Chapter 9
1321 Words
The bar he brought us to was actually nice. Not too crowded. Great music. Ambiance was chill AF. Feeling ko mawawala ‘yung stress ko… unless biglang may mag-confess ng love o may sumayaw sa lamesa.
Andrè was right. I needed this s**t right here. Like, kailangan ko talaga ng ganito—bar, alak, chismis, konting thrill sa puso. Ang daming nangyayari sa law school, at wala pa akong love life? Unfair!
May pila sa harap ng CR, kaya nag-decide akong tumambay muna sa bar counter. Hindi pa kasi ako ready makipagbungguan ng bladder sa mga babae sa loob. Mga sabay-sabay yatang naihi pagkatapos kumain.
"Can I get water?" tanong ko sa bartender. Yes, tubig muna tayo, mga Mars. Prevention is better than hangover.
Nginitian ako ng bartender. “Here,” he said, handing me a bottle of water. Hinanap ko agad wallet ko sa bag—bago pa ako tawagin ng Diyos na kuripot—pero sabi niya, “It’s on the house.”
WOW. Freebie queen na ako ngayon?
Nginitian ko rin siya. Medyo madilim sa bar, but the guy looked good. Like, oh hello, hindi kita usual type pero bakit parang gusto kitang ligawan? Scruffy yung face niya—parang ilang araw nang hindi nakapag-shave, pero hindi baduy. Ruggedly charming.
"You went here to drink water?" tanong niya, trying to be funny.
I smiled while shaking my head. “Nah,” sabi ko, sabay turo sa mesa kung saan andun sina Andrè at Jax.
“I’m with friends. Just hydrating myself first. Gusto ko pang mabuhay bukas.”
I was only supposed to stay for a bit habang hinihintay ko na mawala yung pila sa CR, pero for some reason, this bartender had major main character energy. Nakakatuwa siya! Ang dami niyang kwento tungkol sa mga lasing na nagdrama, nag-break, nagkiskandalo, o naghanap ng ex nila sa ilalim ng mesa.
"Wait!" sabi ko, interrupting his comedy bar segment. “What’s your name? Kanina pa tayo nag-uusap, pero hindi ko pa rin alam name mo.”
“Pablo,” he replied, cool as ice.
Kumunot ang noo ko. “Wait…” naglo-loading ang utak ko “Is this your bar?” tanong ko habang lumalaki ang mata ko.
Kanina kasi sabi ni Andrè na “Dito tayo sa Pablo’s.” At si kuya—Pablo nga ang pangalan. Connecting the dots, b***h!
He nodded, smiling. “Yeah. Since I spend most of my nights in a bar, figured I should at least make money out of it,” sagot niya.
Ikaw na, Mr. Entrepreneur.
“You?” he asked. “What’s your name?”
I smiled, extended my hand. “Maricon.”
He took it. And girl, BOOM! Para akong nakanood ng romcom in HD. May spark. As in, literal kilig sa kalamnan.
Oh no. Ito na ba ang simula ng w*****d story ko in real life?!
Medyo dumadami na ang tao sa bar, kaya sabi ni Pablo kailangan na raw niyang bumalik sa trabaho. Ako naman, kunwari chill lang pero sa loob-loob ko: ‘Wag kang aalis hangga’t hindi mo hinihingi number ko, please!
Pero wala. He left. No number. No anything. Just vibes.
Balik ako sa table namin.
“I thought the CR ate you up,” ani Andrè, nagsalin pa ng alak.
“The line was long…” sabi ko, kunwari normal lang ako. Pero deep inside, nagmumuni-muni na ako sa meaning ng buhay at ghosting na di pa nagsisimula.
“What happened?” tanong niya. “You look sad. Again.”
I looked at Andrè. Alam kong siya ang numero unong halimaw sa panglalandi. Hindi kaya weird kung magtanong ako sa kanya? Like… Ano ba’ng gagawin ko kay Pablo?
Napansin ko rin si Jax—nakahandusay na parang natokhang.
“What happened to Jax?” tanong ko.
