THE NOTEBOOK

Chapter 3

Courtney's Pov:

Humakbang ako papasok ng Glitz.  Nasa likod ko si Xander.

The place was really cool. Most of the round wooden tables were only for two people.

Love songs were playing from an unseen stereo. Now, you might be able to understand why I never went into Glitz. It was a place for people who were in love with each other. So far, no one was in love with me.

"Table for two, sir?" a smiling waitress walked up to us.

"Yes, please," Xander answered politely. Table for two? I didn't see any tables for five, four, or even three people.

All the tables there were only for two people. I was pretty surprised when Xander pulled a chair from under the table for me. Another waitress, who was smiling really wide, came and asked us for our order.

He ordered for me, as I looked at him wide-eyed. Glitz was a fancy place, the food was probably a little too expensive for me. All I had left of my allowance was my jeepney fare home.

"Don't worry," he smiled when the waitress had finally left.

"I'm paying for everything." Whew! Buti nalang siya ang magbabayad! Wala pa naman akong dalang pera dito. Tska siya naman may pakana ng lahat ng ito so might as well na siya talaga magbayad. Diba?

"In order for us to pull this off, we need to have a "history" together," his tone was businesslike. Was pretending that you were in love with someone an ordinary thing to him? Well, to me it wasn't.

"Well, we could say were already a couple while you and Trisha were still together," I suggested. The waitress arrived. She served us our order.

Xander ordered ice cream? A chocolate sundae, to be specific. Coincidentally, my favorite.

"No, we need to tell everyone that we're a couple about a week from today,"

he countered shoving a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth. He also ordered a chocolate sundae for himself.

"Or else, they'll think I'm just rebounding. We need everyone to think that "we're" serious."

"Okay," I decided not to disagree with him. I wanted to concentrate on eating my chocolate sundae.

"Whatever you say." "If we're gonna pretend we're a couple, we should know stuff about each other," he said, shoving another spoonful of chocolate goodness into his mouth.

"Like favorite food, favorite color, the music that we like?" I looked up from my bowl and laughed out loud. He looked like a little kid, eating ice cream for the first time. He had some ice cream on the corner of his mouth.

"You have" I pointed to the corner of his mouth.

"Oh," he said and grabbed some tissue, but he rubbed on the wrong place.

"No, let me," I grabbed some tissue and wiped the ice cream from his face.

"Anong tinitingin mo dyan?"" I said when I saw the way he was looking at me.

"Nothing," he shrugged and continued eating. "We should have rules. "What rules?" I asked, confused.

"For example, you can't go out with anyone else before our deal is over," he continued eating.

"That's okay with me," I shrugged. "That's because the guy you like is taken," he looked at me, that stupid smirk was back on his face again.

"Shut up," I had the urge to throw my bowl of chocolate sundae at him, but then I remembered that he paid for it.

"The second rule is we can't tell anyone about our deal. It'd make me look like a total loser," he looked at me.

"The most important rule," I took some tissue and wiped my mouth. I had finished my sundae.

"We can never, I repeat never ever, fall in love with each other." Xander looked at me like I was crazy, like he'd never be stupid as to, you know, fall in love with me, but he kept on staring and he smirked and said,

"Don't flatter yourself." Kapal ng mukha! Akala niya ma iinlove ako sa kanya! Psh.

Well, let see

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