In The Arms Of An Angel (ON HOLD)

CHAPTER 29

"Beshieeeeee!!!! Asan kaaaaaa???!"

Valerie barged into the main door of the condo unit like a tornado gone crazy. Her loud shrieks suddenly causing quite a ruckus in an otherwise quiet room.

"Asannnn?! Sannn ang sunog?!!!

Dei came running from inside her room carrying a portable fire extinguisher while frantically trying to pull its pin. She was therefore not prepared when her friend suddenly embraced her excitedly that they almost lost balance and topple to the floor. It took Dei a few seconds after they righted themselves to realize that there was no real emergency.

"Val! Ano baaa?! Akala ko naman may sunog na dahil sa sigaw mo! Bakit ka ba naghihysterical dito?" She asked her friend exasperatedly.

"Beshie! I have good news for you! Itanong mo kung ano, daliii!" Valerie gushed as she tugged at Dei's arm.

"Ano nga yung good news mo na halos mabulahaw mo buong building sa sobrang excitement mo? Ispluk mo na bago ko mamatey sa suspense dito." She deadpanned as she set aside the extinguisher, turned back towards her friend and folded her arms on her chest.

"Wow! Ramdam na ramdam ko naman ang excitement mo sa news ko. Grabe sya after ng effortssss ko para magawan ng paraan yun..." Val pouted.

"Alam mo kapag di mo pa sinabi..." She threatened Val by acting as if picking the extinguisher again to hit her with it.

"Eto na nga, bes! Sasabihin ko na! Napakabayolente!" Val took a deep breath to calm down then said:

"Nakausap ko na yung friend ko na girlfriend ni Doc Kris kanina. Guess what! May paevent sya this coming Thursday at invited din daw si Mr.Man of Your Dreams Richard!" Val squealed. Dei remained calmly looking at her friend. Val waited for the grand reaction but none came forth.

"Bes, may nakalimutan kang detail. Di kami friends ng girlfriend ni doc so I can't be at that event and I won't be able to meet Richard there." Dei points out.

"Bes, wait lang! Di pa ko tapos. Since close din kami ni girlfriend, I was able to get her to agree for me to bring along a friend. And guess who I will be bringing with me to the event?? You!!!" There were a few seconds of complete silence before...

"Eeeeeeeekkk!!! Talaga ba, bes??!!! Emeyged! Ano isusuot ko?! What time yung event? My ghad, di ako ready!!!" Dei freaked out completely as she paced around the living room floor. She went into a full blown panic at the realization that she will have the opportunity to see Richard again in a few days.

"Bes, kalmahan mo lang. Inhale...Exhale...Relax. We still have three days to plan and strategize. Kaya natin 'to. We need to be ready para sa muli nyong pagkikita ng Prince Charming mo." Valerie stood before her and held her shoulders firmly to calm her down. Dei did as told and tried to compose herself. But just as her pulse rate start to slow down, negative thoughts started coming in.

"Bes, paano kung di nya ko pansinin? O kaya tarayan nya ako? Or worst ipagtabuyan nya ako? Ano gagawin ko, bes?!" She is slowly being eaten alive by worry.

"Hello! Di nya event yun so di naman siguro sya gagawa ng eksena dun, noh. Ayan ka na naman sa pagiging pessimistic mo girl eh! Think positive!" Val shook her by the shoulders trying to take away the negativity. Dei sighed deeply.

"Mabuti pa simulan na natin ang paghahanda sa muli nyong pagkikita. Kailangan ready tayo for that moment. Simulan natin sa outfit! Halika na sa room mo at icheck natin ang cabinet mo. Bilis nah!" And Dei just found herself being pushed unceremoniously towards her bedroom.

*****
Thursday

"Hi, ladies! May I join you?"

A tall, model-like, foreign looking guy approached them at their cocktail table at the corporate event.

Valerie blushed and smiled at the guy. Dei on the other hand was busy looking around the venue, obviously searching for someone in the crowd. Val gave the guy goggly eyes but the guy was busy looking straight at Dei appreciatively and tried getting her attention.

"Hi, Ms. Lady in Red. You know, you look really familiar...Have we met before?" He asked her as he moved closer to where she was standing. Dei looked at him warily.

" I'm sorry but I don't believe we've met before. And I'm also waiting for my b-boyfriend and I don't think he would appreciate me taking to other guys here. He is quite the jealous type you k-know..." She felt really awkward saying that lie  but that script had been effective the whole night so she used it to the max. The guy gave her a discreet salute in acknowledgement and then turned to walk away.

"Bes, anu ba yan! Sayang yun. GQ level na ang hotness nun deadma lang?! At kelan ka pa nagkajowa? Sinungaling ka, bes! Sinungalingggg!!!" Valerie whispered loudly at her. Dei just rolled her eyes at her friend.

"Val, alam mo namang may iba akong reason kaya ako sumama sa event na 'to, di ba? You know naman na ayokong nagiging center of attention lalo na ng mga lalaki. Well except for HIM. Pero mukhang hopia pa ako tonight kasi kanina pa nagstart ang event at kahit anino nya di ko pa rin nakikita...Uwi na kaya tayo?" She asked her friend. If Richard is not coming tonight then there's no point staying.

"What?! Uuwi na tayo?! Bes naman. Ngayon pa nga lang nagsisimulang maging exciting ang gabi natin tapos uuwi na tayo? Sayang naman ang red dress mo at red lipstick ko! Nakakaisang glass pa lang ako ng wine uwian na agad? Wag naman, bes!" Val pleaded.

"Hay naku, Val! If you don't want to go home yet, fine. I will just go out to get some fresh air. Nakakaconscious na ang mga tingin ng mga lalaki dito! Para akong binabalatan." Val moved as if to go with her. "No, you don't need to come along. Sandali lang ako. I will be okay. Dito ka na lang muna and network with the other guests. Hanapin na lang kita later." She said then hurriedly sought the main door of the venue to look for the nearest exit to the events place.

Despite the fact that she is a fashion photographer, Dei will never get completely used to attending events that would require her to mingle with a lot of people.

Dei knew that she needed this to broaden her network especially in her line of work but she's just really not comfortable being in the middle of a crowd. She hurriedly dashed to the nearest exit that she found while rummaging through her gold purse for her phone. She stood still for a moment near the exit when she can't immediately find it and turned towards the light in the lobby to better see the contents of her bag. When she found what she was looking for, she abruptly turned around to go out and immediately collided with a very broad chest encased in a well-fitted suit.

Big hands reached up and held her forearms to steady her. Her eyes were then drawn to the bulging biceps that almost threatened to burst the seams of the dark blazer the person is wearing.

"I'm really sorry..." She starts to mumble an apology.

"Hey, are you alright?..." The guy asked at the same time.

But they both froze in place when their eyes met as they both gazed at each other's faces.

"Oh, fudge!" She exclaimed wide-eyed, too stunned to say anything else.

"Ikaw na naman??!"