Of Ed & May

3. On A Late Night

It was two in the morning when she heard her phone buzz.

Maymay has been trying to sleep for the last hour, but alas, her body clock would not allow it.

She reached for the device on the side table without even lifting her head. Her eyes were half closed when she placed her thumb on the home button. She lazily opens the message to reveal a text from him.

Edwardo: Sleep na May.

A sheepish smile plastered on her face, this time her eyes were wide open. Oh this boy. He knows her so well.

They've been together for a few months now, but a text from him still made her heart pound like crazy. Skrengge.

She replied back.

Natutulog po ako.

Her phone instantly buzzed before she could place it back on the side table. She quickly opened it to read another text from him.

Edwardo 💩: Liar. Then who is replying, ha?

Kaluluwa ko.

Edwardo 💩: What's kaluluwa?

Google mo.

Edwardo 💩: Babe, tell me! ☹️

Maymay only chuckled and decided to try to sleep once again. She placed her phone back on the side table, and snuggled under the blanket. She misses sleeping with her little brother and mother, but sometimes when shoots were at five in the morning, living far away didn't give her enough time to rest, hence why she sleeps in this condo from time to time.

She was about to drift to sleep when her phone began to ring. She groaned. Bushak!

She picked it up and smiled before letting out a 'hello'. The door to the bedroom swung open, and Maymay nearly fell off the bed out of shock.

"Bushak!"

"What's kaluluwa?" A very curious Edward with dishevelled hair appeared. His luscious lips that was in a tiny pout made Maymay bite her own. She stopped.

What was she doing? Was she really drooling over her own BOYFRIEND? Totally humiliated by her realisation, Maymay turned away from him and hid under the blanket.

The bed suddenly dipped down. "Babe!"

"I'm sleeping," she replied in a dragged out tone. She crossed her fingers hoping he'd fall for it. Even though Edward couldn't see her, he knew what face she was pulling.

He tugged on the blanket and it fell to the floor, revealing a curled up Maymay with her eyes tightly closed.

"I know you're awake, May." Maymay began fake snoring. The really loud ones that made you sound like a big. Edward smiled. Adorable. "Baboy, what's kaluluwa?" He tickled her sides and Maymay started kicking the air like crazy. Thank God she liked to sleep in granny jammies that matched.

Her laughter echoed in the room. One of Edward's favourite sounds in the world. He was about to go for her neck, when suddenly her foot met his face. The sole of her right foot punched his nose, which made him stop to groan in pain.

"Hala!" Maymay stood up, worry written all over her face as she tried to examine his probably broken nose. "Edwardo, I'm so sorry!"

Edward only grunted in response. He tried to mask his pain with a laugh to ease her mind, but something else came out of his throat. A whimper maybe?

"Babe, patingin." Maymay's voice was stern. Edward knew she was serious, so he dropped his hands to his sides to show her his bleeding nose. "Jusko!"

Maymay was panicking. "I'm fine, babe," Edward said with a smile. Maymay though refused to listen to him.

"Wait. Babalik ako." She got up and ran out the bedroom. Moments later she came back with a towel and a small bowl filled with lukewarm water. "Higa."

Edward's eyes turned wide as saucers. "May, you know that I like you, but I'm not ready yet!" He lifted his hands as if he was shielding his body from her.

"Higa, Edward John!" Maymay yelled, her cheeks red from anger, or was she blushing? Only she could know. But she would never tell anyone.

Edward did as his girlfriend instructed and laid down on his sister's bed. Cathy, his mother, after seeing Maymay four months ago arrive for their shoot for Bench at four am, begged Maymay to accept her offer, and sleep in their condo when her shoots were too early.

Maymay cleaned up his bloody nose, and placed the towel over it. She took his hand and lightly pressed it on the towel. "Hawakan mo yan, okay?" Edward gave her a small nod.

Once she set aside the bowl, she pouted. "Edwardo... I'm sorry." She snuggled against his neck, too ashamed to face him. Edward let out a laugh. "Girlfriends aren't supposed to make boyfriends bleed."

"Babe, I told you I'm okay, diba?" Maymay shook her head. Edward tried to look down on his girlfriend, but her grip around his waist just tightened.

Maymay and Edward fell into a comfortable silence. A silence both of them dearly treasured when the moment presented it

self, whether planned or an accident. And tonight, it was an accident.

"Bawal tayong manatili na ganito," Maymay said. Edward knew what she was implying. His mother banned off sleeping together in one bed alone. It's not as if she didn't trust the two, but it was different now that they were a couple.

"I know."

"Then let go."

"You let go," Edward replied.

Maymay made a noise, a noise she only made when she didn't want to do something Edward wanted her to do. She first made the noise on their second monthsary. Edward was beyond shooketh to have found that side of her, but it was a side only reserved for him, so instead of arguing with his girlfriend, he let go of her.

Maymay looked down at her boyfriend. His eyes watching her every move. He dropped his hand to the side, the one that was on the towel, the cloth going along with the motion. He too sat up.

Edward studied Maymay's face. Not as if he hadn't in the past, but today was different. There was something about her he couldn't place. His heartbeat tripled in speed, causing him to feel like he was about to hyperventilate, but instead of him losing air, something else came loose.

"I love you."

In that very moment Maymay's brain shut off, all her thoughts were sucked by a black hole and all she could think of was the three words hanging in the air. Her armpits began to sweat as she tried to tie together a sentence, maybe even just find a word to say.

After a few minutes, minutes that felt like hours to them both, Maymay finally found the words to say.

"Iniirog din kita."

Edward didn't know what the heck iniirog meant, but he didn't want to ruin their moment, so instead he just hugged her tightly.

"Sobra," Maymay added as they hugged.

Now Edward became more curious. He had a meaning in mind, but of course he didn't want to assume either.

So that night, after their nth good night, Maymay was finally comfortably tucked in bed. While Edward was about to google the word, but instead received a message from his mother.

Birth giver: Iniirog is another word for minamahal, in English, she loves you back.

She loved him back.

Edward slept with a smile on his face that night, and so did Maymay.