The Proposal (JiBea - Completed)

9 Years Before

-JIA'S POV-

Andito kami sa gym and hinihintay 'yung staff ng Upfront for a special shoot. 'Yung iba nakatambay sa bleachers. 'Yung iba nakahiga sa sahig. 'Yung iba kumakain nung pa-free breakfast ng ABS-CBN Sports Channel.

Kami ng bestfriend kong si Mich, nakaupo sa floor. Mich is leaning on my shoulder, tapos naka-akap sa side ko. Nakaidlip na yata. Brokenhearted kasi 'to ngayon eh. Alam ko wala pa 'tong tulog from last night. Naki-share ako sa earphones niya tapos puro malulungkot na songs nasa playlist. Psh. Masokista din talaga 'tong Babe ko eh.

I look around. The past few days, parang palaging may kusang hinahanap 'yung mga mata ko. And sobrang feeling ko lang extra-heightened 'yung senses ko kapag andyan siya.

Like right now.

3...

2...

And kasabay ng mahinang pagbigkas ko ng number 1, I see her coming inside the gym.

Si Bea. Like the rest of us, she's just wearing a white shirt, shorts, and training shoes... and yet... I don't find my teammates half as radiant as her.

She looks around the gym, and I am already smiling para ready na ako pag napunta sa direction ko 'yung tingin niya. When she finally does, I see that she's about to smile as well pero hindi natuloy. Instead, nag-nod lang siya then she continues walking papunta kina Jho na nasa may bandang tapat namin. Problema nun?

Tinititigan ko si Bea, kaya I see her looking at me from time to time, but she just quickly turns away everytime. Di ko mahuli 'yung mata niya. Gusto ko lang namang ngumiti siya saken para kumpleto na 'yung araw ko. Or i-kiss niya ako sa may temple like what she usually does pag nagkikita kami.

Bakit ba ang sungit niya today? Baby, y u ignoring me? Baby come back.

Ana gets the attention of the people near her and showed something from her phone. I notice how different Bea's reaction compared sa ibang nanonood. While 'yung iba, kilig na kilig, she looks disgusted.

"Woooooooooooh, ang sweet naman niyan!" mangiyak-ngiyak na sabi ni Kim after nila manood. "Gusto ko rin ng ganyang proposal!"

Halos lahat nag-agree, except for Bea. Instead, she just rolls her eyes and scoffs. Bakit ganito? Kahit anong gawin ni Bea cute na cute pa rin ako sakanya? Gusto ko siyang i-hug! Bakit ba ang layo-layo niya?

"Ayyy, may bitter oh," biglang sabi ni Jho habang nakaturo niyang kamay sa ibabaw ng ulo ni Bea. Tapos nakita kong lumingon ng sabay-sabay sina Ana, Kim, at Maddie sa direction namin. Ngingiti pa naman sana ako eh, kaya lang biglang umiwas sila ng tigin. Huh? Problema din nila?

"Kaya pala eh," natatawang sabi ni Maddie. Nagtawanan silang lahat tapos nag-make face lang si Bea. Bea throws a quick glance at me, tapos I hear her say, "I just don't find public proposals sweet."

"So anong ideal proposal mo, Bei?" tanong ni Ana.

I look away. Then kunwari nag-browse ako sa cellphone ni Mich. Pero sa totoo lang, gustung-gusto ko marinig 'yung sagot ni Bea.

"Well, first, gusto ko i-ask niya muna 'yung permission ng parents ko. Wait, hindi approval eh. More like, lay out the plans to them, out of respect," Bea starts. This is one of the things I like about Bea, 'yung closeness niya sa family niya. Like kahit sobrang busy ng sched, pipilitin niyang makapunta sa special occasion and celebrations.

"Naks, Bei ah. Oh tapos?" sabi ni Jho.

"Then, ayun nga. Ayoko ng public. Kasi if I really love him... or her... we're not closing doors here..." I smile. I like how comfortable Bea is regarding her sexuality. "...I'd be the happiest person in the world kapag tinanong niya saken 'yun. I'm pretty sure it will show in my face. And gusto ko, siya lang makakita nun? Like ite-treasure niya 'yung look na 'yun kasi it's precious?" I hear Bea sigh. Then she continues, "Ang hirap i-explain eh. Basta at the same time, gusto ko 'yung look niya kapag sumagot na akong yes, gusto ko ako lang din makakakita. Kasi it's an intimate emotion. Does that make sense?"

It was not the perfect description, pero gets na gets ko si Bea. It does make sense me. Kasi all I can think about right now is how excited I am to see her that happy.

"Wooooooh, si Bea may pa-ganun!" asar ni Maddie. "You must have been thinking of that for the long time already, huh?"

"Lately lang," she mumbles. I look at Bea, and she's looking at me, this time, her gaze is not going away. "Nung na-realize ko how good it feels knowing that her happiness is because of me."

My heart skips a beat. Ako ba 'yung tinutukoy ni Bea? I stare back at Bea.

Pero naputol 'yun nung kinurot ni Mich 'yung tagiliran ko. Akala ko ba tulog 'to? She says sleepily, "Oh narinig mo 'yun Jia ah. 'Wag daw bongga."

Napangiti nalang ako.

Noted, Bea. Duly noted.