Numbers: A Series

Prologue

"Den?"

He turned to look at her; she already laid on their bed, her hair sprawled over the pillow. He smiled and followed her under the sheets, shifting slightly that they were right next to each other.

"Hm?"

She slid under the blanket slightly, fingers lightly holding onto the hem whilst covering half of her face. He quirked a brow, wondering what she wanted to say.

"...nahihiya ako," she mumbled, eliciting laughter from him. He then pat the top of her head.

"Ano 'yon?" He asked, his voice gentle, fingers playing with her hair. She glances at him, and he smiled, chuckling softly when she hid under the blanket yet again. "Uy, ano ba 'yon?"

She squirmed. "Kasi, nand'yan ka e."

"O, e ano problema?"

"Nahihiya nga ako," she whined, wriggling against him, and he snorted.

"O sige, aalis na lang ako, gusto mo?" He made a move to leave, only to be stopped by her as she reached for his shirt, tugging him back to bed. He found her passive-aggressiveness adorable at times, that he couldn't help but laugh again, arms wounding around her, that they were cuddled under the sheets, legs tangled together.

"...Den?"

"Meng."

"...kailan ka ba na-in love ka sa akin?"

He blinked. He tried hard to think back, only to fail to come up with an answer because, in all honesty,

"...kailan ba hindi?"

She stared at him, blood rushing to her cheeks and she hit him on the forearm, laughing shyly. "Bolero ka. Kailan nga kasi?"

He pushed himself up that his back was pressed against the headboard, his gaze on the ceiling, seemingly deep in thought. He moved his gaze to look at her after, eyes staring right into hers.

"I honestly lost count," he mumbled, his brows furrowing as he continued to think. "Because I did not fall in love with you just once."

Once again, he rendered her speechless. He smiled.

"Should I list it down for you?"

She nodded. He hummed.

"..well, firstly, I'm not even going to deny it-" he cleared his throat, moving a bit as she sat next to him, his arm draped over her shoulders, the blanket covering their bodies from the hips going down. "I fell in love with your appearance."

"Understandable," she snorted. He grinned.

"Without being biased because- duh, girlfriend kita," he chuckled, leaning forward to press a soft kiss onto her temple, at which she smiled. "..maganda ka. 'Yung kagandahan mo, kakaiba. Nangingibabaw. 'Yung.. parang exotic beauty ba."

"...parang pagkain lang, a," she made a face. "Sweet mo, grabe. Bolero."

"Uy, 'di nga!" He laughed yet again, head shaking as he denied her accusations. "One in a million na ganda."

"Tisoy, may isan'daang milyong tao dito sa Pilipinas. So, isan'daan kaming type mo?"

"O, e 'di, ikaw na ang pinakamagandang babae sa balat ng Pilipinas."

"Bolero," she snorted. He could only sigh; sometimes, it was hard to win against her.

"Itutuloy ka pa ba, o 'wag na lang?" He asked, teasing. She seemed to have tensed at the inquiry, and he knew he had power over her again.

"...opo, pakituloy po."

He then lightly pinched her nose. "Kulit mo kasi e."

"..oo na nga, ituloy mo na," she grumbled, pulling his hand away from her nose. "So, una, maganda ako."

"Yup," he nodded, leaning back against the wall. "Nabighani ako sa'yo-"

"Naaaaaks, nabighani," she whispered, snickering.

"...matulog ka na nga lang-"

"Uy, uy," she whined, gently tugging on him as he had turned his back to her. "Joke lang, Tisoy, uy."

He found it hard to ignore her that he moved to face her again, arms wrapping around her.

"Matulog ka na lang, saka ko na ulit ililista. Maaga pa tayo bukas."

And perhaps, it was all she needed to fall asleep, for the moment he held her in his arms, she dozed off, her lips parted slightly as she nuzzled his chest. He smiled.

"Kasi marami talaga."