"Aray!" sabay hawak ni Tony sa dibdib nya. "I missed you too, Kisses!" At ngumiti nanaman sya ng nakakaloko habang nakahawak pa rin sa dibdib nya.
I rolled my eyes on him. "Ano? After grad, naging multo ka na din? Wala man lang paramdam?" I hissed.
"I'm sorry! I just got too busy with my paper works for our migration pero...bakit naging multo na DIN? Sino ba nang ghosting sayo" Umiwas ako ng tingin at nagkunwaring hindi ko narinig iyon. Hinila nya ako papalapit sakanya at niyakap ako. "But it's true, I really missed you."
Hindi natuloy si Tony sa pagsusundalo nya dahil biglang naapprove yung visa nila papunta dito sa US. I'm happy for him. Kumpleto na sila ulit ng pamilya nya.
"I missed you too" kumalas ako sa pagkakayakap at ngumiti sakanya.
We spent the rest of the afternoon catching up. Wala din naman daw syang gagawin. Dinala nya rin ako sa ibang shops na malapit dito.
I was about to go when he asked me to wait for a while. Iniwan nya ako sa isang bench dito. Nagtetext na din si Hannah na malapit na silang umuwi para sunduin ako.
"Tara" Tony grabbed my hand and told me that he'll drop me off sa apartment na pinagtutuluyan ko. Wala na akong nagawa dahil bigla nya na lang ako hinila after nya akong iwan doon sa bench.
Nakita kong naghihintay na sa labas sila Hannah and Donny ng apartment kaya lumabas ako agad ng sasakyan.
"I'm so sorry. I'm late" I told Hannah and Donny.
"Kiss!" Lahat kami napalingon kay Tony. Oo nga pala, nakalimutan kong sya pala kasama ko. Tumakbo sya papalapit sakin.
"You forgot this" Inabot nya sakin ang isang paper bag. Tiningnan ko ang laman neto at "CHOCOLATES?" para akong bata nang makita ko yung laman. It was a paperbag full of different chocolates. "Yup! Just like the old times" Tony patted my head.
Napalingon si Tony kila Hannah at Donny. "Donny pare!!!" Nanlaki mga mata nya at niyakap nya si Donny. Halatang nagulat si Donny sa ginawa nya.
"Wait. You know me?" tanong ni Donny sa pagkakalas ng yakap ni Tony. Tumingin sakin si Tony na may pagtataka. Si Hannah din mukhang kinabahan. Nakita kong humawak si Donny sa sentido ng ulo nya.
"Ahhh ehh" medyo natataranta ako sa tanong ni Donny. Napatingin ako kay Tony na pabalik balik yung tingin saming tatlo. "Cause...I told him earlier na...I'm having a dinner with you and Hannah. Sorry feeling close lang talaga tong kaibigan ko. Si Tony nga pala." Tinapik ko yung likod ni Tony at pinanlakihan ko sya ng mata. Mukhang nagets nya naman ang gusto kong iparating.
"Ah yes. Nice meeting you Donny and Hannah." Nakipagkamay sya kila Hannah. Bumalik din agad ang tingin niya kay Donny. Tony awkwardly smiled to Donny.
Nagpaalam na din sya after non and he mouthed "text me" before he kissed my forehead. I just nodded. Lahat kami sinundan sya ng tingin hanggang sa makaalis sya.
"So...tara na?" Hannah excitingly asked. I just smiled at her.
We're here in a fancy restaurant Donny booked for us. We're having steak for dinner. Katabi ko si Hannah at kaharap naman nya si Donny.
"How was your day Kiss?" Hannah asked.
"It was okay. I just strolled around then unexpectedly met Tony while I was in a cafe" I said while slicing my steak.
"So he's just your friend?" Nagulat kami ni Hannah sa nagtanong. Kanina pa kasi sya nananahimik even when he was driving on our way here.
"Yup. He's been my friend since grade school. Nagmove lang siya dito after highschool grad" I said. He just nodded then continued eating. Medyo nagiging awkward ang aura dito. Napansin siguro yun ni Hannah dahil tiningnan nya ako at kaya nagbukas naman sya ng ibang topic.
"So kuys...when are we going to Lake Tahoe?" Nagulat ako sa tanong ni Hannah. Lake tahoe? Really? Pupunta sila don? Omg...I heard it's one of the most romantic places. I'd like to go there someday.
"Tomorrow" sagot ni Donny habang nakayuko, still slicing his steak. Walang expression ang mukha nya.
"So Kiss get ready na by 8 am ha" napatingin ako kay Hannah. "Ka-kasama ako?" Naramdaman kong tumingala si Donny. "Of course, you need come with us" sabi nya, wala pa ding expression sa mukha nya.
After dinner, umuwi na din kami agad dahil nga maaga pa kami bukas. I was packing up things when Hannah approached me and hugged me.
"Kisses, thank you for today. I didn't know I needed that time with Kuya" she hugged me even tighter and started to sob. Pati ako naiiyak na nanaman.
"No problem at all. I told you. You needed that" I said. Kumalas sya sa pagkakayakap at tumango tango habang pinupunasan mga luha nya. Halata sa mukha nya ang halong pagkalungkot at saya.
"We really bonded and he really wanted to make it up to me kahit na ako dapat gumawa nun dahil iniwan ko sya." Ipinatanong ni Hannah ang ulo nya sakin at patuloy na nagsalita "And I found out things that I didn't really want to find out" Yung expression nyang lungkot at saya napalitan ng galit.
"Did you tell him about us?" Biglang lumabas sa bibig ko.
"No" humarap sya sakin "I tried not to tell him too many times kanina cause I think it's better na sayo manggagaling." Hinawakan nya mga kamay ko. "Go tell him Kiss. I had my time with kuya. Go have yours too. Tomorrow night is your perfect chance" she smiled weakly.
"I'm scared" Napayuko ako. I'm really scared. What if hindi nya kayanin? What if hindi nya matanggap.
"Don't be. I'd rather see you cry because of fighting for your love than see you cry because of regret and burden of having too many questions in your mind" iniangat nya ang ulo ko. "I'm here for you"
Medyo gumaan ang loob ko sa sinabi ni Hannah. Tama sya. Mas ok na yung uuwi akong luhaan dahil pinaglaban ko pa rin kesa yung uuwi akong luhaan dahil wala man lang akong ginawa para ipaglaban.
We hugged each other.
I'm so lucky to have Hannah by my side.
