After The Fall GxG)

Chapter 13

"When will you stop smoking?"  She ask as she takes  the ciggy off my mouth and takes a drag.  Sinimangutan ko siya sa ginawa niya at inagaw muli ang stick. Nasa labas kani ngayon ng resto.

"Uhm...I'll quit when you quit."  I tell her with a smirk.  She always does this.  Hindi na Lang mang hingi.  Mas gusto niyang inaagaw sa kin ang yosi.

"FYI Del Gallego, I don't smoke as often as you do.  Excuse me!"  Sabay Irap pa at inagaw muli ang cigarette stick and takes another drag. 

"Alam mo Ikaw, why don't you just ask for one instead of always doing that?  Sa 'yo na iyan!"  Sita sa kanya sabay kuha ulit ng isa para sindihan. 

"And FYI too, I don't smoke as often as you think. Excuse me din!"

"Haay naku Favi!  Don't even think about lighting another one!  Let's just share this piece so we can go!"  Her tone is bordering on being upset and getting angry.  In short she's frustrated.  Kaya Wala ako nagawa, at pinag bigyan siya sa gusto niya.

"Haay naku ka rin Beauchard!  Next time wag kang maki share share sa kin if sasawayin mo Lang din ako.  Ano ka double standard?"  I take the ciggy from her after she takes another drag.  We're bickering now like two twelve year olds.  Natawa ako ng malakas sa thought na yon.

She looks at me as if I had gone insane because I'm laughing my head off. 

"What's so funny babe?  Care to share the laugh?"  She asks, her eyebrows furrowed, hands on her hips and her eyes burning aimed at me.  Pikon na naman po siya!

"Nothin'!  I was just thinking that we looked like two twelve year olds bickering.  That's all."  I say as I laugh harder this time.  Na imagine ko Kasi itsura namin when we were twelve. She stops what she was about to say and then her face brightens and then starts to laugh. 

"You're crazy, you know that?!  Naisip mo pa yon?  Imagine, dalawang dalagita nag sasagutan sa sidewalk dahil Lang sa cigarette?! That's insane babe! Sometimes, I wonder if you're certifiable.  Hmm...".  She looks at me as if she's assessing if indeed I am certifiable. 

"Hoy!  You're a surgeon not a psychiatrist.  Excuse me Lang no!  I'm not certifiable.  I'm just crazy beautiful!"  I tell her with matching flip ng hair. 

"Yeah, you are babe.  You are crazy...and beautiful."  she says but I didn't catch the last part because it was more like she said it to herself.  Like a whisper. 

"What was that Elle?"  I move closer to her and stuck my head in so I can hear her better when she repeats what she said.  Our faces are closer now.  We stare at each other for close to a second. 

Nagulat siya sa ginawa ko at ganon din ako.  She made iwas agad her face and steps back a little away from me.  Her cheeks are turning red.  I could feel my cheeks heating up too. 

"Are you blushing?"  We both asked at the same time.  She touches her cheeks at ganon din ang ginawa ko.  Natigilan kami pareho at nagka tinginan ulit. 

Bakit mas maganda ata siya ngayon?  Lalo na when she's blushing?  Natigilan naman ako sa naisip kong iyon. Ano ba? Damn it Faviola!  Don't start that shit!  Stop stirring the pot for goodness sake!  She's your best friend.  Best friend.  Yung girlfriend mo nag hihintay sa 'yo sa Manila. 

Nag hihintay?  Ni hindi nga ako ma tawagan kung hindi ko pa tawagan or itext, hindi ko maka kausap.  Kontra ng puso ko sa litanya ni brain. 

I look at her again at nag smile na Lang ako just to hide the confusion I'm feeling right now.
She grins at me too and niyaya na kong umalis.

"Mag taxi na tayo.  I don't want to take the subway in this heat." She says as she fixes her bag on her shoulder. 

"Wait Lang.  Which Laduree you want to go ba?  The one in SOHO or the one on the upper east side?"  I ask her.  Kasi naalala ko they have another branch in SoHo.  But knowing Elle, she'd still choose the one in 67th.  Nostalgic yun for her and it's near Central Park.

"Do you really need to ask?"  She said mockingly. 

"Well, I'm just making sure.  Ito naman."  I give her my lopsided grin.  And we start walking towards 10th Ave. 

"Ay!  Naka limutan ko!  Do you still want to go around here sa Chelsea area?"  She suddenly stops walking and looks at me.

"No na.  Some other time na Lang.  Alam ko naman na hot na hot ka na sa macarons mo."
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"Here I brought you a Cubano.  Elle made some breakfast."  I give the sandwich to Kai as I sit with her by the makeshift table at the site.

"Good morning!  Ang aga-aga ang seryoso ng mukha mo.  Che cosa?"  She asks then tries to open the foil.

"How do you find Elle lately?  Did you observe anything weird or strange about her?"  I watch her as she stops what she's doing.

"What do you mean?  What's going on?  Is she alright?"  Concerned etched on Kai's face.

I told her about the Aashnu incident yesterday while she starts eating.  She was a bit surprised.

"Ah so, makapal din pala talaga mukha nung Patel na yon ah!"  She says after wiping her mouth with a napkin.  She takes drink of  her coffee before she continues.

"Kinausap na yon ni Jo.  As in seryosohang usapan.  Pati nga superiors non sa hospital, kinausap din ni Jo.  Kasi nga kahit on duty, wherever she goes, nandon din that guy.  I even asked Jo if she wants me to talk to the guy.  Kasi gusto ko na kausapin namin si Sabine ng naka lawyer mode siya.  Para may impact."  She tells me and gets something from her satchel that's resting on a chair to her left.

"Here,". She hands me a manila folder.  I open it and a picture of Aashnu is the first one I see.  I peer into it and scan the documents. "The guys seems harmless.  Crush na crush Lang talaga siguro ating friend I guess."   She adds.

I continue to read the report. 

"Si Peter ang nag investigate sa kanya.  Kinausap ni Sabine yung isa sa mga PI ng firm nila and I paid him extra for taking the time to do that." 

"Well, this is good Bes!  Thanks for this.  Can I have this so I can give it to Andreas?  I'm going to talk to him ng lunch time at pina punta ko dito.  Baka he can dig something pa about that guy." I give back the file to her and told her na kukunin ko sa kanya later pág dumating na si Andreas.