Facetime Flirting

2:56 am

 Fiction/Kathang-Isip

Her phone rang. Maine hurried out of the shower, wearing pajamas and a towel wrapped around her head. She felt a small pang of guilt as she realized that it had been Alden's fourth call.  

"Shokoy?"
"Meng, tulog ka na?" She smiled as her cheeks flushed. His voice always had a happy  effect on her, no matter how tired she was. 
"Yup. Ikaw?"
"Just got out of the shower. Sleep na rin ako in a bit. Just wanted to say good night and advanced happy birthday."
"Ok, salamat Alden. Good night!" she replied.

Alden laughed. "Meng, grabe ka naman. Wala bang lambing diyan?"
She chuckled. This had become their routine for the past few weeks.  "Sige nga, good night Shokoy. Sweet dreams. Mwah, mwah," she replied in a singsong voice. She always pretended to be annoyed when he called so late, but secretly looked forward to hearing from him every night.

"Meng, Facetime tayo. I wanna see you."

She groaned. "Alden, mukha akong balut. As in. Basang-basa pa buhok ko. Please, wag na tayo mag-Facetime. Tulog na tayo. Alas-tres na."

Alden echoed her groan on the other end of the line. "Bibi, sige naaaaaa. I want to see you before I sleep."
"Fine, I'll call you back."

In seconds, his wide grin and dimple  flashed across her screen "Hey, bibi," he greeted with a flirtatious wink.
Maine rolled her eyes and arched an eyebrow, pretending to be unaffected. She parked her phone on a pillow across her bed. 

"Ayan, kita ko na bibi ko." He could see her stretched out on the bed, wearing a ratty old t-shirt, with her damp hair splayed everywhere. In her arms she cuddled a small teddy bear, a childhood toy she always slept with. "Ganda talaga ng bibi ko," he remarked proudly.

Alden adjusted the  position of his phone on his bedside table so Maine could see him better. He lay on his belly, hugging a pillow with her face printed on it. His hair was also damp  and he looked freshly-scrubbed. He wore an old green Adidas shirt, a favorite from way back when he was on the college basketball team. He also wore his faded Old Navy pajamas that had seen better days. She made a mental note to give him a new pajama set soon.

"Oh, ayan. Nakita mo na ako. Balut lang ang peg. Good night na please." She was so tired and terribly sleepy. She suppressed a yawn. 

"Kaw talaga. Ba't ayaw mo maniwala sa akin? Ganda mo kaya. Kahit kasing laki lang ng Republic Cement bag ang mga eyebags mo ngayon," he teased.

"Off ko na to." She pretended to reach for her phone.

"Waaaag, bibi. Sorry na. I just wanted to tell you something before ka matulog. May news ako for you."