Amby heard a succession of abrupt knocks on her door as she was in the mid-way of washing the baking materials she had used earlier. This time, her intuition was correct; she knew and expected who it was.
She impulsively ran to the door to unlatch it when the knocks stopped. Although Amby is aware that her appearance is disheveled from baking, she first made herself presentable before opening it.
Amby opened the door and grinned at Brent before addressing him. She hesitantly said, "Hello, good morning, I'm so sorry for how I look today..."
Brent lean in the doorframe. "There's nothing wrong on how you look, Sol." he replied as he smiles.
Despite the fact that he was only sporting a basic style of attire, Amby couldn't take her eyes off Brent. He was simply dressed in a plain white shirt and black leather pants, which may have appeared normal to outsiders' eyes but not to Amby and her emotions. She finds the clothing to be attractive because of something about Brent.
She fastly got back to her senses when Brent approach her in the most softest way. "Anyway, bago ko malimutan... Here's the art materials that you needed. Again, I don't need any payback for that,"
"Is the banana bread exempted to that payback that you're talking about?" Amby laughed. Her laughs and smiles are giving Brent some fellow feeling.
That fellow feeling lead Brent into whispering, "what a literal solace..."
Why does he seem to make such an effect with just a chuckle and a smile? Brent is aware that his Sol, suited in contentment. Not for nothing is she named after a sunshine and solace.
Amby's smiles started to fade as she asked, "Why are you not responding to my question?" She was now sulking because she believed Brent was ignoring her.
The older gulped. As he spoke to Amby, he became absorbed in his own thoughts. He laughs, echoing Amby, "Ah, sorry! Of course, the banana bread is exempt from that repayment."
"Okay, I will grab it really really quick! Wait for me!" as soon as she ended her reply to Brent, she go hell for leather to her kitchen to get the banana bread that she pledged to Brent.
To make the food secure, Amby even put it in a paper bag. She make sure that it was clean, and she knows that the paper bag was came from a restaurant that she took out to.
With a smile on her face, Amby returned carrying the paper bag and handing it to Brent. Brent was astonished by Amby's smile; suddenly, he appeared as a statue. The most gorgeous smile he'd ever seen was on her face.
"Ah... Thank you, Sol. Sa uulitin sana, hehe," Brent joked.
"Sure naman! Willing naman ako magbigay, sabihan ko na lang kayo ni Brianna if may ipapadala akong ibe-bake ko," ngumiti namang muli si Amby, sa totoo lang ay itinatago niya sa ngiti ang kabog ng kaniyang dibdib.
Parang sa kung anong oras man ang lumipas ay sasabog na ang kaniyang puso, hindi talaga siya mapakali lalo na't kapag nasa malapit si Brent. To be honest, Amby was longing for his presence—especially hindi naman nakapagpaalam si Brent sa kaniya. Dalawang taon din siyang naghintay, dalawang taon din ang iginugol niya sa pangungulila rito.
"Ay, nga pala... I have one reminder for you. Huwag na huwag mong kakalimutang magpahinga, Sol. Rest is not a reward na makukuha mo lang kung reproductive ka throughout the day. If pagod ka, allowed kang magpahinga. You need to rest if you must. There's no requirements for having a rest, 'cause you deserve it."
Amby didn't let her emotions run through her, she doesn't want Brent to see her being like that. "I will, thank you for the concern!"
On the other side, Brent can still able to smell her Lily of the Valley scent even though they are inch apart.
Both of them were not focusing on each other's eyes. It felt a little awkward. Because he still wanted to stay, Brent is unable to properly bid her farewell. Amby still needs Brent around, therefore she is unable to inquire as to why he hasn't left yet.
Brent's phone broke the silence and awkwardness between the two of them. Amby giggled when she heard Brent's ringtone, it was a song named "banana cha-cha" from Pororo, the little penguin.
"I'm so sorry about that, iyon kasi notification ringtone ko..." Brent uttered and scratch the back of his neck. "It's fine, that was cute for me!" Amby commented.
Brent glanced at his phone and opted to disregard after reading it. While Amby was genuinely interested in who it was, Brent typically doesn't disregard messages. Amby speculated that the message coming from the other line might be a fraud.
"Sol, I'm sorry, but it was kind of rude for leaving like this. May inuutos kasi si Boss Brianna. Pero, okay lang ba kung mauna na ako para makapagpahinga ka na rin?" tanong ni Brent habang nakatayo sa harapan ni Amby.
Dalawang beses namang tumango si Amby para ipaalam kay Brent na pumapayag siyang umalis ito dahil kailangan siya ng nakababatang kapatid nito. "Ah, oo! Sure! Ingat ka pauwi!" Amby responded.
She was about to go to her room, to set down the art materials that Brent brought solely for her. But suddenly, Brent grab her love handles and they fell like an early spring snow in the sofa behind them, Brent was on top of Amby. While Amby looks like she have seen a ghost.
"Kiss ko, where na?" Brent smirked.
"I t-thought that was a joke?" Her heart was thumping so hard that it felt like it would explode any second.
Brent damp his lower lip. "Alam mo naman kapag nagbibiro ako, Sol. But this time, wasn't..."
"Wait, I'm nervous..." Amby cracked a joke.
He was still on top of Amby, and they were conversing while looking into each other's eyes. They frequently do this act prior to each other, so there is no awkwardness between them.
Amby kissed Brent on the lips without any prior notice. Brent wasn't even ready for that; he had assumed that because they had been so-called ex-girlfriend and boyfriend, Amby wouldn't kiss him.
Brent bit his lower lips. "You didn't even give me any simple warning,"
"You need to expect the unexpected sometimes, Brent..." Amby winked at him.
Sol was going to stand up after they both fell on the sofa when she noticed Brent had his phone in his left hand. Despite not paying attention to it, she inadvertently fixes her gaze on the message that appears on Brent's lockscreen.
It was a message from someone named Avionna. The message said, "Hey, baby! 😘 Why are you not answering my messages?"
"I'll go now, Sol. I'll see you the other time. Pahinga ka, ha?" saad ni Brent na kakabangon lang mula sa pagkakahiga nila sa sofa kanina.
The latter forced herself to smile. "Oh, okay... Ingat,"
Amby just had one memory of Brent's departure from the room, and that was how jealousy and questioning filled the space. Who is Avionna in Brent's life, for instance? What kind of bond does she have with him?
Amby suddenly sighed like she was about to cry. "Parang gago ba, magiging kabit pa yata ako..." she whispered.
Inquisitive and envious, Brent left her. Today, she was about to go to sleep when her body made the decision to overthink instead.
