Niki and Andy

Special Chapter 1: Something More

Andy woke up when he felt Ponkan's sandpaper tongue on his cheek. Basa na ng laway nito ang mukha niya. Hindi pa man gising ang diwa niya ay nangangati na ang mukha niya dahil sa pusa.

"Good morning!"

He opened his eyes when he heard Niki's voice. Naka-upo ito gilid ng kama. She was holding a cup of coffee in her hand. Nakalugay ang kulot nitong buhok. She was wearing one of his shirts. Walang pang-ibaba. Andy almost choked on his saliva when he realized that she was not wearing anything underneath. The sunlight peeking inside the room revealed her sexy silhouette.

Niki let out a laugh and got up. Binuhat nito si Ponkan.

"Come on. I made breakfast," yaya nito sa kanya.

Napasapo siya nang makalabas ito ng kwarto. Unti-unti nang bumabalik ang mga nangyari kagabi.

It started with them saying good night to each other. After almost passing out, he suggested that they process what happened separately and they would just talk in the morning. But he was so happy that he didn't want to interrupt the high he was feeling with sleep. Tumambay sila nang ilang minuto sa may pintuan ng kwarto nito.

"Are you absolutely sure that this is real?" he asked again, before going for another kiss. Niki laughed and said, "How many times do I have to tell you?"

He cupped her face and kissed her forehead. Saka niya ito niyakap nang mahigpit. "Good night."

"Good night, Andy."

Humiwalay siya rito. Hinawakan niya ito sa baba at bahagyang itiningala ang mukha nito. Yumuko siya at kinintalan uli ito ng halik. "Hm-mm."

Niki smiled against his lips. "Andy, magkikita pa tayo bukas."

"I know."

Niki put her arms around his neck and kissed him again. "Or you can sleep in my room."

"That sounds great."

She let go of him and gripped the collar of his shirt with her hand. Hinila siya nito papasok sa loob. Andy kicked the door behind him.

"When you say sleep, did you mean–"

Niki pulled him onto the bed with her. "Yes."

"Pareho ba tayo ng nasa isip o..."

Hinalikan siya nito. And then, she pulled the hem of his shirt up. "Yes."

"Andy?" Sumilip si Niki sa pintuan ng kwarto. "Ano, ilang beses pa kitang tatawagin?"

Andy ruffled his hair. "Papunta na." He searched for his clothes under the blanket and on the floor. It was dark inside the room last night. They just carelessly tossed their clothes anywhere.

Since Niki was already wearing his shirt, he walked out of the bedroom half-naked. Nakatayo si Niki sa may counter, nagtitimpla ng kape. He walked up to her and hugged her from behind.

"Ilang kutsara ang ilagay ko?" tanong nito. She had with her a jar of white sugar and a spoon.

"Just two," sagot niya.

"Dalawa lang? I thought you put five in your coffee."

He chuckled and kissed the side of her neck. Bumitaw siya rito para maghilamos.

–

Nakaupo na si Niki sa dining chair nang lumabas ng banyo si Andy. She normally didn't approve of him walking around the house without a shirt on, but she would probably allow it from now on. Umupo ito sa tabi niya. Niki pushed the plate full of food towards him. Simpleng silog lang iyon. Her favorite, of course. Corned beef silog. She had seen Andy cook it so many times, she already knew how to exactly replicate the steps.

"Hmm!" He gave a big reaction after the first bite.

Ngumisi siya. "Ang OA ha."

Tumawa ito. "You made a decent meal."

"It's just corned beef," she said while rolling her eyes.

Sumandok si Andy ng kanin at sinamahan iyon ng ulam. He offered her a spoonful. Ngumiti ito nang kinain niya iyon. Andy watched her chew her food and then gave her a kiss after. They have kissed so many times since last night, she would probably be able to draw his lips just from the memory of what they feel like.

"Does this mean that we're already dating o kailangan pa kitang ligawan?" tanong nito sa kanya maya-maya.

Nagpangalumbaba siya. "Manliligaw ka pa e alam mo naman na ang isasagot ko."

He let out a laugh. "Right. Sorry for the dumb question."

Niki lifted up her hand and touched Andy's cheek. "So dumb." Hinalikan niya ito sa pisngi. "You have nothing to prove to me, Andy."

She placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled when he turned to look at her. Andy put his utensils down. Huminga ito nang malalim.

"This isn't a temporary thing, Niki. I want you to remember that," seryoso nitong sabi sa kanya. "This is what we are now. We're not just friends anymore."

"I know," sabi niya nang may kasamang tango.

"I'm gonna want to marry you someday," he told her. "There would be no one after you. Ikaw na yung huli."

"Andy...." She cupped his face and squished them. "It's too early to talk about marriage."

"Sorry."

She let out a sigh and let go of his face. "But just so you know... if I'd ever reconsider my stance on marriage, you're the only one qualified to be my husband."

–

He gave her a small smile. "You don't even have to marry me if you don't want to get married. We can just grow old as roommates who sometimes f–"

Hindi niya naituloy ang sinabi dahil tinakpan nito ang bibig niya. Nakadilat ito sa kanya, bahagyang namumula ang mukha. Andy chuckled and removed Niki's hand from his mouth. "Sorry. I'll behave."

Sinubuan niya itong muli ng pagkain.

"Ipinagluto kita tapos ako rin ang kumakain," reklamo nito.

He took a spoonful of food in his mouth. He took a sip of the coffee after. Niki made a face when he didn't find the coffee too sweet.

"So what do you want to do today?" tanong niya rito. "It's still your birthday."

"Kaso puro sarado naman sa labas," nakanguso nitong sabi.

Right. It would have been nice to go somewhere to celebrate her birthday. Sa museum sana o amusement park. Kahit sa mall lang sila pumunta para magpagala-gala.

"Tinawagan pala ako ni Tita kanina. Binati ako."

He raised an eyebrow. "Talaga? Sinabi mo na?"

She shook her head. "I don't want to tell people yet. I just want it to sink in first." Tumayo ito bigla. "May ipapapanuod pala ako sa 'yo."

She ran back to her bedroom and came back with her phone in her hand. Niki propped the phone against her coffee mug and played a video from Tonet's channel.

A Day in the Life of Niki and Andy, the text said.

"What is this?" kunot-noo niyang tanong.

"Just watch it."

It was a 20-minute video containing different clips from the Christmas holiday. Andy knew Tonet was recording them, but he didn't think it was for something like this. He didn't know if it was due to the editing his sister did or if that was how he actually was. Pero sa video ni Tonet, mukhang siya ang mas malala ang tama sa kanilang dalawa ni Niki.

He didn't realize just how much his feelings towards her were so obvious. Kahit sino'ng makakita, paghihinalaan talaga silang dalawa.

Kumapit si Niki sa braso niya nang matapos nila ang video.

"You were so scared that things would change between us," she told him. "But I don't think things will change that much."

"Because I already loved you back then?" tanong niya rito.

"Hm-mm." She slightly pushed the table away to have space for her to sit on his lap. Andy groaned when Niki planted a wet kiss on his lips. "Keep loving me, Andy."