She's the Real Challenge

11: His Twenty-Third

"Have a drink with me!" Sage raised his voice to battle Tsunami's bass drop.

Lily smiled but shook her head and continued dancing with her friends, the models they were with in Dubai, excluding Mia. Wala rin sa dance floor sina Ken, Heidi, at Matt but they were just somewhere in the club. Sage invited them all anyway.

It sucked that Lily wasn't into drinking. Madalas kasi, effective ang alak sa panlalandi or at least, to get her to warm up to him. Oh well, if Lily didn't want to drink, he'd just get a drink for himself and maybe someone else who was up for it. He gave the club a quick scan and his eyes landed on a very interesting girl that brought a smile to his lips.

Sitting on the couch near the dance floor was Lily's difficult best friend a.k.a. Sage's Number 1 Hater, Kendra. Ang perfect target na kainuman. Getting Lily to like him was supposed to be his focus pero iba ang hila sa kanya ng walking mystery na si Ken. Especially after he found out about Selene.

Umabot siya sa page 16 ng Google image search results bago makahanap ng picture ng ex-IG model. Just as Valerian said, kamukha nito si Ken. And based on Ken's reaction when Tristan mentioned Selene, Sage knew that they weren't just coincidental look-alikes. May koneksyon si Kendra kay Selene at hindi palalampasin ni Sage ang pagkakataong malaman iyon. Chances are, that connection was something he could hold over Ken.

The smile was wiped off his face when he saw someone else approach her before he could. They may not be close but he had always gotten along with Tristan. At alam niyang matinong lalaki ito. In fact, he'd willingly be a wingman for him in any other circumstance pero bakit si Ken ang trip nito?

Naalala niya 'yong bilis ng pagpayag ni Ken na makipag-date kay Tristan. Mas nagulat siya roon kaysa no'ng nalaman niyang may kamukhang model si Ken. Did Ken like Tristan? There was an unexplained discomfort at the pit of his stomach at the thought of those two dating.

He tried to shake off those thoughts. For now, gusto niyang makausap si Ken para ma-satisfy ang Selene curiosity niya. It's just that and nothing else. He took a deep breath and managed to convince himself that no other feelings were involved.

So now, he had to steer Tristan away from Ken. Ngayon lang naman. Kapag nakuha niya na ang gusto niya, wala na siyang paki sa love life ni Ken.

He scanned the room for a distraction he can use. Nahanap niya iyon sa isang babaeng nakaupo sa may bar. Tulad niya, pinapanood nito sina Ken at Tristan. Sage grinned, he was going to be a wingman after all.

* * *

"Have you met Mia?"

For the first time ever, Ken was relieved to hear Sage's voice. As much as she wanted to get some valuable info out of Tristan, she didn't know exactly what to ask him. Bukas pa, sa date nila, pwedeng i-execute ang plano. Hanging out with Tristan right now just increases the risk of her being exposed. And it doesn't help that he's way too interested in Selene.

"Tristan, let me introduce you to your biggest—no wait, I meant hottest fan, Mia. She's a model. Sure ako, magiging Angel 'to sa future," sabi ni Sage. 

Ken actually agreed, Mia definitely had the figure to be a VS Angel. But what's up with Sage trying to sell the girl?

"Hi," Mia said. Medyo yumuko ito at sobrang namula ang mga pisngi.

"Nice to meet you, Mia." Ngumiti si Tristan pero walang nagsalita. Sure, some EDM music was playing loudly in the background but it was still getting awkward. Ken glared at Sage. He'll pay for putting her friend on the spot and making her uncomfortable.

Magsasalita na si Ken pero hindi niya inasahang si Mia ang babasag ng katahimikan. "Please don't oversell me, Sage. Mahirap maging Angel." The introverted model let out a nervous chuckle. "But really, Tristan, I'm a huge fan. So, uh, do you wanna dance with a fan?"