Cold as Ice

K A B A N A T A 26 //

Malabo

May mas mas sasakit pa ba sa pakiramdam na 'to?

I spent all those years away from him para makalimot. I did everything right. I went through the five stages of grief not once, not twice, but countless times. Kasi kung totoo na mahal mo ang isang tao, you have to grieve over and over again. You have to accept reality a lot of times. You have to get rid of the illusion that you two were meant to be. You have to know that you're not the couple who beat the odds. You're not the ones who will have forever.

And you never will be.

But here I am again, like a fool, getting swayed by Aeron de la Fuente.

"Sabi nila, you only get one true love." Kriessa murmurred. She smiled as Gab waved from the other side of the yard. "Do you think that's true?"

Nasa condo kami ni Gab, may swimming pool kasi ito. Napagtripan nilang magbarbeque slash swimming sesh. Pool party. Bukas na kasi ang kasal and I'm nervous as hell. Ayoko man aminin but the thought of walking down the aisle with Aeron is enough to give me palpitations. And what's worse? I don't even know if I hate it anymore.

"Oh please, paano ko malalaman eh all my life I only had James?" Jules rolled her eyes. Pinagmasdan namin ang boys na nagtatawanan. Gab and Aeron were talking and sipping beers. Si Raph naman at si James ay gumagawa ng barbeque. Raph took his shirt off dahil siguro nainitan sa usok ng grill.

Sumipol si Bea. Napansin kong agad napatingin si Aeron sa reaksyon ko, pero nagbawi din ito agad ng tingin. I shook my head.

"Swerte mo, girl. Ang hot niya." Bea splashed some pool water on my arm. Nakablack bikini siya. "Baka kayo na sunod na ikakasal! I'm so excited. Siguro sobrang cute ng babies nyo!"

"Grabe naman. Kasal? Babies? Ang aga pa masyado para diyan." I laughed. Parang may kaunting kumikirot sa puso ko.

"Why not? You're both really successful people na. You're a famous doctor and he's a well-known lawyer as well. You should settle down." Kriessa said. She adjusted the straps of her white swimsuit at napansin kong tumikhim si Gab sa may di kalayuan.

"Problemahin mo muna 'yun boyfriend mo. Galit na ata sa suot mo." I giggled.

"Bakit ba? This is a pool party of course I'm gonna wear a bikini. Anong ineexpect nya?" She rolled her eyes.

"Bakit ba ang swerte nyo sa love life?" Liz sighed. I heard that she had a boyfriend but things ended when she found out na two-timer pala ito. After all this time, malas pa rin siya. She's not a very good judge of character kasi.

"Ayun oh, kanina ka pa tinitingnan nung foreigner na 'yun. Eye catching daw masyado 'yang red bikini mo eh." Kriessa pointed with her lips.

"Asan?" Sabay-sabay kaming lumingon.

May mukhang Aussie na 'di matanggal tanggal ang tingin sa direksyon namin. Ngumiti ito noong tumingin kami at lumapit.

"Ay assertive si Kuya. Malakas ang loob ah, in fairness." Bea commented.

Nagtawanan kami at inasar asar si Liz. The guy was attractive enough, tan and tall with messy blond hair and well-defined muscles. And he had attractive friends as well na pinapanood ang pag-approach niya sa amin. Well, I can't blame them for staring. My friends are hot, and they know it. Sila 'yung tipo na hindi conservative at hindi takot majudge ng tao. They've been this way since forever anyway.

"Hi, miss...?" lumapit ang Aussie at tumitig sa akin.

"Ay gago. Ikaw pala ang type eh." Liz said. Umiling lang ako.