What is love?

Chapter 86

"Ang aga mo yata" Von exclaimed when I joined them to eat "I have to meet up with Carl" "uuuuuy" Von teased "tigilan mo yang ate mo" papa said, I sticked my tongue out towards him. "Bakit anak?" Mama asked "well ma, alam nyo namang siya business partner ko and me joining this competition is his idea so meeting up with him is a no brainer. Besides nagka usap naman na sila ni Richard noon pa no so okay lang yan" I placed food on my plate "speaking of Richard, anong oras umuwi yun" papa asked "ahhh.. eh mga 2-ish" "hmm late nadin pala eh no" papa closed his newspaper "oh let's all eat, Dawn ihahatid na kita" papa said and smiled at me warmly. I got ready after eating, tulog padin si Richard, I am 100 percent sure may hangover to mamaya. I walked over him to kiss him goodbye kaso naalala ko nanaman na naiinis ako sakanya so I just made a face near his sleeping face.

I arrived at the restaurant and Carl's sitting with 3 more people "hi, hi sorry i'm late" Carl stood up when he saw me. "No it's alright we just got here lang din" the lady answered "oh by the way, Dave, Jen, and Aj, this is Dawn" we shook hands "nice meeting you" I smiled while shaking each of their hands. "Did you order food already?" I whispered to Carl when we sat down "of course I did" he sweetly smiled "yan gusto ko sayo eh" I smiled back. "Okay Dawn, enlighten us where did the design originate?" Aj asked "well, I recently.... no not that recent but I moved to this beautiful province surrounded by beaches because of my husband" they seemed taken aback with what I said. "Wait, so you two aren't together?" Jen pointed at me and Carl, I chuckled "actually.." I started "alam nyo Dawn is my almost girlfriend kasi" singit ni Carl and I hit him under the table, he didn't wince.

"Oh really?" Jen is intrigued "nako wag na natin pag usapan to" I awkwardly laughed "no, tell us more" Dave insisted. Carl looked at me and I sarcastically smiled at him, he knows I don't like talking about my private life. "Ganito kasi yan, we've been friends since we were kids tapos medyo dating in a way no?" He turned to me and asked "ah....eh oo" I hate awkward situations "kaso?" Jen asked "she was arranged to marry the son of his father's closest friend" he laughed pero we both know he's hurting inside "oh talaga, grabe naman yun parang teleserye pala story nyo" Dave laughed "oo nga eh, pero mas lalo naging matatag friendship namin" inakbayan ako ni Carl and shook me little. Yeah mas matatag....... I thought, "so you're married?" Ulit ni Aj "yes" maikli kong sagot "then why don't you use his surname?" "another long story" I feel like my mouth drying with this topic, so I drank some water.

"They weren't in good terms noon" "Carl!" I'm eyeing him to stop, unfortunately he didn't "why?" Jen leaned closer eager to listen "hey, let's not talk about it baka uncomfy si Dawn with this topic" Aj said trying to save the day "actuallly...... yeah eh" I awkwardly chuckled. Luckily they dropped the subject and we focused on how I would present the sculpture and what it means to me etc... "Bye" Carl and I waved them goodbye, "ouch" he said after I punched his shoulder "bakit mo naman kailangan ikwento pa yung samin ni Richard" inis kong sabi, he stared at me for a jiffy and bursted laughing. "So nakakatawa pa?" I punched him again.

"Hindi, kasi inaasar lang naman kita malay ko bang you'll get pikon" he shielded himself from my punches "to think of it, I've never seen you that panicked before" he added "kasi naman who wants their personal issues to be outed no" I rolled my eyes at his naivety "sorry" sabi niyang malambing "hmpph" I crossed my arms "sorry na nga eh" he's trying to let me see his face "please, sorry na" he did his infamous puppy dog eyes that always gets its way "sige na nga basta libre mo ako dessert AND never, I said, never, do that to me again" I warned "yun lang pala eh, waiter bill please" he excitedly exclaimed "wait so you promise ha, no more making me and Richard as a topic or us for that matter" "oo na" he rolled his eyes and sighed. I texted papa to pick me up na, he told me 30mins ETA so Carl bought me ice cream and we walked around the mall. He held my hands like we usually would, "wait, so you two aren't together?" Jen's remarks echoed through my brain.