Happy Birthday, Crush

39

"Are you craving anything right now?"

"You," she cheekily grinned.

The corners of my mouth twitched in amusement. This woman, really. Someday, her teasing will be the death of me.

"I'm not one of the options." I said, making her laugh. I ended up laughing as well because her laugh was contagious. Plus, she looked more relaxed now. She was so tense a while ago because of her ex-boyfriend. Masusuntok ko na talaga 'yong lalaking iyon kung hindi lang dumating 'yong guard.

Why is it so hard for some people to respect other people's boundaries?

She looked up, obviously thinking about dinner options. "Are you okay with Thai?"

"More than okay. Tara."

We walked side-by-side on the way to the restaurant, talking about the most random things.

"Ang funny! They were arguing with their mics on! And you know why they fought? It's because Angela chose to sanib sa akin kaysa sa boyfriend niya." Pagkukwento niya. "Some duos in ML are so weird. Ngumuso siya. Cute.

"May nakalaro rin akong ganiyan dati. Nag-chat sa lahat na maga-AFK daw siya dahil hindi siya sinasaniban ni Angela." Umiling ako nang maalala ulit 'yon. Ang bobo lang.

"That's so stupid. Sayang credit score."

Mabuti na lang at nakaupo kami kaagad pagkadating namin sa restaurant.

"What's good here?" I asked her.

"Everything," she chuckled. "This is Thai heaven, I'm telling you."

"Okay, Thai master," I teased, setting the menu down. "Ikaw na bahala."

Daneri's eyes lit up with excitement. I guess she was a foodie. She called the waiter and ordered us shrimp pad thai, pandan chicken, tom yum, and Thai milktea. I just silently waited because I wanted to talk to her about that... bastard.

"Daneri," I spoke once the waiter left. She looked at me with a questioning look. "If he bothers you again, tell me."

"Why? So you could pretend to be my boyfriend again?" She joked.

"I'm willing to pretend if it means keeping him off your back." I nodded. I knew she was joking, but the idea wasn't so bad, knowing her ex was desperate to talk to her.  "I have a question—"

"Why did I date someone like him?" She raised a brow.

I chuckled. She probably got that question a lot. "I was actually going to ask you more about the other games you play, but alright, humor me. Why'd you date an asshole like him?"

"This is going to sound unbelievable, but he wasn't always like that. He was a gentleman. He was intelligent, too. Actually, he used to be my block mate, but he shifted. Ugh, good thing he did. The day we broke up was the day I started to believe in blockcest. Good thing that we're not block mates, 'no?" She smoothly said.

Ah, this woman. I lifted the glass to my lips and drank, simply to hide the smile that was threatening to take over my entire face.

"Anyway, we dated for a year and a half. At first, everything was okay. But then, he started to change... or show his true colors, rather. He became super possessive and aggressive—"

I grew alarmed at that. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, but there were times when I was with guy friends or group mates and he'd accuse me of cheating. We'd end up fighting so badly that it would take days before we'd 'make up'." She shook her head and made a grimace. "Those weren't even real make ups because sooner or later, we'd end up fighting again. I was tired of fighting so I broke it off. He didn't take it well. He got super mad..." she gave a pained laugh. "And then a few weeks later, he asked if we could meet up and talk. He said he wanted closure. I wanted that, too, so I agreed, pero 'yon pala, he was setting me up. Pinagkalat niya sa mga mutual friends namin na ako ang naging kasalanan kung bakit kami nag-break. Umiyak siya sa harapan nila, telling them I cheated on him, which wasn't true at all. I respected and liked him, paano ko iyon magagawa?"

I clenched my fist in anger. It must've been so hard for her.

"Some of our friends were so angry at me that time..." she continued. "I couldn't blame them, though."

"You're too kind, Neri. Aren't they supposed to listen to your side as well before taking sides?"

"Yes, but then again, when your friend tells you something first, you tend to believe it immediately." She really was too kind for her own good. "But anyway, it's all in the past already. They apologized when they found out the truth. I forgave them."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. Hanggang doon na lang, though. I don't think I'll be hanging out with them anytime soon. Or confiding in them."

"You didn't find it hard?" I curiously asked. Forgiveness was not an easy thing to grant.

"Nahirapan, of course. But I wanted to move on. Completely. Forgiving them was for the sake of my peace."

I suddenly had the urge to wrap her in a tight embrace. She was so courageous for granting forgiveness to the people who've hurt her. She was admirable.

"You're so strong for that," I told her.

Her lips parted in surprise, not expecting me to compliment her.

"I don't think so."

"You seem to not realize a lot of things about yourself."

But that's okay. I'll help you realize things yourself through my lenses.

"Bolero," she muttered.

"Just saying the truth."

Our food arrived and Daneri immediately turned her attention to the food, obviously hungry. Our conversation seemed to have been forgotten. Her eyes were filled with excitement, like she was about to eat her mom's cooking during Noche Buena.

After dinner, I took her home since she didn't bring her car today. The car ride was filled with our chatters, and I don't remember laughing so much in the past as I did right now. We exchanged goodbyes and I waited until she entered her condominium building before driving away.

Suddenly, I felt empty. It was too silent in my car, so I connected my phone to my speaker and played some music to fill the void... and to distract myself.

It was only until I was twenty minutes away from her place did I notice that she dropped her keychain. It was a My Melody keychain. Cute. I saw it attached to her laptop bag a while ago. I should return this to her.

Without thinking, I switched gears and made a u-turn, going back in the direction of her unit.