When Day 32 Starts...

Chapter 4 - Captivated

Kent courageously started courting my family. Dahil doon, mas lalo ko syang nagustuhan. Who wouldn't fall for a guy like that? Sa panahon ngayon, parang naging easy na ang karamihan. Nagiging mag-on sa text or chat. Ngitian ka lang, crush mo na. Ayain ka lang, sama ka naman agad. People nowadays don't seem to value courtship anymore.

Rare find na 'yung mga taong nagbibigay ng effort para mapatunayang sincere sila sa nararamdaman nila. Bibihira na 'yung lalaking dadalaw sa bahay at liligawan ang buong pamilya ng babae. Love nowadays is cheap, too affordable. Uso na ang free taste. No exclusivity. Open to all.

Pero hindi lahat. Marami pa rin siguro 'yung old-fashioned. Talamak lang 'yung mga masyadong nagmamadali.

Nandito na sya alas syete pa lang ng umaga. He insisted on driving me to work every day. Ayaw ni tatay pero payag na payag si nanay. Tipid nga naman sa pamasahe. Sinusundo nya rin ako kapag gabi. Ang arrangement na nangyayari, sya ang nagluluto ng dinner namin. Tapos kasama na rin sya sa hapunan. Medyo nagiging close na sila nina Kuya dahil matakaw ang dalawa tapos masarap naman syang magluto. Perfect match.

Hindi man aminin ni tatay, alam kong natutuwa sya dahil nakakakain sya ng masarap na pagkain. They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I never thought Kent would be the one to make his way to my father's heart.

"Dinner?" Kent asked nang makasakay kami sa kotse nya. Isang araw na naman ang natapos. It feels like time flies so fast. Samantalang noong nakatira ako sa bahay nya, parang ang haba-haba ng araw.

"Hindi ka pupunta sa resto?" tanong ko sa kanya.

He shook his head. "Nope. I'm in charge of the brunch. France takes over dinner," sagot nya.

Despite his smile and vibrance, I noticed na palagi syang mukhang pagod. Parang antok na antok ang mga mata nya saka mukha syang nangangayayat.

"Ano'ng oras kang gumigising nyan?"

Nag-isip sya saglit. "Around six yata? I go to your house before seven, work after and then I tend to other things in a few hours," he enumerated.

I frowned at him. May pinagkakaabalahan pala sya na hindi ko alam? "Other things? Like what?" His lack of answer made me feel uneasy. I feel like he was hiding something. Is he bringing girls over? "Kent, sagutin mo 'yung tanong."

"Like sleeping with women who are only a phone call away," he answered casually.

I tried to calm myself pero pilit talagang umaakyat ang inis sa utak ko. I immediately unbuckled my seatbealt. Good thing hindi pa umaandar ang sasakyan. How dare he say that to my face? Akala ko ba nagbago na sya? Fuck! Open, you stupid door!

"Jazz, I'm joking."

I turned and glared at him. "Humor me."

Humugot siya ng malalim na hininga. "Look, I knew you were expecting for me to say it. It's written all over your face. You were thinking about it, aren't you? Kapag tinatanong mo ako over the phone kung ano ang ginagawa ko, may naririnig akong paghihinala."

"I wasn't—"

He shook his head. "You have trusted me with your heart yet you can't trust me with this? Kahit anong pagbabago ang gawin ko, kung wala ka namang tiwala sa 'kin, wala ring silbi." He held my hand and squeezed it. "I wasn't fooling around. Don't you think I could have stayed celibate for 30 days if I wasn't serious with you?"

Nag-iwas ako ng tingin. "Technically, it's 29 days."

Ngumiti sya at pinisil ang pisngi ko. "Only a few weeks in a relationship and you're already this clingy."