S.T.A.I.D. 1 (COMPLETE) - Published under PHR

19

AFTER making sure that she was at least presentable, Myka followed Luke in the kitchen. Nang maamoy niya ang niluluto ni Luke ay saka niya naramdaman na nagugutom na din siya. But the moment that she stepped into the kitchen, she immediately stopped. Oh dear heavens! Gusto ba ni Luke na atakihin siya sa puso kaya hubad baro itong-teka ano nga ba ang ginagawa nito? He looked like he was kneading a dough. Saan ito nakakuha ng dough?

"Ano'ng ginagawa mo?" tanong ni Myka na hindi pa rin gumagalaw sa kinatatayuan.

"I'm making pasta," nakangiting sagot ni Luke na may kasamang kindat. Damn it! He looked really good when he winked. Myka almost ran to him and jumped him.

Anong jump him? Kaunting hinhin naman, Myka, sita niya sa isip. Kaya itinutok na lamang ni Myka ang tingin sa ginagawa ni Luke. But it wasn't safe either. Kitang-kita kasi niya ang pagpi-flex ng mga muscles nito sa braso. Bakit ba kasi wala itong damit pang-itaas? Not that she didn't appreciate the view, but she was so damned distracted with rippling muscles and hard-looking flat abs.

Luke was delicately kneading the damned dough, Myka almost felt jealous. Teka, saan nanggaling yon? "Ahm, sigurado ka bang alam mo ang ginagawa mo diyan?"

Nakangising tinapunan ng tingin ni Luke si Myka. "Syempre naman." Pagkatapos ay itinuro nito ang isang mataas na upuan sa tabi ng counter. "Why don't you sit over there and relax?"

Wala sa sariling tinungo ni Myka ang itinuro nitong upuan at naupo doon habang si Luke ay bigla na lang binitiwan ang hawak na dough at saka lumapit sa ref. He took out a box of milk and poured some into a glass. Ang sumunod nitong ginawa ay naglagay ng crackers sa isang platito. Then Luke handed those things to her. "Kumain ka muna ng konti. This could take a while," wika ni Luke saka itinuro ang dough.

Napatango lang si Myka saka nagsimulang kumain habang si Luke naman ay binalikan na ang ginagawa. Nagtaka siya nang kumuha si Luke ng isang mataas na baso. He covered in with food wrapper then started to inspect his work. "Para saan yan?"

"You don't have a rolling pin so," itinaas ni Luke ang hawak. "Pwede na to."

Tumango lang si Myka. She didn't know what to say. Pero natutuwa siyang panoorin ito. Myka never claimed to be an expert in the kitchen but at least she had some basic cooking skills. For one, she was good at handling the kitchen knives. Kayang-kaya din niyang magprito, magpakulo ng tubig, magluto ng instant noodles, maglaga ng itlog, maglagay ng instant sinigang mix sa kumukulong tubig na may halong karne at ilang gulay, at magluto ng commercial pasta na hahaluan ng instant pasta sauce. Her culinary expertise was limited that way. But that was normal, right? Hindi lahat ng tao ay magaling sa kusina.

But at that moment, Luke was like an entirely different species. Mayroon namang commercial pasta doon na iluluto na lang sa kumukulong tubig. Nang huli silang maggrocery ay madami din silang biniling iba't ibang klase ng pasta sauce. Pero nakita ni Myka si Luke na maglabas ng ilang pirasong kamatis, bawang, sibuyas, at hindi niya kilalang mga herbs at dahon. Myka was mesmerized as Luke cooked the sauce. Damn! He sure knew how to cook. Ilang minuto pa ay nakagawa na ito ng freshly made tomato sauce. Ang dough na parang pinanggigigilan nito kanina ay inilabas nito mula sa freezer. Ni hindi namalayan ni Myka na inilagay pala iyon doon ni Luke. Then Luke started rolling his makeshift rolling pin on the dough. In a minute, the pasta was cut into weird shapes and he was cooking it in boiling water.

"So, have I impressed you yet?"

"Have you what?"

Luke grinned and walked toward Myka until his legs bumped into her knees. And dalawang kamay ni Luke ay ipinatong nito sa magkabilang gilid niya. "Wala, ang sabi ko halikan mo na lang ako." Pinanlakihan ito ng mga mata ni Myka. "Ayaw mo? Okay, ako na lang ang hahalik sa'yo." And before Myka could even protest-not that she really wanted to protest-Luke already had her trapped inside the circle of his arms. Pagkatapos ay masuyong hinalikan ni Luke ang mga labi ni Myka.

Myka kissed him back with much enthusiasm. Naramdaman niya ang pagngiti ni Luke. And she couldn't help but sigh contentedly. "We'll continue this later. Baka masunog ang niluluto ko. Sayang naman ang pagpapa-impress ko sa'yo." Then Luke winked before going back to cooking.