#MT16
When we reached the villa in Batangas, pictures of the twilight hours I shared with Horace for the first night suddenly flashed back. Maingay ang ilang kaibigan ni Horace na siyang bumubuo ng usapan, alas singko pa lamang noon kaya pagkadating ay agad nagtalunan sa swimming pool ang iba.
Horace let me sit on the couch near the poolside, nilapag niya ang duffel bag sa aking tabi at saka naghubad ng kanyang shirt. Sanay na ako sa katawan ni Horace na nakabalandra, madalas siyang topless lalo na pag sa library nila kami nagpapalipas ng oras. Mainitin kasi siya, hindi niya alam na mas lalo lang umiinit kapag naghuhubad niya.
"I'll just take a dip," he said.
"Hindi ba masama 'yan? I mean, you should at least rest for awhile."
"We're usually taking a shower after game, it's not bad." He shook his head. "Wanna swim?"
"Wala akong dalang pamalit," rason ko. Kahit naman may pamalit ay hindi ako magsuswimming, mahirap na at baka mapintasan pa ang katawan ko.
Sumulyap siya sa mga babae at tinanguan ako, nagpaalam ulit siya at nakisali sa pagtatampisaw ng mga kaibigan sa malawak na pool. I suddenly felt shy to see his disappointment, mukhang naisipan niya akong iharam ng damit sa mga babae pero dahil alam naman niyang hindi kasya sa akin ay hinayaan na lang ako.
"Hi!" bati sa akin ng isang babae, it was Hail's girl. "Twillain, right?"
I nodded and smiled.
"You rock that body so well! By the way, I'm Margot." Bumeso siya sa akin at naupo sa tabi ko. "How are you?"
Oh, didn't expect that I'm really rocking this body 'cause look at her! That's the body I've been dreaming to have!
"All good." I smiled. "You are Hail's, right?"
Winaksi niya ang kamay at natawa. "Oh, shut up! Hail's? That ass will marry someone else by the end of this year."
Huh, but I saw them kissing in the court earlier!
"He's just my ex boyfriend and I bet you're thinking about the kiss and sweetness between us, that's just a kiss. No big deal, men are men! And I'm never conservative." Halakhak niya sabay abot ng isang glass shot.
Tinanggap ko ang shot at nilagok iyon.
"Yeah right." I chuckled. "They aren't all trash but many of them are, they are simplifying kisses and sex now."
"True, though! I like you already!"
Natawa ako. I'm saying the fact I've been seeing, not to be liked. Men are really great at fooling girls now. Kung seryoso ka, talo ka.
"Started grilling Horace' hoe today, Margy?"
Nangunot ang noo ko sa salitang iyon kaya nilingon ko ang babaeng nagsalita sa kabilang sofa na nakatawa habang nakatingin sa amin.
"Excuse me?" I asked, hindi ko napigilan ang pagsinghap at iritasyon.
Hoe? Isn't that too harsh? Do I look like a hoe?
Nagtaas iyon ng kilay. "Or Horace is your hoe? Am I wrong?"
"Shut up, Alice!" tawa ni Margot.
Looks like their kind of talk is something I couldn't get to be comfortable with. Mukhang sanay na sila sa ganoong pag-uusap.
Margot squeezed my wrist gently when she noticed my awkwardness. "She's Alice, just a friend who got a sharp tongue. Sorry. Mukhang hindi ka sanay."
Ngumiti lang ako. Hindi lang ako sanay dahil hindi ko naman siya close para tawagin akong ganoon, I don't know if it's a joke or sarcasm.
When the boys were done with swimming, they all went back to our side and started the round shots. I was slowly getting the ambiance here while listening to them. Horace was laughing at the topic, nang dumating ang oras ng hapunan ay sinandukan niya ako ng pagkain.
