The Letters of Paris

Chapter 09

Thein pulled the car over to the side of the road. Inalis ko ang seatbelt ko at mahigpit na yumakap sa denim jacket na dala ko habang diretso ang tingin sa unahan. I bit my lower lip to calm down but I felt my heart sprint the minute we got here.

"Out."

Binaling ko ang tingin kay Thein nang basagin niya ang katahimikan na nagpapakaba sa 'kin. I could tell how annoyed he was simply by his number of words.

I scoffed as I rolled my eyes when he sassily raised his brows. Mabilis ang mga kilos ko para lumabas ng kotse niya. The moment I closed the door, halos hugutin ko lahat ng natatagong pasensya ko sa kaniya nang kulang na lamang pati alikabok ibuga niya sa 'kin gamit ang sasakyan para lamang makaalis.

Then again, when my eyes veered on another car. Besides the jitty feeling, it's funny how I already wanted this to get over with. If this were a normal friendly date, then I doubt I wouldn't feel this clueless and anxious. Ito ba ang sinasabi ni Maeve? Is this what falling is supposed to be?

If it is... then, I don't want to jump on my own.

Lumapit ako sa sasakyan ni Xenon at sinilip ang bintana niya. Kumunot ang noo ko, mukhang hindi niya napansin na kanina pa kami sa likod niya. I saw him looking dazed and bothered at his phone.

I knocked twice to catch his attention at nang makuha ko ito, agaran akong ngumiti. The wind whistled— touching my face with the cold air before I heard the noise of unlocking the door.

"Hinatid ka ba ni Thein?" bungad niya.

I hummed in reply, I was right.

"I'm glad he agreed," he said while starting the car's engine.

Muntikan na akong ngumiwi sa sinambit niya.

Thein never agreed. It took me half of my brain to reason out with him so that he could drive me here na kaming dalawa lamang ang nakakaalam.

Napapalatak ako habang inaalala kung pano niya 'ko bantaan bago ihatid dito. He even set a damn curfew, although the time was reasonable, hindi lang kapanipaniwala dahil siya ang unang taong nag bigay sa 'kin ng gano'n.

And because his car has a tracker, we— I made sure to clear all the excuses to say if by any chance my Aunt would ask questions. Na pag kasunduan namin na ibababa niya ako sa lugar kung saan siya madalas mag sigarilyo para iyon ang irason niya. Remembering our conversation, puros tango lamang ang ginawa niya at isang walang emosyon na mukha.

"I already reserved a table at Casa Soriano." he glanced.

Mahinang natawa ako. "I see you've done your research."

Napansin ko kung paano siya natigilan. In just a matter of minutes, I could see how his ears turned slight red. Iniwas ko ang paningin ko sa kaniya para itago ang munting ngiti na gustong kumawala sa labi ko.

I always dine at Casa Soriano, I love their dishes and have been obsessed with going back every dinner just to eat their pasta. He must've seen my highlight on Instagram where all the pictures were of me eating pasta with Maeve. I even pulled Thein last week to eat pasta but I didn't expect him to dislike pasta, kaya hindi na naulit pa.

Xenon parked his car near the entrance. One staff approached us with a smile, I was about to greet him pero natigilan ako nang maramdaman ko ang isang kamay na lumapat sa likod ko, then I heard his voice.

"I reserved a table for two," he said. I avoided his stares when I felt awkward dahil sa mga simpleng pagsulyap niya saakin, at ibinaling na lamang ang tingin sa ibang direksyon.

"Ano pong pangalan, Sir?"

In my peripheral view, I saw how the staff took out a piece of paper.

"Mendoza... Xenon Mendoza."