Dating Alys Perez (PUBLISHED)

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"Panget, why the long face?" 

Napaangat ako ng tingin. Sobrang pagod na ako, hindi ko man lang namalayan na nandito na pala si Tripp! God!

Kaagad akong tumayo at niyakap siya. "Sorry, Panget. Kasi naman si Cristine!" I said then vented out my frustrations. 

As far as I am concerned, hindi ako wedding planner. But why the hell ako ang nagpplano ng wedding nila ni Drake?! I was caught off guard! Bigla niya akong tinanong kanina kung payag ba akong maging wedding planner since biglang nagresign yung wedding planner nila (which is weird! Kung ano yun, I would sue whoever that woman is! You don't cancel just weeks away from my wedding!) then she asked me kung pwede ako. It took me blank minutes to think and before I could even say a word, she hugged me! And the rest was history. 

Tripp made himself comfortable on the couch inside my office. Nandito pa din kasi ako sa shop ko. Mabuti na lang din at nakakuha na ako ng staff, thankfully because of Tofer. Remember pinaalis ng Papa niya lahat ng guy staff sa resto bar niya? I gladly offered those dudes a job. They accepted it naman so I'm okay na.

"You could cancel," sabi niya. Mabuti naman at hindi siya nagfreak out... oh, well. I left the part where I should have mentioned that Drake's the groom. Bakit hindi niya alam? Palma siya, after all. Ikakasal ang pinsan niya, hello??

Umiling ako. I can't say no to Cristine, super nice niya. Ang her Mom got me a job! Magseserve ako ng pastry sa isa sa event niya sa re-opening ng art gallery. How could I say no when her Mom just offered me my biggest break here in the Phil? Her Mom's art gallery is one of the finest! 

Hinintay pa ako ni Tripp since I promised him a dinner, kasama din namin si Tofer kasi namimiss niya din daw si Tripp. Kapal talaga ng mukha! Girlfriend lang? 

Tinapos ko muna yung run down ng wedding invites. In fairness, kakilala ko lahat ng invited! Pati nga family ko, invited. Oh, well. Siguro family friend sila Cristine nila Mom. After all, the elite world is just too small. 

"I'm done," sabi ko. Lumapit ako kay Tripp and offered him my hand. Before he could stand up, hinatak niya ako pababa kaya napaupo ako sa tabi niya. He embraced me and rested his head on my shoulder. "Mushy much?" matawa tawa kong sabi.

"Ang busy mo naman kasi, Perez. Wala ka ng oras sa akin," he said. 

I kissed his cheek and patted his head. "Kaya nga magdidinner tayo ngayon, di ba?" I reminded him. Oo nga naman kasi, I've been real busy. Gig here and there makes Alys timeless for her boyfriend. And besides, busy din naman siya sa work niya. Busy kaming lahat, actually. Syempre hindi na kami high school students, mayroon na kaming kanya kanyang work.

"Pero kasama si Tofer," reklamo niya. I chuckled at his annoyed expression. "Bakit ba kasi kasama si Tofer?"

I explained to him na miss na miss na nga siya ng pinsan niya. Aba! Take responsibility, Marco. Ikaw kaya ang favorite cousin ni Tofer. Play nice. Hahaha!

Dinaanan namin si Tofer sa restobar niya. Ang daming tao sa bar ni Tofer, in fairness! 

Diretso kaming pumasok sa loob but Tofer's nowhere in sight. Nasan na kaya 'yun? 

"Where's Tofer?" I asked one of the bartenders. He said na nasa office daw si Tofer and so I went there. I knocked but no one's answering kaya pumasok na ako agad. 

There he was, talking to someone over the phone. "What? No! Don't send them a notice, I'll arrange for it, okay? You hear me? Good."

I stood by the door. Mukhang naiinis si Cristofer Ann, a. Minsan minsan ko lang kasi siyang marinig sumigaw. It feels odd pa din.

Nagulat naman siya nung nakita niya akong nakatayo sa pinto to the point na napahawak pa siya sa dibdib niya. Seriously?

Pumasok ako sa office niya. "You should control your caffeine intake," I uttered. Hindi naman pala girly 'tong office niya. I was expecting a room that looks like Hello Kitty puked all over it that everything is... pink. 

He nodded and he arranged his things. "Kanina ka pa ba?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Just long enough to hear your supposed assault over the line. Sino kausap mo?" I asked him. He doesn't fume naman kasi, ngayon lang kaya naman curious ako! Sino kaya ang may kakayahang magpagalit kay Tofer? Grabe, ha! Idol!

Umiling siya. "Stalker. Kadiri talaga! Hindi ko naman siya type, ew."

Matawa tawa ako habang sinusundan ko si Tofer palabas ng office niya. Kwento naman siya ngayon ng kwento tungkol sa babaeng stalker niya na apparently, naka blind date niya! Grabe naman yung father ni Tofer, bading ba talaga tingin niya kay Tofer to the point na pinapa blind date niya?

"Tripp!"

And... there goes the reunion of two star crossed lovers.

"Ano ba, Tofer!" sabi ni Tripp habang pilit kinakalas si Tofer mula sa pagkakayakap sa kanya. Me? Nakaupo ako habang pinapanood yung magpinsan mag PDA. They look freaking cute! Sobrang crush ni Tofer si Tripp, ha! Dapat na ba akong kabahan? Lol. That would be incest!

While Tofer was busy annoying the hell out of Tripp, nagvibrate naman ang phone ko. Cristine's calling! Ugh. Can't I have one peaceful night with my guy and my best boy friend? 

"Hello?" I said, finally answering the call after debating inside.

("Alys, sorry to bother you with this, ha? Pero I'll be going to Paris for a convention. I won't be back until the day of my marriage. Please coordinate with Drake na lang?")

"WHAT?!"

("I'm sorry, really but this one's really important, e.")

Is she mental? Aalis siya and dadating on the day of the wedding itself?!

"Can't we just you know, push the wedding back?" I suggested. Ang impossible naman kasi ng iniisip niya! Ano ang feeling niya, dadating siya bigla then poof, kakasal sila ni Drake? Ugh! She's making me crazy!

("No, no. The date will be the same. Aalis lang naman ako, Alys. You can call me, still. It's just that, wala na yung physical presence ko. Nanjan pa din naman si Drake, e. Okay? Bye. Nanjan na yung flight ko! Thanks a lot, Alys! Break a leg!")

WTF Major WTF!

Just when I was busy cursing all the gods inside my head, I received the most blood boiling text ever!

From: unknown number

Cristine's gone. It's you and me... again. Hello, pseudo bride. Make your groom happy, you read?