Akin Ka Na Lang, Please? (boyxboy)

Chapter Ten: Unnecessarily Scared

Toby's Point of View

I woke up wondering where am I. The sun is overhead but the thick curtains got the best of it and overthrew the bright light with shade. Kevin is asleep, ever so softly snoring. I bit his left ear to wake him up only to be rewarded by a big slap right on my left cheek.

"Gago! Malakas ang kiliti ko sa tenga!" He growled. "Sorry, there are some things that I do not know about you so why not go on a real date to get to know each other better?" I bargained.

"Kanina ka pa ba gising? Why am I naked?" He put his hands under the covers. "Wow Kevin I know you are really sexy and all that but please, don't accuse me of stripping you down. It was your idea. Look, I'm clothed." I protested.

"Mag-tagalog ka nga Tobes. Take a shower tapos kain na tayo, saan ba tayo pupunta?" He sat down. "That, Mr. Kevin, will be negotiated over breakfast. See you later!" I snuck a kiss on his mouth and ran for my life outside his room.

I know what kind of trouble I'm getting myself into. I know that to win his heart is a difficult but worthwhile challenge. There's no assurance. There's no guarantee that he will fall for me and that he will choose me over his undying feelings for my stupid brother. How could Lester be such a fool? Letting go of something so beautiful is like throwing up after a buffet meal.

I went down to the dining room, feeling a little bit on the 'down' side. Kevin's back is turned against me so I snuck my arms around his hips and hugged him from behind.

"Gusto mo iluto kita?" he asked and then smiled. "Is that a threat?" I asked, while carrying the pancakes he cooked. "It's a promise!" He laughed and I joined his fits of laughter.

While munching on his own serving, he looked at me intently. "So, saan nga tayo pupunta? I could bring a camera and you could model for me." I grimaced. "Kevs, why not bring a tripod and your camera's remote so we could take actual photos with both of us in the frame?"

"I don't see why we should not consider that. It's brilliant!" He grinned.

"About the locations, we could definitely head over to Greenbelt for lunch and Montalban to see the zoo and for dinner, we could watch a movie at SM North while eating to-go pizza and drinking smoothie!" Once again, I bargained. "It looks like a good offer Toby, I have one little request." He wiped his mouth to clean food debris. "What is it?" I asked.

"MAG-TAGALOG KA SABI KO EH!" He shouted.

"Opo Sir." He laughed.

***

Mahirap mag-tagalog for me because I grew up speaking English. But my exposure to my mother's frequent conversations in Tagalog with her friends in our neighborhood in Kansas was enough para mahasa siguro yung listening skills ko but my tongue is baluktot. Haha. Anyway we ate Spaghetti Bolognese somewhere in Greenbelt 5 and we promised each other not to eat so much so that there'd still be space for possible food-trips that might occur in the Zoo's food court. And yep, I cannot believe how enthusiastic Kevin is with food. I don't even know what went down to my intestines in the last 4 hours (except of course for the Bolognese.)

"Selfie na uy." He called for my attention. I hugged him from behind again and put my face next to his by putting my chin over his shoulder and no matter how awkward we looked in the eyes of our other tourists, we savored the moment. To my utter surprise, Kevs never showed any sign of resistance. If I am not mistaken, he's enjoying it.

"Kevin thank you so much for going out with me, for smiling all the time even if it's all forced." I held his hand with my other hand, stealing a glance from the windshield to his somber face. Then out of the blue he laughed once more. "I am not faking it Toby, I am just shocked. The upsurge of feelings is certainly scaring me but it feels so good. I never actually had a boyfriend back then so it all came as a surprise to me." He smiled again and with a soft pat on the top of his hand, I returned mine to the steering wheel.

It's all new to me too—having a man as a love interest. The touch is nothing less than electrifying. I stole one last glance at him and caught him staring at me intently. We went out of the car and headed to our final destination.

I went inside Pizza Hut and he went to Cobb's for smoothie. The queue is surprisingly short, and within minutes I was on my way to meet him at the ticket booth.

"Bumili na ako ng tickets. Ang tagal mo eh." He strode towards Cinema 7. Cinema 7's poster indicated that we are going to watch Annabelle. "Why are we watching this movie, Kevin?" I asked. He just shrugged and smiled sinisterly.

To save all the unnecessary screams, uncontrolled jerks of my body and accidental grabs of Kevin's hand, the movie is great. Lacks a good storyline but is worth seeing. Kevin is still laughing at my silliness for throwing the slice of pizza 4 feet away from my seat and the mess on my shirt that made him buy a substitute.

When we arrived home, he kissed me on the cheek and thanked me for the "best day ever" and ran so fast inside the house. "Goodnight!" I shouted.

I stripped down to my underwear and lazily dragged myself to my bed. The pagod is real.

"Usog." A deep voice bellowed straight on my ear. All the hair in my body wanted to detach themselves. "Kevin is that necessary?" I asked. "No, but this one is." He kissed my mouth with all his might.