Chapter 1
1040 Words
Simpleng nakaupo ako sa mesa na malapit sa counter ng Dreame Café habang sinisimsim ang order kong kape.
I was waiting for Phillip. May usapan kami na magkikita ngayon. It's been a week na hindi kami nagkita. Kaya naman laking tuwa ko ng bigla niyang sinabi na magkita kami.
Napatingin ako bigla sa counter ng bigla iyong bumukas at nagsara ng padabog. Isang babae ang lumabas galing dito na di maipinta ang mukha sa inis. Petite at may bob cut ang buhok nito at strikta din ito kung tingnan. Her face was familiar.
Kunot-noo nakatingin ako babae hanggang sa lumabas ito ng café. Nanlaki ang mata ko ng napagtanto kung sino ito. It was Olive Ramirez. A well-known psychiatrist in the metro. What was she doing inside the office of the cafe?
Kailan ka pa naging chismosa Denima?
I shook my head and just shrugged it off.
Saktong paglabas naman nito ay ang pagpasok ni Philip sa pinto. Napangiti agad ako ng naglakad siya papalapit sa akin.
"Hey, Love. Sorry for making you wait. Something came up in the firm." Phillip kissed me on the cheek ng makalapit sa akin.
He was only five minutes late. Okay lang naman. I know na medyo busy na siya ngayon compared sa dati. Kakatayo pa lang kasi ng Law Firm niya. And I understand that it needed a lot of his time.
"It's okay, Love. You're just five minutes late," nakangiting tugon ko sa kaniya.
Umupo siya sa harap ko at ginagap ang kamay ko. "It's not okay, Love. I know I've been busy for the past few days and we didn't see each other for a week. I hope you understand that I'm just doing this for our future."
"Ano ka ba? Okay lang talaga." I chuckled. "Alam mo naman na napaka-understanding girlfriend ko." I grinned at him. Napatawa naman siya sa sinabi ko.
"Damn! How can I live without you, hmm?" He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. Kahit ilang beses niya sigurong gawin ito sa akin, hindi ko pa rin kayang pigilan na hindi kiligin.
Napakagwapo naman kasi ni Philip. Gustong-gusto ko ang kapal ng kilay niya at ang mahahaba at nakakurba nito pilik-mata. Samahan pa ng matangos nitong ilong at mapupulang labi na kahit kailan ay di ko magawang pagsawaan. And his body? Well... He got muscles in the right places. He was perfectly lean.
Napatigil siya sa paghalik ng kamay ko nang biglang nag-ring ang phone ko sa ibabaw ng mesa.
I glanced at it and saw that Nicholai was calling. Ano na naman ang kailangan ng lalaking ito? Tsk!
"Nicholai, again?" Kunot-noo tanong ni Phil. Binawi ko ang kamay sa kanyang pagkakahawak at dinampot ang aparato.
I saw him l*****g his lower lip while staring at me. He looked pissed though.
"Baka importante, Love. Sagutin ko muna." I smiled at him sheepishly while holding the phone.
"Answer it here," medyo inis na sabi niya.
Hindi ko alam kong bakit lagi siyang inis kay Nicholai. Wala namang ginagawa ang tao sa kanya. Nicholai was my childhood friend. We're kind of close. His family and my family were close. At lagi din nasa bahay namin si Nicholai. Ewan ko ba sa lalaking yun. Ginagawang tambayan ang bahay namin.
I pressed the accept button at nilagay sa tenga ko ang aparato.
[Where the hell are you? Did you forget what day is today?] Inis na boses agad nito ang narinig ko sa kabilang linya.
"Bakit ba inis ka na naman?" Natatawang sagot ko. "I'm in Dreame Café with Phil." Nakatingin ako kay Phil habang sinasabi iyon. "Bakit mo ba ako hinahanap? Anong mayroon sa araw ngayon?"
[Seriously, woman? Did you just forget my f*****g birthday?] Nanlaki ang mata ko sa narinig.
Shit! I forgot that it was his birthday tomorrow! We're planning to go to their resort today. The whole family to be exact! We're going to stay there for 2 nights to celebrate his birthday.
Sa boses pa lang ni Nicholai, I could already imagine his fuming mad face right now. Goodness! Laging galit naman talaga ang aura nito kahit noon pa.
"s**t! Sorry Nic! I didn't mean to forget about it," kagat-labing sabi ko.
My eyes widened when I saw Phili getting up. He looked really pissed.
Where are you going? I asked him using my lips.
"Counter. I'll buy coffee for me," sagot niya sabay lakad papunta sa counter.
[Be here in 5 minutes or I will go there and drag you here.] May pagbabantang sabi niya.
Napahilot ako sa sintido ko. Napaka-bossy talaga. Kainis!
"I can't. You know I haven't seen Philip for the whole damn week. Susunod ako sa resort niyo. Promise." I heard him cursed in the other line. Napakapalamura talaga nang lalaking ito. Tsk!
[Convinced me more, Cris.] He said in a pissed tone.
"Okay. What do you want? I'll do everything that you want. Just give me an hour or two to spend it with Phil today." I rolled my eyes when I heard him snickered.
[Everything? I'll keep that in mind.] He said before dropping the call. Damn! He didn't even say goodbye. Such a brute!
"What does he want?" inis na tanong ni Phil pagkabalik sa table namin dala ang isang mug ng umuusok na kape.
"Well... I forgot that the whole family was going to their resort today," kagat-labing sabi ko. "They're all waiting for me. I'm sorry, Love."
He let out a frustrated sigh and looked at me. "It's fine. I need to go back to the firm too. My secretary just called me. There's an emergency," he said and then took a sip on his coffee. "See you after two days then?" dagdag niya pa na mas nagpanlumo sa akin.
I just smiled sheepishly and nodded at him. "Okay. See you after two days." He kissed me on the lips before he left me on the table with a heavy heart.
I took my phone and dialed Nicholai's number.
[What now, woman?] he said, pissed. I chuckled. Galit pa rin siya? Goodness!
"Can you fetch me here at Dreame Café?" I said while biting my lip.
[Fine. Just wait there. I'll be there before you know it.] He said and then dropped the call.
- Writer
