New Year's Love Affair

Prompt:

Adrenaline rushing new year's eve.

"Tagay mo na uy!"

"Lakas mo pala mag inum Ms. Maine."

"Hoy ako tisoy wag mo akong inaano ano ah."

"Hala siya? Inaano ka ba?"

She raised her glass before drinking. Maine doesn't even know how or why she ended up with this bedimpled, gorgeously delicious man beside him. The first minute she was buying some items in a convenience store, the next second she was riding in his motorbike.

After a few minutes of silence, Maine asked him rather abruptly. "Panget ba ako?"

Medyo nagulat naman ang binata sa tanong na yun. Ngumiti ito.

"Hoy ikaw - ano nga ulit pangalan mo tisoy?"

He chuckled and pinched her face. "Cute mo!"

"Cute mo? May pangalan bang cute mo? Ano nga!?"

"Richard." He looked at her questioning face. "Baho no? Okay na ko sa tisoy mo."

"Sira. Naisip ko lang... bakit lahat ng Richard na nakikilala ko ang gwapo?"

His already red face turned crimson red at her statement so he just pinched her nose to which she groaned and shrugged his hand away. "Lasengga ka na nga, bolera ka pa."

"Baliw. Totoo yun noh. Kaso lahat ng Richard manloloko."

"Uy! Wag ganon. Ibahin mo ko sa kanila."

"Sus! Pare-parehas lang kayong mga lalaki. Sa una palambing lambing, bait-baitan tapos pag nagtagal na maghahanap na ng iba."

"Huwaw! Ms. Maine naman wag kang mang stereotype. Bad yun. Di lahat ng lalaki manloloko, yung iba sa kanila, niloloko." He laughed at her before downing his bottle of beer and opening another one.

The two of them are overlooking the city from somewhere up high. Dinala nya dito si Maine matapos itong mag request sa kanya to take her away.

Somewhere, anywhere as long as it's far away from all these. Those were Maine's exact words nung halos hindi na ito makahinga sa kakaiyak doon sa convenience store kung saan siya pumunta para bumili ng alak nila ng mga kaibigan nyang naiwan sa kanyang condo.

"Woohoo hugot yun Tisoy ah. Ikaw ah... may kwentong wasak ka rin pala."

"Lahat naman ata ng tao may kwentong wasak kagaya mo, kagaya ko."

"Anong nangyare sa inyo?"

Umubo ito. "Huwaw yan ba talaga ang paguusapan natin ngayon? Ms. Maine magbabagong taon na in a few minutes, kalimutan mo na yun."

"Eh wag ka nga... dali na kasi."

He looked at her swollen eyes and saw how sad those eyes were. He felt his heart tugged at the sight of her. He took a deep breath.

"Ayun... ikakasal na kami dapat kaso nakahanap ng ibang lalaki na mas mayaman at gwapo kaya iniwan ako. Yun lang."

"Wow ang vague ah..." She chuckled.

She looked at Richard and he does back at her. For a moment, their eyes connected but she has to break it off kung hindi baka hindi kayanin ng puso nya. Ang gwapo naman kasi ng lalaking katabi nya, baka sunggaban nalang nya ito.

"Okay lang sayo?"

"Hindi syempre... pero wala na rin naman ako magagawa. Medyo kasalanan ko rin naman kasi. I had to go to the U.S. to settle a deal kasi pinakiusapan ako ni daddy to sign the contract on his behalf, nasa hospital kasi siya nung mga panahong yun. We had to delay the wedding for 2 weeks tapos nagulat nalang ako pag balik ko ikakasal na siya sa iba. No one, neither my friends nor family, not even hers knew of that. Basta nalang ginulat nya kami na ayaw na nya."