In The Arms Of An Angel (ON HOLD)

CHAPTER 57

"No! Not at all. I like listening to your stories. Ramdam ko yung passion mo for your advocacy and yung loyalty and love mo for your family. You've always been like that naman kahit noong..." She casually commented but suddenly stopped when she realized that she almost said:

"...kahit noong tagabantay ka pa..."

Her eyes widened and her heartbeat doubled when she saw his brows knit together in confusion.

"Kahit noong? What do you mean? I don't remember us talking about those things before..." He asked her which caused her panic to escalate. She raked her brain for a plausible excuse for her blunder.

"Ahm, ano...kahit noong...nasa resort tayo! Tama! Ang lambing mo sa grandparents mo at sa mga staff mo sa resort. And ito...yung pag-invite mo sa akin for dinner kasi napansin mong parang may manifestations ako ng depression. Ayun...kaya ko nasabi yun." She hurriedly explained. She glanced at him to check if he bought her answer. She caught him staring at her with a weird expression on his face which made her blush.

"Enebe, kuyah! Wag mo kong titigan ng ganyan, marupok ako!" She inwardly shrieked.

They are still staring at each other when the moment was broken by a  familiar voice calling her:

"Dei!"

She turned towards the direction of the voice and saw:

"Uno! Anong ginagawa mo dito? Sinong kasama mo?" She exclaimed as Uno approached their table. She noticed RJ push back his seat and stood up to shake the other man's hand. They stared at each other, both with serious expressions on their faces.

"Pre..."
"Bro..."

The handshake was brief then Uno turned to her and his expression immediately changed to that of a grin.

"Hi, Dei! I'm meeting a client for dinner here. Medyo napaaga lang ang dating ko coz I just came from another meeting. Dito na ko dumiretso after para di matraffic. W-what about you? Ba't kayo magkasama ni Mr. Faulkerson?" Uno asked her with a curious glance at RJ. She glanced as well at the other man who is at the moment checking something on his phone before answering.

"Uhm, RJ invited me for dinner to discuss something..." She answered vaguely feeling awkward. Uno raised his eyebrow as if to ask what that something was but did not voice the question out.

"I invited her for dinner to secure her services for my grandparents' fiftieth wedding anniversary photos." RJ answered which made her turn to him in surprise.

"Oh, o-okay...Anyway, Dei I have to go. I just saw my clients enter the door. I'll see you next week for our usual dinner date?" Uno asked her with what appears to be a smirk and a glance towards RJ again. She felt irritated with this little display of overfamiliarity that she answered:

"Oh, I'm sorry. I believe I will be very busy next week doing several shoots and editing. Maybe next time perhaps?" She saw Uno's smirk turn into a sad expression and she felt a bit guilty for doing that to him.

"Okay, I understand. I'll just call you to reschedule then. Good night, Dei, Mr. Faulkerson...." Uno answered before turning away immediately to meet with his clients across the restaurant. Dei and RJ were both left staring at his back with identical expressions on their faces.

"I can't believe Uno would behave that way! He is usually very polite and proper. Sorry about that, RJ. I'll talk to him tomorrow..." She immediately assured RJ but he reacted differently.

"No! You don't have to talk to him about it. It's fine, no big deal. I understand why he acted that way." RJ hastily countered which made her brows arch in question. He on the other hand just continued to stare at her with an unexplainable expression on his face.

Dei looked away and as she does she caught a glimpse of Uno who was seated  three tables away from them. He was openly looking at their direction as he spoke to his clients. She felt uncomfortable so she pretended that she did not notice him and looked back at RJ.

She found him still staring at her face, seemingly studying her. She blushed again at the way he is looking at her. He seemed to have also noticed Uno's scrutiny of them but said nothing about it. She crossed her arms on top of the table and leaned a bit forward to talk to him in a stage whisper.

"Hindi ko maintindihan ang mga lalaki! One moment they are very gentlemanly and polite, the next moment they suddenly turn to cavemen." She complained. RJ chuckled softly at her statement.

"What?! Totoo naman na ang labo nyo minsan, ah! Lagi nyo sinasabi mahirap intindihin ang mga babae but you also behave irrationally at times." She retorted which made him laugh harder. She pouted.

"Well, its not really hard to understand why we sometimes act that way. Men are usually territorial especially with those that they consider important to them and are afraid to lose..." He explained in his usual professional voice.

"And how is that supposed to explain Uno's behavior? Sige nga. Explain to me why he acted that way, Mr. Psychologist..." Dei challenged him. She saw him sit straighter and looked at her intently. His stare made her feel self conscious again because of its intensity. She looked away to avoid his eyes.

"You are special to him...and I said I understand why he reacted that way because if I were in his shoes I'd feel the same way or even worse." He explained without taking his eyes off her.

"What do you mean? Why would you..." She asked breathlessly. Its as if the air around them suddenly became thicker.

"Dei, no man would ever be immediately okay seeing a woman he considers special to him going out on a dinner date with somebody else. I know I wouldn't..." He answered softly.

"Really?! You don't strike me as the jealous type...and I've always been clear with Uno that I only see him as a dear friend. Nothing more." She explained in an equally soft voice. This made him smile. His eyes were reduced to slits, his dimple deeper you could almost swim in it.

"Oh, you don't know how jealous I can get...but I can be reasonable if I feel secure about where I stand..." He was almost whispering. She was holding her breath, waiting in silent anticipation of his next words. They continue to talk in hushed tones, their food almost forgotten.

"Excuse me, sir, ma'am. The gentleman on the other table asked me to serve you this dessert. He said ma'am that this is your favorite. This is on him.." The server said, suddenly breaking the spell between them. They both looked up in confusion. Then she turned towards the direction where Uno is seated. He raised his glass at her and she managed to give him a small smile. But inside it felt more like a grimace.

"Really, Uno??! Andun na, eh! Konti na lang, eh!" She ranted internally. She then flashed a bright smile at RJ before she said:

"I think we better go now..."