Five Steps Ahead

IX.

Reither's brows creased, then slowly became eased. "Yeah, but we are not married. Sa totoo niyan, nagkakalabuan na nga kami, e."

"I see. Why?" I curiously questioned him.

"Nandito ka na, e."

Agad na napakunot ang aking mga kilay at napatingin sa kaniya na para bang hinuhusgahan ang buong pagkatao niya.

"Anong akala mo sa akin, damit na matagal na naitago kaya nang makita mo ulit, susuotin mo na lang basta-basta?" I rolled my eyes. "Hindi porke nagkagusto ako sa iyo noong bata pa ako, magkaka-"

"Ang daldal mo! Biro lang 'yon. Ikaw, masyado kang seryoso," pagputol niya sa mga pinagsasasabi ko.

Muntik na akong madulas nang bigla ko na lamang narinig ang ringtone ng aking cellphone. Sa wakas, tumunog ka rin(!)

"Hey, Tony! Wanna hang at the beach, today?" My lips formed an upside-down concave shape.

I agreed, and told him the location of the resort.

I snapped back to reality when this unfortunately, handsome guy tapped my head. I bursted, "What the hell?"

"Yup, but it's not what." Reither explained. So I raised a brow. "It is why and who. Why the hell are you smiling like an idiot? And who the hell was that?"

"Why do you care?" I increased my pace and walked towards my room, him still following me.

"Tony!" I heard from afar. Immediately, I turned my head to know who called me. The tall guy ran to me, passing Reither.

"Hi!" he greeted, giving me a tight, warm embrace-his muscles caging my petite body-shortly after he waved his hand. "I've missed you!"

"Really? Parang magkasama lang tayo noong isang araw." I chuckled.

"Eh kasi nam-"

Naputol ang sasabihin ng kasama ko, nang biglang umubo si Reither. Yung ubong nagpapapansin, pilit.

"Kasama mo?"

I nodded, "Unfortunately, yes. Ivan, this is Reither. Reither, this one's Ivan."

Ivan's eyes widened for no longer than two seconds, and gave me a siya-ba-yung-kinukwento-mo?-look. I nodded once more.
He kindly offered his hand for a shakehand, tinanggap naman ito ni Reither.

Nagmukha akong patatas sa gitna nilang dalawa. Reither's bulky body matches his height, few inches taller than Ivan. He's tanned and smells like coffee and almonds-sort of a typical grown-up man. In contrary to the older guy, Ivan is lean and he has this playboy vibe. Playful. Whiter than Reither, probably because he has a western blood in him.

I felt the tension building up, so I sighed dramatically. I then turned my gaze to Ivan as he spoke. "Uhm..." He grabbed something from his pocket and slipped a Puka Shell Bracelet on my wrist. "Bought it outside, near the resort. Thought you would like it." He scratched his chin.

"Awe, this is cute!" I exclaimed, adoring these tiny white shells encircling my wrist.

Nakalimutan ko na yata si Reither sa sandaling iyon kaya hindi ko narinig yung mga binubulong niya. He even rolled his eyes like a brat. So he's envy? A loud ting echoed inside my head and so I smirked.

Before Ivan could react, I swiftly caged his lean body. "Thank you, I appreciated it!" I squealed like an immature high schooler.

I looked up to see his reaction, and gosh, his face is as red as a cherry tomato. So I heard Reither said in an irritated tone. "Really? Stop, you both look stupid."

Pumagitna siya sa amin kaya napabitaw ako sa yakap niya, causing me to snap. "What's wrong with you?"

"Yeah, bro, what's wrong with you?" added Ivan.

I tilted my head and was left puzzled as he demanded, "Uhm... Tony, I need a hug too!"

The fuck is wrong with this man?