Serendipitous Confusion
"So, ano bro? Kamusta kayo ni Valerie? May label na ba?"
Tumingin ako kay Owen nang magsalita siya. Nakangisi siya sa akin, kaya inilingan ko na lang. Ako na naman ang nakita ng gago.
"What? Ang hina mo naman," he commented and laughed at me. I didn't look at him and just focused on the burger in front of me.
I opened the bun to check if they removed the tomato. I sighed in disappointment when I saw a big chunk of tomato slice on my burger. Hell! I specifically mentioned in the delivery instructions not to put tomato on my burger. Nag-tip pa naman ako, pero hindi nasunod ang gusto ko.
Ugh, I hate tomato. Never kong natutunang kumain ng kamatis, I hate the slimy and soft texture of it. Nakakadiri, parang may gumagalaw na kung ano sa loob ng bibig ko.
Wala akong nagawa kundi tanggalin na lang 'to sa burger ko. Napangiwi pa ako dahil sa kadiring itsura nito. Yikes, tomato should be gone. Buti na lang talaga Pinoy ako, nasanay sa banana ketchup.
"Ang tagal mo nang nanliligaw kay Valerie, huh? Four, five months?" Napatingin ako kay Geo nang magsalita siya. He's not looking at me, busy putting ranch on his fries.
"Hm? So? It's all good, hindi naman ako nagmamadali." Bullshit. Of course, I want us to have a label as soon as possible, but yeah... I just can't force her to give me an answer. I should know how to wait.
"Hi! What are you guys talking about?" I looked up with squinted eyes because of the sun. We were already under the beach umbrella, but the one who spoke was outside of it.
I saw a girl in a red two-piece. I immediately averted my eyes. Nope, this is a really bad idea. Why are there even girls here in the first place? Kala ko kami-kami lang na anim.
"Hey, baby..." Owen stood up and held the girl's waist.
We're currently at Owen's place, as usual, because his place is like the official hangout spot for us. Isang linggo na lang bago magpasukan, kaya nandito kami ngayon madalas namamalagi kila Owen dahil magiging bihira ang pag-ha-hang out namin kapag pasukan na, sinusulit lang namin.
And today was supposed to be just the six of us. We hooped this morning as exercise, pagkatapos ay nagyaya si Rahjil ng swimming, so all of us agreed because of the hot weather. I'm even topless right now. But to my surprise, hindi pa kami halos nag-uumpisa mag-swimming ay may pumuntang apat na babae dito kila Owen. It's one of Owen's flings with her friends. Owen invited them.
I looked around. Bryson, Rahjil, and Chino were in the pool with girls by their side. While the three of us—me, Owen, and Geo—were here at the table eating because we got hungry.
"Why are you here, baby?" Owen asked the girl as he pulled her onto his lap.
"Just wanna see what you guys are doing," sagot nito.
Hindi na lang namin sila pinansin ni Geo at pinagpatuloy ang pagkain. Sanay na kami sa ganitong eksena, at hindi na ako magugulat kung matatapos 'to ng hindi siya—
"We're just eating, why? Do you want anything, Lira?" We heard Owen ask softly.
Saglit namayapa ang katahimikan bago namin narinig muling magsalita ang babae. I glanced up at them and saw the girl slowly looking back at Owen with squinted eyes and a jaw tightening.
"Lira?" Mabilis tumayo ang babae sa kandungan niya at masamang tumingin kay Owen. "Who the fuck is Lira?" Nanggagalaiting tanong nito.
Me and Geo side-eyed each other. I pressed my lips together to stifle my laugh. Geo did the same. We didn't look at them as we munched on our food.
