A dumb suggestion from my friend says that there's a foolproof method to know whether you like someone romantically or not. It's simple. All you have to do is close your eyes, think of that person, and imagine kissing them. Kapag nandiri ka, e di hindi mo gusto. But if the opposite happened, e di, delikado ka na. I'm a hundred percent sure that I only see Chio Cervantes as a friend. I just got confused because he's suddenly everywhere right after my ex-boyfriend got into a relationship with a girl he told me not to worry about. Besides, hindi ko rin siya type. He's noisy. He's shameless. He procrastinates a lot. He likes wiping the sweat off his forehead and wipe it on my arm. He drives with both his hands which somehow doesn't look appealing . . . and for some reason he doesn't refuse picking me up even when it's late at night. He always brings an extra handkerchief because I keep on forgetting mine along with a shirt I can borrow in case I need to change. He brings me good food to take my mind off deadlines. He doesn't hesitate to communicate his feelings and I honestly envy him for that. And he makes me laugh. Whatever. But just to be sure, at dahil madali lang namang gawin 'yong method, I closed my eyes and imagined his lips against mine. I realized one thing after opening my eyes. I'm in deep trouble and there's no way of getting out. BETWEEN YOUR LIPS AND MINE Cervantes Series Second Generation #1 2022, ynativity

THE WATTY AWARDS 2021 WINNER: ROMANCE Due to an unexpected pregnancy, ex-lovers Ryo and Frankie are forced to live under the same roof. They can't stand each other but when the moments from their past are slowly catching up, their lingering feelings seem to be much stronger than they thought it would be. *** When Frankie Castañares broke up with Ryo Canencia, she is determined to move on and never meet him again. They are living well on their own with her working hard to be a magazine editor and him reaching his dream of becoming a professional basketball player. But with the news of Frankie being pregnant with Ryo's child, they've got no choice but to act civil and live under the same roof. They bicker over the simplest things and their situation couldn't get any easier than they ought to be. With them still hung up on their past, can they be brave enough to settle their differences and start all over again? Disclaimer: This story is written in Taglish. Cover Illustration by 17aila_

Karaminah Viel Trajano has always been told that she's... peculiar. She just doesn't like the things that girls her age are expected to like. But she loves writing... that's probably the only normal thing about her. Problem is, her parents do not support her 'career' of choice. For them, it's nothing more than a hobby. It's either she follows their steps and become a lawyer or become a lawyer. She chose neither. Now, she's forced to work to make a living. But she's not really made for work. Given the choice, she'd spend the day daydreaming about her scripts and characters. Fortunately, someone offered her a job... Madali lang naman daw ito. Magiging 'manager' daw siya ng basketball team. She agreed... After all, how hard could it be to manage a bunch of boys who spend their days running back and forth on a wooden ground... right?

Everybody knows that Billie has only ever liked Deion. She spends her four years in junior high school waiting for him to notice all her advances. The most she can get in return is a friendly glance. But when Deion finally paid her some attention, Billie starts to rethink if he is worthy of her efforts. Disclaimer: This is written in epistolary format. Lovestruck Series: HATEMATE Part One Cover illustration by charameldraws ynativity, 2021

After two years of not hearing anything from each other, Billie and Deion unexpectedly meet at a college orientation. Not ending up on good terms in high school, both of them knew that they are never going to be friends again-not when they could only talk in the form of arguing most of the time. Surely, they did not want to meddle with each other's lives again. The last time they did, they ended up breaking each other's young, hopeful hearts. But things take a different turn when Billie is in desperate need of a token boyfriend, and Deion is her only available option. Lovestruck Series: HATEMATE (Part Two) ynativity, 2021 Cover illustration by charameldraws

Tired of endlessly messaging his famous vlogger crush in hopes of getting noticed, Cholo Cervantes finally gives in and installs a dating app to find the right one for him. . .only to end up matching with the same woman he has a hopeless crush on, Sean Velasco. The Art of Kissing Back ynativity, 2020

Everyone expects Pria to marry one of her college best friends a few years after graduating. When she finds out about his plans of proposing a marriage, Pria--certain that she would say yes--informs everyone in advance. Little did she know that he would be proposing to someone else. All her family members and friends are anticipating her wedding before the year ends. Not wanting to disappoint and with her heart still in a state of devastation, Pria comes up with a solution-a proxy groom. And with her other best friend, Sylas, coming back to town for her supposed wedding, she might just be able to pull this stunt off. Hopefully. Cliche Series WEDDINGS FOR DUMMIES ynativity, 2022 Cover Art by Jiselle

(Game Series # 4) Charisse Faith Viste believes in working hard. She does not believe in luck, only hard work. Bata pa lang siya, nasanay na siya na pinaghihirapan lahat ng meron siya. Being the only girl in a family full of guys, nasanay na siya na kung gusto niyang makuha, kailangan niyang pagtrabahuhan. And because of this, she grew up tough. She already accepted the fact that guys are just too intimidated to even give her a second glance. She'll always be too smart, too confident, too much for everyone. One day, she had this overwhelming feeling of sadness. She looked around and saw that everyone around her has someone by their side... Everyone has someone to embrace... Siya? Libro lang ang kayakap. She used to be fine with the idea of being alone... alone, not lonely. But not anymore. She needed someone to stop her from feeling so lonely.

(Game Series # 6) Assia dela Serna's dream was to become a lawyer. Ever since she was little, she had dreamt of becoming one... But from a young age, she knew that her family wasn't financially capable of sending her to law school. Kaya naman bata pa lang siya, sinigurado niya na magiging maayos lahat ng grado niya. She made sure that everything in her transcript was perfect. She needed to get a full ride scholarship to the best law school in the country, St. Claire's Academy College of Law... But things do not always go according to plan. She didn't make it to SCA, but she made it to Brent. It wasn't the best school, but she met a lot of good people. She was happy. She felt like everything was going according to plan. She's gonna be a lawyer. She's gonna go home to her province and help the people in her town. Everything was great... until her last year in law school. That's when shit started to happen.

[Epistolary 𑁍 Hoops #1] Crush na crush ni Dein Yrreverre si UAAP basketball star at Blue Eagles captain Jess Vargas. Pumupunta siya sa bawat game niya at t-in-e-text ng good luck at congratulations messages--at okay lang sa kanya kahit left on read siya palagi. E biglang nag-reply si Jess. DISCLAIMER: This story is written in Taglish. THIS IS PART 1 OF 2.