Roses for Aphrodite

03

The midnight breeze pierced my exposed skin as I darted my amber orbs on the starlit sky, giving it an empty glare. My butt was pressed on the hood of a matte black 2019 Ferrari GTC4Lusso, as I smoke on the parking area of Underworld.

My left arm crossed under my chest as my fingers played with the cigarette stick on my right hand. I'm tipsy but my mind is still straight. I was just trying to cool down and ease my boredom. Binulabog lang naman ako ni Ramona ng hating gabi para lang iwan mag-isa sa gitna ng kumpol ng tao sa Underworld. The whole place was rented for an after party, it happened that Ramona got an invitation and she needed a plus one.

Telsa was out of the country, Geneva is probably on her sugar daddy's place, while Ara's digits were unattended. I don't know who hosted the party but that's the least of my concerns. I came for free drinks and a wild night but I ended up dumping myself on the dark parking area, how cool is that?

I lowered my eyes on my feet, pressing my toe thumbs on one another. I'm wearing the same heels that I wore on Auntie Matilda's birthday days ago. I paired it with my peach floral oriana dress that's hugging my curvy figure and ended on my mid thighs. My bubble braided, thick black hair was resting on my left shoulder and some strands were cascading on both sides of my face

"Seems like fate is toying us real good, huh?"

Inangat ko ang tingin sa bagong dating. Libo-libong boltahe ang lumukob sa pagkatao ko nang magtama ang mga mata namin. That familiar warmth tingled my skin as my heartbeat raised tenfold.  Xadique gave me a wolfish smirk, tucking his hands on the pockets of his dark ripped jeans. He looks fresh on that plain white button-down polo with his raven locks tied in a low ponytail. Few strands are falling on the side of his face.

"We met again." I greeted him, matching his smirk, trying to hide the fluster and relief on my face.

"Yeah. It's been days. How are you, Isabelle?"

Mabilis kumunot ang noo ko. My eyes sharpened and I throw him a dagger look. That didn't sit well with my inner goddess. It boiled my blood.

"It's Isobella, dimwit." Singhal ko dito at saka ito inirapan.

He let out a throaty chuckled and took a few steps towards me. "My bad, it sounds like my ex-girlfriend's name."

Disappointment killed the growing butterflies inside me. I decided to just shrug it off and act unaffected by tapping my fingertips on the hood of the car after throwing the cigar on the ground and stepping on it.

"Is this yours?" I asked, referring to the car I'm sitting, and also changing the subject. Indstead of answering, he fished out a key fob from his pocket and pressed something on it, making the car roar to life with its headlights blink with white light.

"Very flashy," I commented and stand up straight. I walk around the car, checking it while Xadique's eyes tailed on to my every movement.

"I don't know you're invited here," aniya makaraan ang ilang sigundong katahimikan. I stopped right in front of him, swirling the falling hair strands with my right index finger.

"A friend brought me here. Congrats on your successful concert, by the way," I muttered, "I heard it somewhere." Mabilis kong agap nang mapansin ang pag-angat ng kilay nito.

He might think that I've been eyeing his whereabouts and activities since the night we parted ways. Mas lalong ayaw kong malaman niya na I saw the video where he kissed a fan on the lips while performing. Ugh. He clearly don't have any professionality in his chosen.. 'profession'.

So this after party is for their concert pala. I should've known the first time Ramona dragged me here. She's an avid fan of his band. I wonder how she would react if ever she'll know that her idol and I once shared a bottle of rum and a stick of cigarette. We even kissed! I mean... it was me who kissed him but still.