#NSFW: He Can Tell

6: The Erotes

"WHAT'S the matter, Hook?" tanong sa kanya ni North. "Bigla kang natahimik, eh."

"I just remembered the day Hector shot me with his stupid arrow," sagot ni Hook sa tanong ni North. "From that moment on, I was doomed."

Hindi naman siya nag-aalala na baka marinig sila ng ibang tao dahil kaunti lang silang nasa private lounge ng Pahimakas– ang kakaibang resto-bar sa Marahuyo Street– at malayo pa ang mesa nila sa ibang guests.

Si Wilde ang nagsabi sa kanila na doon sila magkita-kita pero ang lalaking 'yon, late na naman. Mabuti na lang at pamilyar sila sa Marahuyo Street dahil bukod sa kilala iyong hilera ng iba't ibang food establishment, doon din nakatayo ang steak restaurant na pag-aari ni North. Pero sarado na iyon ng ganitong oras kaya siguro doon sa resto-bar nag-aya ang kaibigan nila.

And Pahimakas was a nice place with a strange but amusing rule. Sa entrance, may malaking blackboard do'n kung saan may nakasulat na announcement mula sa management. Puro "malulungkot" at "chill" na kanta lang daw ang tinutugtog ng mga performer sa resto-bar.

And true enough, the all-female band called 'Girls Can Say No' had only been singing original sad acoustic songs since their set began.

Which was totally fine because he needed his peace and quiet. Isa pa, pabor din 'yon sa kanila ni North dahil nakakapag-usap sila sa normal na volume ng boses. Hindi naman kasi maingay ang kanta kaya nagkakarinigan sila kahit hindi nagsisigawan.

"You're doing fine, Hook," pag-comfort naman sa kanya ni North, saka nito tinungga ang beer mula sa hawak nitong bote. "Just hang in there until Wilde finds a way to free you from Hector's punishment."

Napabuntong-hininga siya habang iiling-iling. "I miss my youth, mate."

Natawa si North na halatang nakuha ang "translation" ng sinabi niya.

By 'youth,' he actually meant his hook ups. He used to have an active s*x life before Hector took that away from him by giving him POIS. Ang mas masama pa ro'n, doble ang epekto sa kanya ng allergy kesa sa mga normal na pasiyenteng may gano'ng sakit.

No'ng una, hindi siya naniwala sa mga sinabi ni Hector sa kanya bago siya nito iniwan. Pinaniwala niya ang sarili niya na masamang panaginip lang ang lahat ng 'yon.

How I wish everything was just a bad dream.

The night after Hector hit him with an arrow, he pleasured himself to see if his former friend was telling the truth then. And yes, as soon as his orgasm seeped into the skin of his stomach, he felt that scorching heat that made him cry his first "adult tears" in years.

Pero dahil in-denial pa rin siya at ayaw tanggapin na naparusahan siya sa isang bagay na hindi naman niya kontrolado, nagpunta pa rin siya sa ospital para ikunsulta sa doktor ang kondisyon niya. Doon nga ay na-diagnose siya sa sakit na POIS. Pero nang ipaliwanag sa kanya ang mga sintomas niyon, alam niyang hindi ordinaryo ang kondisyon niya dahil doble ng nararamdaman ng mga normal na pasiyente ang naranasan niya. No'n niya tinanggap na totoo nga ang parusa ni Hector sa kanya.

So from that day on, he practiced abstinence and lived like a monk. He couldn't even touch himself in fear of getting burned again...

.... Until he met Melody Rose.

"Is that after glow that I see in you, Hook Rushton?"

It was Wilde because even in the dark, it was hard to miss his unruly curly blonde hair and complete set of white teeth since this dude was always smiling.

"Piss off, Wilde Sitwell," iritadong singhal ni Hook sa bagong-dating. "And I thought after glow only applies to women?"

"Well, you're talking to a descendant of a love god so I can tell that you just had orgasm–"

"I get it, so please stop," naiinis na saway niya rito. "You little piece of shite."

