Coffee Incident

Chapter 4

Laurie

Since that day palagi na kaming nagkakasalubong ni Jacob. I don't know if it was fate pero I slowly got comfortable with his presence. He was talkative but it was the first time I didn't get annoyed and didn't worry that I couldn't express how I feel kasi he was patient and persistent. He kept talking even when all I could reply was a small smile or a nod. I appreciate it a lot. Mas lalo lang lumalim ang nararamdaman ko sa kanya. 

I started to sketch him and planned to paint him. This is my little secret I will never reveal to him kasi baka asarin ako na crush ko din siya. Yes, he told me I was his crush but I doubt that he's serious. I'll only admit that I like him when pigs fly. I secretly sketched him when we did school stuffs at the café. Malapit ko ng matapos ng bigla siyang tumingin sa akin kaya I pretended to look at the view behind his back, pretending I was thinking about something. Ang tagal ko na tong sinimulan and I'm almost done, finishing touches nalang.

We just had a late lunch at a fastfood. Nagkayayaan kaming kumain ng nagkita kami sa may bookstore. Busog pa kami kaya naisipan kong magsketch pero hindi niya alam na siya yung subject ko.

"Are you busy tomorrow?"

"Bakit muna?" sabi ko, nangingiti.

He chuckled lightly and looked at me amusedly.

"May meteor shower bukas, 10 pm."

I remember that I mentioned I like astrology and I always liked seeing shooting stars pero I didn't know he was actually paying attention to what I said.

"And?" I teased.

"It'll be boring to watch alone so might as well invite you to watch with me." He said while avoiding my gaze as his ears turned a little red.

He's cute. Ang sarap niyang ibulsa. I laughed at my inner thought and he looked at me in disbelief.

"Grabi ka crush, I was so nervous to ask you pero tinawanan mo lang ako." and he held his chest as if he was hurt.

I giggled a little more as I looked at him. Ang sarap niyang asarin, lalo kasing gumagwapo kapag napipikon.

"Okay ." I said and bit my lip to stop myself from laughing.

Kinabukasan nag order kami ng seafood, in a restaurant. I was suprised kasi it was a takeout. Akala ko dadalhin niya ako somewhere pero pumunta kami sa parking lot and he had a pickup. Sa likod ng pick up ay may nakalatag na mat na parang duvet pero hindi masyadong makapal, sakto lang to not sore your butt while sitting there. I noticed na there was also a telescope. My eyes were glued on the thing, I was amazed because I haven't tried that.

"Dito tayo kakain kasi baka may meteor na. Hindi pa naman accurate ang time na binibigay ng mga source sa internet. Are you fine eating here with me?" As he arranged the food sa mini table na nasa gitna ng pickup niya.

"Yes, okay lang. I was just weirded out kasi nag takeout ka ng seafood." I said and chuckled.

"Syempre diba favourite mo to?"

I looked at him in awe as I got moved by how thoughtful he was to pick something that I like. I felt bad kasi hindi ko alam ano favourite food niya.

"Anong nga pala favourite food mo?" I said casually even though I felt nervous asking pero hindi ko pinahalata.

"Curious ka na ba sakin crush? Do you like me too na ba? Sandali lang muna, hindi kaya ng heart ko." He dramatically held his chest and widened his eyes.

"Sige wag nalang pala." I said as I rolled my eyes.

"I was just kidding! Marami akong gusto pero my most favourite is adobo." he said while chuckling lightly.

"Anong klaseng adobo? Malay ko bang adobong crocodile yan." Pagtataray ko.

He chuckled so loud and shook his head.

"Syempre manok. Ano ba naman yang adobong crocodile crush!" his shoulders were shaking as he laughed out loud. I stared at him in awe while he was laughing. My heart fluttered at the thought that I made him laugh. A small smile slowly formed out of my lips while still looking at him.

We kept on talking as we ate the seafood. Sarap na sarap ako sa shrimp. Muntik na akong mabulunan trying to stop laughing while he was struggling with the crab. He looked so adorable with his brows furrowed as he tried to open the crab. He got annoyed at the crab kasi nahirapan siyang buksan yon kaya ako ang nagbubukas. He was watching me intently while I was opening the crab easily. Namamangha niya akong tinitigan, hindi makapaniwalang na buksan ko ang alimango ng walang kahirap-hirap.

