Tides of Betrayal (Casa del Pueblo Series #1)

Kabanata eighteen

Kabanata eighteen

Locked

Naglakad ako papunta sa isang matangkad at matipunong lalaki. Hindi siya gaanong kagwapuhan kaya hindi ako ganoon naging interesado, but for the sake of the dare, I'd pretend to be.

"Hi," bati ko nang makalapit ako sa kanya. He looked familiar, but I couldn't place where I had seen him before. There was a curious glint in his eyes, like he was trying to figure out what I was up to.

"How's your night, so far?" malandi kong tanong, feeling a bit bold. I could tell nakuha ko ang atensyon niya. His expression shifted, intrigued by my approach, and it made me smirk.

"Fine, and you?" sagot niya, offering me his drink. Agad ko itong tinanggap, kahit hindi ko na inisip kung ano ang laman.

"Well, fine now that we are talking," sagot ko, my voice dripping with flirtation, surprising even myself with how confident I sounded. He raised an eyebrow at that, clearly amused.

"Wow, so this is the trend now, huh? Girls making the first move?" he teased, and I felt heat rise to my face, not from embarrassment, but from the subtle challenge in his voice.

"Well, if you're not interested, just say so. I can always find someone who is," crossing my arms slightly. I hated being dismissed, and I wasn't about to let him think he had the upper hand.

"Chill!" aniya, itinaas pa ang dalawang kamay, as if surrendering. He was enjoying this too much, and that only spurred me on. I could tell he liked the attention, and honestly, I found it kind of fun pushing his buttons.

I smiled, feeling like I had won that round. "Good. Come on, then," ani ko, motioning for him to follow me. Dinala ko siya sa kung nasaan kami kaninang tatlo.

We sat down, and I could feel the tension in the air growing thicker. I leaned a bit closer, feeling bolder as the seconds ticked by. Pinapanood niya ako, his eyes lingering, and just as I thought things were about to escalate, lumapit rin siya. Too close for comfort, actually.

But before anything happened, my mind flashed back to Apollo. My heart sank, guilt washing over me.

What am I doing?

The tension between us continued to build, each moment making me feel bolder and more detached from my thoughts of Apollo. This guy wasn't as attractive, but the way he leaned in, the way he looked at me with such interest... it was enough to push all my doubts and frustrations out of my head.

I played along, inching closer, smiling at his teasing remarks, letting the weight of the moment pull me away from everything else. For once, I didn't want to think. I didn't want to feel the gnawing doubt that had been eating at me since I saw that girl with Apollo. This was a dare, after all, and I wasn't going to back down.

His face was now just inches from mine, the warmth of his breath brushing against my skin. My pulse quickened, and the distance between us shrunk to almost nothing. A few more seconds, a few more inches, and our lips would touch—

But then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him.

Apollo.

Tumigil ang puso ko, at tila nabalot ng nakakabinging katahimikan ang paligid. There he was... Apollo.

Nakatayo ilang hakbang lang mula sa amin, nakatingin, pinapanood kami. His expression was unreadable at first, but as I looked closer, I could see it... a mix of exhaustion, something like anger, and jealousy flickering in his eyes. It felt like his gaze was pulling every breath out of me, leaving me stranded in a sea of guilt and confusion.

I felt caught, like I'd been exposed for something I didn't even know I was guilty of. The truth was, Apollo and I never had labels. We never said the words, never laid out our boundaries.