Miss Danger Finder

23: Not a Date

"HAVE YOU calmed down, Eun?" tanong ni Rara dito habang nakapalumbaba siya sa mesa at pinapanood si Eun na kumain ng in-order niyang wagyu burger. "Does it taste good?"

"No," sagot ni Eun. "They definitely used a low-quality beef to make this "wagyu.""

"Then, why don't you stop eating that?"

"Because you paid for this," katwiran nito. "This is our first date so I won't waste the food you bought even it doesn't really taste like wagyu."

"This is not a date," kontra niya. "We're just hanging out."

Ngumiti lang si Eun, saka ito nagpatuloy sa pagkain ng wagyu burger nito.

Nangalumbaba naman siya at tinitigan lang ito.

He seems to have calmed down now.

It was a relief.

Nang hilahin kasi niya ito kanina palabas ng hotel ay nanginginig pa rin ito sa takot. Alam niyang hindi ito makakapag-drive sa estado nito kaya nakiusap na lang siya kay Geeq na ihatid sila pauwi. Hindi kumontra si Eun dahil hindi naman ito nagsasalita.

Naisip niya na mas makakabuti sa lalaki kung uuwi na nga ito at magpapahinga na lang. Pero nang may nakita siyang fast food chain sa dinadaanan nila ay nagpahinto siya at inaya si Eun na mag-dinner. Hindi naman kasi sila nakakain sa gathering kanina.

Then, she thanked Geeq and asked him to go home.

Siyempre, kumontra ito. Pumayag lang ito na iwan siya nang sabihin niyang magpapasundo na lang siya kay Pia mamaya.

Bukas na lang ako mag-re-report kay Geeq.

She'd like to take care of Eun first.

"Rara, are you being nice to me because you pity me?" seryosong tanong ni Eun mayamaya. "Have you figured out why I was so lame earlier?"

"You weren't lame," kontra ni Rara sa sinabi nito. "You were afraid of Weston Rivera."

"Yeah, and that was lame."

"It wasn't," mariing giit niya. "Your douche of a brother physically hurts you, doesn't he? Siya rin ang reason kung bakit may bruises ka ngayon."

"It was my fault," pagtatanggol agad nito sa kuya nito. "Na-frustrate lang naman si Kuya no'ng nalaman niyang hindi ko nalabanan 'yong high school students na gumasgas sa kotse ko."

Bigla siyang napaderetso ng upo. Is he talking about Thunder and Stranger?

"He was just trying to teach me how to defend myself," pagpapatuloy pa ni Eun. "It was my fault that I failed to protect myself when he was teaching me how to fight back. Kaya hindi kasalanan ni Kuya kung nasaktan ako during our training."

Training? Yeah, right.

Hindi man siya human lie detector, nababasa naman niya ang facial expression ni Eun dahil masyado itong transparent.

Weston beat him up because of me.

Kung hindi siya gumawa ng drama noon para lang makalimutan ni Eun ang galit nito sa kanya, hindi sana ito mabubugbog ng kuya nito. Habang tumatagal, mas dumadami ang kasalanan niya rito pero patuloy pa rin siya sa paggamit sa lalaki.

"Did you really beg Weston to invite us to the House of Rivera?"

Nagliwanag ang mukha nito nang tumingin sa kanya. "Yeah. I'm good at begging people."

He's so simple-minded.

"You did it for me, didn't you?" sita niya rito. "You weren't interested in the House of Rivera but you still begged your brother for me."

"How arrogant," halatang playful lang na sabi ng lalaki. "But I didn't do it just for you, Rara. Curious din naman ako kung anong meron sa House of Rivera at kung bakit importante 'yon sa kuya ko."

"Eun, you're too nice."

"I'm not," natatawang tanggi naman nito. "I'm only nice to people I like."

"You shouldn't fall in love with me, Eun," banta niya rito. "It's okay if you like me but you can't be too serious."

"Why not?"

"Because you're too good for me," sagot niya. "I'm a horrible person."

"I'm not sure if I'm already in love with you but at this point, I really, really like you, Rara," nakangiting sabi ni Eun na namumula pa ang mga pisngi. "At wala akong planong i-suppress ang feelings ko dahil lang sa threat mo."

"You should listen to me, Eun," iiling-iling na sabi ni Rara. "Because at the end of all of this, you'll surely hate me."