Maine was busy preparing for a presentation due the following week, so she didn't notice that lunchtime had passed. It wasn't until Alden arrived at her desk for their coffee date.
"Hi! Ready?"
She looked up. "Uy. Naku, anong oras na ba?"
"1:30."
"Oh, shucks. Tapos na pala lunch. Can we postpone? Hindi pa kasi ako naglulunch eh."
Alden nodded. "Sige. Next time nalang yung coffee date. Samahan nalang kita maglunch today. Where do you want to eat?"
"H-ha? Naku, wag na. Okay lang ako mag-isa."
"Nope. Halika ka. This way I'm sure you'll eat. Saan mo gusto?"
She hesitated, but seeing that he wouldn't budge, she agreed to go to a nearby restaurant. "Wala ka bang meeting? Ayoko naman maka-hassle."
"Free naman ako this afternoon. I might have to check my emails once in awhile, but I'll try to not let it bother us." When they arrived at the restaurant, and Maine had placed her order, he started to chat and try to get to know her better. "Gaano ka na katagal sa agency?"
"Almost two years na. Ikaw?"
"Over a year palang. I used to work at a bank."
"Oh, talaga? I presented something sa yo before eh, a few months back, for one my campaigns na kailangan ng additional budget," Maine said.
Alden nodded. "Yes, I remember. You were sick and came in for that presentation lang."
"Gosh. I must've looked horrible. I was having a lot of trouble with my runny nose."
He chuckled. "No naman. Pero ang hirap magbalance ng pigil tawa at aliw sa effort mo para wag tumulo yung sipon mo."
"Ang sama mo naman!"
"Sorry! Ang cute kasi na galit na galit ka sa akin for my questions pero ayaw mo magpatalo kahit yung uhog mo lumalabas na," he teased.
Maine blushed. "Don't remind me! Nakakahiya!"
When her food arrived, he helped serve her and they continued to talk about their lives for the remainder of lunch. By the end of it, they were sure that they wanted a repeat. "Let's have lunch again together, if you don't mind? Maybe next week?"
She accepted.
The smile was pasted on her face the entire afternoon, and although Kaye noticed, she didn't say a word.
The following day, Maine, Kaye and their team went out to lunch again. As they were chatting about some of the new projects and waiting for their orders, Alden walked in alone.
"Maine!" Kaye nudged her and pointed to the direction of Alden, who was at the counter, placing an order. Just as Maine spotted him, he turned and saw her. He gave a shy wave and approached tentatively.
"Hi, Maine. Uy, Kaye nandiyan ka pala," he greeted. "Lunch out?"
Maine nodded, "Oo. Ikaw?"
