James sighed.
He picked up his beer, already his 4th bottle. He just got back this afternoon from San Francisco and felt the itch to go out. He needed to drown his frustrations in alcohol.
He was at the Brewery with the usual suspects Bret and Sam. Julia was with them this time. Well, she was with Sam, actually.
***
Nadine sighed.
She played with the Charriol bracelet around her wrist. Yes, the one that James gave her. Yassi had demanded to meet her as soon as she got off the plane. No buts.
They were at The Nook, a quaint little coffeeshop near Maginhawa street. She's always loved this place with its Harry Potter vibe, but now it just reminder her a little too much of James.
***
Out of the corner of his eye, James saw Julia nudge Sam and point her head in his direction. Sam cleared his throat. "You okay, bro? Tahimik ka."
He shrugged. Sam leaned in closer. "May problema kayo ni Nadz?"
"Come on, I just wanted to see you guys."
Julia side-eyed him. "Really, James? Drinking over a girl? So unlike you."
He took another swig at his beer. "She's not just any girl, okay Julia?" He said a little irritably. "She's... everything. She's Nadine." He couldn't explain it simpler enough.
"You mean she's your karma," Julia huffed and stood up to go to the bar, taking Sam with her.
***
Yassi pursed her lips and regarded Nadine with raised eyebrows. "I don't understand. Mahal mo siya pero ayaw mo siyang mahalin?"
Nadine started telling Yassi all the events that transpired in her life since New Year. She hadn't had the chance to go into detail about what's been happening with her and James before tonight, just the random viber message of "OMG, James kissed me!" and then her reply of "What?!? Love, spill!" that she hadn't been able to reply to.
Nadine nodded. "Ewan ko, Yas. Parang natatakot ako e. I don't trust him. Tapos iniisip ko yung career pa namin. Diba? Ang hirap?" She looked at Yassi for validation.
"E, if hindi kayo, then what's all this crap during the presscon in Sacramento? Right now, alam ng lahat is kayo talaga. Ano yun?"
"Hay naku, that was just James being James. But then Boss Vic called and said panindigan daw muna namin kunwari."
"Ang gulo niyo! Mahal ka niya, mahal mo siya, umamin kayo na kayo, pero hindi naman pala kayo. Ano ba yan! Parang teleserye!"
***
Bret was quiet, just watching James drink his beer. This was why Bret was his best friend. He knew when to back off. They didn't normally talk about their love lives, God knows James hasn't really loved and lost before to actually be needing to talk to someone about it.
Maybe it was his silence, but James found himself saying, "I don't know what to do, bro."
He didn't even have to tell him what happened, it was like he already knew.
"Well, you're not gonna get her if you act like that."
"Like what?"
"Yourself!"
***
"Parang when he kissed me, everything felt so natural. Parang it was just us being us. I was on such a high at the beginning."
