Diary of an Introvert

22.5

*** Boys I loved before ***

After few minutes, Calvin returned to our table with our lunch.

"Dahil libre mo ang lunch, let me pay for the coffee later, okay?" Sabi ko habang naghahanda ng kumain.

"Okay." He paused. "Let's pray first?"

I smiled at him. We prayed the prayer before meals then ate our foods.

"Anong favorite mong ulam?" Tanong niya sakin.

"Hmm. Pork sinigang, nilaga...hmm...ano pa ba? Kahit ano siguro. Minsan kasi depende sa mood at sa gusto kong kainin."

"Hm..kaya naman pala tumataba ka eh."

"Ha?!" I checked my cheeks with my hands. "Talaga?"

He laughed and pinched my cheeks. "Niloloko lang kita. Ang payat mo kaya."

"Hay, ewan. Ang hilig mong mang-inis noh?"

"Pagdating sayo hindi ako magsasawa." He smiled then shot me a glare. "Going back, who was that guy? What's his name and how are you related? How did you meet?"

"Seryoso ka diyan?" Do we really need to talk about that?

"Yes. Now you know how I felt back when you interrogated me about my exes. Now it's your turn." This time, he's really serious.

"I understand. Okay, his name is Paul. Nagkakilala kami dahil sa isang kaibigan. Nandoon siya sa mga oras na medyo complicated ang family namin. He was there when I needed someone to depend. He made me feel that I'm loved."

"Hm?" He drank his water. "When was that?"

I stared at him before answering. Why do I feel happy seeing him getting jealous? "That was...5 years ago?"

"So, did you really fell in love with him? Nanligaw ba siya? Sinagot mo?"

"Oh? Ba't ang dami mo yatang tanong?" I laughed a little with the fact that he's really jealous.

He was smiling but I can still see the seriousness in his eyes. "Gusto ko lang malaman at makilala ang mga dating lalaki sa buhay mo, Cee. I bet they're not yet married like my exes so I need to be careful." He saw me staring at him, really clueless of what he meant. "Hay. Sagutin mo na nga lang ang mga tanong ko."

"Okay. Yes, nanligaw siya at muntikan ko ng sinagot." I paused when he suddenly cleared his throat. "Well, he was a good guy, kind of like you in some ways. I thought I was in love pero hindi pala. I was feeling guilty pero sa likod ko pala niloloko rin ako. He admitted na pinagtitripan niya lang ako. He was the worst guy I'd ever met pero at the same time, he was like a blessing in disguise. During those times, may mga family crisis kami. Hindi nag-uusap ang parents ko at hindi rin ako close sa kanila. That day when I knew the truth, it was exam day, I cried at nakita ako ni mama. After that event, I felt closer to my family and eventually we became okay. Paul asked to be just friends but I chose to erase his existence in my life."