Never shall we sink, too.

IV

B E A

"There you go." I handed her our fifth beer and I closed the door behind me. We are here in my veranda.

"So, all this time, you still haven't talked to them?" She was referring to my friends back in the Philippines.

"Nope." With the popping letter P.

"And you miss them?"

"Urgh. Yes!"

"Ever thinking of going home?" She looked at the light of the cars passing by.

"Oh, a lot of times. Pero hindi eh, I want to start my life here. Kumbaga fresh, new start in life. And besides, who doesn't want a 6 digits a month salary?" I smiled at her.

"Oh yea!" We clinked our beers and drank to the bottom. I stood up to get another for us.

"Sorry, I know you mentioned a lot of your girls in the past but, did you mentioned a girlfriend? Like, official?" She asked me after a few minutes of silence. I smiled on the mouth of the bottle as I was expecting that this will be an obvious topic.

"Uh. One."

"The one that you..."

"No."

"Oh, who?" She now has the courage to ask. Thanks to you Heineken.

"She's uh, she from UP. You might know her, Pia. Gaiser. Pia Gaiser." She squinted trying to remember Pia's face. "Tsk. Their libero."

"Ah!! Oo. Naging kayo pala?"

"Low-key relationship. 4 years." She was smiling. "Uyyy may naalala!" She playfully tapped my shoulder. "HALALALALA. Kinikilig oh!"

"Hindi ah!" Still smile on her face.

"Osige sabihin mo yan sa ngiti mong hindi pa den nawawala. Sige na kwento mo na."

"Tapusin mo muna yung kwento mo, tapos ako."

"Anong ikukwento ko?" She shrugged while chugging her beer.  "Uh, nabunggo ko sya habang nag ja-jogging ako. Tapos nag lunch kami, tapos nagino..."

"Wait wait. WAIT!! Ano bang klaseng pag kwento yan?!"

"Huh?!"

"In details!"

"Wha..." She slapped my shoulder many times. "Okay okay!! Okay." I drank on my bottle before I start. "Once upon a time.."

"Yung maayos!"

I laughed, she's adorable. "O eto na. So it was days before try outs, I decided to jog. Kinda preparation na den. I don't remember kung anong nangyari pero my pacing became faster and faster. Then I reached this street na medyo blind spot yung pagliko. Ayun nakabunggo ko sya. Pero at that time, hindi ko nakuha yung name nya, or number nya. Hell, I didn't even know na volleyball player pala sya. So days have passed, try outs namin sa Ateneo Volleyball, nag jog ulit ako, became my daily routine. I saw her again, and to be honest hindi ko maalala yung name nya at that time. So ayun nag kita kami, exchange numbers. And nagkaayaan ng lunch. Tapos coincidentally, same kami ng pagkakainan na restaurant nung isa kong kasamang volleyball player."

I chugged my beer and continued. She was listening intently. "Sakto yung restaurant na yun may VIP bar sa likod. So we went there, kasi yung owner is kakilala ni Pia. We went there, things went south and I got these." I pointed at my brows.

She nodded. "What happened?"

"Uh. Paano ba? This is what they told me ha? Kasi hindi ko na din maalala yung nangyari that night. Merong babae sa dance floor na nag fli-flirt "daw" saakin, tapos yung boyfriend nun millionaire tapos natalo sa casino, as far as I remember half a million yung natalo. Nagpagbuntuan ng init ng ulo. Ayun sasapakin daw sana ako, but since I have a reflex of a volleyball player, I dodged it, but he still managed to got me. Then, ayun months after, I asked her and she said yes."