Bring It On, Detective

WT

SHE PUT THE food on the table, its steam curling upwards, causing a hazy veil to appear between them. Shantrie asked her to cook carbonara for him, kaya heto siya ngayon.

With a smile, the detective grabs the fork beside the plate and dips it into the carbonara. Umupo siya sa tapat nito at nakahalumbaba, pinapanood ang reaksyon nito.

She knows she can cook well, and she has cooked for Shantrie a lot of times, pero aliw na aliw talaga siya kapag makikita ang reaction nito sa kanyang luto.

It always seems like he has tasted her cooking for the first time.

She looked at how he twirled the fork around the dish and lifted the fork, putting it inside his mouth. Tumingin ito sa kanya habang ngumunguya, and when his eyes widened in delight, a huge smile stretched across her face.

He likes it. He always does.

"You cook really well." He put the fork down and stared at her, licking his lower lip, which was stained with sauce. "I wanna wife you up."

Tumalon ang puso niya sa narinig, at ramdam niya ang pagdaloy ng dugo sa kanyang pisngi kaya agad niya itong pinaningkitan ng mga mata upang maitago ang nararamdaman. Fuck. Shantrie really knows how to make her heart jump!

He wants to wife her up.

Holy fuck.

She arched an eyebrow at him, at pansin na pansin niya ang paninitig nito sa kanyang mga pisngi habang may maliit na ngisi sa mga labi.

"Wala pa nga tayong label, and you want to wife me up already?" She clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Masyado kang mabilis, Detective."

Digging his fork into the carbonara, a playful smirk appeared on his lips as his eyes shone with mischievousness. "Oh, so you want a label now, huh? The last time I checked, sabi mo landian muna." He sighed and stared at her intently, causing a dry lump to form in her throat.

"I badly want to make you my woman, Enesha," he stated seriously, and he ate the carbonara again while still looking at her.

Natigalgal siya sa narinig, at hindi niya mahanap ang kanyang dila. Ramdam niya ang pagsikip ng dibdib dahil sa pagpipigil ng hininga. Her lips parted, and she blinked her eyes. He wants to make her his woman. . .

"I want to pursue you so bad—give you flowers, sing a song to you—you never heard me sing." He chuckled and licked his lips. "I want to take you out on dates especially stargazing dates because I noticed how you like the starry skies and the promises they hold." He gave her a tender smile, his eyes dreamy and glistening.

"Seeing you under those diamonds, smiling and clearly in awe, makes me want to get down on one knee and ask your permission to pursue you right there and then, pero," nagbaba ito ng tingin, "ayaw kitang biglain. As you've said, hindi ka pa handa sa label. Your permission matters, Enesha."

Nag-angat ito ng tingin sa kanya. Her words were stuck in her throat, and the detective's eyes were staring at her like. . . she was the most beautiful being he had ever seen in his entire life.

Her chest tightened as butterflies flew inside her stomach like they wanted to get out of her tummy, but they got stuck in her throat, making it hard for her to breathe.

Shit.

Eating the carbonara again, he gave her a charming smile. "I'll wait until you give me your permission."

Naramdaman niya ang pag-iinit ng kanyang mga pisngi, at sinubukan niyang huminga nang malalim upang ikalma ang sarili.

Shantrie looked at his food and focused his attention on it. Sunod-sunod siyang napalunok habang nakatingin dito. She took a deep breath again to calm her raging heart, and that's when she found her voice.