Delgado Cousins 1: Anthony Wayne Delgado (To Love Again)

CHAPTER IX: ADDICTION

Chapter IX

Addiction

MILLIE

I can feel it, too...

The comfort... and our already growing closeness...

Masyado na kaming naging malapit ni Anthony sa isa't isa. Na hindi na rin pala namin namamalayan ang mga actions namin...

And it's not impossible to like Anthony Wayne Delgado.

Dahil naramdaman ko na rin iyon sa sarili ko...

"Ant..." I called him for the last time.

Until the little distance between our lips came to a close...

And this quiet evening... In this veranda with the night air growing cold against my skin... Anthony's lips warmed mine as he kissed me...

Pagkatapos ng marahang halik ay napatingin lang kami sa mga mata ng isa't isa. At pagkatapos ay lumayo kami...

"I-I think it's already getting late... At mukhang naparami na rin ang nainom mo na alak, Anthony..." I told him and to also break the silence between us that was going awkward...

Nag-iwas din ako ng tingin at mahina pang tumikhim.

And then in my peripheral vision I saw Anthony who nodded his head a little bit and slowly...

Tahimik lang din kami na umalis ng restaurant pagkatapos...

I locked my door as soon as I entered my room. At pagkatapos ay para akong matutunaw at halos mapaupo na lang ako roon habang nakasandal pa sa kakasara ko lang na pintuan ng kwarto ko.

Pagkatapos ay pumunta naman ako sa kama ko. I then buried my face on my pillows as I shut my eyes tightly, too.

What was that? I can only ask myself now.

At halos hindi ko pa malaman ang nangyari lang kanina. Hindi ko rin halos maintindihan ang sarili ko. It was my first kiss!

But it's probably just because of the liquor he was drinking earlier for Anthony...

Wala na rin naman siyang sinabi pa sa akin pagkatapos...

We were just both quiet even inside the car until we got home.

Wala na kaming pinag-usapan pa pagkatapos.

At inisip ko na lang na lasing lang si Ant...

He probably wouldn't do it when he's not drunk.

That's it. I sighed heavily. Pagkatapos ay bumangon na rin ako at nagpunta ng bathroom sa kwarto ko to take my night bath. And while I was bathing I couldn't help it but to still think about what happened earlier and the kiss Anthony and I had...

Napalakas tuloy ang pagkuskos ko sa katawan ko.

Anthony was just probably drunk, but what about me?

Why did I even try to kiss him back...

Pero nang hahalikan ko na rin sana siya kanina ay saka naman siya tumigil sa paghalik niya sa akin...

I shook my head. I felt kind of frustrated, and nervous...

Paano ko na lang siya haharapin kinabukasan nito?

Kaya naman sa sumunod na araw ay nagkulang pa tuloy ang tulog ko because last night I couldn't stop thinking about what happened and the kiss!

Nagharap din kami ni Anthony over breakfast. And then he also called me when we're both done eating at aalis na kami ng mansyon para pumasok sa trabaho...

And at the office I was just telling Anthony about his schedule and meeting for the day like what I usually do. When I had to stop because he interrupted me a little bit...

"Millie," He called.

"Yes?" Sumagot din naman ako.

Nag-angat siya ng tingin niya sa akin. He was sitting on his swivel chair while I stood just beside his office desk...

"About what happened last night—" He said.

And I immediately answered him back as I nervously looked at him, too. I almost panicked. "It was nothing... I mean, you were drunk..." I immediately said.

Nanatili naman ang tingin ni Anthony sa akin. Habang ako naman ang nag-iwas ng mga mata ko sa kaniya.

And then he sighed. Then he told me, "I wasn't drunk, konti lang din ang ininom ko kagabi. And I wouldn't risk driving us both back home when I was indeed drunk, Millie..." Umiling siya.

Napatingin naman ako sa kaniya. And my eyes started to widen a bit. Pero agad din akong nag-iwas ng tingin sa kaniya... What does he mean by that now...

But we heard a knock on the door. We were really busy as we're still working. Kaya naman inuna pa rin muna namin ang trabaho.

ANT

I told Millie that I wasn't drunk when she just said it like she understood what happened to us last night because I had some liquor...

But I told her that I wasn't.

At naputol lang din ang usapan namin hanggang doon lang dahil kailangan na rin namin na magtrabaho.

Pero hindi rin mawala sa isip ko iyong nangyari kagabi. What was I thinking?

Why did I do that to Millie... Why did I really kissed her...

At kahit wala pa man akong saktong sagot para sa sarili ko, I still ended up doing it again... and doing more... just because I thought that it was something that already started...

It's like an addiction... that's already hard to stop once you've had a taste of it...

And it all begun. I invited Millie to dinner out again. At pagkatapos ay nagpahangin muli kami roon sa veranda ng parehong restaurant...

And then I ended up kissing Millie again there... At hinayaan naman niya ako na halikan siya... Hanggang sa unti-unti rin niyang binalik ang halik ko...

Pagkatapos ng isang halik ay nagkatinginan kaming dalawa sa mga mata ng isa't isa. And I resumed moving more forward... Then I kissed Millie's soft lips again...

And it was the same na hinayaan niya lang din muli ako na halikan ko siya. At gumaganti na rin siya sa halik ko.

Tahimik sa parteng ito ng restaurant at kami lang din ni Millie ang nandoon. So we still had some privacy as we do it...

Ayaw ko rin naman na kung basta saan ko na lang siya hahalikan...

"Ant," She called me after the kiss we just shared and savored...

Tumingin naman agad ako sa mga mata niya.

She sighed. At parang huminga rin siya pagkatapos lang ng halik namin. "Is this all right? You're not drunk now..." She said.

Malapit lang ang mga mukha namin sa isa't isa pagkatapos ng halik namin. Pagkatapos ay pinahinga ko naman ang noo ko sa kaniya...

Umiling ako. "I'm not." I answered her question about me being drunk. I'm definitely not drunk right now. At konting alak lang naman talaga ang iniinom namin dito sa veranda ng restaurant.

"And it's all right... As long as you want it, too..." I told her slowly...

Tumingin din siya sa mga mata ko. At nakita ko ang bahagyang paglaki ng mga mata niya. But then she also quickly relaxed after that. At binalik din niya ang pagdikit ng noo niya sa akin...