"Umiinom kayo?" Maine's tipsy Uncle asked a few seconds after everyone else settled around the table. RJ made a quick glance at Ivan before they both nodded at the same time.
"Ayos yan. Dapat kapag kasama ka sa mga Mendoza eh marunong kang uminom. Tito Vic na lang pala yung itawag niyo sa akin." Maine's Uncle replied and RJ smiled.
"Okay po, Tito Vic." He said.
Ako naman si Tito Joey, tapos siya naman si Tito Tito... Tito yung pangalan niya ...
The guy on RJ's left said. He stared at him and waited for any sign that he was kidding, when RJ realized that he wasn't, he just smiled and sat up straight.
"Tito Tito, Tito Vic, and Tito Joey huh? Nice ... nice to meet you po." He said and some of the guys laughed while the others just smiled.
"Kuya Mark na lang ang itawag niyo sa akin." Maine's brother then said and both RJ and Ivan nodded in reply. He then took a deep breath and braced himself for what would obviously be a long, awkward and crazy drinking session. Mark gave RJ a freshly-opened bottle of beer and a glass half-filled with cheap rum.
"Beer o Empe?" he asked. Wanting to impress the other guys around the table and intimidate Ivan at the same time, RJ said both.
"Aba, A TAPANG A TAO!! Gusto ko yan! Gusto ko yan! Eto, Chaser!"
At first RJ thought it was water, but after smelling it, he realized it was gin. He gulped and displayed his bets fake smile.
"Gin? Gin yung chaser?" he asked.
"Siyempre! Para mas madali tayong matapos!"
"Oh fuck." RJ muttered as the other guys urged him to drink.
--
"Nay, Tay, Tay, Nay, Tay, Nay, Tay, Nay, Nay, Tay, Nay, Tay, Nay, Tay, Nay?" Maine asked her parents as soon as she found them in their room.
"Ano na naman yun, Meng?" her mother asked back.
"Um, may bisita pa po ba kayong dadating? Tsaka ano yan?" Maine pointed at the plates covered with food and cellophane.
"Give away yan sa mga Tito tsaka Tita mo, nakakahiya naman ... nag-contribute sila para sa handa eh." Her mother replied.
"Oh sige, labas muna ako." Maine told them before she exited the house. And as soon as she did, she saw Ivan and RJ drinking with her relatives. Maine's eyes widened and her heart started beating fast. She immediately ran towards them to scold her brother and cousins for letting the two guys drink with them.
"HOY! TEKA BAKIT UMIINOM MGA YAN!!!???" she asked them.
"Maine it's okay." Ivan said though his face already started to turn pinkish red. She then glanced at RJ and he mouthed the same thing.
"Meng, ayaw mo yun? Makikita na namin kung sino yung karapat-dapat sa'yo?"
"Lalasingin niyo sila? Ganon? Tito, ako na lang ang iinom." She replied.
"Pumasok ka na lang dun. Kami na bahala sa kanila." Her brother said before winking at her.
"Kuya, kapag napano tong mga 'to ..."
"Maine, it's really okay. We can handle this, we're not lightweight." Ivan told her and so she turned her eyes to RJ.
"Kaya ko to, Maine. Hinding-hindi ako malalasing."
--
Lasing na ata ako ...
RJ thought to himself after an hour of drinking one alcoholic beverage after the other. He started to feel funny and relaxed, like all his problems got wiped away instantly.
"Pogi, kaya pa?" One of Maine's Uncles asked.
"Opo! YES! OUI!" he replied and the guys, including Ivan, laughed.
"May trabaho ka ngayon?" Maine's brother questioned him.
"Yes po, sa office. I'm an office boy." RJ answered.
"Eh ikaw?" the same question was given to Ivan.
"Office din po." He responded right away.
"Anong dream job niyo?" one of Maine's cousins, RJ never bothered to know any of their names, asked.
"Baby maker po ... ay este macho dancer." RJ replied. Not because it was true but because he just thought saying it would be fun.
"ANO? GUSTO MONG MAGING MACHO DANCER?" the uncle named Tito questioned him.
"Just kidding po! Biro lang!"
"Ah kidding pala ... bata pa pala 'to. Inom pa!"
They all spent the next half an hour drinking as much beer, gin and cheap rum as they can. RJ only stopped drinking when he saw a very panicky Maine walking towards them.
"HOY KUYA! Tama na yan! Lasing na sila oh!" Maine yelled when she reached them. A red-faced Ivan then stood up and placed both of his hands on her shoulders.
"Maine ... we're not drunk ... we're happy." Ivan told her followed by a hiccup. RJ smiled but things quickly changed when he realized their eyes were locked onto each other. He counted to three and when neither of them pulled away, RJ stood and literally went in between them.
"Back off, she's mine!" He screamed and that's when all hell broke loose. All the guys around the table stood up and came between him and Ivan to prevent the brewing tension to turn into a full-blown fight. RJ didn't even know what came over him. All he knew was that he couldn't stand seeing Ivan and Maine that close to each other.
"Okay tama na ... kaw na palang bahala Kuya ah? Talaga lang ah?" RJ heard Maine's pissed tone and it made him feel terrible about himself. He knew he lost control and because of that, he ruined the mood of everyone.
"Kaya mo bang mag lakad?" Maine asked him and RJ nodded.
"Kuya, pag-pahingahin mo muna si Ivan sa kwarto mo ... dalhin ko lang 'to dun." Maine said and RJ walked with her towards one of the rooms in the house.
--
"Dapat kasi di mo na pinatulan, lalasingin ka talaga nun." Maine told RJ as soon as she closed the door to her room. RJ sat on the edge of her bed and closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them again, Maine saw how red and unfocused they were.
"Lasing ka nga, jusko." She said.
"Wait! I'm not lasing, okay? I'm never lever lasing ... ngayon lang ... hehe." RJ protested before he stretched his whole body on Maine's body. He lied down completely and Maine noticed that his shoes were on her pillow. She quickly removed them from his feet and placed them by the door. Maine gave him another pillow and asked if he wanted to drink some coffee or soda to clear his senses. When he didn't reply, she just smiled and turned around. She was about to head to the door when RJ suddenly grabbed her by the arm. She turned around and looked at him.
"Maine, I may be drunk but I love you ... I love you so much .... I love you!" RJ yelled suddenly before he fell asleep. Maine's heart went wild, it was the first time he said the L word and Maine started freaking out because of it. She blushed and immediately exited the room, only to see her aunt and mother standing on the other side.
"Meng, kung mag-aaway lang yang dalawang yan wag mo na silang papuntahin dito ah?" her mother said.
"Sorry po."
"May naisip ako." Maine's aunt then informed her.
"Ano po yun?"
"Pumili ka na sa kanila para matapos na."
--
makakapili na ba si Maine? stay tuned :)
