Hardest to Lose (Villaraza Series #4)

48 | Easy

48 | Easy

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Of course, he was more furious now. And I was becoming more and more impatient.

I always thought girls are harder to date. Ang lalakas ng mood swing! Pero pinatunayan ni Markus na mali ako. Wala talagang gender ang pagkakaroon ng toyo.

Because I was frustrated, too, I didn’t try to tame him. Ano siya, sinusuwerte? He had his fault, too. Hindi puwedeng ako palagi ang gagalaw!

I was busy watering the plants in my balcony when my phone vibrated. I thought it was Markus that I even had to silence my excitement. Pero tuluyan iyong napipi nang nakitang si Sherlyn iyon.

“Hello,” I greeted.

“Hi, Iñara,” she responded softly. “Are you busy today?”

“Hindi naman. Bakit?”

“Can we meet?”

Dahan-dahang kong ipinatong sa mesa ang sprinkler. “You’re still here.”

It took her seconds before she replied, “Yeah. I decided to stay longer. I realized I must have made some mistake. Kung aalis ako nang ‘di ‘yon nareresolba, baka wala na ‘kong balikan dito.”

I bit my inner lower lip. Ganundin ang gusto kong mangyari – ang makausap siya. I had tried to contact her these past days but I always ended up dropping the call before it rang. It was good she called.

“Sige. Kailan mo gusto?” I asked.

“Are you free later?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll text you the place.”

Pagkatapos naming magpaalam sa isa’t isa, ibinaba ko na ang tawag at panandaliang natulala.

Should I tell her? It wouldn’t change anything. But somehow I wanted her to know how much she meant to me before. She was one of the reasons why I embraced who I was today.

After lunch, I immediately prepped myself. Kuryuso ang nanay ko kung saan ako pupunta. She had always pried with my life. But she was being extra these days. I didn’t know why.

Pagkatapos kong mag-ayos ay nagpaalam na akong aalis. Pagkasakay ko sa sasakyan ay t-in-ext ko na si Sherlyn na papunta na ako. Nag-reply din siya na papunta na rin siya.

She wanted this talk as much as I did.

Pagkarating sa café ay sinabihan ko ang driver ko na hintayin na lang ang text ko at saka niya ako balikan. I just knew he would report to my mother everything if he stayed here. I couldn’t allow that!

Kabado akong pumasok sa lugar saka luminga-linga. Sherlyn was in a conspicuous place and the café wasn’t packed so it wasn’t hard to find her. Tahimik siyang nakaupo at bahagyang nakayuko na tila malalim ang iniisip.

I smiled and walked to her. Nang nasa harapan niya na ako ay mabilis siyang nag-angat ng tingin. Her face lit up and I was damn flattered.

“Iñara!”

I pulled the chair before her. “Hi. Kanina ka pa ba rito?”

She shook her head cutely. “Hindi naman. Mga ilang minuto palang naman.”

I nodded and grabbed the menu. “Um-order ka na?”

“Hindi pa. Hinintay kita para sabay na tayong dalawa.”

Iyon nga ang ginawa namin. Sherlyn ordered a lot. Hindi pa raw kasi siya kumakain. Ako naman, I just went for orange juice since I just finished lunch.

“Mabuti naman at ‘di ka masyadong busy,” she said.