Firsts

XIII. Done

He missed her.

They hadn't seen each other in over a year, if he remembered correctly, when he stopped contacting her and rejected her calls and messages. 

He had just ended that fling he had and now he was thinking of Maine again. He regrets a lot of things about them but it was too late to do anything at this point. From her social media accounts, she seems to be with someone now, or at least dating, and it would be wrong for him to send a message after all this time.

"Hi, Alden!" a voice called, shaking him out of his reverie.

"Hello." He greeted her. 

Lily.

She had been in the industry far longer than he has and was one of the prized upcoming stars of their network. Though not an official love team, they had been together in some of the shows he was in and they were friendly. As the days went by, he found himself looking forward to work because he would get to talk to and spend time with her.

"How are you?"

"Okay naman. Ikaw?"

"Hindi ka nag-reply sa text ko kagabi." She said, sitting down beside him. He studied her face. She did have a nice smile and seemed to genuinely care for him. 

"Sorry, nakatulog ako agad eh."

"Narinig mo na ba yung new song na 'to?" She handed him the other half of her earphones and they listened to it together. Halfway through it, she was called by her mom so that she can have her hair and makeup done for their group production number.

She made his days a little better and if he was honest, he could fall for her. If only his heart could finally let Maine go completely.

---

 "Alden, hi!" Lily called out.

"Hello."

"Nakakapagod yung trip natin sa Hong Kong 'no? Meet and greet, tapos show tapos another meet and greet for our endorsement! Can you believe it? May endorsement na tayo together?"

He smiled. "Oo nga eh. By the way, buti you agreed to be in projects with me? Di ba dati ayaw mo?"

"Changed my mind. I wanted to patch things up with you. I miss you, Alden."

"Rj?"

Lily and Rj turned to see Maine standing by the doorway of their dressing room. 

"Meng!" Rj jumped up to greet her. "Akala ko tomorrow pa tayo magkikita?" Those two weeks that they were apart were hell for him and seeing her now was a pleasant surprise.

"I, uh, the production asked if they could borrow some of my gowns and I just came to drop them off. I was asked to leave them here. Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." She placed the clothes on the rack and then made a move to leave.

"Maine, wait." Rj jogged to catch up with her. "Huy! Teka lang. Ilang weeks na hindi nagkikita tapos ganito? I miss you!"

"Mag-'I miss you' ka dun sa Lily mo."

"Nagseselos ka ba?!" He asked, partly incredulous, partly thrilled. She continued to pout but remained silent. "Uuuuy! Nagseselos! Bakit, sinabi ko bang miss ko na siya?"

"Tawag ka na and I have to go, may client pa ako."

Rj couldn't leave the set so he let her go, but that night he headed to her condo but she wasn't there. He went to the shop and arrived just as her seamstress was leaving and asked him to just pass by the back entrance.

He saw her hovering over a dress, making minor adjustments. 

"Maine."

She turned around quickly, when he called her. "Oh, god. Why are you here? Tinakot mo ako."

"I went to your condo, wala ka dun. Sabi ko mag-u-usap tayo, di ba?"

"Pumayag ba ako?" She said, annoyed, but that was quickly replaced by wanting - Rj was approaching her like a predator, backing her up until she hit her desk.

He place both hand on either side of her.  "Okay na din na wala ka dun. Nabobore na ako gawin sa condo eh." He ran his nose along her neck, "You smell nice." He nibbled her ear then moved to the other side, doing the same thing. 

"B - bored?" she managed to ask and gulped when he sucked the skin by her clavicle.

"I always wondered what you do here in your office, you know?" He said with a naughty glint on his eye. 

She gulped.

"Since we couldn't do the blindfold yet, I got another activity for us." His voice still low.

"No, si Lily..."

"Shush. Non-issue. Ikaw lang, Maine. Ikaw lang."

She gulped again. "W - what did you pick?"

"Go down on -"

She kissed him no one said much until they were both sated.

***

When he brought her home, he was in a teasing mood. "Admit it, nagselos ka."

"Hindi nga eh."

"Ows?! Obvious kaya? Admit it! Bakit ka nagselos? Love mo na ako 'no?" He continued to tease.

"Ewan ko sa'yo."

"You love me! Yiheeeeee!"

"Rj, umuwi ka na." She turned away.

He stood still at her doorway, his gaze following her. It seemed like an eternity before he finally spoke up. "After everything, you still don't feel a thing for me?"

Maine was quiet.

"Hindi mo talaga ako mahal, Maine?"

"Rj, you know where I stood from the beginning."

"So, wala nga? No feelings? No love?"

Silence.

"Not even a little?"

She kept silent and looked away.

He nodded silently. Taking a deep breath, he asked, "Can I have the paper where we wrote the conditions?"

Confused, she got the item from her bedside drawer and handed it to him. He scribbled something and then, with one last look at her, he left.

She took the paper and read what he wrote.