"Bhei, wait!" Habol na tawag sa kanya ni Jhake nang papalabas na sila ni Mathew sa lobby ng MUNDO.
"Sabing hintay, tangina!" he cursed and it echoed around the space. Ang konting tao na nasa lobby, especially the securities, were surprised to hear the gentle Jhake swearing like that.
Gripping her hold on Mathew's arm, she tried not break in a smile as she turned to face Jhake. "What?"
"Let's talk..." he looked as if almost pleading.
Si Mathew na nag-agree na pagselosin si Jhake agad na nakaramdam ng guilty. He pulled his arm away from Barbie and stepped forward.
"She's all yours, man. We're just friends," he explained and gave Barbie a pat before leaving the two.
Barbie smirked at Jhake. "Ganito ka pala magselos..."
Her eyes went round when he crashed his lips on hers and gave her a fiery kiss. Her arms immediately snaked around Jhake's neck when she felt her knees slowly going jelly from their passion.
Hindi nga nila napansin ang nagpapalakpakang manonood sa paligid nila.
*****
After coming from the hospital, Dei quickly flumped herself on the couch of Alden's living area as she watched the beautiful sunset outside. Umupo sa tabi niya si Alden and reached out to massage her right palms.
It was a bit uncomfortable now that the heavy cast was gone on her right wrist and was replaced by a removable wrist splint. But she will get use to this lightness, lalo na kung aaraw-arawin ni Alden ang pagmamasahe sa kamay niya.
Umayos siya ng upo paharap kay Alden. "Tell me about Kris? Parang siya lang ang matured sa inyong tatlo..."
"Are you kidding me? Napakabasagulero nun noong hayskul."
"Weh? Sinisiraan mo lang eh."
He threw her an annoyed glare while continuing to massage her right hand. "Hindi nga, basagulero talaga iyon tapos si Jhake napaka-achiever."
"Oooh, details Alden, tell me more details."
Alden smiled at how her eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Likas ka rin na chismosa eh."
"Sige na, kuwentuhan mo na ko."
"Fine. Nothing special with how we met. Magkapitbahay kaming tatlo noong kabataan and we didn't expect to get along well even after Jhake and I moved to another neighborhood. Kris was a Taekwondo competitor in highschool. Jhake was one of the top honors. While me, I had an after school tutorial about business."
"You don't sound like you're close," Dei commented and moved to place her head on his shoulder and continued to stare the last remnants of the sun.
Alden wrapped an arm around her shoulders and smiled at her sweet scent. "We grew up to have our own cliques from highschool kasi iba-iba ang trip namin ni Jhake at Kris. But when news of Jhake's father being a druglord broke out, we didn't expect to be at his side, defending him from the bullies. Doon nag-umpisa ang pagiging basagulero ni Kris and I had to use my family name for us to escape from the penalties."
"Hindi ba nagalit ang lolo mo? Away pa rin iyon kahit pinoprotektahan niyo si Jhake."
He shook his head. "For my grandfather, nothing is more important than human relationship. That's how MUNDO started and that's how he gained a lot of loyal subjects not only within the company."
