Game Over, Engineer

Y

PERO LUMIPAS ANG dalawang araw, wala pa rin siyang email na natanggap mula kay Kevan. Hindi nito nire-reply-an ang email niya.

Fuck. Pagkatapos no'n, ano na? Wala na? Does that mean tapos na ang game?

"Wala bang kiss d'yan?"

Kaagad siyang nag-angat ng tingin kay Jack. Nasa tapat niya ito at nakahalumbaba habang nakatingin sa kanya. Ang siko nito ay nakatukod sa arm rest, while his eyes are staring intently at her, causing a havoc inside her stomach.

Potek. Kung ganito kapogi ang ex, normal lang naman siguro na rurupok, 'di ba, lalo na't green flag ito at wala naman itong kasalanan sa kanya?

She immediately erased that naughty thought from her mind and glared at him over the rims of her glasses. "Anong kiss? Kurot sa itlog, gusto mo?"

Nagkasalubong ang kilay nito, and a line formed on his forehead. His eyes were beaming with curiousness as he straightened his back and sat properly. As he did, he didn't take his gaze off her.

"What do you mean by 'kiss'? Tinanong ko lang naman kung wala bang case r'yan." He blinked and gave her a sly smirk. "Anong nasa isip mo, Jilyanzel?" His voice carried a blend of delight and mischievousness, causing blood to pool in her cheeks.

Para siyang napako sa kinauupuan, and at that moment, she just wished for the ground to open up and swallow her whole.

Damn. Did he really say 'case'?

To hide her embarrassment, she rolled her eyes at him and scoffed. Humalukipkip siya at inis itong tiningnan. She needs to turn the table.

"Nah-ah. 'Wag ako, Jack." Umiling pa siya rito at saka tiningnan ang kanilang database. Actually, there's a lot of cases in the cybercrime unit, pero naka-assign na iyon sa ibang detectives.

She bets that Miss Leonora only assigns cases to her that the detectives can't solve easily and require ethical hacking or brute force attacks.

Jack grinned, mischievousness flashing in his eyes. "Ayaw maniwala. Sabihin mo na lang na na-miss mo kiss ko. Madali lang naman akong kausap, Jill. 'Di naman kita masisisi kasi ang galing ko kayang humalik! Nag-enjoy ako, nag-enjoy ka rin—"

"Fuck you, Futore!" Nanlaki ang kanyang mga mata sa narinig. Tinalon niya ang pagitan nila at tinakpan ang bibig nito. Fuck. Why does he have to say that?!

Sinubukan nitong magsalita, but his words were buried beneath her palm. It came out as muffled, at nanlaki pa ang mga mata nito habang nakatingin sa kanya na para bang nagmamakaawang bitawan niya ito.

No!

Hiyang-hiya na siya rito!

"Bakit ba ang hilig mong mang-asar, ha?! Oo na! Magaling ka nang humalik! Nag-enjoy ako! Oh, tapos? Kailangan bang sabihin? Bwiset kang gago ka!" she said through gritted teeth and pulled his hair, pero imbes na magprotesta, naramdaman niya pang tumawa ito.

Fuck!

Umaalog ang balikat ni Jack kaya sinigawan niya ito sa tapat ng tenga. Mas lalo lang itong natawa. Tangina! She can't explain the huge amount of embarrassment that she feels right now! Nagwawala ang kanyang kaloob-looban at parang puputok na ang kanyang mga pisngi!

Natigilan siya nang maramdamang tumigil si Jack matapos ang ilang sandaling pagpupumiglas. Forehead knotting, she pulled apart and looked at him, only to get curios even more.

Instead of trying to pull her hand off his mouth, malamlam lang itong nakatingin sa kanya na para bang may gusto itong sabihin pero hindi nito masabi-sabi. The sudden crescendo of her heartbeat echoed in her ears, and she felt how the air left her chest. The weight of her emotions settled in her throat, at kahit anong gawin niya, nahihirapan siyang ilunok iyon.