Nagising si Ly in the middle of the night and she immediately looked at the other side of the bed. She sighed deeply when she saw Den sleeping beside her peacefully. She even felt Den's arm hugging her tighter. She felt relieved.
"I thought it was all just a dream," Ly whispered, looking at Den. She had dreams before na bumalik na si Den sa kanya but when she woke up, there was no Den. Pero hindi na ngayon. Her heart's still beating so fast and gising na gising na yung diwa niya, kaya tinignan na lang niya si Den na natutulog, "please don't leave me again," bulong ni Ly. She stared at Den's features. She silently laughed sa kilay ni Den, "kailangan mo na namang magpa-kilay, babe," bulong niya, bumaba yung tingin niya sa lips ni Den, bigla niyang naalala na it's been a while, since you know....
Dirty ng minds niyo.
Kiss lang. It has been while since they shared a kiss.
"Just kiss me if you want to."
"Shit!" napamura si Ly dahil sa gulat nang magsalita si Den. Den opened her eyes and glared at Ly, "sorry! Nagulat ako eh, bigla ka ba namang magsalita."
"You're staring too much eh," Den said, smiling at Ly, and with that smile, Ly already melted. Si Den lang talaga nakakagawa sa kanya ng ganon.
"You make me melt effortlessly," Ly said, "and I always want to melt for you," so ayun, Den had to hide her face kaya sumiksik siya kay Ly, "ouch babe!" kinagat kasi siya ni Den.
"Kinikilig ako," sabi lang ni Den na nakapagpatawa naman kay Ly. She hugged Den tighter.
"I love you," Ly said.
"Mas mahal kita, FYI," Den replied.
"I know," sabi naman ni Ly. Den suddenly moved, she lift herself up and used her forearms to support herself.
"Why are you still awake?"
"Nagising lang ako," Ly replied, "tas akala ko panaginip na naman na nandito ka kaya kinabahan ako," she said kay Den while smiling but Den can see yung sadness sa mata ni Ly, "and if this is just a dream, ayoko nang magising," she touched Den's face, tracing Den's eyebrows, down to Den's nose, down to Den's lips.
"I'm sorry," Den said, holding Ly's hand na nakahawak na sa cheek niya.
"Sssshhh," Ly said while smiling, "pero hindi naman talaga 'to panaginip di 'ba?"
"Definitely not," Den answered, closing the gap between them. They're not moving, they're just feeling the moment, the feeling's so overwhelming na they both shed a tear. Ganon nila namiss yung isa't-isa, Ly pulled Den closer to deepen the kiss. They just broke the kiss to catch some air.
"I missed you," Ly whispered, Den smiled and kissed Ly again as her reply.
And that night, binawi nila yung nights na they slept without each other by their sides. They made love as a sign of promise. A promise that they'll both get through this together.
--
Who said na it's not gonna be awkward after a month of cool off? They're now eating their breakfast, and if this just a usual day, they'll talk while eating. But today, it's the aftermath. Though they made love kagabi and cuddled when they both woke up, bigla na lang nagka-awkward air between them when they sat down to eat breakfast.
Ly's going to training for Creamline and si Den din for Cocolife.
"Uhm," Ly started, "any plans for lunch?" tanong ni Ly.