Wilde just flashed him his annoying grin before he took the seat across him and next to North who was quietly observing their friendly banter. "How dare you talk that way to an Arrowblood?" halatang nagbibiro lang na sumbat nito sa kanya. Pagkatapos, nilingon nito si North. "Congratulations, North Whitfield."

Tumaas ang kilay ni North na napahinto pa sa pagtungga sa bote ng beer. "For what?"

"For falling in love," natatawang sagot naman ni Wilde na tinapik-tapik pa ang balikat ni North na halatang nagulat sa sinabi nito. "Why do you look surprised? You know that as an Arrowblood who inherited Eros' Arrow, I can tell when a mortal has found their match."

"I like Sori Kim but I'm pretty sure that I'm not in love with her."

"Not yet," simpleng sagot lang ng Arrowblood at bago pa makapag-react si North, hinarap na uli siya nito. "You, too, Hook. I can tell that you've already found your match."

Muntik na niyang maibuga ang kaiiinom niya lang na beer. "Excuse me?"

"You've found your match but it's a bad one, Hook," iiling-iling na sagot nito habang titig na titig sa kanya. It felt like he was looking straight at his soul– as if he was staring at something that was only visible to an Arrowblood. "Melody Rose is going to be your death... literally."

Napalunok siya dahil kinilabutan siya sa mga sinabi nito. "I have successfully avoided temptation for the past six months, Wilde. I'm pretty sure that I can shun Melo, too."

"She's different– I told you, she is your match," giit naman ng lalaki. "If it only weren't for Hector's mark, you could've had a passionate relationship with her. But because you were struck with a Punishment Arrow, it becomes problematic." Sinabunutan nito ang sarili na parang may kinainisan bigla. "This is why Arrowbloods are not supposed to meddle with ordinary mortals. Nagugulo ng arrow nila ang destiny ng mga taong meant to be para sa isa't isa. It's frustrating for a descendant of Eros like me to see two fated people turn into star-crossed lovers because of an unnatural discord."

"Can you not fix it?" tanong naman ni North sa curious na boses. "Eros is the main son of Aphrodite and he is the god of love. You have inherited his blood so you're supposed to be stronger than a descendant of Anteros, aren't you?"

"Eros and Anteros were still siblings," paalala naman ni Wilde sa pinsan niya. "Plus, Anteros was the avenger of unrequited love. Mukhang galit talaga si Hector Fagestrom kaya mas lumakas ang Punishment Arrow na binaon niya kay Hook. Even if I have Eros' Arrow, wala pa rin akong kapangyarihan para alisin ang pana ng ibang Arrowblood. Especially if it was a Punishment. Only someone who has inherited Aphrodite's Arrow can pull it out since Aphrodite was the master of the Erotes. But as you know, simula nang nalaman ko ang nangyari kay Hook eh naghahanap na ko ng Arrowblood na may dugo ni Aphrodite." Bumuntong-hininga ito habang iiling-iling. "Unfortunately, wala pa rin akong nahahanap. Olympian si Aphrodite kaya malakas din ang mga descendant niya. Kaya hindi nakakapagtaka kung lumayo sila sa mga mortal o magtago mula sa mga kapwa nila Arrowblood na interesado sa kapangyarihan nila. That's the reason why they appear to be rare–" Bigla itong natigilan at napaderetso ng upo. "Aphrodite?"

Kumunot naman ang noo ni Hook sa magkahalong pagtataka at antipasyon. "Is someone with Aphrodite's blood here?"

"Yeah, I can sense an Arrowblood with Aphrodite's blood," sagot ng Arrowblood habang lumilingon-lingon sa paligid. "Aphrodite was the leader of the Erotes. So as an inheritor of Eros' Arrow, I can sense when a descendant of his master is near." Tumayo ito– halatang distracted. "Excuse me. Hahanapin ko siya para matapos na ang problema mo, Hook."

Wala pa man din pero nakahinga na siya ng maluwag. "Thank you, Wilde. Really."

"Thank me later," natatawang sagot naman ni Wilde. Pagkatapos, tinungga muna nito ang beer sa bote bago mabilis na naglakad palayo. "I'll be back as soon as I found them."

