III. Popping Questions

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Gal

Staring at myself in the mirror, I take a deep breath.

Okay, Gal. Kaya mo 'to.

It's already 8am and I know any moment now, susunduin na ako ni Ike para sa date namin.

Shit. The mere thought of it sends shivers down my spine. It still sounds foreign to me.

"me" + "Ike" + "date" in one sentence? Brr.

When I read Ike's text yesterday, naramdaman ko talaga kung gaano siya kaseryoso sa sinabi niya. I tried to complain pero wala rin akong napala. Besides, he specifically said "no but's". Pero ang ipinagtataka ko lang, bakit biglang okay na lang sa kanya na gawin namin 'to? I mean, he sounds like he's about to kill me when he called me yesterday, right? Tapos ngayon...

I heard my phone beep. Agad kong kinuha 'yon just to see Ike's name on the screen.

> Im here outside

I sucked in my breath. Wow. This is really happening.

I looked at myself in the mirror once again. Sighing, I angled my head to the right as I took in my appearance.

 I'm actually just in my white and mustard yellow striped dress, paired with white shoes and a coffee brown sling bag. Yep. My usual gala outfit.

Ugh. I suck. This is my 'first ever date' with my 'first ever boyfriend' and I don't even know what proper clothes to wear.

Tsk. Wala naman kasi akong ideya sa mga bagay na 'to, e. I don't have a lot of dresses but I would have wore something... great. If only I didn't decide against it. Kasi naisip ko, "It's just Ike,". Nakasama ko na siya sa mga lakad before so this is nothing special. Hindi ko na kailangang mag-prepare ng husto... right?

My phone beeped once more. Another text.

> Gal im not rlly a very patient boyfriend kaya lumabas ka na

Typical bastard.

Umirap ako sa kawalan bago nagreply.

> Whatever. oo na lalabas na

At 'yon nga ang ginawa ko. Pagkalabas ko ng bahay nakita ko agad ang sasakyan ni Ike na naka-park sa harap. Hindi ko siya makita sa loob dahil tinted 'to. Ewan ko pero bigla akong kinabahan.

Una namin 'tong pagkikita after a few months. The last time we saw each other was on Tresh's birthday last February.

More and more, my heart pounded faster.

Gosh, Gal. Calm down. It's just Ike. It's just Ike.

Paulit-ulit ko 'yong sinabi sa isipan ko habang naglalakad palapit sa kotse niya. When I reached his white sedan, I immediately opened the door and hopped in. Oo. Ganoon talaga dahil hindi man lang nag-abala si Ike na lumabas para pagbuksan ako ng pinto. Tss.

Walang pag-aalinlangang humarap ako sa kanya gamit ang blankong ekspresyon. Napadaan ang tingin ko sa katawan niya saglit bago bumaling ulit sa kaniyang mukha.

Okay, honestly? He looks good today. Well, he looks good everyday naman talaga.

Today, he's wearing a white polo shirt that perfectly hugs his well-defined body. Naka-itim na maong shorts naman siya sa ibaba.

I noticed his chiseled chest under the shirt and some muscles on his biceps, too. Somehow, it kinda served like a sign that he goes to the gym every week.

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