Scandalous Affair: Atlas Mate

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O L I V I A V A L E Z

There were a lot of things a person could do to welcome someone. They could hold a welcome party or a surprise party. There were a lot of good things that a person could do to have a good impression. But I choose death. I puked at a person I hadn't seen for many years. I did something embarrassing to death on our first meeting again. I could have done something great or at least something that wasn't humiliating to prove that I wasn't a little girl anymore. But the world wasn't on my side.

Sa dinami-daming lugar na p'wede kaming magkita sa bar pa talaga. Saka p'wede naman hindi na kami ulit magkita 'di ba? Kahit alam kong medyo impossible 'yon dahil he's my dad's bestfreind. Pero why not? P'wede naman akong kaawaan ng mundo at hindi na muling pagtagpuin ang landas namin, lalo na ngayong he's a married man.

Atlas Mate was a married man.

Pumunta pa nga ako sa bachelor's party niya, e. Nagpakatanga pa nga ako do'n at bumigay. I wouldn't forget the fact that he was married to Beauty. The pain of knowing he was married would always remind me of it. The nightmares, the anxiety, and the broken pieces of myself leave a big scar on me.

I couldn't remember clearly how I went home safely. Err, not entirely safe; I knew for the fact that Atlas was the one who sent me home using my car. Being with Atlas was one dangerous thing I could do. I scratched my head as I felt it pounded painfully. Gusto kong sabunutan ang sarili ko, pero hindi naman 'yon makatutulong sa situation ko ngayon. Lalo lang sasakit ang ulo ko kung sakali. And I didn't want that.

I stood up, and hell! The world gave me a little swirl! Parang gusto kong masuka, pero wala namang lumalabas. Inabot ko ang scrunchy ko sa bed table, at basta-basta ko na lamang itinali ang buhok into a messy bun. I felt my head pounded hard again. My head was fucking me hard, and it was not in a pleasurable way. It was torture. A fucking torture.

Hindi na talaga ako iinom! Hinding-hindi na! I promise to all the shots I drank yesterday. I promise to all liquor available on the bar, that I , Oliva Valez, wouldn't drink anymore. Hail to that.

Bumaba na ako para makainom ng tubig at ng advil. Simula ng matuto akong uminom ay lagi na akong may stock no'n. Minsan nga try kong bumili noong sinasabi nilang Korean hangover medicine. Effective raw mga 'yon, e. Akala ko ba hindi kana iinom? Bakit nagbabalak kang mag-try ng hangover medicine? May plano pa? Ugh, I hate myself.

My head wasn't with me as I put water on my glass. Today was Saturday. My dad didn't have work today, either, but I hadn't seen him. Well, that was fine. I didn't want him to see me like this. I was absent-mindedly drinking cold water that was supposed to be hot. When suddenly, flashes of memories of last night came to my mind.

I remembered being carried in a piggyback position by a man with a black leather jacket. His long hair that was laying freely on his nape was brushing my face. I remembered feeling ticklish and chuckling because of it. I remember him cursing and sighing. Then, my memory jumped to me inside my car. I couldn't exactly remember how I went inside. I saw a white smoke not so far from me and a man stripping his shirt with my blurry sight.

Even in my drunken state, I could remember clearly how he was so ripped, in every sense, despite his age. From head to toe, that long unruly hair to his obscene pecs, to the solid muscles, flaring on the right places. It was as if the god himself and his physique were sculpted perfectly, giving him zero room for anything other than mighty flesh and muscle.

Atlas put her other hand on his hair and brushed it upward with a cigar dancing between his lips. The jacket and the shirt were freely hanging on his shoulders, and it looked like paper compared to his rock-hard body. He walked towards me and stopped in front of me. He gripped the edge of the roof of my car and leaned a little closer to me. He flicked down his cigar and put it out using the end of his biker boots, but his predatory eyes never leave mine.