"'Pag napaligiran ng ingay at ng gulo. 'Di ko pagpapalit ngiti mo
sa mundo."
ARIA ARCETA
It's a friday night, at katatapos lang namin mag-shoot for a commercial project. Good thing we end up early this time-- 11PM. Usually it would take us up until 2AM to finish a shoot, kaya para amin maaga na 'to.
After packing my stuff, I quickly pulled out my phone from my pocket to check if a certain someone has responded to my text.
"Aria, tapos ka na diyan?" napalingon ako nang bigla akong tapikin ni Cole-- co-worker ko and one of my dearest friends.
"Oo, katatapos lang. Uwi ka na?" pabalik kong tanong sa kanya.
"Susunduin ko muna si Yves, mag-ddinner kami eh." mabilis na sagot niya. Halata 'yung kilig niya sa huli niyang sinabi.
"Tanggal nanaman angas mo diyan, sana all nalang." pang-aasar ko naman dito, bago binaling ulit ang pansin ko sa phone ko.
"Ikaw ba? Susunduin ka ni Rize?" dinig kong tanong ni Cienne.
I just shook my head in response, and smiled half-heartedly.
"Busy daw siya eh, may bagong project kasi siyang tinatrabaho." I explained on her behalf.
"Hmm, okay lang ba kayo?" my eyebrows furrowed by Cienne's sudden remark.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Wala lang, napansin ko lang na hindi ka na nasusundo ni Rize na dati walang pinapalagpas na araw kahit madaling araw pa tayo natatapos," paliwanag niya,"I'm just making sure that everything's okay between the two of you."
She said, flashing a gentle smile.
"I know," I sighed,"But, we're good. Busy lang talaga si Maurize lately." I replied, to reassure her that everything's fine.
Everything's fine.
Busy lang siya.
I keep repeating those words in my head while I was on my way home, staring at the same message I received a while ago.
----
From: Lover ❤️
"Sorry, I can't make it for dinner. May emergency meeting kami e. Bawi ako next time, ingat ka sa pag-uwi. Love you."
-----
Next time.
'Yun din ang sabi niya last week e. Naiintindihan ko naman na busy siya, and I'm not the one to take away that one thing that she does best aside from being my lover.
Pero hindi naman siguro masama kung hihilingin ko na sa akin muna siya kahit ilang oras lang. Na kung minsan, gusto ko siyang ipag-damot.
---
I stopped by a coffee shop to grab my necessary coffee. I ordered my usual drink and sat at the corner of the shop to wait for my drink.
