"Bakit ba hindi kayo nagkaka-anak ni RJ?" Vince asked.
"Baog ba yun?" He asked again. I slapped his arm lightly.
"Grabe ka kay RJ. Baka hindi pa kami biniyayaan. Tsaka hindi pa kami ready no." I said.
"Then why are you finding a different man to have sex with if you already have a husband. Are you cheating on him?" He curiously asked.
"Can you shut up? Obvious naman na niloloko ko na sya diba? And besides, Wala pa naman kaming anak. Tsaka anong ako lang? Kasama ka no!" I said.
"Alam mo, Thea. Swerte ka dahil mahal na mahal ka ni RJ. Mabait na tao yung asawa mo, lahat ibibigay nya sayo, tas lolokohin mo lang sya?" He said.
"Itutuloy ba natin to o ano?" I annoyingly asked him.
"Fine. Itutuloy." He said.
"Sabi ko sayo eh." I said, then we continued what we are doing.
********
"Hey. Why are you here alone?" I walked towards him and sat on the chair in front of him.
"Ah, eh, I was waiting for Thea to reply. Ikaw, what are you doing here?" He asked back.
"No reasons. Just didn't want to get drunk on the first day." I told him.
"Oh. Do you want to do something or just talk here?" He asked as he played with his phone.
"Hmmm... Baka napipilitan ka lang ah." I said.
"Hindi ah. Akyat tayo sa bundok dun?" He asked.
"Sige. Kuha lang ako ng tubig ah." I stood up then went to my room to get water. When I came back, still seating on the chair and was still waiting for Thea's reply.
"Ummm... RJ? Let's go na?" I asked. He stood up.
"Sure. C'mon." He said then guided me to the exit.
********
"Ibaba mo muna kaya yung phone mo. Baka ma-snatch yan dito. Gabi pa naman." I told him. He was still waiting for his wife's reply as we hiked the mountain.
"Oh. It's okay. Sandali na lang to." He said.
"Sige. Sabi mo yan eh." I whispered.
We reached the top in less than 15 minutes. It was still breathtaking despite the darkness. We took a few photos, then decided to sat down on the dirt to get some rest. I opened my water bottle then drank from it. When I was finished, I asked him if he's thirsty as well.
"Ah, thanks. I forgot to bring mine." He said then drank from the bottle.
"RJ... You should put your phone down. Kanina ka pa titig ng titig sa phone mo." I told him.
"No. It's really okay." He said.
After a few minutes of silenceness...
"You know... You should get comfortable around me. Parang ang awkward kasi na ang dami na nating pinagsamahan as friends then we don't talk to each other. Parang stranger lang tayo sa isa't isa." I told him.
"Sorry... Nasanay kasi akong binabantayan ni Thea kaya hindi ako maka-lapit sa ibang babae. Kung lalapit man ako, mga three-feet away." He said.
"Grabe. Faithfull ka kay Thea ano? Kelan kaya ako makakahanap ng lalaking tulad mo?" I wondered.
"Balang araw, makakahanap ka rin. Na-delay lang yan sa kalalandi ng ibang tao." He chuckled.
"Grabe ka ah. Bakit? Ikaw ba ganyan?" I asked.
"Oo. Dati. Pero nung nakilala ko si Thea, parang nag-iba yung mundo ko." He said.
"Wow ah. Cheesy mo." I said.
Another few minutes of silence and we finally decided to go down. When we got down, it started raining, hard.
"Should we run?" I asked.
"No. The beach house is way too far. We should at least stay at somewhere where we won't get wet." He said.
"Okay." I said. He looked around, searching for a place we can stay for a while. He found a cave, he pointed at it. We ran towards it and hid for a while. After a few minutes...
"Anong oras na?" He asked.
"9:30 PM. How long are we going to stay here?" I asked.
"Till the rain stops." He said.
"Okay..." I sat on the floor and waited for the rain to stop. My phone rang and I answered it.
"Himala. May signal sa bundok. Hello?"
"Nicomaine? K-kamusta si RJ dyan?"
"Ay. Thea, he's okay naman. Actually, nakaka-kilig nga eh."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Hep! Wag mong gagawan ng malisya. Kanina nya pa kasi hinihintay yung text mo. Eh, bakit mo nga ba di nirereplayan? Sorry... Na-atat lang. no pressure."
"Ahhmmm... Naka-speaker ba yung phone mo? Naririnig ba ni RJ to?"
"Hindi eh."
I heard her sigh of relief.
"Nicomaine... Your my best friend. And I trust you. Please don't tell RJ about this..."
"A-about what?"
"Nicomaine, I'm pregnant. But not with his baby."
"W-what? H-how?"
"Long story. Don't tell him."
"O-okay."
"Thanks! I'll put this down na, Bye!"
"Bye."
She hanged up. I saw RJ looking at me, he was waiting for answers.
"What did she say?" He asked.
"Ahmm... Wala, wala. Sinabi nya lang na... Di sya nakapag-reply dahil... Dahil nasa byahe pa sya kanina at natakot syang ilabas yung phone nya." I lied.
"Ganun ba? Is she home na?" He comtinued asking.
"Oo! Ahmm... I think the rain stopped. Let's go na?" I said then walked away from him.
We continued walking until we almost reached the beach house. But I stopped walking as he called me.
"Menggay!" He said. I frozed, it's been years since I've been called that. Actually, he was the only one who called me that. Even though we we're not that close in high school, he still made a nickname for me.
"Nagmamadali ka ba? Bat mo ko iniiwasan?" He asked.
"Huh? Ako? Iiwasan ka? Hindi! Hindi! Inaantok na kasi ako so... Goodnight!" I said as I went to my room with the girls. I closed my door. As I opened my eyes, I saw my workmates looking at me.
"Ayieee! Si ma'am Maine, pumapag-ibig! Sino yun?" They all asked.
"Tumahimik nga kayo! Baka marinig kayo dyan sa labas!" I warned them.
"Eto naman. Di na mabiro. Matulog ka na!"
"Eto na!"
