I Lust You

Chapter Four

Miranda's POV

Maya-maya pa ay nakarating na agad kami. It was just a ten-minute drive. I told you malapit lang talaga!

Since maaga pa naman, kakaunti pa lang 'yung mga tao at agad din kaming na-entertain. Pero sa halip na kami ang ma-entertain parang mas na-eentertain 'yung cashier. "Good morning, Sir. Welcome to Mcdonald's! May I take you order?" It was obvious that she was flirting with him because her whole attention was focused at Linus. Parang 'di nga niya nakitang kasama ako ni Linus when she flashed her sweetest smile. Oh, for Pete's sake! Nagpapa-cute 'tong babaeng 'to kay Linus in front of my face. Yuck ha! Nakakadiri. Eh ba't sobra ka kung maka-react? Tanong ng isang tinig. She should observe professionalism at her workplace. Maya muna 'yung landi. 'Yun lang. Period! Sagot ko naman sa tanong nito. Okay. Ganti naman nito. Still not convinced though.

Bigla ko na lang naramdaman ang pagpulupot ni Linus sa kanyang kamay sa aking bewang, "Babe, what do you want for breakast?"

Parang nabulunan naman ako dun sa sinabi niya kahit wala pa akong nakain. Nakita ko naman ang mabilisang pag-iba ng mukha ng cashier. You should have seen her face. It was priceless! Sumimangot kasi ito.

"Mine would be the threepiece hotcakes with chocolate syrup, McCafé and hash browns," sagot ko. Two could play the game. Kaya sinakyan ko siya, "How 'bout you, babe?"

"Just a McCafé iced coffee for me," he said before he facing me, "Ang takaw mo talaga, babe!" And he pinched my cheeks, making it red.

"You love me most when I'm hungry," ganti ko naman sa kanya. Aba! Ipaglandakan ba namang matakaw ako.

He chuckled, "Yeah, I love you," then his face became dead serious. And it seemed so real. Na para bang hindi kami nagkukunwari. Gosh! Did he really mean it? I erased the thought. I shouldn't let myself believe that it was real, that what he said a while ago was real. We were just pretending. But, I couldn't help it! Our surrounding became awkward. What should I say?

Being the good actress that I am, I managed to say, "You know that I love you, too babe!"

"Would that be all?" Bigla namang sumabad ang cashier kaya hindi ko na narinig ang pinagsasabi ni Linus.

 “Yes,” maikli kong sagot.

“That would be a total of one hundred forty pesos.” Agad namang inabot ni Linus ang bayad. Unlike kanina, kinuha na niya ‘yung sukli niya ngayon. “Thank you Ma’am and Sir. Enjoy your meal,” she flashed a fake smile.

“Ano ‘yung sinabi mo kanina?” bungad ko sa kanya.

“Wala, sabi ko ang ganda mo,” he glanced at me. Shit! Mabilis na namula ‘yung mukha ko sa sinabi niya. “Pero bingi lang,” bumelat naman siya. What the? Nakakainis siya! Akala ko pa naman totoo na. ‘Di ko na lang siya pinalo kasi bitbit niya ‘yung pagkain namin. Sayang naman ‘yung biyayang ibinigay ni Lord. Once in a lifetime lang ‘to nangyayari.

Nang nakapili na kami ng mauupuan, he lifted the tray single-handedly and pulled my chair out.

Hinawakan ko ‘yung noo niya, “May lagnat ka ba?”

“Ha-ha, very funny!” sabi niya sa’kin. I can’t help but laugh. Kanina, he opened the door sa sasakyan. Tapos ngayon naman ay ‘yung silya ko. Wow! Gentleman.

“I thought chivalry was dead,” I stated.

“Well, now you know it isn’t. Kaya nga ang swerte mo sa akin, eh,” he boasted.

“Wow! Ang hangin mo, pare.”

“Kumain ka na nga lang d’yan. Dami mong satsat. Ubusin mo ang lahat ng ‘yan ah.”

“Aye, aye, Captain!” with matching saludo pa. Kaya napailing na lang siya.

Pagkatapos naming kumain ay agad kaming nagpunta sa kanyang sasakyan.

“Sa Skymark Condominium lang po ako, Manong,” I joked.

“Ang pogi ko namang driver.”

Nagkunwari akong umubo. “Dog, narinig mo ‘yun? Pogi raw siya?” kinausap ko naman ‘yung aso niyang nasa likod lang ng sasakyan.

“Totoo kaya,” giit niya.

“Oo na lang,” parehas kaming tumawa sa pinanggagawa namin.

Nang makarating na kami sa tapat ng condominium, he immediately turned to my side and opened the door for me. He even walked me until the entrance.

“A-ah,” I stuttered. I am at loss of words. “Thank you, really. I had a lot of fun.”

“Me, t–“ hindi niya naipagpatuloy ang kanyang sasabihin, nang may pumutol sa kanya.

“M,” only one person calls me by that name and in an instant, that voice took me back to those days and those memories we’ve shared. Right now, I think my heart is shattering into a million pieces. I guess totoo nga ang sinabi nila that we all have that one person that we’ll always have feelings for, no matter what. But, what I’m feeling for that person is not at all love. It is hate and pain.

‘Di ko na alam ‘yung gagawin ko. Should I look back?