No One Will Know (PUBLISHED)

III. Up The Game

III. Up The Game

A solid minute passed already, and I still wasn't paying him any attention. I learned the art of seduction during my stay in New York. Guys like him, they got a hoard of girls begging for even just a glance. The key to make him notice is to do the otherwise.

Cliché?

It's cliché for a reason.

"Have you read Grisham's latest?" he asked after minutes of not getting any reaction from me. Slowly, I looked at him, with my forehead creased.

No, you won't see me gawking, asshole.

"Yes," I simply said.

"What can you say?" he asked, looking straight into my eyes.

'Kalma, Mall,' I told myself as I fought the urge to roll my eyes. This fucking guy—ngayon ang libing ni Molly pero nagawa pang lumandi sa coffee shop. He seriously needed to reevaluate his priorities in life.

"Haven't finished yet," I replied, now looking at him.

"Don't," he said, wrinkling his nose. "It's awful—like he forgot how to write."

Binaba ko iyong binabasa mo. "Well, that's for me to decide, don't you think?" sabi ko gamit ang masungit na tono pero naka-ngiti ako.

God.

Guys like him—it's just so easy to get their attention. Always go against what they want or what they say.

"Suit yourself," he said, shrugging but with a small smile on her face. "You live here, too?"

"Staying with a friend," I replied.

He looked at me like he was studying my face. I was not as pretty as Molly—that girl looked like she was porcelain doll. My features were sharper than her, and I cut my hair short when I learned about... what happened to her.

But even then, I knew Nathan liked what he saw.

"I'm Pierce," he introduced himself. I almost scoffed. As if using his second name would prevent me from knowing shits he's involved in.

"Ary," I said.

"So, Ary, how'd you like A Time To Kill so far?" he asked, crossing his legs, and staring into my eyes.

* * *

I stomached talking to the devil for a good hour. He had a lot to say about Grisham's book. Good thing I already did my assignment before buying the book. Marami akong binasa na article tungkol kay John Grisham mismo pati na sa librong binabasa ko.

And Pierce was nothing short of impressed.

In fact, the next day, I saw him again. I was reading The Firm that time, and we chatted up again. He's a lawyer, so I was pretty sure that he liked debating. And I held on my ground for as long as I could.

The third day, I was there again, reading The Pelican Brief.

"That's actually one of my favorite books of him," he said while we were both sitting in silence. He was reading some law book while I was reading another one of Grisham's.

"Have you seen the movie?" tanong niya ulit.

I shook my head. "I'm trying to finish all the books first."

Tinignan niya ako nang mabuti na parang may gusto siyang sabihin, pero iniisip niya pa kung sasabihin nga niya. "The movies are good, actually." Iyon na lang ang sinabi niya bago siya bumalik sa binabasa niya.