All For Show (COMPLETED)

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Pablo looked equally surprised nang masalo niya iyong garter. My eyes were probably wide because I was surprised, too. Why was he in the middle? I mean, maybe he was dragged there like me? But... why did he catch the garter? Kanina kasi iwas na iwas ako dun sa bulaklak. At kahit ihagis sa akin mismo ni Therese iyong bulaklak, ihahagis ko pabalik sa kanya iyon.

So... why was he holding the damn garter?

Na kanina lang ay nasa legs ng kapatid ko?

God, nagiinit na agad ang ulo ko.

"Ang swerte nitong babaeng 'to! Ang gwapo nung makakapartner!" sabi nung host.

I felt everyone's eyes on me. I forced a smile on my face. I refused to look like someone insecure na hindi papayag sa ganito. Ang dami na ngang sinasabi ng pamilya ko sa akin, dadagdagan ko pa ba?

Why did I care so much? Kung kasing dali lang talaga kagaya nung sinasabi ni Pablo na 'wag magkaroon ng pakielam sa sinasabi ng pamilya.

Lumapit iyong host kay Pablo.

"Hi! Ano'ng name mo?" he asked at saka itinapat kay Pablo iyong microphone.

"Pablo," he replied with the smile that usually makes me swoon, but right now, it's making my blood simmer.

"Ang gwapo ng boses, sis! Lucky day mo na ata!" sabi nung host sa pinsan ni Leo.

Pablo smiled. "Happily taken," sabi ni Pablo at saka tumingin sa gawi ko kaya naman nagtinginan lahat sa akin. Normally, I would hate being the center of attention lalo na kapag nandito ako sa Bataan... but for some reason, I liked that he quickly made it known na boyfriend ko siya. I mean, granted na ngayong araw lang naman, but still, he's with me.

"Ay, may girlfriend!" sabi nung host. I just smiled. "Pwede bang sumali iyong boyfriend mo? Katuwaan lang naman."

I smiled again. "Up to him," I replied because I really refused na magmukhang insecure girlfriend sa harapan nilang lahat. I knew that they're already thinking na 'jackpot' ako kay Pablo at baka sobrang nakabakod ako sa kanya.

He's a catch, alright, but I'm a catch, too.

"Game ka ba?" the host asked.

Pablo shook his head. "No, I can't," sabi niya at saka iaabot sana pabalik iyong garter sa host.

"Katuwaan lang naman," the host nudged. Ang pushy, ha. Sinabi na ngang ayaw, e. "Mukhang okay naman sa girlfriend, e. 'Di ba?" he asked, looking at me. Once again, I shrugged.

"I don't want to participate, though," Pablo said and then smiled politely once again at saka naglakad at iniabot kay Leo iyong garter. He said something to Leo and Therese na naging dahilan kung bakit kumunot iyong noo ng kapatid ko.

The host was forced to move on dahil naglalakad na pabalik sa akin si Pablo. I tried to play it cool dahil ramdam ko pa rin iyong tingin ng mga tao sa paligid ko.

"You could've said yes," sabi ko nang makabalik siya sa tabi ko.

"I wasn't really interested," sagot niya.

"Okay," sabi ko. "Ano na lang sinabi mo sa kanila?"

"To your sister?" he asked, purposely not mentioning Leo's name. Kung makaarte 'to parang mas malaki pa ang atraso ni Leo sa kanya kaysa sa akin, e.

I nodded. "Yup. May sinabi ka ba?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. Just told them I didn't want to participate because that's disrespectful to you, my girlfriend."