Secretly Dating!

Secretly 25

"Is this the house, Clarice?" Maginoong tanong ni Miguel sa akin. Sumilip siya sa kaliwang side mirror bago tumingin sa direksyon ko. Siguro kikiligin ako kapag sa akin talaga siya nakatingin, kaso hindi, dahil sa isang malaking bahay siya nakatutok. Hays, bakit ko nga ba siya isinama dito?

I glanced at the house Miguel was referring to. Tumpak, ito na nga ang bahay ni Professor Jaime Rodriguez, isa sa mga paborito kong guro sa Law School.

May malaking gate na kulay pula, at makikita mo ang ikalawang palapag ng mansyon mula sa labas. Naka-on lahat ng ilaw at may maiingay na music mula sa loob. Sa tingin ko kanina pa nagsimula ang birthday party. Late lang talaga ako.

Eh, panong hindi male-late? Halos dalawang oras akong nagpapalit ng mga damit na susuotin. When Miguel texted that he'd come with me, regardless whether I say yes or no, I felt like all my body hairs went up...then I ended up frustrated in what to wear. Para bang na-conscious ako bigla sa aking susuotin, which was so not me.

Kasalan ko din naman kung bakit nagpresenta si Miguel na samahan ako sa party. Dahil nabanggit ko sa kanya na ayokong pumunta sa party ni Professor Jaime na mag-isa. Baka maging loner lang ako doon. I don't have many close friends during my studies, si Clifford lang ata ang naaalala ko.

I asked Miguel to come with me, but that was supposed to be a joke. Hindi ko naman akalain na totohanin niya ang joke ko. Masama nga atang mag-joke sa mga seryosong tao.

Eventually, isang simpleng casual dress lang ang isinuot ko. Tamang-tama ang haba, just enough to cover my knees. Kulay puti ang dress at may mga pulang flower designs sa palibot ng neckline. I'm wearing white flat shoes, matching to my casual attire. I didn't put any make-up on either, kunting lip gloss lang. Hindi naman elite party ang pupuntahan ko, or maybe...

"Ito na nga, Miguel." Sagot ko sa kanya. I saw him nod before he exited from the car. Then everything happened so quick dahil nakita ko na lang siya na pinagbubuksan ako ng pintuan. I supressed a smile. Only then I realized that several cars were already parked outside the gate. Truly, I expected a lot of guests. Friendly naman talaga si Professor Jaime noon pa man. And he was very accommodating.

"Thanks." Tipid kong sabi. Buti na lang at hindi niya ako inalalayan na lumabas, dahil baka himatayin ako sa nerbyos. Gah, ano ba tong pinag-iisip ko.

"Clarice?" Nagulat na lang ako ng tinawag niya ang pangalan ko. Oh, shoot. I was staring at him! I couldn't help but stare at his gorgeous attire, and maybe I was staring at his face longer than it should!

Alright, Miguel was so handsome tonight. He always is. Ngayon ko lang mas nabigyan ng pansin. He was wearing a navy blue long sleeve, and it was tucked inside his pants. It seemed like the sleeve was perfectly sewn for him. His hair was gelled neatly on his head, making him look more mature than his natural age, when in fact, Miguel was only twenty-seven years old. Well, that's still young for me. I was twenty-nine, anyway.

Attending the birthday party with him was suddenly off balance. Hindi naman sa ayaw ko siyang sumama, kaya lang, baka mapagkamalan kaming may relasyon ng mga batchmates ko. I didn't want to stir up any issues again.

"Umuwi na lang kaya tayo, Miguel?" Kinakabahan kong sabi.

"Seriously, you're saying that now?" Halos di makapaniwalang tanong ni Miguel. "You actually didn't want me here...with you." It wasn't a question, but served as his own conclusion. "I'm sorry, I must have misunderstood it."

I gripped my hands tighter at my side, buti na lang at wala akong dalang purse. I couldn't look straight at his eyes, but I tried, anyway. "Hindi naman sa ganun, Miguel. I'm thankful na sasamahan mo ako. Kaya lang..."