Quenched

Sprite Vs. Heat

"Sobrang init naman." Miguel said, his face glowing with sweat. The sweltering weather exacerbated the stench inside the MRT. All the sweat of the people inside and the rising temperature were enough to make a milk curdle. His one hand was clasped securely to the metal bar just above his head, the other was holding a bottle of Sprite which he bought in attempt to insulate the weather.

He heard someone grumbled behind him. Sure, the heat was exasperating. He turned just in time and found himself face-to-face with a guy with the same height as him. The sight of the guy's face seemed to make the temperature in the surrounding drop a bit. His face, though all sweaty as the others, gave a natural seductive power.

Miguel needed to swallow hard for an unknown reason. Standing face-to-face with a cute guy was always an uncomfortable scenario.

"Err--Hi" the guy smiled, his pale face turning pink a little. To Miguel, his smile was like fireworks of different colors igniting in the night sky. He wanted to say something nice, because the guy in front of him deserved it so much.

Unfortunately, words failed him. He just smiled back, instead. "Grabe yung init no?" The guy said. "Aspen pala." He extended his arm to Miguel.

Miguel's both hands were occupied, so he unclasped the metal bar above him and reached Aspen's hand. 'Ang pogi nya.' He thought

Of all the three laws of motion, the law of inertia was what Miguel hated most. Before he could even say his name, the MRT felt like speeding up to destroy the equilibrium inside. Miguel lost balance and stumbled. He had accidentally pulled Aspen with him, making him fall down, too. The next thing he knew, he was sitting on the MRT floor and once again face-to-face with Aspen.

Aspen, on the other hand, was on his knee, his one arm supporting him from completely kissing the floor and the other was grabbing Miguel's shoulder, keeping him from completely slumping against the ground. The distance was too close that Aspen's face was blurry to Miguel's eyes. "Sorry, sorry," Miguel said as he hastily tried to get back to his feet. He could feel the glare of the people around them."Sorry talaga," he added as he dusted off his hands.

Aspen's face had the color of something close to magenta. "Naku, sorry din. Kinamayan pa kasi kita. Yan tuloy. Sorry. Nakakahiya tuloy."

Miguel saw that Aspen's face had a combination of shame and guilt. He tried to swipe it off by grinning. "Hindi, lampa lang talaga ako. I'm Miguel, anyway." But this time, no one dared of reaching the other's hand.

Aspen was still eyeing Miguel that Miguel started to feel uneasy. Cute guys made him feel uneasy. He wanted Aspen's attention to be waved off him when he said, "Eto oh, mag Sprite ka muna. Mukhang init na init ka talaga eh."

Aspen showed a lopsided smile as he took it. Miguel hated that he smiled a lot. It made him look cute a hundred times.

"Thanks." Aspen said and made more than two gulps. He did a gushing sound of satisfaction as he passed the bottle back to Miguel. Aspen's eyes were still piercing Miguel like he wanted to steal his soul. Miguel tried to ignore it by taking the bottle of Sprite and drinking right through where Aspen's lips laid. He had an uncanny feeling that Aspen's lips had been stuck at the bottle's lid. It was as though he was tasting them.

Not several moment after, the door of the MRT opened and Miguel realized that he was in his destination. "Oy, sige. Mauna na ako." He said before he jostled with the others who were squeezing their way out.

"Teka, teka. Dito rin ako eh. Sabay na tayo."