te quiero (novel)

17 - The Nerve-wracking Encounter

When I heard the grumbling noise of his car, I ran over and climbed into the passenger's seat. Rhys looked half amused and half stupefied when he saw me. His mouth was hanging open, frozen in a silent half laugh.

"Hello there, Hello Kitty. Did you get lost from Sanrio or something? I think you're in the wrong world," he said with a hearty chuckle as he reached over and handed me the coffee he bought.

It was a cafe latte. Nice. Just the right way to start my day.

I grinned at his thoughtfulness and thanked him. Then I responded to his early remark, "Bagay ba?"

His eyes raked my hair up and down, a smile still in place, as he brought his gaze forward, steering the wheel expertly to pull the car out of the curb. "It's definitely different, I'll give you that. It's my first time to see an anime in person. You keep surprising me, huh?"

"Wala lang. I got bored of my hair lang."

"No shit." He was laughing. "Why are you so easily bored? It's like whenever I see you, you always have that bored, ready to move look on your face."

I sipped from my coffee and relaxed in the seat. "I'm the impatient type, I think."

"And broody," he said, then adding as an afterthought, "And moody."

My lips pulled into a frown. "Huh? I'm not broody and moody kaya."

"Talaga? Then why did you let hello kitty barf all over your hair?"

"Barf—what? Hey!" I absentmindedly ran my hand through my hair, my frown deepening. First, Noah told me a unicorn pissed on me. Now, a barf? What am I, a toilet at a bar?

He followed the movement of my hand with his gaze, still wearing that laughing look like he proved a point here.

"And you say you're not broody? Have you seen your frown? You lose your temper at the most random times. Sometimes you're one thing, sometimes you're another. Sometimes you're chill as fuck, and sometimes you're a simmering volcano, ready to go off. I try to guess your reaction to things everytime I see you but I always get it wrong. It's like watching the weather forecast."

"Stop psychoanalyzing me. I'm not moody. I'd like to call it being spontaneous."

A smirk. "Whatever you say, moody California."

"Ha ha, he thinks he's funny," I said, giving him a side eye. "Did you call me out today to annoy me?"

Rhys skirted a quick look at me. "It looks good, don't get me wrong. Not that you care about my opinion."

Now I felt smug and I tipped my chin up, pulling my lips into a proud smile. "I know it looks good. Nagulat nga rin ako."

"You mean to tell me you did it without knowing how it'll look? Wow." He clicked his tongue. "What a risk-taker."

Well, what do they say about that? You'll never get anywhere if you don't take the first step? Yeah. I abide by that.

"Haven't I told you? I'm facing all my fears this year. One by one anyway. I wanna step out of my comfort zone basta I stay true to who I am."

His eyes were on the road as we joined the Manila traffic. Without looking at me, he said, "You're way too cute, California."

My smile dropped instantly and I glared at him. "Tangina, Rhys. Stop calling me California. Isa na lang, I'll suckerpunch your eyes out."

Laughing again, he said, "Woman, don't be so violent. I love where my eyes are."

"Rhys . . ." I warned, almost growling. "Isa na lang talaga . . ."