15 | Introduce
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I smiled more than I was allowed for an entire year that night.
Her reply wasn’t direct. But did it mean she liked me, too? Ganoon naman ang mga babae, hindi ba? Lalo na ‘yong mga conservative. If she didn’t like me, she would have rejected me outright. Pero hindi. Ako raw ang bahala.
“Mababali na leeg mo, tsong,” puna sa akin ng teammate ko.
Ngumisi ako. “Ang gaganda, e.”
“Lalo na no’ng Janette, ano?”
He wiggled his eyebrows and I had to violently throw the ball to him. Tumama pa iyon sa tiyan niya kaya panay ang mura sa akin. Tumawa lang ako at sumulyap muli sa cheering squad. And, finally, she decided to meet my gaze.
I smiled at her and winked. Mabilis siyang nag-iwas ng tingin. Thinking she blushed, I had to cover my face with my hands before I shouted my teammate’s name for the ball.
Manliligaw. What a strange word. But I was . . . now. And I thought I liked it a bit.
“Shit! What the hell was that?”
“I’m really sorry! I didn’t mean to!”
“We should bring her to the clinic!”
Nagkakagulo ang cheering squad. Someone must have been injured. May ginagawa silang stunt kanina na kailangang magpahulog noong nasa taas.
I didn’t really care at all. But when I saw Janette holding her head as she was assisted to walk, I threw the ball I was holding and ran to her.
Napatingin sa akin ang lahat, curious why I was there in bated breaths. Janette looked at me like she wanted to be anywhere but here. I found it strange at first. But then I realized everyone must be wondering what was my deal – with her.
“Ako na magdadala sa kanya,” seryosong sabi ko sa lalaking nakaakbay sa kanya.
The guy looked suspicious and glanced at Janette who could look at anywhere but him. “Sure . . . I think.”
After I uttered my thanks, I carefully held Janette. She wasn’t looking at me – she couldn’t look at me. It made my stomach flip.
“Hindi mo ‘ko kailangang ihatid,” she softly said when we were out of the building.
“But I can.” Sinulyapan ko siya. “Did you fall? It must have hurt.”
Did she break a bone or what? Goddamn.
“Hindi. Isa sana ako sa mga sasalo. Pero nawalan ako ng balanse kaya nahulog ako sa sahig.”
I chuckled. “For someone with a brave spirit, lampa ka.”
“Huwag mo na nga ‘kong ihatid!”
“I was just joking! Come on. Chill . . .”
Sinamaan niya lang ako ng tingin. And I couldn’t help but laugh. She was fucking cute.
Pagkarating namin sa clinic ay agad kong kinuha ang atensyon ng nars. Paika-ika si Janette kaya agad ch-in-eck ang paa niya. Thankfully, she didn’t sprain her ankle. She hit her forehead and only needed some little attention on it. Sa hapon pa naman daw ang pasok niya kaya tatambay muna siya roon at magpapahinga.
“Wala ka bang klase?” she asked when I settled myself on the chair beside her bed.
“Meron.”
“E ba’t nandito ka pa?”
“I’ll stay here until you’re okay.”
“Okay na ‘ko. Hindi naman seryoso ‘yong nangyari. Dali na. Umalis ka na.”
“Then I’ll stay here until you leave.”
She sighed, probably tired of me being persistent.
“You should be used to this from now on,” I said. “I’m quite a boyfriend, you know.”
She turned to me with an eyebrow raised. “Sigurado ka bang sasagutin kita?”
“Well, I may seem arrogant . . .”
She huffed. “Anong ‘I may seem arrogant’? You are.”
I blinked, flustered. “Hindi mo ‘ko sasagutin?”
I knew ‘panliligaw’ wasn’t a guarantee that she would eventually agree to be my girlfriend. But I didn’t think much of it.
Shit. What if hindi nga niya ako sagutin?
“You really need to be humbled sometimes, Villaraza,” she whispered.
“Your English is sexy,” she eyed me sharply, “respectfully.”
Hindi siya umimik. Na-offend ko yata. Shit.
I cleared my throat. “What’s your type?”
“Hindi ikaw.”
Ouch. “You’re damn cruel. Alam mo ba?”
Ngumisi siya – and it was damn sexy.
Putang ina.
My phone rang. It was Anaddy. I gotta take the call, of course. After I excused myself, mabilis ko iyong sinagot.
“Ano, tuloy tayo mamaya?”
My eyebrows perked. Saan nga kami pupunta?
When I heard her sigh, I knew I needed to say something, “S-sorry, princess. My royal princess. My pretty, pretty princess. I . . . I . . .”
“You can’t?”
Hindi ako kumibo.
“Okay,” she said.
“Are you mad?”
“Disappointed, yes. Naiintindihan ko naman. But next time, can you not promise?”
“I’m sorry.”
She just hummed and bade her goodbye.
Malakas ang buntong-hininga ko.
I needed to make it up to her. As soon as possible. I couldn’t let her think I had already forgotten about her. Especially now that I was courting Janette.
“Classmate mo ba ‘yon?” Janette asked when I returned to my seat.
Umiling-iling ako. “No. It’s my best friend.”
Her face softened. “Addy.”
“Yes. Kilala mo siya?”
“Sikat siya. Pa’nong ‘di ko makikilala?”
Right.
“Magkababata ba kayo?” she asked again.
“Yeah. Our parents are friends. We grew up together.”
“Sobrang ganda niya.”
I smiled proudly. “She is. Boys have been pining for her since we were kids. And she’s not just beautiful. She’s also talented and smart.”
She smiled lightly. “Narinig ko nga.” She paused. “Kahit kailan ba . . .”
“What?”
She languidly shook her pretty head. “Wala.”
I wanted to push what she wanted to say. Pero mukhang wala siyang sasabihin. Kaya hinayaan ko na lang.
But, yeah, what should I to make it up to Anaddy?
An idea popped on my mind.
Would it be the best time to introduce her to Janette?
BINABASA MO ANG
If I Have To (Book 3 of If I Trilogy, Villaraza Series #2)
General FictionRodrigo Iñaki R. Villaraza had put his best friend, Anaddy Mouera G. Fortalejo, on a pedestal since they were young. A pedestal only a man worthy of her could climb on and join her there. He knew how much his bestfriend worth. Hindi siya makakapayag...
