At the back of his mind, he felt elated when he remembered how she said yes when he asked her out.
"What do you mean give you a chance? Chance to what? To take down all those negative comments and change how people see me now?" Mukha pa ring hindi naniniwala si Janessa kahit na kulang na lang ay tumalon ang puso ni John palabas dahil sa pagkakalapit ng katawan nila.
"Will you give me a chance to make you like me and fall for me...for real?" He hoped she could see his sincerity.
"You don't even know me," nag-iwas ito ng tingin sa kaniya.
"That's why we'll get to know each other, starting now."
"You'll just be wasting your time. I have to focus on my studies. I also have my job to focus on," sabi nito na hindi pa rin tumitingin sa kaniya.
As a good negotiator, hindi pumayag si John sa pagtutol ni Janessa. He pulled her closer to him and whispered to her ear, "let's date exclusively for a week, kung baga sa kotse, parang test drive, what do you say?"
Napalunok si Janessa bago ito muling magsalita.
"What if I still don't accept you after a week?"
Kung hindi nagkakamali si John, he could also feel her erratic heartbeat. That gave him hope to be bolder. Hindi rin salitang 'like' ang ginamit nito, kung hindi 'accept'. That means may pag-asa siya.
"Then I'll ask for another week, a month or a year, until you say yes,"
"Scammer ka. Sabi mo one week lang."
"Kung ako scammer, ikaw thief."
"What?"
"Unang pagkikita pa lang, ninakaw mo na agad ang puso ko." Namula ang mukha ni John pagkasabi noon. Hindi niya iyon usual na ginagawa ngunit bigla na lang lumabas sa mga bibig niya ang mga katagang iyon. Nagulat si John nang mula sa pagkakatitig sa mukha niya ay biglang tumawa ng malakas si Janessa dahil sa sinabi niya. He had to let go of her dahil sa gusto niyang mas makita pa ang ekspresiyon ng mukha nito habang pinagtatawanan siya.
"Seriously? Ang luma ng punchline mo!" natatawa pa ring sabi ni Janessa. Kung pwede lang sana niyang irecord ang tunog ng halakhak na iyon ay ginawa na niya. He wanted to imprint that scene in his memory dahil iyon ang unang beses na napangiti niya at napatawa ang babaeng nagugustuhan niya.
"So, pumapayag ka na ba?" pangungulit niya muli. Ilang segundo pa bago sumagot si Janessa.
"Yes. I agree to a week. Sure ka ba na kaya mo ng LDD?" tanong nito sa kaniya.
"Anong LDD?" tanong niya habang nakangiti na halos mapunit na ang mga labi niya sa pagngiti. Hindi niya maitago ang excitement.
"Long distance dating."
"Why would it be long distance if I'm here?"
Napanganga si Janessa at napakunot ang noo. Si John naman ay hinila siyang muli sa beywang para magkadikit ang katawan nila. She allowed him again marahil dahil nagtataka ito sa isinagot niya.
"What do you mean? Hindi ba aalis ka na mamaya?"
"I'll stay so I could be with you, kaya ngayon, let's go replace your phone and tablet. I insist."
BINABASA MO ANG
Revenge of the Villainess
RomanceROMANCE Janessa with her beauty and intelligence lived a happy life until her parents died when she was 14. When her adoptive mother died when she was 17, she knew that she had to turn her life around. With a goal to marry a rich man, she enrolled a...