When Day 32 Starts...

Chapter 8 - Different

Polite. Considerate. Gentleman. Kent.

Bilugan ang naiiba.

I know I said I wanted him to change and be a little more reserved pero ngayong nagbago na sya, para namang may mali. He almost comes off as pretentious because he's trying so hard to be someone that he's not and will never be, not even in a million years.

I thought that his true self was the Kent that he was when he was with Kiele. Ngayon narealize ko na... hindi pala. Maybe he's already in his true self when he's with me.

Nakakapanibago sya and although his change seemed to sit well with my father, I was bothered out of my wits. For I did not fall for the polite, considerate and gentlemanly Kent.

It's only been a few days and I'm already sick of his new attitude. The only time na nakikita ko 'yung fun side nya e kapag nagti-text sya sa 'kin. I tried to lure him out of his hypocrisy by wearing sexy and provocative outfits. He compliments them alright. It just bugs me that he had to ask for permission to compliment me every freaking time.

Since it's Friday, I decided to dress up for him. Heels kung heels. Dress kung dress. Ang gulo ko lang. Kung kelan sinunod nya na 'yung gusto ko, saka ko naman hinahanap 'yung dating sya. Hindi rin pala nakakatuwa kapag kontrolado mo ang boyfriend mo. Para na lang silang puppet na susunod sa lahat ng gusto mo. You just have to pull some strings for them to do what you want.

Black mini-dress ang isinuot ko. See through 'yong bandang itaas. Pinalooban ko 'yon ng tube. Four inches above the knee ang skirt. Tapos naka-ankle boots ako na kulay black, three inches ang heels. Itinali ko ang buhok ko tapos iniipit ko 'yung bangs since mahaba na naman sya. And then I finished the outfit with red lipstick. Bihirang-bihira akong mag-lipstick lalo na on a normal day. I even polished my nails last night. I colored them red. Can I say that this is an act of desperation already?

Kahit ang tatay ko at ang dalawa kong kuya, hindi maalis ang tingin sa 'kin. Ngayon lang kasi nila ako nakitang nag-ayos ng ganito. Dati, mag-iiyakan pa kami ng nanay ko bago ako nito mapagsuot ng dress.

When Kent called out from outside, lahat sila ay sumunod sa 'kin sa pagsalubong sa kanya. Probably to see how he would react upon seeing me. Hindi naman sila nabigo. I'm pretty sure he was dumbstruck for about two minutes or so.

Nasa loob na kami ng kotse nya pero hindi pa rin sya makapagsalita.

"Come on," I said, rolling my eyes. "It's just a little makeup."

"It's distracting." His eyes lingered on my legs. I consciously tugged the skirt down but it's no use. Lalo talaga syang umiiksi kapag nakaupo ako. I gave up my futile attempt. I looked back at him and he was still looking at my legs. See? It's working already.

"Tumatakbo ang oras pero 'yong kotse mo hindi."

"I'm distracted," dahilan nya. He wasn't even hiding the fact that he's ogling at me. "Am I crossing the line already?"

"What do you think?"

He sighed and looked ahead. He started the engine and started driving.

"Sorry," he said a while later.

"It's okay. Just drive. We'll talk later."

Later came and he was already at the lobby of the office by 5pm.

"Let's have dinner?" he asked. Nang tumango ako, ikinawit nya sa braso nya ang kamay ko tapos sabay kaming bumaba ng elevator. "Why are you dressed like that by the way?" tanong nya maya-maya.

"Can't I dress like this?" pabalik kong tanong.

"It's out of character."

"Out of character? That sounds familiar."