Be Mine

17

Carlos woke up from a good night's sleep. He can't believe that was Lianna's effect on him. He thought about what happened last night. After dropping her off at her place, he went home and didn't even care about the two-hour traffic that he had to endure just to get home. He put the groceries down, heated some left overs for dinner, took a shower and since he was also tired, he just left everything on the counter and thought of just organizing the groceries in the morning.

So there he is, fixing everything inside his pantry and shelves. He got another paper bag to open and realized that he didn't buy any of those items. He found toiletries and skin care products. "Kanino to?", he thought and realized that it might be someone else from the grocery. Then he remembered Lia. The thought of getting to see her again made his morning extra brighter.

Lia got up early because her friends are coming over to help Ella go over some wedding stuff. They wanted to hang out at her place, mainly because they want her to cook, which she doesn't mind. She was making french toast, while waiting for her coffee maker to finish brewing. She just finished plating the french toast and placed the bacon on the pan when she heard the doorbell. Thinking that it's her friends, she immediately went to open the door for them.

"Ang aga niyo -", she didn't finish her question when someone else was behind the door, "Caloy?", he calls him.

"Good morning, Lia.", he greeted her with a smile.

"Um.. Good morning.. Anong ginagawa mo dito?", she looked outside to check if he is with someone else.

"Sorry. Iiwan ko lang sana ito sa baba kaso pinaakyat na lang ako ng guard. Naalala ata niya na ako yung naghatid sa'yp kagabi.", he explains. Lia looked at the paper bag that he was holding.

"Mukhang naiwan pa itong items mosa kotse ko. Sorry hindi ko na double check.", he apologizes again.

"Oh my gosh.", realizing why he was there. "Sana hindi mo na lang dinaan. Nakakahiya. Pwede ko naman daanan na lang.", she says while feeling embarassed about it.

"Ayos lang. On the way naman.", he hands her the paper bag.

She took them and said, "Thank you ulit, Caloy. Sorry na rin."

He smiled at her, "No worries. Sige. Una na ako."

Carlos is just looking at her and thinking how someone like her can be that beautiful at this time of the day. Her simplicity just mesmerized him once again. He smiled at her again and walked his way towards the elevator, when he heard his name.

"Caloy!", he turned again to face Lia. With a smile on her face, she asked, "Gusto mo muna mag coffee?"

He checked his wrist watch for the time and saw that he has an hour to spare.

"Unless kailangan mo ng -"

"Sure. Coffee sounds great.", he didn't let her finish as he walked back to her unit.

She opened the door to let him in, "Tuloy ka.", and closed the door after him. He entered and immediately smelled the scent of bacon cooking and the freshly brewed coffee.

"Upo ka muna.", she said, leading him to the dining area. "Thank you.", was all he can say when he sat down.

"Sandali lang ha.", he saw how Lia worked her way around the kitchen looking like she got things covered.

"Kailangan mo ba ng tulong?, he offered as he doesn't want to be rude just waiting for her.

"I'm okay. Relax ka lang diyan."

He nodded and looked around her unit. It felt cozy and homey. He could feel that she is organized and likes things to be clean. Then he looked at her again. He smiled thinking that maybe he can have this view for the rest of his life. "Wag masyadong advance mag isip, Caloy!", his mind reminds him. "Ligawan mo muna." She walked towards the dining area and placed a cup of coffee and a plate of french toast with a side of bacon. Then he felt his stomach grumble because of hunger. He was actually planning to pass by a fastfood before going to the office but the universe gave him something better.