te quiero (novel)

14 - The House Party

Okay. So the house party wasn't that bad. It was actually pretty fun, and being located in the heart of Makati, most of the people that came were also party goers that I'd come across from time to time before whenever there was a pub crawl or halloween parties in Poblacion.

Some of them were familiar faces. They were a pretty decent crowd, and Rhiannon Juarez, the celebrant, was a known beauty youtuber like Shane. When Noah introduced me earlier, Rhiannon mentioned she knew my best friend, having attended the same events before. I heard there was a collab between in the works pa nga. Which was nice since Rhiannon seemed like a decent woman.

It kinda fascinated me how small the world was for this people. The influencers. Mas lalo kong naiisip na 'di malayong kilala nga ni Rhys ang mga nandito.

Even Zylo. The idea was making me nervous na naman so I shrugged it away and instead focused on the party.

I'd been here for like an hour now. The whole house was almost jumping with the loud music and the dancing strobe lights. A waiter was moving around, handing shots of different variety to the guests. Kahit saan ka tumingin, there were bodies everywhere. Swaying, dancing, playing. There was movement everywhere. It really was wild and fun.

Normally, being a party animal myself, I'd be on my feet, dancing to the music in the middle of the crowd, but I wasn't quite in the mood tonight. Katulad nang sinabi ko kay Shane, my social battery was dangerously low, and I was on the brink of going full hermit mode after this week.

The paradox that was me was surprising Noah na nga because how could a party animal pass up a chance to, well, party?

Sniggering, I not-so-gently reminded him that my MBTI results said I was smacked in the middle of the extraversion and introversion spectrum. Meaning, I could go both ways.

Noah didn't understand what that meant and left me to go to where Rhiannon was. Nasa dining area na sila, naglalaro ng beer pong kanina pa. When Noah placed a kiss on her cheek, that was when I realized.

Ah, may something pala sila. Kaya pala grabe makahatak, 'di man lang mag-inform.

I smirked and filed that knowledge in my head for future blackmail purposes.

Sa kakaiwas ko sa mga nagsasayawan, I ended up wandering to the backyard where more gyrating bodies could be found. But here, that were sets of bean bags that were a safe distance away from the hyperactive chaos.

Dito ko hinintay si Joaquin, who excused himself earlier to go to the restroom.

When he returned, he sat on the bean bag beside me, already handing me a glass of Jack Daniels mixed with coke. His favorite.

"I saw Zylo here," Joaquin told me, lifting a brow as a tiny teasing curve appeared on his lips.

I grimaced, taking the glass and getting a quick sip. "Noah and his big mouth, huh?"

"Kanina niya lang sinabi. When he introduced us."

"Ah. Ayaw talaga papigil. I told him not to tell you."

Kanina, before I went out to the backyard, nagkita na kami ni Zylo. Kasama ko pa si Noah n'on. We greeted each other with the usual hi's and hello's, and a little bit of kamustahan. I could see Noah smirking beside us while it was happening but when Zylo left me to join his friends who were taking jell-o shots in the kitchen, that huge smirk on his face dropped like a ball.

I snickered at his disappointment, feeling like I just won a silent contest between us.

No doubt he already had an imagined scenario of how our second meeting would play out in his head. Ayaw pa kasing maniwala na 'di nga kami nag-uusap. Zylo barely even interacted with me the entire night. His attention was on his friends who were too busy recording the night.