After Summer 64 (Old Summer Trilogy #3)

10

"Are you fucking crazy?"

Hinampas ko ang tubig para matamaan siya. Natawa naman siya pero mabuti na lang at hindi niya ako binitawan. I was still scared of the water. I tried to reach the ground with my feet but he was lifting me up with his arms around my waist. 

"I don't like you!" paglinaw ko pa dahil tumatawa pa rin siya. 

What made him ask that?! Ridiculous! What a crazy question! How... How did he fucking know? Was I obvious? Did I give it away? 

"How many days do I have left?" He looked up, thinking. "Oh... A week." His face changed when he realized we didn't have many days left for summer. 

I didn't know what to feel. Time flew by so fast that I didn't notice summer was almost over. I did realize that I had feelings for him... but I couldn't act on it. Not now... I can't do it right now. I had a lot on my plate. I didn't want to add this stupid feeling to the table. It will fade away eventually... right? 

"I can't believe it. Lumipas na ang fifty-seven days? That can't be..." Hindi pa rin siya makapaniwala. 

"Let's just get this over with," I reminded him about the reason why we were in the pool. Swimming lessons, duh!

It was probably our last swimming lesson, so he put a lot of effort into teaching me about basic stuff I should know. We spent the whole day swimming kaya pagod na pagod ako nang matapos na. I finally learned how to move forward in the water using my arms and feet. Hindi na ako gumagamit noong board. 

"You can at least survive in the water now for more than a minute," sabi niya, nang-aasar. 

Hindi pa rin ako marunong magpalutang kapag malalim at hindi abot ng paa ko ang surface. I would also get tired fast. I couldn't keep up with his stamina. 

After taking a shower and changing my clothes, I bent down and sat at the side of the pool without my butt touching the ground. I was just watching Lyonelle while he was doing laps. His arm and back muscles looked so defined. I would always notice them whenever he would go above the water before sinking deep again. 

I hugged my knees while my eyes tried to follow the blurred image of him underwater. The pool looked so deep! How scary! I got nervous when I couldn't see him anymore because I got distracted. I looked around the water to find him.

"Shit!" Napaupo ako bigla sa sahig nang bigla siyang umahon sa may tapat ko. I glared at him while he was pushing his wet hair back. He laughed and pushed his body out of the pool using his arms. I didn't want to get wet, so I stood up and took a step back from him. 

"I'll just shower. Don't leave, okay? We're going somewhere," paalala niya sabay turo sa akin. I just rolled my eyes and sat on the bench to wait for him.

After thirty minutes, he went out, already dressed in athletic shorts and a large shirt. The strap of his backpack was hanging on his shoulder. He smelled like shampoo mixed with a manly perfume. How fresh. 

"Let's go, baby." He held my wrist and pulled me with him. Dala-dala na rin niya ang mga gamit ko. Nilagay niya ang mga gamit namin sa compartment ng sasakyan niya.

I was about to open the door when he suddenly ran and held my hand to stop me. Nabitawan pa niya ang bag niyang hindi pa niya nalalagay sa loob ng compartment. 

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Kumunot ang noo ko. He ran so fast that he almost tripped. 

"I should be the one opening the door for you," hinihingal na sabi niya bago binuksan ang pinto. He gestured for me to enter, so I did. He even put his hand below the roof of the car just in case I would hurt my head.