Elegant Affair

II.IV

Me: Do you have plans for later?

Yuck. I sound so interested. I clicked delete.

Me: Busy later?

There. pressed sent.

I saw that Matteo was online pero baka hindi niya rin agad mabasa. He always does that but he replies when he can so I just waited for the notification alert which I heard as soon as I locked the phone.

Matteo: Kind of. I'll need to pack for Malaysia again. Why?

Me: Again?

Matteo: Yup, another emergency meeting. I was just informed now. Why?

Me: Okay. Just nevermind. Nothing important. Ingat.

Matteo: Miss me while I'm gone?

I scoffed. Ang assuming. I could sense his inflated ego from a distance.

Me: Kapal.

Matteo: Well, you said you missed me last night.

Me: You said you missed me too, asshole.

Matteo: Doesn't matter, you said it first.

I can already imagine his smirk as he excitedly types on his phone. Ang bilis maka-reply, mukhang walang ginagawa ngayon kundi mang-inis. I paused thinking of what to reply because as much as I want to deny it, I really did say it first. Alam kong ipapamukha niya iyon sa akin. And with Matteo and me, it has always been a competition of who'll say it first, who'll do it first, and my favorite: saying without saying. This whole fiasco wouldn't last a year if things are boring.

I remembered how emotions reflected his eyes last night. Parang kagabi ko lang ata na-realize how Matteo is so wrapped around my fingers. I don't even know he realizes.

Me: You said it twice. I win, PERIOD

Matteo: Are we really counting things? Let's call it quits. We both know nothing was unsatisfactory about last night.

Me: Bye.

I can't let him say such things. Baka dumagdag lang sa iisipin ko. I can't need him right now. Aalis na naman siya. Paano na lang kung magtatagal siya doon ng isang buwan? Ugh. That's too long. I'm always busy with work but- nope. Isang araw pa nga lang kami nagkikita ulit, nagiging clingy na ako.

I hate this. Then why does he need to leave again? Hindi niya ba inayos ng maayos ang aayusin niya noong nakaraang araw? He needs to do his job properly then. Nakakainis.

A week has passed since Matteo has left for Malaysia. It has also been a week since my father starts to secretly contact me, asking me explicitly to work for our business. Okay naman na siguro ang lahat but I've been showing up on family dinners again after Sam told me that my mother is so close to hiring a private investigator just so she could know what I'm up to. That's just too absurd. Kung may gusto siyang marinig, sabihin niya sa akin. It's just that, me getting in touch with them again was interpreted as me being open for negotiation.

I need a break. If only Matteo is here to distract me right now.

Me: It's boring here without you. Kailan uwi mo?

I waited but he didn't reply. Busy siguro ngayon. He probably is. Hindi man lang nagawang mag-update sa amin. He's making us guess what he's up to when he's away for business meetings. Kung sa cafe niya, halos walang tinatago but with their family business, he's always silent. I wonder if he's seeing that girl they were talking about before. Baka nga, kaya siguro hindi na ma-contact.

I almost jumped on my chair, almost taking the risk of damaging my dear, dear sketch when I heard my phone ring. I saw Matteo's name on the screen. I was ready to answer but I waited until the third ring, "Hello?"

"Miss me?" Matteo and his obsession with people missing him.

"It's hard to ignore your absence." I took the opportunity to drink the coffee I prepared earlier. Napakunot ang noo ko nang matikmang hindi na pala iyon mainit.

"I miss you too."

"I'm rolling my eyes right now, FYI." Mahina siyang napatawa sa kabilang linya. "Bakit ka tumatawag? It's still 6, I'm busy." I said. Well, I am but I can take this call.

"Uuwi na ako sa susunod na araw." My eyes immediately looked at the calendar on my desk. Sunday? Why is he coming home on a Sunday? Bakit hindi na lang Sabado? Wala na sigurong pahinga sa bokabularyo niya. "When's your off?"

"Tomorrow and Sunday, as always." It's Friday today and I was kind of hoping he can go home by Saturday already because I'll be busy with Esme's wedding planning on Sunday. "Esme has a gown fitting this Sunday."

"I love Esme but can you ditch her this one time?"

"What?! Sira-ulo ka?"

"I was wondering if you can go to Kuala Lumpur on your off. Just a quick vacation before going home?"

I'm out of my mind. I'm definitely out of my mind.

Dalawang araw lang na bakasyon but the things I had to prepare before leaving, the lies I had to formulate and tell to everyone. Pagkatapos ng family dinner today, I faked some sort of illness, grabbed my suitcase, and went to the airport.

I had four hours to think of another lie I had to tell Esme. Nakakakonsensya tuloy dahil alam kong importante sa kaniya iyon but I promised I'll just make it up to her on her final fitting. I know she'll look great anyway kahit basahan pa ang isuot niya.

"Love!"

My eyes searched for the owner of the voice. It only took three seconds for me to spot Matteo waving too enthusiastically at the airport. I secretly sighed, relieved that it's just his face I'm seeing because knowing Matteo, hindi na ako mabibigla kung may malaking sign siyang dala or some grand shit he uses for pranking. The advantage of being busy, he got way less time to think about other shenanigans.

I walked towards him as I tried not to smile but the closer I got, the faster my pace has become hanggang sa mapatakbo na lang ako, and accepted his invitation for a hug. And in case he says I did this first, fuck him, he was welcoming me with open arms.

"Hi!" Nanlaki pa ang mata ko nang halikan niya ako sa labi, naninibago na ginagawa niya ito sa isang publikong lugar only to be reminded that we're literally out of the country. It's comfortable in his arms so I stayed there longer, my head leaning on his chest. I can hear the vibration from his lungs as he speaks, "Welcome to Kuala Lumpur."

"I'm so tired." Hindi pa rin ako gumagalaw sa posisyon ko. Apat na oras lang ang biyahe but I almost had no breaks since leaving from work.

"I know." He grabbed my suitcase habang akbay-akbay pa rin ako. I was a little dizzy so I'm still leaning towards Matteo a little. Just letting him guide me because I really want to close my eyes and let him just guide me wherever we are staying. "Don't worry, our room is all clean and ready."