And Then You

10 / maureen

SHE should've kicked him out.

She should've, she really should've.

She shouldn't have—shouldn't have let him in her space, on her bed, smear his scent all over her covers, leave dents of his fingertips on the mattress.

Maureen doesn't know how he fit, he shouldn't have been able to, yet he wedged his huge body right beside her anyway and suddenly the length of his arm behind her back reached around the other side of her waist and she can hear and feel him breathing.

They finished their food a few minutes ago. He bought her favorite, the classic boneless ones, and let her have the last piece kahit nahihiya pa siya no'ng una. They shared the twister fries and the ranch sauce, and handed to her the slice of cheesecake that "came with the order".

She's eating it now, helpless tears forming on her face as she keeps her eyes on the screen.

And then Maureen feels Kuya Inggo move beside her, lean forward to inspect her face. And there's a huge smile on his lips when he asks, "Rinn, umiiyak ka ba?"

"No." She turns away from him and shoves down a forkful of cheesecake. "Pinagsasabi mo, Kuya Inggo? Shut up ka na lang."

There he goes with his laugh again. Reaching all the way down to her toes and shamelessly clawing her heart.

A Walk to Remember ends, and Kuya Inggo gently closes her laptop and pushes it towards the foot of the bed, still grinning. "So do you cry every time you watch this?"

Now that there's nothing else to focus on, wala na siyang matingnan na iba o marinig na iba kundi si Kuya Inggo, Maureen looks down at her dessert when she answers, "It's moving." No use denying it now. Her hand goes up to her face to wipe away some of her last tears. "'Tsaka gwapo si Landon."

Kuya Inggo lets out a pfft sound. "Mas gwapo ako do'n."

He's not wrong. Maureen shrugs. "If we were in the movie and it came down between the two of you, I would choose him."

Her cheesecake is halfway done pa lang, but she wants more for later kaya she goes to cover it, licking her fork, and pushes off the bed to stand up. Night is over. Movie is done. Uwi na siya bago pa may isiping kalokohan na naman na gawin si Maureen.

Kiss mo siya para pahiya ka ulet, tawa ng demonyo.

Maureen cringes internally, so wrapped up in that embarrassment that she registers too late Kuya Inggo's hand is gripping her wrist and pulling her back down on the bed. She lands on her butt with a gasp, wide-eyed.

Kuya Inggo is frowning at her, eyebrows furrowed. "Kung si Landon at ako, si Landon? Bakit?"

Maureen doesn't want to smile. She is not going to smile at his confused face, at the fact that he's demanding an explanation.

"Because I'd be more of his type," Maureen answers with a shrug, like it's not a big deal. "Parang ako si Jamie, e. I'm not that conservative, or religious, and obviously not sick, but I look like her. And you'd be better off with the ones that are up to your standards."

She laughs when his face doesn't change.

In fact, he even looks more incredulous than he did before she answered.

Maureen stands up. "Thanks for the company, Kuya Inggo. Baka pwede ka nang umuwi, I'm sure 'di ka na i-ki-kick out ni Ate—"

She almost knocks down her desk when she turns around and finds him standing in front of her.

In full height, Kuya Inggo is intimidating. She's 5'1 and he's 6'1, for fuck's sake. From this angle, with him looking down at her and her straining her neck to look up at him, she's worried she looks like a dwarf.