Paris
"So? How is it?" I nervously asked before biting my lip. It's a weekend. Napag-usapan naming magsama-sama rito sa bahay dahil saktong hindi naman kami busy lahat. Nakaupo sila sa hapag habang ako naman ay nakatayo lang, hinihintay ang reaksyon nila sa niluto kong soufflé. Nakasuot pa ako ng apron.
Kuya Max was the first one to react. He even smashed his hand on the table in an exaggerated way. Pabiro siyang gulat na tumingin sa'kin.
"Sarap nito, Par! Pwede mo na 'to gamitin pang gayuma!"
"Oo nga! It's about time na rin, 'no! Ang tanda mo na, wala ka pa ring jowa!" dagdag naman ni Venny. I glared at her for that.
"Nahiya ako sa'yo, ah!" sabi ko dahil hello? Parehas lang naman kami. Wala rin siyang jowa dahil masyado raw siyang busy sa career niya kaya fling-fling lang daw muna.
I
Paris"Your client is Ezzio Martinez?"I asked Venny the moment her meeting with Ezzio ended. Itinukod ko pa ang dalawang kamay sa mesa habang nakatayo. Siya naman ay abala sa pagkulikot sa cellphone niya.I stood in front of her as her brows furrowed without even giving me a single glance."Uhm... yeah?"she said, as if it was no big deal. Napasinghap ako. I know I was only stating the obvious but hearing it from her seemed to have taken me by surprise, still."Bakit hindi mo man lang sinabi sa'kin?!"Hindi ko na mapigilang itaas ang boses. Kasi naman! Halos hindi ako nakagalaw nang makita ko si Ezzio kanina! Kung hindi pa ako tinapik ni Marky
ParisI took a deep breath as I stood in front of the tall building.This.This is the whole universe telling me that it's neverevertoo late to try.A small smile crept on my lips.OPLAN: LIGAWAN SI MARTINEZ, now in action!This time, napangiti na 'ko nang malapad. I looked at the business card again just to make sure.'Voyager Trading Company'.Ngayon ko lang nalaman ang pangalan ng kumpanya nina Ezzio. Back in college, I never really got to ask him about their business. I never asked him about what his dad does, how their company works. Trades consist a lot of trading styles so I wasn't sure. Pero mas mabuti nga 'yon nang may mapag-usapan kami ni Ezzio kung sakaling mapapayag ko siyang sumama sa akin para mananghalian. Yep. I went here to ask him out for lunch!Of course, he turned me down last night. Kagabi pa lang, humindi na siya sa sinabi ko. Lal
ParisI stopped asking Ezzio for lunch, eventually. Bukod sa napaka time-consuming ng paghihintay sa kanya, naisip ko rin na mukhang isang malaking abala lang 'yon. It's too much of a distraction. And it was somewhat annoying. Of course, I didn't want to be labelled as'the annoying courter'.Baka mas ma-bad shot lang ako kay Ezzio. Yeah. This was really happening. Talagang lubos ko nang sineseryoso ang panliligaw sa kanya. It sounded so unnatural and desperate, but at this point, I didn't care.Anyways, that was pretty much it. Tumigil ako sa pangungulit kay Ezzio roon sa labas ng opisina niya. Sa halip ay napagdesisyonan kong hatiran na lang siya ng pagkain dahil mas mainam 'yon. And so, whenever it was lunchtime, I went to their company just to drop off the food. Iniiwan ko lang kay Arianne ang pagkain, pagkatapos ay siya na ang bahalang nagbibigay sa boss niya. I'd been doing that for about a week now. Today was no diffe
ParisMay girlfriend si Ezzio.Girlfriend.I can't believe I was so all over him for over a week without having any clue that he's taken!Matapos niyang sabihin sa akin 'yon ay natahimik ako dahil sa gulat. I didn't know what to say or how to react. Masyado kasing biglaan ang pagkasabi niya no'n. Mabuti na lang at eksaktong dumating si Venny! Kung hindi ay baka nagmukha na akong tanga roon sa harap niya. I don't know. I would be lying if I say I didn't see it coming. Alam ko naman na sa simula pa na posible 'yon. Kaya lang, mas pinaniwala ko ang sarili ko na hindi. I thought after what I did to him years ago, he'd completely shut other women out and relationships won't ever be his thing. I guess I was wrong.Ang kapal ko rin talaga. Matapos nang nagawa ko, umasa pa rin akong may nararamdaman pa siya sa akin, kahit kaunti. I didn't think I was irreplaceable. I just... thought I had a slight chance of being with him.
