The Bridesmaid [MaiChard AU]

The Question

RJ
He watches her, etching every single detail of her face into his memory as she sits with her legs crossed, her profile enveloped by a halo of golden sunlight about to bid goodbye to the day to make way for twilight. She tips her chin up and with eyes closed, she combs her fingers through her hair to gather them into a loose bun and he has never seen anything so sexy and beautiful at the same time. She heaves a sigh, and takes a deep breath.

In his daze, he doesn't here the first few words she said until his eyes linger on her lips and realizes that they are moving.

"RJ, what are we doing?"

He would have wanted to be the one to open up this topic but she beat him to it. That was exactly the reason why she brought her up here. Nevertheless, he comes prepared. Somewhere between cancelling his planned blind date this morning and taking her up here, he knew he doesn't want this to end at the stroke of midnight or by the time he drives her back home to Manila.

"I'm not sure yet..." He deliberately pauses to gauge her reaction. "But, there's a but." He explains, seeing her brows furrowed. "I want this, whatever we are doing, to turn into something more. Ayokong maging una at huling araw to na kasama ka."

He waits for Maine to say anything, and when she doesn't, he continues. "I know kung ano mang meron tayo ngayon, masyado syang mabilis and definitely not traditional but I want you to know ngayon lang ako nakaramdam ng ganito, alam mo yun? Yung kampante, yung masaya. And it's all because of you. And when I look at you, as hard as it is to believe, this? Us? Everything about this makes sense perfect sense to me."

He waits for her to process what he said. He sees a ghost of a smile on her lips but she decides to hold it back. He finally exhales in relief.

"Ok. Siguro, gusto ko lang makasiguro na we're on the same page para nobody is expecting more than the other. Lalo na with everything we've done since last night." She blushes and RJ only finds her even more adorable. "Alam mo yun? I guess, what I'm trying to say is, ayokong matapos tong araw na to and end up regretting saying goodbye because I know I could have done more."

"More?" He smirks. There is definitely one thing he wants to do more with her.

She nods.

He protrudes his lips towards her, aiming for a kiss but Maine only narrows her eyes at him.

"Mukha kang kiss eh no?"

"Sarap kaya." He grins mischievously.

"Di ka talaga titigil?" She squishes his cheeks until her fingers leave pink marks on his skin.

"Aray, aray! Sabi ko nga mamaya na." He says, his eyebrows dancing and massaging his face to ease the pain.

"Mamaya ka dyan! Ikaw, RJ!" She gently pushes him away from her as she giggles.

"Serious na. I agree with you, 100%. Ayoko din namang mangyari yun."

"But what if, what if today is just what it's meant to be: a perfect day? Ganun lang. Tapos wala na."

"Ay di naman ako papayag nun." He exclaims, shaking his head repeatedly. "Unless yun ang gusto mong mangyari then I'll respect your decision." His voice trails, realizing that just the thought her walking away from him when this day ends is already making him sad.

Instead of answering, she pauses for exactly fifteen seconds, probably the longest fifteen seconds of his existence, poker-faced and just staring at him that he starts to worry. His hands now clammy, his eyes focused on her face, as his brains scrambles for ways to make her stay.

"Sinong may sabi? Sasapakin ko!"

He groans in relief because for a moment there, he thought he'd lose her.

"Pinakaba mo ko dun, Meng!" RJ pulls her to him in a tight embrace then lifts her to his lap, laughing heartily as she squeals, because for the first time in the last five minutes, he is able to breathe easy again. He buries his nose in her hair, and he feels his heart about to burst.

As the last streak of sunlight begins to fade away, he cups her face in his hands and kisses the familiar blush on her cheeks softly.

She kisses his forehead in return.

If this isn't bliss, then I don't know what is.

***

Maine
Sunsets have always been beautiful to her, its magnificence one of her favorite poetry and watching it with RJ made it even more beautiful. All her doubts fading away, she feels relieved knowing that he wants the same thing as she does. That'll be enough for her. At least for now. As for the rest of wherever this will take them, it's not time to worry yet.

She's been carpe dieming this whole time anyway.

📷 © aldenrichards02 IG

A/N:

Palapit na po tayo sa pagtatapos ng kaharutan ng dalawang to and I have enjoyed every single part of the process of writing this story albeit the writer's block. 😊

Unbeta'd but proofread to the best of my ability. 😅

Let me know what you think, ok? 😘