Bewitching the Tempter

Chapter 21: Empathy

The kiss he just gave me made me realize something scary.

Alaric is far from the ideal. Hindi ko siya type. And most of all, he's a walking red flag. Kung kaya't hindi ko maintindihan ang sarili ko kung bakit...nagustuhan ko siya.

Yes, I like him. That's the scary feeling I just realized.

Nakakatakot. That kind of attraction is dangerous, kasi paano ko maiwawala ang pakiramdam na ito kung sa kabila ng lahat ng mga bagay na ayaw ko sa kanya ay nagustuhan ko pa rin siya?

Hell, I'm really damned.

Bumuntong-hinga ako habang pinagmamasdan siyang tahimik sa harapan ko. After what he did ay lumabas na kami sa bar and here we are, parang mga tangang tahimik na nakatingin sa kawalan.

It's actually unusual to see him this silent and not acting like a freaking jerk. Nakakagulat at nakakapanibago.

Umismid ako nang may maalala.

Akala niya ba ay nabura na ng halik niya at sinabi 'yong nakita ko no'ng nakaraan? Hmp. Ni hindi nga niya inamin na gusto nga niya ako. 'What if' lang 'yon, hypothetical question lang.

Although I am kind of happy to see him tonight ay hindi pa rin nawawala ang tampo ko sa kanya dahil sa hindi niya pagpapakita.

"Sorry."

He suddenly spoke which made me raise a brow.

"Saan?" Nakaiwas tingin kong tanong pabalik.

"For not showing up for weeks," aniya at humakbang palapit sa akin. "I'm sorry, it's because..." he paused and looked at me in the eye.

I rolled my eyes. "You're busy with your ex. Obviously."

"No, I'm not! I am just thinking!" Agad niyang depensa.

Wow, defensive much?

"At ikaw nga riyan e, busy kay AJ." Dagdag niya.

I scoffed.

"Wow, we're still not done with that, I see." Inis kong saad. "Masama na bang maging kasama ang kaibigan?"

He pouted. "Kaibigan? Kailan pa kayo naging magkaibigan? The last time I checked, crush mo pa siya."

I furrowed my brows. Okay, hindi naman nakakapagtakang alam niya because that's kind of obvious with the way I acted weeks ago. Pero bakit galit siya?

"E ikaw nga e! At least sa akin kaibigan lang, e sayo? Ex mo!" Galit ko ring sagot.

Damn, this conversation is going haywire.

"Fuck!" Inis niyang saad at ikinuyon ang kamao habang nakasandal sa wall. Napataas naman ako ng kilay nang umayos siya ng tayo at lumapit sa akin para hawakan ang kamay ko.

"Hindi tayo makakapag-usap nang maayos kung pareho tayong ganito. Let's cool our heads first." Aniya at hinila ako.

I tried getting away from his grip ngunit masyado siyang malakas. The next thing I knew I was already inside his car while he's driving. Strangely, being able to see him next to me and inhale his scent helped me ease the tension I was feeling, and it wasn't long when I finally drifted to sleep.

I woke up when I felt something move beside and when I opened my eyes ay mukha niya ang bumungad sa akin. He was holding a coffee and our faces were just inches away from each other.

"Good morning," nakangiti niyang sabi at mabilis akong hinalikan sa noo.

I rolled my eyes. Bakit nanghahalik? Bati na ba kami? The last time I checked inis pa ako ah.