Paris"May kailangan ka?"bungad ni Venny sa akin nang sagutin ang video call. Umirap ako at humagikhik naman siya."I need your help with something,"I simply replied. Narinig ko pa siyang dumaing ng kaunti, tila naiinis."Why the need for a video call?""Because..."I trailed off before shifting the camera to the two night-out outfits laid on my bed. One was a nude see-through top with a black bralette and a leather skirt. The other was a simple spaghetti strap dress. They both screamed different vibes. Kaya medyo lito ako kung alin sa dalawa ang susuotin."Oh,"I heard Venny say. Ilang segundo pa ang lumipas bago siya nagsalita."Go for the see-through."Tumango ako kahit 'di niya naman kita. Ibinalik ko sa front cam ang tawag at magpapaalam na sana ngu
Paris"I don't need your help,"sabi ko, inaalis ang pag alalay niya sa'kin nang makababa kami ng kotse.Matapos nang pagd-drama ko kanina ay napagtanto ko kung gaanong nakakahiya 'yon. And when he realized I couldn't tell him anything more, he finally decided to take me to... wherever. I had no idea. Heto kami ngayon at kararating lang sa kung saan. Surprisingly though, I seemed to not care at all.I winced and held my temple again as I felt my head pounding. All I wanted to do was to crash on a bed and go to sleep."Yes, youdo,"rinig kong sagot ni Ezzio. Hindi ko siya pinansin at nagpatuloy sa paglalakad nang pagewang-gewang.Where the heck are we?I figured we were on a parking lot, judging by the cars parked here. Pero ang tanong, saan ba kami patungo?"Shit!"sigaw ko nang matalisod sa pave
Paris "Anong kailangan mo?"tanong ko kay Venny matapos ko siyang pagbuksan ng pinto. Basta-basta na lang kasing pumunta rito. Hindi man lang nag text o ano. She didn't answer. She just barged in like she owned the place.Myplace. "Don't you remember?"giit niya nang makaupo sa couch. Ipinagkrus niya pa talaga ang magkabilang binti."Ibibigay mo sa'kin 'yung Chanel lippies, 'di ba?" Halos mapairap ako sa narinig. 'Yun lang pala! Hindi na lang ako umimik. Diretso akong nagtungo sa kwarto para kunin 'yung lipstick. Wala ako sa mood na magreklamo at sagutin pa si Venny! I was still too preoccupied about the... freaking... Agh! Naramdaman ko uli ang pag-init ng dalawang pisngi nang maisip ko nanaman ang nangyari sa condo ni Ezzio kahapon. Napapatulala na lang ako sa tuwing naiisip 'yon! Nakakainis!
Paris"Paris, thanks sa pagsama rito kay Pamu, ah?"Anda said, gently holding me by the arm."Hindi ko alam na ikaw na lang pala naiwan dito. Nakakahiya naman."Tumawa lang ako ng mahina."It's no problem, Anda. Don't mind it."Totoo naman kasi. It was no big deal for me. I considered Anda as a friend and her daughter was a nice girl, too. Hindi naman masakit sa ulo si Pamu."Gago talaga 'yung Z na 'yon. Hindi man lang ako tinext na aalis siya!"Napabuntong hininga ako nang marinig ang pangalan niya. What Anda said made me a little worried again. Ni hindi niya natext si Anda k