"Come on, engineer. Just one drink. Diba celebration to sa bagong bukas niyo na firm, right? So c'mon."
I smiled and drank the whole beer bottoms up. Narinig ko naman agad ang kantyawan ng mga kasama ko. Then i looked at the perfect reflection of my face.
I smiled and so did he. It gave me creeps.
"Stop staring at me you, idiot. Mukhang lasing kana." Sabay pa naming saad. I heard our friends laugh again.
Naiiling na umupo kami sa sofa. Caden and I really looked the same. Kaya malalapit lang na kaibigan namin ang nakakakilala sa amin. Mostly, family related friends.
We might look the same but we our fashion doesn't agree with it. I do prefer suits and leather and his more on turtle necks and coats.
Dati parehas kami ng kulay ng buhok and that made people more confused. That's why when we reached highschool ay nagpasya kaming pakulayan iyon. I colored mine with blonde and he colored his with brown. And our major differences was he's left handed while i am right handed. Yun ata ang naging basehan ng tao para makilala kami. Just like now, im holding the shot glass in my right while he's holding the bottle on his left.
"Sometimes i wonder, may parang psyche something ang mga kambal kasi they just stare at each other and then they'll know what the other wants to say, just like this. Look at this two." Turo naman sa amin ng kasama ko. Sabay kaming natawa ni caden.
"It's normal for us to be like this." Ani pa ng kakambal ko. I nodded to show thatr i too agree with what he said.
Napailing nalang ang mga kasama ko.
We spent the hour mostly drinking. Hanggang sa mapasyahan nilang bigyan ng konting wildness ang laro. They started body shots at halos matawa ko sa mga naantasan na gawin yun. You either do the body shots or you pay 50, 000 pesos cash. At wala naman silang dalang pera kasi credit card lang ang hawak nila.
Those wildness lasted for 5 or 6 hours maybe. Hanggang sa ako na ang kailangang gumawa nun. Caden was done with his. Isang random girl na nakatayo malapit sa stage ang ginawan niya ng body shot. Now it's my turn.
"So, eto yung dare. The first girl to step on that part of the bar." Turo niya sa counter kung saan naghahalo yung bartender ng drinks. " Will be your victim, okay?"
At dahil siguro sa kalasingan ko ay tumango ako. We waited kung kailan may darating.
At maya-maya ay meron na nga. The girl was wearing a red strap silk dress that fitted her body. Her long and wavy hair was tied in a high pony tail. Napalunok naman ako. She looks hot!
And the moment she faced our side ay halos matuyo yung lalamunan ko. I think i just saw a princess. Rinig ko ang malakas na hiyawan ng mga kasamahan ko.
"Woah! Ang daya naman ni Caleib! Diba si Adromeda yan? The famous architect? Ahh! Bakit? It's like luck is siding with him. Pre, palit nalang tayo." Binelatan ko naman ito.
I stood up and went to the counter. The more closer i get to her, the more rapid my heart started beating.
"Excuse me." Tawag ko sa pansin nito.
"Yes?" She looked at me with all smiles. Maya-maya ay paranf nabigla siya ng makilala ako.
"Oh! Engr. Estevan. Ano pong kailangan niyo?" I went near her kaya naman ay napaatras siya.
"I'm sorry if i need to do this but please, can you cooperate." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.
Kinuha ko yung asin sa gilid niya and i started putting some on her collar bone trailing it up to her shoulders then to her neck, cheeks and lastly to her lips. Binuhat ko siya at pinaupo sa counter, i heard cheers everywhere. Kinuha ko ang lemon saka pinakagat iyon sa kanya. I went in between her.
"Ready?" I saw her nod.
Kinuha ko yung bote saka inubos ang laman nito before i licked the salt in her collar bone and when i reached her lips mabilis kong kinagat yung lemon.
The juice from the lemon squirted and alam kong nabasa ang leeg niya doon. Napapikit pa siya dala sa asim na dala noon. I gave her a peck bago tanggalin ang lemon sa bibig niya. She looked at me dazed and so did i.
She smiled and that made me shock. But to my surprise, hinila niya ako and pressed her lips to mine. Earning a loud cheer from the crowd.
And to everybody's suprise, we looked like we were making out at the island counter and were gaining to many audience. Kaya naman ay hinila ko siya and we went to a more darker place.
The kissing went on and on until, we finally gave in. Me, her alone under the moonlight.
I WOKE UP gasping for air. Darkness covered everything kaya naman ay sinubukan kong hanapin ang switch ng ilaw and finally pushed it.
Nasa kabilang gilid siya ng kwarto, ng maalimpungatan siguro siya sa ilaw, he groaned and covered himself with his sheets again.
I turned on the night lamp and turned off the light. At our age we still share some things. Like our room, cars and etc.
Bumaba ako sa kama at dumeretso sa banyo. I looked at the mirror and i sighed when i saw my reflection. I was covered in sweat. Binuksan ko ang gripo ag naghilamos. I wiped my face with the towel nearby.
That moment became a dream to him. But later on it became a nightmare. A torturous nightmare. Every night he would wake up panting and sweating because of that dream.
Just because of that one night. That one night that changed everything.
Bumalik ako sa loob and i sat at the edge of the bed thinking, wether I'd sleep or just stay awake. Sinipat ko ang orasan and it still 1:00 am in the morning.
Kinuha ko ang tablet sa gilid at binuksan iyon. I dozed a while before i finally decided what to do.
I went to it's safari and search " Maxine Andromeda Del Rosario."
Saka naman lumabas ang mga article at litrato niya. This is what i always do when i think about her. Napangisi naman ako. Crazy me!
I clicked one of her photos. It was taken by some random reporters. Sobrang sikat na niya. She's an international architect now, a great one.
She looked more beautiful in her short hair. Her curls never left her hair and the way they teamed up with her short hair made my heart jump a thousand times. But she looked more beautiful before with long hair. Napailing nalang ako.
What am i even thinking?
Pinatay ko ang Ipad saka naman nilapag sa study table. Sumandala ko sa bedrest ng kama saka naman tumitig sa kisame.
How can i even approach her with what she said the day after.
Her words were still fresh from his mind.
"Engineer Estevan, Let's just forget what happened last night. And let's never see each other again. Let's pretend we don't inkw each other. And btw, i enjoyed it last night."
Napatawa nalang ako bago humiga muli at pinikit ang mga mata.
Itutulog ko nalang to.
