Chapter 29
1140 Words
We ended up in Café Mezzanine. Si Andrè na rin ang nag-order—Xiao long bao at bean rice. Ako naman, nakangiti na parang nanalo sa raffle habang hinihintay ang pagkain. Grabe talaga, ang babaw ng kaligayahan ko. Basta may pagkain, solved na ako!
“What?” I asked when I noticed him staring at me like a lunatic in love.
“Wala. Grabe ka lang talaga mapasaya ng pagkain.”
I nodded proudly. “Syempre. Feeling ko nga tumataba na ako kasi ang lakas kong kumain lalo na kapag stressed sa school. Iyong ibang pants ko nga, medyo nagiging low-waist na sila kahit hindi naman sila designed na gano’n!”
“You look fine,” he said.
“Tss. Tapos sasabihin mo na naman ‘your body’s okay.’”
Andrè laughed. “Are you really gonna use that against me forever?”
“Oo kaya. Nakaka-offend ‘yon, FYI. Hindi mo ba alam, sensitive ako sa body image ko? Kasi ikaw, parang Greek god ang peg. Ako, minsan feeling ko si Patrick Star.”
“Hey,” he said, leaning forward. “You can literally look like a mess right now and I’d still want to be around you.”
“HUY!” I pointed at him with a chopstick. “So hindi mo ako maganda?!”
“Maricon,” he said, trying not to laugh. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t find you attractive. Why do you think I kept pestering you when I first met you?”
“Eh kasi... ADHD ka lang siguro.”
“Because I thought you were cute.”
“Cute lang? Hindi maganda?”
“Fine. Maganda ka.”
“Wow. Ang convincing naman ng tone mo. Grabe. Pinaniwala mo talaga ako.”
“Are we seriously arguing about this?”
“Bakit kasi sinabi mong okay lang katawan ko? Pwede namang maganda at okay ang katawan ko, di ba?”
“My God,” he whispered, leaning back with a laugh. “You’re frustrating.”
“Ano, susuko ka na?”
“HINDI. You can frustrate the s**t out of me and I’ll still stay.”
I glared at him. “Tss. Puro ka salita.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, grinning. “Gusto mo dagdagan ko ng gawa, Maricon?”
BAM! Tinamaan siya ng chopsticks na nabato ko sa sobrang hiya. I swear, kung may audience kami sa moment na ‘yon, baka pinapaporma na kami ng director ng romcom movie.
“Tumigil ka nga! Mamaya may makarinig pa!”
Nagulat ako nang tumawa lang siya. Walang takot! Buti na lang dumating na iyong pagkain namin kaya na-divert na ang atensyon ko. I was carefully picking my Xiao long bao like it was a sacred relic when I noticed Andrè taking photos of me. AGAIN.
“Bakit ba kuha ka nang kuha ng pictures? Kain ka na.”
“I just wanna post photos of you, okay? You said I can only hold your hand. Let me take my photos, Maricon. Give me this small win.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Pero ‘wag mo akong gawing food blog content ha. I’m a woman, not a Xiao Long Bao reviewer!”
Kahit conscious ako, hindi ko rin mapigilan ang sarili ko. Nakaka-tatlong XLB na ako bago siya finally tumigil at sabayan akong kumain. After that, naglakad-lakad pa kami sa China Town. I thought we’d go on a food crawl, but I overestimated myself. Busog na busog na ako.
Nag-egg tart kami, then milk tea, tapos naglakad habang magka-holding hands. Yung sway sway pa ang arms naming dalawa! Parang mga karakter sa slice-of-life anime na wala nang ibang problema sa mundo kundi kung anong next kakainin.
“This is such a good day,” I sighed. “Kahit literal na kumain lang tayo.”
“You still wanna eat?” he asked.
I shook my head. “No. I’m already full. Uuwi na ba tayo?”
Umiling siya. “No. We’re still going somewhere.”
“Saan na naman?” I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Secret.”
We walked back to his car habang si Sir Romantic ay hawak-hawak na ang bagong biling payong dahil tirik na tirik na ang araw. Dahil hindi kami makapag-holding hands, he told me to anchor my arm in his. Daming alam, pero kinilig ako. Huhu.
“You told me before you wanted to go to museums,” he said.
Nanlaki mata ko. OMG. Nabanggit ko ‘yon ONCE. Like, super random lang during one of our cram nights sa finals! Tapos naalala niya?!
“What? Ayaw mo na?”
“I want!” I said quickly.
Tumawa siya. “Then why do you look like I just read your diary?”
“Ang dami mong alam sa akin, Andrè.”
He smirked. “I told you. I liked you the first time I met you. I’ve been observing since then.”
Putek. Sinong hindi mahuhulog sa ganito? Siya na talaga ang endgame. Ako na lang ang kailangan mag-adjust.
We arrived at the National Museum, and surprisingly, walang masyadong tao. While in line, I kept checking if I was dreaming. Gusto ko sanang mag-emote ng “Nandito ako ngayon sa puso ng sining,” pero baka sipain ako ni Kuya Guard.
Pagpasok namin sa loob, he just let me wander around.
Grabe. Heaven. Art. Silence. Aircon. Boyfriend. Masarap mamatay.
“You like painting?” he asked.
“Yeah. But ‘di ako magaling. Sakto lang. Ang straight lines ko nga, lumiliko.”
He nodded. “Hmm. Free your Friday. I’m gonna take you somewhere.”
“Saan na naman?”
He just smiled. “Secret.”
“Siguraduhin mong hindi ako madadala sa haunted house, Andrè.”
He laughed. “So bossy.”
“Ginusto mo ‘to, e.”
“Exactly.”
I roamed for an hour until napagod na rin ako. Tinatanong pa niya kung gusto kong mag-second round sa museum pero I told him, “Art hangover is real. I need time to recover.”
Pagbalik namin sa condo, we stood in front of our respective units.
“Can I stay over?”
“No.”
He frowned. “But why?”
“Because.”
“Because?”
“Gotta keep the spice alive, Andrè,” I said smugly.
He laughed. “I haven’t even kissed you yet, Maricon! There’s still a lot of spice alive, trust me.”
I shrugged. “Sorry, no sleepover for you. Good night.”
“Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” he said, shaking his head with a soft smile.
Pagpasok ko sa unit, nag-skincare routine agad ako—may date ulit eh! Habang naka-facemask ako, nag-check ako ng i********:.
Then, I froze.
It was a picture of me, standing in front of the Spoliarium. Caption: "Masterpiece."
Tangina.
- Writer