And just like that, Wilde was gone.

"Cool," komento naman ni North nang silang dalawa na lang ang nasa mesa. "Parang nanonood lang ako ng supernatural show kapag kasama natin si Wilde."

Hook couldn't agree more. Hindi rin siya makapaniwala no'ng araw na i-reveal ni Wilde na isa rin itong Arrowblood na may dugo naman ni Eros. "Agreed. We've been close since our freshman year in college but I had no idea that he wasn't an ordinary person until the day he revealed his secret to save me."

Pero naiintindihan naman niya kung bakit tinago sa kanya ni Wilde ang totoo nitong pagkatao kahit pa malapit silang magkaibigan. Kung hindi rin ipinakita sa kanya ni Hector ang totoong pagkatao nito, hindi siya maniniwala na totoo pala ang mga diyos sa mga mythology. Sigurado siyang hindi rin maniniwala sa kanya si North noon kung hindi nito nakita ang pag-ta-transform ni Wilde sa harapan nila noon para iligtas siya.

"I still remember that day," sabi naman ni North, saka ito tumungga ng beer bago muling nagsalita. "I almost lost my s**t when Wilde suddenly revealed his wings."

According to Wilde, he had wings even though Eros' wasn't an Olympian because his ancestor was the main son of Aphrodite. Therefore, his blood was special.

"Kaya nga malaki ang faith ko kay Wilde," sabi naman ni Hook. "Sana talaga, descendant ni Aphrodite ang na-sense niya."

Halatang may sasabihin ang pinsan niya pero natigilan ito nang may male server na lumapit sa mesa nila. Nilapag ng waiter ang dalawang bote ng beer sa mesa nila na ipinagtaka nila dahil hindi pa naman sila umo-order ng panibagong batch ng alak.

Ngumiti lang ang male server sa kanila, saka pasimpleng tinuro ang mesa kung saan may dalawang babae ang nakatingin at nakangiti sa kanilang magpinsan. Pagkatapos, umalis na ito.

Ramdam ni Hook na sa kanya nakatingin ang dalawang maganda at sexy na mga babae kaya mabilis siyang nag-iwas ng tingin. Shite, those women were totally his type.

Kill me now.

"North, please," pakiusap niya sa pinsan. "Take them both."

If he was still the healthy bachelor that he used to be, he would have banged the hot babes. Pero ngayon, ni hindi niya magawang tanggapin ang libreng beer mula sa mga ito dahil ayaw niyang magpaasa ng mga babae. Isa pa, siya lang din naman ang mabibitin.

"Got it," sagot naman ni North, saka tumayo habang hawak ang dalawang bote ng beer.

"Where are you going?" kunot-noong tanong niya rito nang tumingala siya rito.

"You told me to take them both."

"I meant the drinks, not the ladies."

Nagkibit-balikat ito. "I can take them– both the ladies and the drinks."

Tinaasan niya ito ng kilay. "So, what happened to your 'I like Sori Kim' dialogue this morning, dear cousin?"

"I just realized that she's too pure for someone like me," sagot ni North, saka siya tinalikuran. "Plus, I still enjoy this kind of lifestyle."

What a lucky bastard.

Hindi na niya nilingon ang pinsan niya dahil sigurado naman siyang lalapitan nito ang mga babae. The women he would have taken home had he not been "punished."

Mahirap pero kaya pa naman niyang tiisin ang "parusang" 'yon dahil mas mahalaga sa kanya ang buhay niya kesa libido. Hangga't may buhay, may pag-asa. Hindi sulit ang mamatay para lang sa temporary relief. That kind of mindset made him mentally and emotionally stronger.

Pero pa'no kung may makilala akong babae na hindi ko matatanggihan to the point na willing na kong mamatay para lang sa isang gabi na kasama siya?

Muntik nang matawa si Hook dahil sa ridiculous thought na 'yon pero mabilis ding nawala ang humor niya nang makita kung sino ang paakyat ng hagdan.

Melody Rose... hot damn.