At Last, Him

Chapter 12: After All This Time

Stepping out of my Balinese language class for the last time, I felt an odd mixture of pride and emptiness. Every Saturday morning since September had been about learning how to roll my r's just right or figuring out which words carried the most respect in conversation. Now, though, I had a free day stretching out in front of me.

It felt weird.

I decided to try celebrating with my housemates. I called Kuya Marco first. Oo, kapag wala kami sa trabaho, Kuya ang tawag ko sa kanya. But of course, kapag nasa trabaho kami, I call him Tek or Architect.

"Kuya Marco! Free ka ba? Last day ko sa class!"

I could practically hear him groaning as he answered, "Sorry, Shan. Wala talaga ako sa mood lumabas today. I need the longest nap of my life."

Strike one.

Apinya was next on my list. "Hey, want to hang out today?" I asked, trying to sound upbeat.

"Oh, Shan! I'm so sorry, my boyfriend's here for the weekend. We're actually at a resort right now," she replied, her voice filled with happiness. She'd been waiting for his visit for weeks, especially because they were both Thai, and her boyfriend flew from Thailand all the way here to Bali.

Si Liang Wei kaya? Napailing agad ako. I couldn't bring myself to call Liang Wei, especially since he hadn't even been home last night. As far as the rest of us could tell, he was probably in another whirlwind one-night situation.

Ang makita ang pangalan ni East na magliwanag sa phone screen ko ay talagang nagdala ng kaunting ngiti sa mukha ko. A month ago, I wouldn't have imagined calling him up like this, just casually wanting to hang out. But here we were. Work had become a surprisingly smooth rhythm with East lately—no awkwardness, no lingering tension. We were just... good. And honestly, the past few weeks had somehow brought us closer, in a natural, comfortable way.

Alright, last option. I dialed East's number, hoping he wasn't tied up in work. "Hoy, libre ka ba? I just got out of my last class," sinubukan kong magmukhang walang pakialam, pero talagang gusto kong sumagot siya ng oo.

"Free naman ako," sagot niya, at narinig ko ang ngiti sa kanyang boses. "Saan mo gusto?"

I grinned to myself. At least someone was free today, and a little spark of excitement filled me.

"Totoo talaga? Free ka? Baka nasa site ka ha?" tanong ko, pilit hindi pinapahalata sa kanya na masaya ako sa naging sagot niya.

"Oo nga. Grabe ka naman, hindi naman sa lahat ng Sabado nasa trabaho ako," reklamo niya. "Anyway, seems like my lucky day. You don't usually call," dagdag pa niya.

"Oh, please," I laughed. "My housemates all ditched me. Last option lang kita."

He chuckled. "Good to know I'm special."

Hearing that familiar playfulness again felt refreshing. It reminded me of the times before things had gotten complicated. I didn't need to overthink things today. It felt like we'd both left a lot of that behind, like whatever friendship we were finding again was just easy.

***

East pulled up in his car, rolling down the window with a grin. "Hop in," he said, nodding toward the passenger seat. I climbed in, buckling up as he drove off. I didn't bother asking where we were going. He seemed oddly excited, and I decided to let him keep the surprise.

"So, how's this 'mystery place' any better than my usual Saturday plans?" I teased, looking out at the familiar streets passing by.

"You'll see," sagot niya, sumulyap na may munting ngiti na tila may alam siyang hindi ko alam.