This Thing Called Love

Chapter 14

Pinanood ni Luke si Gabbie magluto ng sinigang dahil iyon daw ang specialty nito. Earlier that day, he dreamt of Gabbie's fingers tracing his face. It felt very real, kaya nang magising sya at nakita nya ang mukha ni Gabbie akala nya nananaginip pa rin sya. But she was really there, looking over him.

Ipinagtaka nya nang sabihin ni Gabbie na nagtext sya dito at inutusan itong pumunta sa condo nya. Wala syang maalalang nagtext sya kaninuman nang umagang iyon, pero nang sabihin ni Gabbie na aalis na lang ito, nagkunwari na lang syang nakalimutan nya ang tungkol sa text message. Hindi nya hahayaang umalis ito ng ganun-ganun lang, lalo na't ang tagal nyang inantay na makausap uli ito.

Four days, but it felt like forever.

He checked his phone, nonetheless. Napatunayan nyang totoo ang sinabi ni Gabbie dahil nandoon pa sa sentbox nya ang message na itinext nya dito. Sigurado syang hindi sya ang gumawa ng mensaheng 'yun. But he was grateful for whoever sent that message. Dahil sa text message na iyon, nagkaayos sila ni Gabbie.

That smile she gave him made up for the days she had deliberately ignored him.

Inilapag ni Gabbie ang bowl ng sinigang sa dining table. "Ayan. Kumain ka na," sabi nito. So he did. Nakatingin sa kanya si Gabbie nang tikman nya ang niluto nito, hinihintay ang hatol nya.

"Well?"

Ngumiti sya. "It's good." At 'yun ang totoo. Hindi mahilig si Luke sa sinigang, pero nang oras na 'yun parang ang sarap kumain ng iniluto ni Gabbie.

Ngumiti si Gabbie and he realized how much he missed seeing her smile.

"Sige. Kumain ka lang ha."

"Ha? Bakit? Saan ka pupunta?"

"Kailangan ko kasing bumalik sa store. Marami kasing trabaho ngayon dun," sabi nito habang inaalis ang suot na apron.

"Mamaya ka na umalis," pigil nya dito. Gabbie frowned at him. "Dadaan din ako sa store mamaya. Sabay na lang tayo."

"E, pero..."

Tumayo si Luke. "Angela and the rest can manage without you, Gabbie. They've been doing that for years. Samahan mo na lang akong ubusin 'tong niluto mo," sabi nya. He pulled out a chair and helped her sit. Kumuha rin sya ng pinggan saka kutsara at tinidor para kay Gabbie.

"Thank you," mahinang sabi ni Gabbie. He settled back in his chair.

"Uh... Luke," pagkaraan ay narinig nyang sabi ni Gabbie. "Nag away ba kayo ni Chris?"

Nagtaka sya sa tanong na 'yun. Well, he does have a lot of reasons to be mad at his twin but he knows better than to fight with Chris.

"Hindi. Bakit?"

"Akala ko lang kasi. Pagdating ko kanina ang gulo ng unit mo. Ang daming kalat kaya akala ko nag away kayo o baka may nakapasok na magnanakaw. Pero wala namang nawala sa mga gamit mo."

"Magulo? Are you sure?"

Tumango ito. "Niligpit ko na nga lang e."

Nakapagtataka. He was sure the room was perfectly tidy before he fell asleep. Okay, so maybe it was not impeccable but at least it was clean. And now that Gabbie has mentioned it, nasaan nga ba si Chris?

"Umalis ba si Chris while I was asleep?"

Gabbie shrugged. "Hindi ko alam. Hindi ko sya nakita nang dumating ako. Hindi rin naka-lock yung pinto kaya pumasok na lang ako."

Now, that's curious. What's his twin been up to?

Pagkatapos nilang kumain, Gabbie offered to do the dishes kaya nag shower na lang sya para pagkatapos nitong maghugas ng pinggan ay makaalis na sila. Isang simpleng shirt ang sinuot nya at jeans. Nang matapos magbihis, lumabas sya ng kwarto. Nasa living room si Gabbie, tinitingnan ang picture nila ng kakambal nya na nakapatong sa sidetable. Nag-angat ito ng mukha nang marinig ang pagsara ng pinto ng kwarto nya.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" tanong nya dahil kakaiba ang ngiti ni Gabbie.

"Nothing. You're just... you just look like Chris," sagot nito.

"Did it surprise you that I look like my twin?" biro nya.

"Hindi 'yun! You just look more like Chris than Luke."

"Oh, so you knew the difference?"

"Course I do," pagyayabang nito sa kanya.

"Then how does Luke looks like?"

"Like this," sabi nito saka lumapit sa kanya. Tumingkayad ito sa harap nya saka sinuklay ng mga kamay nito ang buhok nya hanggang sa magaya ni Gabbie ang hairstyle nya. Pero hindi ang buhok nya ang concern ni Luke nang mga sandaling iyon. Ang nasa isip nya ay kung gaano kalapit si Gabbie sa kanya. Iyon ang unang beses na natitigan nya talaga ito ng malapitan. Suddenly, he thought her fringe looked good on her.

Then his gaze fell on her lips. She was biting her lower lip while working on his hair and he can't help but wonder how it would feel like kissing her.

Gabbie caught him staring at tumigil ito sa ginagawang pag-aayos ng buhok nya.

"There," sabi nitong nakangiti saka humakbang palayo sa kanya. "Kamukha mo na si Luke."

He didn't respond, instead he pulled her close and kissed her.

The kiss did not last long because Gabbie froze the moment their lips met and Luke realized how careless it was to kiss her on the very same day na nagkaayos sila. Nang tumigil sya sa paghalik kay Gabbie, natakot sya sa pwedeng gawin nito. Mabuti kung suntukin lang uli sya nito. That he can take, pero paano kung hindi lang sya iwasan nito? Paano kung tuluyan syang layuan ni Gabbie? 

God. Why did I do that?

Tiningnan nya si Gabbie na nakatulala sa kanya at nagsimula syang humingi ng tawad.

"Gabbie, I--"

He didn't get to finish because Gabbie's hands were already wrapped around his neck and she was kissing him.