Wicked Games (An Epistolary Novel)

117

"San tayo sasakay? Kani-kaniya bang sasakyan?" tanong ni Rachel.

I shrugged. "'Di ko alam."

Today is our scheduled team lunch. We were shookt when we received the email kasi sa Dusit Thani iyon. May pagkakuripot kasi ang mga boss namin kaya nagulat kami na sa medyo mamahaling restaurant kami kakain. Madalas kasi ay sa mga reasonably priced restaurants lang kami—not that it was an issue for us. Hindi naman kami tumatanggi at nagrereklamo kapag libre, noh! Iyon pala ay naghati iyong pinaka-boss ng URM team saka iyong team namin.

Buong umaga ay iyon ang naging usapan—kung kanino kami sasabay. I certainly didn't want to drive kasi mahirap ang parking saka sayang sa gas.

We stumbled upon Julian on our way out of the lab. Magkahilera lang kasi ang labs namin. Minsan lang iyong nagkakasama kami sa isang lab kapag ang gagaw'in ko na testing ay nasa kabilang lab ang equipment.

"Uy!" I smiled, greeting him.

"Hey," balik niyang bati, with emphasis on his smile.

Noong una ay nagugulat pa rin ako at hindi sanay kapag ngumingiti siya sa akin—for the longest time, I was used to his permanent frown whenever he'd look at me. Never thought I'd see the day that he'll have other reaction for me other than his usual.

"Kanino ka sasabay?" I asked.

His forehead creased, looking confused with my question.

"To Dusit Thani?" he clarified, to which I nodded.

"I'm just tagging along with you also."

"Oh. Kaso hindi rin namin alam kung kanino kami sasakay, eh," natatawang sagot ko. Pinigil ko ang kilig sa sinabing sa amin siya sasabay.

"Why would we need a vehicle?" he asked.

It was my forehead's turn to crease in confusion.

"Huh? Paano tayo pupunta roon?"

"Aren't we gonna just walk our way there?"

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko. "Lalakarin natin?!" I sounded scandalized with his statement which earned me confused looks from my friends walking ahead of us. Hininaan ko ang boses sa sunod na tanong. "Seriously?"

He just nodded. "Did you think we'll drive there? It was just nearby, only a kilometer away. Six minutes by car, 14 minutes' walk.

Natahimik ako habang naglalakad.

I wasn't still fully recovered from the hazing experience that was my LSD run last Sunday. Hindi pa ready ang mga legs ko na maglakad nang mahaba!

I bit my lips, contemplating things.

He suddenly chuckled, probably sensing my apprehension. "Are your legs still sore?"

I turned to him. "Anong legs? Whole body!" He chuckled yet again. Ugh, guwapo so much. "And yes, it was still sore. I think I need a whole week to recover."

"Try running more often so you'll get used to it. Don't you have an active lifestyle?"

"I do. I go to the gym whenever I have time. But not as extreme as long running!"

"Maybe it's the start of your runner era," he said, casually shrugging. Hindi namin namalayan na nasa lobby na pala kami.

I looked for my friends around and when I saw my best friend, her eyebrow was raised at me, a mischievous smirk playing on her lips. I rolled my eyes because I knew what she was thinking.

"Meh. Not my preferred cardio," I replied, shrugging casually.

He did not comment on that.

In the end, we really did walk our way to Dusit Thani.

"Akala ko iiwan mo na ako, eh. Akala ko kay Julian ka sasabay maglakad," bulong ni Rachel na katabi kong maglakad at kasukob sa payong. "Muntik na akong magselos."

Natawa ako. "Baliw!"

Mabagal lang kaming maglakad kaya nauuna na ang iba. Julian was walking alongside our team lead, Jhoanna.

There was already a reservation, so we were ushered to our table right away. Mabilis na nagsipuwestuhan ang mga kasama ko sa kanilang upuan.

"Tabi na kayo ni Julian," napalakas ang sabi ni Rachel niyon kaya pinanlakihan ko siya ng mata. I was sure my cheeks were blushing as well.

Gosh. Nakakahiya!

"Dito kasi ako sa pinakadulo," dagdag niya saka awkward na tumawa.

I cleared my throat and smiled to Julian who was on my left side. "Upo na tayo," sabi ko na lang.

The lunch was fun, and we had dessert after. Rachel and the boys were wiggling their brows while on the side because Julian treated us gelato. Hindi lang naman kami ang nilibre noong tao, grabe naman sila maka-react!

They were putting malice to it! I mean, hopia na nga ako, tapos tinutukso pa nila ako lalo. Baka hindi na ako makaahon nito!

"Thanks for the free dessert," I said to him when we got back to the office.

"Don't mention it."

"Work well, mister!" I smiled.

"Likewise, Noah."

I waved at him goodbye before we got back to our respective labs, smiling cheekily for yet another core memory unlocked with him.