CHAPTER 6

DIANTHA

"Mabuti naman at nagkaayos na kayo ni Icarus," biglang sabi ni Ana habang abala ako sa pagcheck ng mga bagong dating na mga bulaklak, while she is currently making a bouquet na order ng isa sa mga loyal customers namin.

I got nervous the moment he mentioned Icarus, ngunit hindi ko iyon pinakita sa kanya. Ang tanging palatandaan lamang na kinakabahan ako ay ang biglaang paglakas at pagtibok ng aking puso, which, thankfully, Ana cannot hear or feel.

As usual, I made my voice sound casual as I responded to Ana. "Yeah. It was just a simple misunderstanding anyway."

"But it did not look like it was just a simple misunderstanding. Seriously, the tension that surrounded you two that day was so heavy it was almost suffocating. Tapos ang tagal niyo pang lumabas ng opisina mo 'nun. Kinabahan nga ako. Akala ko nagkakapisikalan na kayo."

I bit my lower lip. Oh, we definitely got physical, but definitely not the kind of physical Ana is thinking, and thankfully, that's not what she is thinking, or else we're doomed.

"Come on. Did you really think Icarus would dare hurt me?" I asked with a fake laugh.

"I know it's wrong to judge someone based on their physical appearance, but Icarus is giving that vibe, you know? He's very different from Ashton; na mukha pa lang, masasabi mo ng hindi makabasag pinggan."

Somehow, hindi ko nagustuhan ang sinabing iyon ni Ana. I don't like how she is comparing the two brothers. But I kept that to myself, and instead, I told her, "Then my coming out of my office, unharmed, proves that you were wrong about him."

"Yeah," she answered while nodding. "And that made me feel bad. I felt guilty. Sa sobrang guilty ko nga, muntikan pa akong makapag-sorry sa kanya nung nagpaalam na siya sa akin na aalis na siya. Kung nagkataon, magtatanong pa siya sa akin kung bakit ako nagso-sorry, and since hindi ako magaling magsinungaling, paniguradong I'll end up telling him the truth, that I judged him, and that would be so embarrassing. Mabuti nalang talaga napigilan ko pa ang bibig ko bago ako nakapagsalita ng bagay na pagsisisihan ko sana ngayon."

"And that is why I don't judge people easily," I replied while shrugging.

Ana took a pause from making the bouquet. "Just say it straight to my face that I was a bitch for judging him based on the way he looks and the way he carries himself," she said while pouting.

I smiled a bit. "No, I won't. Because that's not what I mean by what I said."

Ana rolled her eyes at bumalik na sa pag-aayos sa bouquet. Nakanguso pa rin na sinabi niya, "Hmp! Halata naman na iyon talaga ang nais mong iparating sa'kin. And I agree with that din naman. I was really a bitch for judging him. Which is why I made a promise to be nicer to him, and I started it by," she's smiling this time and glanced at me, "inviting him to have lunch with us today."

"What?" And as if Ana's announcement was all he was waiting for, Icarus' car stopped at my flower shop's designated parking lot, na nasa tapat lang din ng flower shop namin.

Sinundan ni Ana ang aking tingin. "Speaking of the devil," nakangiting saad niya as she continued to stare at Icarus, who was already crossing the street and making his way towards our flower shop. And I was doing exactly the same as her—staring at Icarus, I mean. The only difference was Ana was staring at Icarus innocently, while I was staring at my future brother-in-law lustfully, and yes, I know I shouldn't be doing that. I swear I tried to look away from the man, who was the epitome of sin and disaster, but as always, my body betrayed me, and so did my fucking brain, which for some reason had started working like it used to when I was younger—and by that, I mean my brain is now thinking of debauched scenarios more often, and in all those debauched scenarios, Icarus was always present.

"You know what? Icarus actually looked cool."

That comment from Ana was what brought my attention back to her; and I was thankful for that because it made my brain stop thinking about impure thoughts.

I raised my brows. "And what made you change your perspective of him?"

"Look, I only said he's giving the vibe that gets physical when he's mad. Like, basagulero, you know? I never said he's not good-looking, or hot, or cool, because he definitely fits my definition of those three adjectives," Ana answered while still looking at Icarus. "I mean, look at him. If I were to be honest, his looks are actually my type; I am still a bit put-off with the vibes he is giving though."

Again, something inside me stirred up, not liking what Ana had just said, but I continued to play cool.

"You find his looks attractive and hot, but also finds his vibe off-putting?" I shook my head as I turned my attention back to the flowers again, using it as an excuse and a reason to not look at Icarus again. "Girl, you gotta make up your mind," I added, pero hindi ako sigurado kong para pa rin ba talaga kay Ana 'yun because I swear, that could also be applied to me.

It's like how my brain was telling me that I shouldn't be having such debauched feelings whenever Icarus is near me or touches me, that I shouldn't be having impure thoughts whenever he crosses my mind, or that I should always, like always, push him away and reject him whenever he tries to make a move on me, and yet my body was doing the complete freaking opposite of what my brain wants. And so, saying that to Ana makes me feel like--no, it really means I am a hypocrite.

"Hey, girls."

Although I was already expecting him, hindi ko pa rin naiwasan ang bahagyang pagkagulat when Icarus pushed the door open, invited himself in, and greeted me and Ana.

"Hey, Icarus." Kahit hindi ako nakatingin kay Ana, ay sigurado ako na may ngiti sa kanyang mga labi nang batiin niya pabalik si Icarus.

"Hi, Ana. Thank you for inviting me for lunch," Icarus responded, his voice still sounding sexy as hell.

"Wala 'yun," sagot naman ni Ana. "It's our pleasure to have you join us for lunch."

"Our pleasure?" Pag-ulit ni Icarus sa sinabi ni Ana. "Does that mean Diantha's okay with it?"

I should not be looking at him and should just continue to pretend that my attention was fully focused on the flowers, ngunit nang banggitin ni Icarus ang pangalan ko ay hindi ko na napigilan ang sarili ko na tumingin sa kanya as if it's some kind of a reflex. And the moment our eyes met, a playful smile appeared on his face, which I ridiculously found sexy, before saying, "I finally got your attention. I thought you were ignoring me and that you didn't want me around."

"Oh, no. That's not true at all," Ana interjected. "Diantha's very okay with you joining us for lunch. I mean, why wouldn't she be okay with having lunch with her brother-in-law, right, Diantha?"

'Oh, Ana. How could you be so naive and innocent?' Ang gusto ko sanang itanong pabalik kay Ana, but of course, that's something I should never ever do.

Kaya naman pilit ko na lamang na nginitian si Ana. "Yeah. You're right, Ana. Why would I not be okay with having lunch with my soon-to-be brother-in-law?" I then turned my attention to Icarus, still having the forced smile on my face. "I am happy to have you join us for lunch, Kuya."

Icarus smirked and stared at me with amusement. "Well, I am very happy too, my soon-to-be sister-in-law," he said, which caused my heart to beat wildly. Because Icarus' voice may sound like he was just being glad to hear what I said, but I know that there was more to that and that something was bound to happen between us two...again.