MEN OF HONOR SERIES 1: SCARRED

Kabanata 12

"I--Ikaw ang... kapatid ni Jolo?"

I saw how Dean Chen heaved a sigh. "Yes. Ikaw ang matagal na niyang inirereto?"

Nalunok ko ang sarili kong laway. So if he and I really agreed to go on a blind date two years ago, matagal na pala sana kaming nagkakilala? Is destiny playing with the both of us?

Umiwas ako ng tingin at magkalapat ang mga labing itinango ang aking ulo. "Y--Yes. Hindi ko alam na... magkapatid pala kayo ni Jolo."

"Joren Louis is my half brother. I'm way older than him and we're not really that close because of our huge age gap. Hindi ko rin tinatanggap ang mga alok niya noon dahil kahihiwalay lang namin ni Maggie when he offered to set me up with someone." He sighed. "I didn't know he was referring to you. Ang alam ko lang, pinsan ng girlfriend niya."

"Yeah, that's..." I gulped and tried to glance at him. "That's Kylie. Kylie is my cousin and... they'd been dating for two years now."

Mahina siyang tumango-tango, seryoso pa rin ang mukha na tila hindi natutuwa sa nangyayari.

"I apologize. Hindi ko alam na blind date 'tong pupuntahan ko. I thought I'll be having dinner with my brother and his girlfriend. But since we're already here now, I'll treat you dinner." Binuksan niya ang menu. "Order anything you want."

Tahimik na lamang akong bumuntong hininga saka ko inilabas ang phone ko para i-chat si Kylie. Minura-mura ko silang dalawa ni Jolo sa chat. Dahil nakasimangot ako habang nagtitipa ng mensahe, akala siguro ni Dean Chen ay dahil sa pagkikita namin dito kaya lukot ang mukha ko.

He cleared his throat then spoke. "On a second thought, maybe I wanna try that Jollibee meal you once gave me." Tumingin siya sa akin. "Maybe we can just go for a drive thru and eat someplace else."

Tumaas ang aking kilay. "Sa penthouse mo?"

Natatakpan ng menu ang kalahati ng kanyang mukha kaya hindi ko alam kung nakangisi ba siya dahil napansin kong tila bahagyang sumingkit ang kanyang mga mata. "No. We can go to my office and have our meal there so we can review."

Napahiya akong umiwas ng tingin. "You... still wanna tutor me even after I ignored you for a month?"

"Why not?" he asked in a breathy way. "This time, we'll clearly draw the line."

I gulped. Clearly draw the line? Does that mean no inviting me in his penthouse for drinks and something more? Right. Right.

Bakit parang nanghinayang yata ako?

I chewed my bottom lip. Hindi pwede. He said he can't be in a relationship, right? Well, maybe we can be good friends so he would vouch for me in the college of law. I could still go on with my plan of using him.

Ngumiti ako. "Deal."

He nodded before he finally stood up. Sumunod naman ako sa kanya saka kami dumiretso sa kanyang kotse. He even opened the door for me in the shotgun before he went to the driver's seat. Nang makapasok siya ay nagsalita ako.

"Sa ibang branch tayo bumili. May mga taga-university ring nagpa-part time crew sa branch namin. Baka machismis ka lang."

Tumango siya at naghanap sa Google Map ng sunod na pinakamalapit na Jollibee branch. Doon kami bumili ng pagkain namin bago kami bumalik sa university upang dumiretso sa opisina niya.

Nang magsimulang kumain ay naging tahimik pa rin kami. He seems to be enjoying his meal while I kept glancing at him. Nang mahuli niya ako ay dinampot niya ang bottled water ko upang buksan habang nakatitig siya sa akin.

"Why did you ghost me after you left my penthouse?"

"Hmm?" gulat kong tanong, may kanin pa sa labi. Ano raw? I ghosted him?

"I said why did you ghost me after you left my penthouse?" ulit niya, nakatitig pa rin sa akin.

Nang makita ang kanin sa aking labi ay siya pa ang nag-alis kaya uminit ang aking pisngi. Paasa rin ang lintik na ito, eh. Does he even know that girls can fall for simple gestures like that?

Sandali akong humugot ng hininga. "Because you made it clear that what we did is wrong. Ang gulo mo."

Tumaas ang kanyang kilay. "I didn't say we should stop the tutorials, Stephanie. Why? Are you into me for you to avoid even our tutorial sessions?"

Napaawang ang aking mga labi. "Hindi ano!" My cheeks burned. "Hindi kita gusto!"

He stared at me for seconds before he leaned on the couch with pursed lips. Mayamaya ay mahina siyang tumango habang hindi nakatingin sa akin. "Iyon naman pala. Hindi mo naman pala ako gusto. We could've continued with the tutorials. It's not like I'll f**k you here or something."

Napalunok ako ng sariling laway. Why did it sound hot when he said that? God, I think I need some holy water! My mind has already been corrupted.

Yes, I lied to my friends about me no longer being a virgin because I had fun teasing them, especially Audrey, pero iba pala kapag totoong nakatikim na. Nag-iiba pala ang takbo ng utak!

I let out some air and pretended to focus on my food. "Ayaw ko lang isipin pa ng wife at anak mo na nagdi-date tayo. Baka mamaya biglang pumunta rito at iba na naman ang isipin."

"They will still see you here anyway since you're my student assistant now."

"Pero iba noong wala pang klase. Teka nga." Salubong ang mga kilay ko siyang tinignan. "Bakit parang ang laking kasalanan ko sayo na tinigil ko ang pagpapa-tutor? Isn't that a relief to you?"

Gumalaw ang kanyang panga habang seryoso siyang nakatitig sa akin. "How is that going to be a relief when I was worried that for the second time around, I'd cause you your chance to finish college?"

Napakurap ako at ang mga labi ay umawang. What?

"You're... worried about my studies?"

Umiwas siya ng tingin kasabay ng pag-igting ng panga. Mayamaya ay mahina niyang itinango ang kanyang ulo habang tila galit. "I was guilty when you didn't graduate last school year and you told me it was because of the things I said when we first met. I thought I took away your chance again when I failed to control myself that night something happened between us." He sighed and finally looked at me again with worry in his eyes. "I even thought you didn't enroll this semester because I had your name looked up and you weren't registered yet during the initial enrolment period. Akala ko gano'n mo ko kagustong iwasan."

Hindi ko alam kung bakit ngunit tila may mainit na palad na humaplos sa aking puso. I wasn't able to respond. Tumitig lamang ako sa kanya nang hindi ko namamalayan ang kurba sa aking mga labi.

Nang kahit papaano ay nahimasmasan ako sa mga sinabi niya ay tuluyan akong nagsalita.

"Thank you."

His brows furrowed. "For what?"

"For worrying about my studies. I... didn't have anyone to care about me that way besides my friends and my mom. Kahit paano ay... may nadagdag sa kakaunting taong may pakialam pa sa akin."

Lumambot ang kanyang ekspresyon. "It's not hard to care for you because you know how to care for other people, too. You shouldn't be thanking me for something that's supposed to be a natural thing."

Basag akong ngumiti. "For someone who doesn't feel seen and appreciated, it's like a miracle to have someone who would care for me that way. Iyon ang pinagpapasalamat ko. Thank you for... being a miracle to me."

Nakita ko ang pagkurba ng kanyang mga labi para sa isang multong ngiti. Mayamaya ay umayos siya ng upo at inialok ang kanyang palad. "We can't erase what happened between us, but maybe we can start over as friends."

I smiled and accepted his hand. "Friends..."