Unti-unti akong napapahakbang pa atras at hng na ngumiti. What they said was congested in my mind.
"m mo na kung gaano ka kaswerte, Celestia? Lahat ng babae ay pinapangarap na makapalit ng pwesto mo! Ano ba ang sekreto mo sa buhay?"
"Uhh... mali kayo ng iniisip, okay? I''m... actually renting in his house for quite awhile since I just moved here in Punto Sierra." I exined but it looks like they are not buying it. May mga panunudyo sa tingin n.
"Promise! There''s nothing going on between us." Sabay sng napatango-tangong tatlo pero hindi pa rin makaka ang mga panunudyong tingin sa kan.
"Sige... naniniw kami ah. Puntahan mo na ang jo- este si Mr. Patterson at baka nababagot na yun kakahintay. Regards mo nng kami sa kanya ah..." napangiwi ako sa kakaibang tingin n. Mukhang hindi tga ako titign kakatudyo ng mga ''to kapag hindi ako aalis.
I bid my farewell before running towards the parking area. Pero hindi png ako nakakapunta sa parking area ay nadatnan ko si Wayde ng hakbang kang m sa bakery na naghihintay habang ang dwang kamay ay nakgay sa magkabng bulsa ng pantalon nito.
When his eyes met mine, bakas sa mukha nito ang pagka-inip.
Oh, napahintay ko ata siya ng matagal.
Marami ''ring mga vendors ang nagliligpit roon at nagdad ng mga mking gamit para iligpit. It was a busy area indeed
"Sorry for keeping you wait." Paghingi ko ng tawad sa kanya. We walked together-heading to the parking area.
"You shouldn''t leave your belongings like that, Celestia. If I haven''t seen your bag at the s, then I wouldn''t knew that you don''t have something with you." Is this the reason why his in a bad mood earlier?
Well, he got a point tho. I''ve been so recklesstely that I didn''t notice that it affected my shift for the day.
"I''m sorry, muntik na kasi akong mte kanina kaya ganun."
He bobbed his head and looked faraway.
"Always keep your things with you. That little boy will not always be with you to save you." Wayde bitterly said.
My forehead creased due to curiosity. Si yton ba ang tinutukoy niya?
"You mean, yton? I didn''t expect him to see there early in the morning. It was also a blessing of disguise since I''m alsote for work." I smiled. yton was just in time to save me from being tardy. "Good for you, then." He replied, pero t ba may iba pang tono ang pagkakasabi niya yun.
I raised my hand and showed him the paper bags. Napakunot ang noo niya at napatingin sa hawak ko
"What''s that?"
"I made some cookies! I told you, don''t challenge me or you might embarrass yourself. Have some!" mki ang ngiti kong sabi sa kanya.Content is property of N?velDrama.Org.
Bubuksan ko na sana ang paperbag nang hinapit niya ako sa bewang at napasubsob ako sa dibdib niya. My breathing hitched when he pulled me closer to him. I could even smell his scent because of our closeness. "What..." Hindi ko na natuloy pa ang sasabihin ko nang bumulong siya sa''kin. His lips brushed slightly in my ear that made me stunned
"Careful," he whispered before pulling away. Kaagad nanindig ang bhibo ko sa ginawa niya. There''s... something in his act that made me confusedtely. And it always corrtes with the beating of my heart. I don''t know what it is, but one thing for sure is that Wayde really has an effect on me.
It''s just then I found out na may nakasunod p sa amin. The guy is holding a sharp object and barely notices that I almost got hit by it.
"Pasensya na po ate. Hindi ko po sinasadya." I smiled and nodded not to bother the person.
When the person left, kaagad kaming nagpatuloy sa palakad.
"T-Thank you," I said without even taking a nce at him. In my peripheral vision, I just saw him nodding.
Bago kami makarating sa parkingte ay nakarinig kami ng busina ng sasakyan. No, a van rather. It''s not just one but two. Pinagtitinginan na rin ito ng mga taong naroroon. Nang lumingon ako roon ay isa-isang nalabasan ang mgalakihan.
My mood shifted when I saw the logo imprinted in the van.
Vircarcel''s Empire.
T namig ang buong katawan ko at napako iyon sa mga nagsbasang mga kkihan roon. There were my dad''s men.
What are they doing here?
May npitan ang mga itong vendor at mukhang nagtatanong. When one of them looked at our direksyon, kaagad akong nag-iwas ng tingin.
"W-Wayde..." He looked at me and saw the panicked in my eyes. T nakuha niya ang ibig sabihin ko at tumango.
