Nicomaine Mendoza is a struggling student in need of additional income to finance her studies. She lands a job in Faulkerson Consulting as Girl Friday/Junior Secretary of Richard Faulkerson Sr., who offers her a chance to earn extra by helping his s...
Oops! Ang larawang ito ay hindi sumusunod sa aming mga alituntunin sa nilalaman. Upang magpatuloy sa pag-publish, subukan itong alisin o mag-upload ng bago.
We did it guys. We finally hit #1 !!!
Big thank you to all of you, kung pwede lang kayong i-hug isa-isa ginawa ko na :) At dahil diyan, nag-double update ako ngayon, with a bonus chapter on Cravings! I'm so happy:)
When I started this story akala ko magiging epic fail kasi mahirap ang rom-com. But you guys made the journey easier because you were all encouraging. Sige, lasapin niyo chapter na to at sa Cravings, while I ugly cry over my ranking.
Again, super-duper-mega thank you, this means a lot to me. Love ko kayo, sobra :)
On the morning of January 2, Richard and Maine were on their way to Manila, with plans to celebrate his birthday together. Both were in high spirits, having spent two solid days together day and night. Maine was twirling the infinity necklace Richard gave her the night before as Christmas gift. The pendant was composed of three looped circles in three-tone gold shades, hanging from a white gold chain.
Maine was still upset over what Richard told her, the one about her being a tease. She hated girls like that and now she was one. But she was just having fun with him, and she never realized it had repercussions like that. How many times did she wear off-shoulder tops because she knew he was attracted to her shoulders?
'Why so quiet," He asks, taking her hand.
"Just thinking about what you said yesterday. About me being a tease. I'm bothered that I turned into something like that."
"Hey, don't dwell on it anymore."
"I was thinking about how I act with guys and I realized I need to change. I'm a touch person, kasi. Kahit di ko masyadong kilala, pag kausap ko, I hold their arm, tap them when they make me laugh. Baka kaya ako nami-misjudge."
"Don't feel bad. Wala namang mali sa ginagawa mo, it's the people around us who are malicious. But you need to be careful para iwas na rin sa gulo."
"Yes. Sa school kasi ok lang yun. I guess iba na talaga pag nasa office."
As for you and me, tease me all you like. Siguro I snapped lang kahapon kasi.......mahal kita eh. I'm also a physical person. Whenever we are intimate, it's not just lust. I wouldn't get horny for you if I didn't have feelings involved."
"RJ.......can we just get back together the way we were? I'm not saying we go all the way, pero.....you know....."
"Are you ready to commit? I don't want to pressure you."
"To be honest.........ang hirap magpigil eh.. We promised we'd be friends lang but look at us. We kiss and hug, we profess love to each other. Label lang ang kulang. Sa iba hindi mahalaga yun, but I need that label. I need us, defined."
"Birthday gift mo ba ito?" He was smiling from ear to ear.
"Hindi. Mas gusto mo ang magiging birthday gift ko sayo.....tonight."
-----
"Where do you want to have lunch," He asked.
"They say Spiral is a nice place."
"Sofitel? Yeah, favorite ko yun. I've been meaning to bring you there, actually. Sige dun tayo."
It was past lunchtime already, and the place wasn't full. They got food and ate heartily, physically affectionate and clingy. It was heaven to be like this without having to filter any actions, to be happy without restraint. They were finished with lunch and were leisurely having coffee, running out of things to say. His eyes kept going to her mouth, watching the pillowy softness move as she spoke, imagining the red shade of her lipstick smudge against his---
"Hooo, ang init," He suddenly said, trying to divert his wayward thoughts.
"Huh? Giniginaw na nga ako eh. Wait lang ha, ladies room lang ako."
She rushed out of the function room he got for them and entered the ladies room to wash her face with cold water. The heat of his gaze didn't go by unnoticed, she saw it, imagined the thoughts going through his brain.
Nicomaine, binalak mo ito, panindigan mo. You asked to have lunch here so stick with the plan. Tapusin mo na, put yourselves out of your miseries.
She took out her phone and slid her finger through it, searching for a phone number. She found it and called someone.
"Lei? Hi, tapos na kami kumain. Game na....."
------
He wondered what was taking her so long. He already settled the bill and was about to call her when she walked back in, her face flushed and her chest heaving.
"Oh, what happened? Are you ok?"
She sat down beside him and held on to his arm. She took his glass of water and drank all its contents, took a deep breath and faced him, smiling.
"I love you RJ."
"I love you too, Maine. What is this?"
She took something form her pocket, a small packet with a ribbon on top of it.
"Happy birthday, baby."
He opened the packet, a privilege card and a pad of vouchers for overnight stays, dining privileges and discounts.
"I've run out of DIY ideas, didn't know what to give you for your birthday. Then I remembered one of my classmates works here, so we talked and I got you this."
"Thank you, it's a sweet gift but baby, this is too much. I know how much these packages cost."
"Don't worry about that. You've been spending money on some of the things I need, nakaipon ako. There's still enough left for my tuition. I also got this discounted, my classmate waived part of her commission to bring the price down."
He was touched to the core with her selflessness. He knew that to insist on paying her back would hurt her feelings, so he was accepting her gift with misgivings he would hide. No one ever gave this much to him, not with this kind of effort. He pulled her into his arms and clung to her tightly, feeling a huge lump on his throat.
No one, no girl has ever made him such an emotional mess as she does. No one ever sacrificed hard-earned money just to buy him something that would make him happy.
"I.....I don't know if you already have a membership here. Pero I just thought, if we need privacy para hindi tayo makita sa condo ko or sa condo mo, we can meet here, diba? Then you won't need to spend much kasi may discounts na...."
"Maine.....grabe, the things you do for me.......thank you."
She disengaged from his embrace and held his hand with her cold one.
"May isa pa kong gift."
"Sobra na baby, this is more than enough."
"No...walang extra cost ito."
She slid a key card into his hand.
"RJ......may libreng overnight stay. I want to spend the night with you here."
