choosing not to

half-filled glass of whisky

"so kelan ang balik mo ng macau?" addie asked maine while downing her shot

sa 20. naka-leave na kasi sa tuesday yung chef de cuisine namin so they only gave me until sunday

kelan ka ulit babalik? rj inquires, but what he really wanted to ask was kelan ka ulit babalik sa kin maine?

ah di ko sure eh...

tangna ang sakit nung sagot, rj muttered to himself

ano yun richard?

ah wala sabi ko kuha lang ako ng yelo rj reached for the empty bucket and proceeded to the mini-fridge on the other room. just then lester also stood up and said "guys kuha lang ako ng lemon mukang itutumba ni maine at addie yung tequila eh"

addie smirked and said "actually we're aiming two!"

game ako jan maine giggled

luckily only lester got a good glimpse of the seething expression on rj's face.

*************************************************
when they were out of ear shot, lester patted rj's shoulder

"pre ok ka pa?"

les ano pa kaya yung mga hindi ko na alam...

"gusto mo ba talaga ng sagot?"

kingina... ang sakit eh...

"ano? gusto mo nga ng sagot?"

pano

"angelo ledesma."

angelo ledesma?

"classmate ni isay at addie nung college."

ano naman kinalaman nung angelo ledesma na yun kay maine?

"again. gusto mo ba talaga ng sagot"

and as if on cue they heard the groom shouted "pare kelangan nyo ng tulong sa yelo?"

two questions are now playing on his head 'what the hell does this angelo ledesma got to do with maine?' and the other would be 'gusto ko ba talagang malaman yung papel nya sa buhay ni maine?'

*************************************************

when they went back, rj saw how red maine was so he seated beside him and asked, still ok?

yup! never been better but when she moved her head to look at him she was caught off guard of how close rj's face on hers. (pwede ba? pwede na ba kitang halikan?) she shook her head as if trying to cast away the thought and stood up guys pahangin lang ako saglit. uy addie wag mo kong lalamangan ah, she quickly took her purse and went outside the balcony.

the moment she stepped out of the sliding door. all eyes went to richard.

"ano faulkerson? hindi pa ba tumatalab yang macallan sayo? ilang bote pa para lumakas yang loob mo?" addie challenged rj

"pre isang beses ko lang kayang pakasalan si isay, siyam na buwan ang pagbubuntis hindi pa sigurado kung kelan makakabuo tapos malamang isasabay ang binyag sa first birthday so approximately 2 years?...." simon teased

rj gave them a questioning look. isay tapped his shoulder and said "kahit kalabanin pa tayo ng pagkakataon rj, tandaan mo gagawa kami ng paraan... pero utang na loob lang tumayo ka na jan at sundan mo na"

"pare minsan mo na ipinagkait yung pagkakataon... pag inulit mo pa bibigwasan na kita" lester said while grabbing rj's arms

rj now understood all their ranting. this indeed is the moment he'd been waiting for. two years of not knowing... two years of hurting.... two years of longing... so yes.... it's time... he downs his drink, poured a refill, mustered all his courage and stood up... it is definitely time

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