He wrapped his arms on me. Tinago ko ang mukha ko sa leather jacket niya at kaagad naman niya akong niyakap.
"Please, don''t let them see me." I tried my best to remained myposure but the plea in my voice is still visible.
"Trust me..." he whispered. At sa pagkakataong iyon, I nodded. The way he said it gives me assurance that he wouldn''t do something bad. I can feel his hand brushing my hair lightly. "Just believe with what I say." Kaagad akong tumango sa sinabi niya.
"Sir, excuse me po." Humigpit ang pagkakahawak ko sa kanya at maslo pang nagsusumiksik sa kanya. W akong pakim kung magmukha akong tanga sa paningin ng iba. "What is it?" His voice is stern and distant.
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Kagayang-kagaya nung una png naming pagkikita
"Kla niyo po ba ang taong ''to?" My heart is beating so fast that I could even hear its own beating from the outside. Kagat angbi kong lihim na nanngin na hindi ako mapansin. "Sorry, I haven''t encountered this person yet here." Wayde''s hand travelled in my back and caressed it back and forth.
"Sige sir, smat. Asawa niyo po?"
I''m hoping that the guy would just walk away but he didn''t.
"Yeah, buntis kasi kaya nalambing. W na raw akong oras sa kanya." Wayde casually said and chuckled lightly. Mas pinag-igihan tga nito ang pag-aacting at mas nmbingan pa ang boses. If I were the guy asking him, I wouldn''t even suspect that he''s with the perpetrator. He is so convincing!
"Ahh ganun ho ba sir. Suyuin niyong ng suyuin at bibigay rin yan si misis. Smat sir!"
"I''ll take note of that." Amusement is visible in Wayde''s tone. We stayed in that position for a couple of minutes.
"They''re gone." Kaagad akong bumitaw sa kanya at kinurot siya.
"Really?! Out of all the excuses, yun pa tga ang naisip mo?" napapantastikuhan ko siyang tinignan.
"It was adrenaline rush. Kesa naman w akong masabi sa kan. Why? You''re affected?" t napapaso akong lumayo sa kanya at marahas na umiling.
The confidence!
"H-Hell no! not even in a million." That''s a lie, really. Hindi ko man aminin, but I know that there''s already something growing inside me
"Ows? Do you think that I didn''t notice those simple nces from you?" he teased.
I rolled my eyes, "E ano naman ngayon?" defensive kong sagot.
Napatigil si Wayde. I looked at him as if I said something wrong.
"What?" I mouthed.
Pinipign nitong ngumiti at nang hindi nito iyon napign ay mkas itong humkhak. I was confused, really. His heartilyugh got some attentions from the people in the ce too. What could I say? It''s him who''sughing. It makes him more attractive.
"You didn''t realize, didn''t you?"
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"Na ano... ba? Oh my!" napatakip ako ng bibig nang marealize ang sinabi ko kaninang.
For the second time around, Wayde chuckled. Hindi ko kayang tumingin sa kanya dahil sa kahihiyan na sinabi ko. Did I just actually confessed in front of him?
How much embarrassment could I get?!
Ramdam ko ang pag-init ng pisngi ko. My face is red as the tomato right now. I red at Wayde who''s clearly just teasing me the whole time. Siya pa ang masamang tinignan ko gayung ako naman ang gumawa ng sarili kong kahihiyan. "You''re the one who said it not me." Unang nakad si Wayde kaysa sa''kin.
I grimaced with what I did. Nakasunodng ako sa kanya nang tumigil ito. I frowned.
"Celestia." tawag ni Wayde at hindi pa rin ako nililingon.
"hmm?" I replied. Containing myself to remain calm when in fact, my stomach is rumbling with the different kind of feeling inside.
"I..." he paused for a while.
"like you, too." He said and went to his motorbike.
Napatigil rin ako at mahigpit ang kapit sa paper bag. It left me dumbfounded.
Starting from that day onwards, it''s like everything shifted from its right position. He is still that Wayde that I knew, but whenever he is around, something changes.
Seeing his smile was already more than that. Witnessing as the sun rises or sets was even moreforting and peaceful whenever he is around. From those jokes, the things I learned from him and a lot of teasing. It''s a memory that is worth keeping.
I''m starting to get used by his presence. I always noticed those small gestures from him. As the days passed by, those admiration kept getting more stronger that it was almost mold into something that I wasn''t expecting. That interaction continues and grows. That I didn''t even notice that...
it wasn''t already crush or admiration.
It was already something else.
Something...
That we called ''Love".
And in that moment, I just knew that there''s no holding back for the feelings that keep growing each day and are worth looking forward to.