"Magpapraktis na ako mag bukas nito nakakahiya naman sayo crush, mag papaimpress sana ako ngayon eh puro manok at baboy lang pala kinakain ko sa bahay." He chuckled.

"Hindi ka pala mahilig kumain ng seafood?"

"My mom is allergic to seafoods at siya ang nagluluto sa bahay kaya hindi ko nakahiligan ang seafood."

Humaba pa ang kwentuhan namin ng may nakita siyang shooting star. Dalidali niyang kinuha ang telescope. He did some adjustments and gestured me to come closer so I did. I placed my left eye at the hole of the telescope and saw a sea of stars shining brightly. My lips slightly opened at the sight of the stars. Namamangha ko siyang tiningnan para sabihin na maganda yung nakikita ko sa telescope.

"Ang ganda..." I told him with a bright smile at binalik ang mata sa telescope.

"Maganda nga." I heard Jacob utter in a soft, small voice while staring at me.

I wanted to look at him so I did. I looked at him and he stared at me intently, like I'm some expensive painting at a gallery. My heart beats fast like I just did a vigorous physical activity. I broke our eye contact first when I caught a glimpse of a shooting star at his back, lumaki ang mata ko sa nakita. Hindi lang isang shooting star kundi dalawang magkasunod.

"May shooting star!" I said and pointed at his back.

He stood still, staring at me with an unreadable expression. It took a while for him to look at where I pointed.

"Make a wish!" I said excitedly as we both witness a shooting star.

I put my hands together and closed my eyes as I silently wish this won't end. What I have with Jacob.... I wish this will stay the same. I wish he will stay the same....I wish we will stay the same. He murmured something I didn't get while looking at me. He closed his eyes for a while and then when he opened his eyes, he looked at me. His lips slowly curved for a smile. I blinked twice at our eye contact and averted my gaze towards the sky.

While looking at the sky with an ocean of countless stars naisipan ko na sa lawak ng mundo, sa dami ng tao, nagkrus ang landas namin. The sky is full of stars, sa dami ng tala, what are the odds that our stars would align? Is this fate? A love story perhaps or is this a heartbreak?

We stayed and chattered about a lot of things for a while until I saw kuya Olliver slowly walking towards us with his brows a little furrowed.

"Rie?" he sounded so surprised.

"Kuya Oli?" I showed him my what-are-you-doing-here face.

"At kasama mo si Hakob?" his brows furrowed as he took a glance at Jacob that is standing next to me while I was sitting at the edge of his pickup and my feet were inches away from the ground.

"Oli" Jacob said as he reached his right arm towards kuya Ollie for a fist bump.

"Maya and Calvin ordered me to fetch you kasi may usapan daw kayo na mag sleepover sa condo ko?" he said while doing the fist bump with Jacob and then looked at me afterwards.

"How did you know I was here?"

"Your gps dumbass! Mabuti nalang talaga pumunta ako dito." he said while glancing at Jacob. I rolled my eyes at him. He probably thinks I'm a victim of Jacob the playboy. On a second thought, he's not entirely wrong except that I was a willing victim.

"Tara na nga! Una na kami Hakob." he said and slightly dragging me away from Jacob's pickup. I looked back at him. I was about to say thank you kaso pinaharap ako ni kuya Olli sa kanya.

"I warned you about him." he said it seriously and opened the door of the shotgun seat of his car. He gestured me to get in so I did.

Jacob followed us towards kuya Ollie's car pala. I opened my window while kuya Olli walked towards the opposite side of the car.

Jacob's face lit up as he saw me.

"Thank you for today." I said with a smile while my face was flushed—tomato colored.

His smile grew larger and looked at me with adoration in his eyes.

"This is not the last time, Laurie." he said at me gently. My body shivered at the way he said my name.

Kuya Ollie rudely beeped his car horn at Jacob and slowly drove away from the place. My windows were still open while I stared at Jacob until he turned tiny and tiny and then he was gone from my point of view.

I was silent the whole ride. My mentality was still there with him.