CHAPTER 5: THE EX-SUITOR I NEVER ANSWERED

STEPH P.O.V.

“Hello! Tita?!”

I called from outside Gino’s house.

“Hey, best friend! Are you there?!”

I shouted again, hoping someone would hear me.

I’ll admit it: I was angry with Gino for missing my graduation. But despite that, I still wanted to know why he hadn’t shown up. It was the first time he’d ever missed something that important to me. For better or worse, Gino had always been there for every major event in my life.

So why had this time been different?

A few moments later, Gino’s mother appeared. Tita Vicky immediately opened the gate and let me in.

“Steph, have you been waiting out here long?” she asked.

“Just a little while, Tita,” I answered.

I had always felt comfortable around Tita Vicky. In many ways, she was like a second mother to me.

“What brings you here?” she asked as we stepped inside.

“Ah, I just wanted to ask where Gino is. He hasn’t texted me since yesterday, and he didn’t even show up for my graduation.”

I answered while happily devouring the cookies she had prepared.

“What?! You graduated yesterday? Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve gone! I thought you weren’t graduating until next year.” She shook her head in disbelief before breaking into a smile. “Anyway, congratulations!”

She pulled me into a hug, which I gladly returned.

“Now, what am I supposed to do?” she continued. “I don’t even have a gift for you.”

She looked genuinely disappointed.

That was just how Tita Vicky was. She believed every occasion deserved a gift. Most of my belongings had come from her, especially my clothes. I’d always been too lazy to shop for things I considered unimportant, so she often took it upon herself to make sure I had what I needed.

“It’s okay, Tita. You can give me something next time—when you’ve bought it!”

I giggled.

She pinched my cheek and called me cute.

Well, I wouldn’t exactly call myself pretty, but Tita Vicky insisted I was cute. Besides, beauty came in different forms. Some people were beautiful, others had irresistible sex appeal, and some were simply cute.

And me?

I belonged to the cute category.

Hehehe!

“Oh, right, Tita!” I said, remembering why I had come in the first place. “Before I finish all your cookies, where’s Gino? Is he in his room? Can I go see him?”

I rattled off the questions one after another, but I couldn’t help noticing the puzzled look that crossed her face.

“Huh? Gino? He’s not here. Didn’t he tell you?”

Now it was my turn to frown.

“No, he didn’t. Where is he?”

Seriously?

My best friend was really changing. Not only was he going places without inviting me, but he wasn’t even bothering to tell me about them anymore.

I knew I could be a little too comfortable spending other people’s money, but still!

Ugh. So annoying.

“He’s in Siargao with Kath,” Tita Vicky explained. “They left yesterday morning, around seven, I think.”

“Oh…” I paused.

Then I forced a smile.

“R-right. Of course. I forgot.”

That was a lie.

Gino hadn’t told me anything about going to Siargao, much less that he’d be going with his girlfriend.

Seriously, Gino?

Since he wasn’t home and there was no point in staying, I said goodbye to Tita Vicky and headed straight to the mall.

I wasn’t going to make a scene. I wasn’t going to cry over him, either.

Instead, I was going to the book sale.

I was going to spend money.

Lots of it.

Once upon a time, I believed that best friends were everything. But apparently, my priorities had changed.

Books were life.

Books wouldn’t leave me for someone else. They wouldn’t forget my graduation or disappear without a word. For better or worse, until death did us part, my books would always be mine.

Unlike a certain best friend.

---

“Of all the people he could choose, he had to choose his girlfriend over me?!”

I muttered angrily from the corner of the book sale.

“Damn it! It was my graduation! He didn’t even show up! Not even a single text. Not even a period! What the hell?!”

I’d been browsing novels for almost two hours. I’d already piled up quite a collection, but I still hadn’t gone to the counter to pay.

Why?

Because I wanted to stay there a little longer.

Once I paid, I’d have to leave. And right now, wandering between shelves of books was much better than going home and thinking about Gino.

“Someone’s really angry, huh?”

A voice came from behind me.

I immediately turned around.

“Hi, Steph. Long time no see.”

The guy standing behind me flashed a wide grin.

“Hey, Mike! How have you been?”

I greeted him cheerfully.

“Pretty good. How about you?”

Mike Echaves.

He was my high school classmate—and, once upon a time, my suitor.

Yes, a former suitor.

And no, I never gave him an answer.

If you’re wondering why, feel free to ask the idiot named Gino Reyes. Mike practically disappeared into thin air after I told Gino that someone was courting me.

I never did figure out what had happened between them.

But knowing Gino, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d scared Mike off somehow.

“I-I’m good, too,” I replied. “What are you doing here?”

I knew Mike wasn’t much of a book lover, so seeing him in a place full of novels and people who treated books like treasure was a little strange.

“Oh, I saw you,” he said. “I was actually going to look at some clothes in the store next door, but then I spotted someone more interesting.”

“Ah. I see.”

That was all I said.

“Anyway,” he continued, glancing at the books in my arms, “whoever you’re mad at must have done something pretty terrible. You’re still thinking about them even here, in the middle of a book sale. What did they do to you?”

“Ah, that?” I said, quickly avoiding his eyes. “It’s nothing.”

“Okay, if you say so.”

He paused before asking another question.

“By the way, where’s your best friend? What’s his name again? Gi-Gino?”

And just like that, the devil inside my head exploded.

“Don’t you dare ask me about that demon!” I snapped. “I’m sick of hearing his name. If I lose my patience, I might have Barbara put a curse on him!”

Mike stared at me.

I stared back.

Then it finally dawned on me that perhaps I’d been a little too enthusiastic with my answer.

Wonderful, Steph. Absolutely wonderful.

I should’ve kept my mouth shut. It wasn’t as if Mike could offer any advice that would contribute anything meaningful to the national economy.

“Ah… Are you two having problems?” he asked awkwardly.

“Mm-hmm. We are.” I shrugged. “But… never mind. Just a little fight between best friends.”

With that, I stood up and headed toward the counter to pay for my novels.

“Let me help you,” Mike offered when he saw how many books I was carrying.

I thanked him, thinking that would be the end of it. But apparently, Mike hadn’t changed much. He picked up my shopping bags and carried them for me without complaining.

Well, look at that.

At least one man in my life still knew how to be helpful.

“I’m hungry,” I announced when my stomach began making noises.

“Then let’s eat,” Mike said. “It’s lunchtime anyway. Don’t worry. My treat.”

He immediately headed toward Jollibee.

“Okay! You said it, not me!” I called after him. “No complaints if the bill turns out to be huge!”

I laughed to myself as I followed.

And just as I’d warned him, our bill eventually reached the thousands.

What did I order?

A mountain of fried chicken and Royal.

That was it.

Well, technically, it was part of my nonsense. But at least I wasn’t leading him on.

Wait.

What did that have to do with anything?

Never mind.

After lunch, Mike asked for my number. He even offered to take me home, but I declined. I preferred keeping my address private. Aside from Gino and his mother, I didn’t want anyone I knew to know where I lived.

Still, I knew how to show gratitude when someone treated me to lunch and helped carry my shopping bags.

So, being the considerate person that I was, I gave him my number.

The number attached to a SIM card that no longer worked.

Hehehehehe!