]