Tumingin si Andrè sa kanya sabay tawang may halong demonyo. “You were gone for so long! Kanina ko pa siya pinapa-inom.”
Hinampas ko siya. “Gago ka talaga!”
“He’ll live. Besides, boring ang life ni Jax. My mission is to add plot twist,” sabi niya. Talaga lang, ha.
“So what’s wrong?” he asked again.
Tiningnan ko siya ng matagal. To tell or not to tell?
“I need to drink first,” I said.
He grinned. “That’s my girl,” sabi niya sabay abot ng shot glass. Nag-drop siya ng Jager sa Red Bull. “Jager bomb.”
Sige. Lagot tayo kay liver. Pero for love, go!
Since tambay talaga ng bar si Andrè, I trusted him. Alam kong kahit mukhang loko-loko, he’d never let me go home lasing sa kalsada. Siya pa magpapa-dial ng 911 pag nagka-eksena.
I downed two whole glasses before I had the courage to open up.
“Wait… si Pablo?” he asked, brows furrowing.
I nodded. “You know him?”
“Of course,” sagot ko rin sa sarili ko. “Dito tayo sa bar niya, diba?”
Then he muttered, “He’s like 30 years old…”
“Eh ‘di wow? The older, the better,” sagot ko agad.
My God, parang si Kassy pala ako! Si Kassy, na pinatulan si Papa ko. Ako rin ba ay destined maging sugar-free baby girl ni Pablo?!
“Wingman mo naman ako,” sabi ko kay Andrè. “Help mo naman ako. Baka ito na ‘yung kilig na hinahanap ko.”
“I thought busy ka sa school?”
“Syempre. Pero kailangan ko rin ng inspiration.”
“Tsk. Kailangan lalaki talaga inspiration mo?”
“Babae lang ako. Kailangan ko ng konting kilig sa katawan, okay?” I said, resting my chin on my hands. “Please? Help your friend, neighbor, and blocmate have a love life naman, Andrè.”
Hindi siya sumagot agad. Uminom pa siya ng tatlong shot bago nag-react. Parang biglang naging art film ang eksena.
“Hey, baka malasing ka.”
“I’m fine,” sagot niya. “And I won’t drive.”
“Paano tayo uuwi?”
“Basta,” sagot niya. Basta?! Di ba ‘yan ang line ng mga lalaking ayaw ng label?!
“Fine. Pero si Pablo nga—?”
“Puro ka Pablo,” sabay irap niya.
Natigilan ako. “What?”
He clenched his jaw. Uy, galit?
“I mean, you just met him, Maricon.”
“I know.”
“You don’t know him.”
“I know. Kaya nga wingman mo ako, diba? Para makilala ko siya. That’s how it works, right?” Tinapik ko pa braso niya. “Oh come on… You dated and slept around, Andrè. Why can’t I date? Gusto ko lang din naman sumaya…”
Tahimik siya. He looked at me for a long time. Parang may sinasabi ang mga mata niya pero walang captions.
“I don’t like him for you, Maricon. May reputation si Pablo. Ayokong maging isa ka lang sa mga ‘girls’ niya.”
I blinked. “Like your reputation, Andrè?”
His jaw clenched again. He looked like he wanted to argue, but instead, he said, “You know that’s not what I meant. I’m just worried about you. I don’t… I don’t want you to get hurt.”
I smiled and reached for his face, hinaplos ko yung pisngi niya. “So what if I get hurt? That’s part of living. Kung hindi ako masasaktan, eh ‘di nag-e-exist lang ako, hindi ako nabubuhay, Andrè.”
He grabbed my hand off his cheek. Akala ko bibitawan niya, pero hindi. Hawak pa rin niya.
“You really like him?” tanong niya.
I nodded. “Yeah…”
He reached for the tequila, poured a shot, ininom iyon in one go. Then, he stood up and dragged me with him.
“Then let’s get you that guy,” sabi niya.
At that moment, hindi ko na alam kung kilig ba ako kay Pablo, o kay Andrè na ayaw akong masaktan.
- Writer
