Almost Enough (Could Trilogy #2)

Almost #14

ALMOST ENOUGH #14

Sharyn's POV

"I've seen this before," Hunter remarked, examining my skincare products while we were in my open closet.

This was his second time staying over at our house, so I had told him to bring some clothes and even gave him a spot to keep them. Since our schedules don't usually align, especially on weekdays, and I didn't want him to always change his plans for me, we decided that Hunter would stay over from Friday night to Sunday night—of course, with my parents' consent and it would depend on both of our availability.

Pumayag naman sila basta wala kaming gagawin na kababalaghan ni Hunter—as if! Mas ayos din kay mommy at daddy dahil nababantayan daw nila ang panliligaw ni Hunter. They even arranged the living room near the veranda so we could have the view of the sunrise every morning.

Pinakita niya sa akin ang facial mask. "River uses this."

"Yeah, of course. Kinuha niya kaya 'yon sa akin." Napapailing na sabi ko. "Lagi na lang siya kumukuha ng skin care ko."

"Aww, really?" Hunter clicked his tongue. "Do you want me to punch him?"

"Yes, please."

Hunter chuckled. "Okay, kapag nakita ko siya sa frat meeting namin."

"So you guys are going to fight someone again?" My eyes widened. "No, huwag na. I won't apply you skin care na 'cause makikipagbugbugan ka lang naman. No, this is expensive. Hindi na." Kunwari ay tinataboy ko na siya palabas ng closet ko.

"No, no," he clarified, almost panicking. "We're not. We're gonna talk about a charity event."

"Hmm... okay."

"Are you doubting me?"

"Slight."

"Okay, that's valid. Can't blame you. You only have my words to trust but I'll do something so you can trust my words."

"I know you would not betray me kasi kung oo ay sasapakin ka ng lahat ng kaibigan ko."

"I know right, but skin care, please? Promise, no fighting."

"Fine," sabi ko.

Kinuha ko ang skin care bag ko tapos kumuha naman siya ng unan saka comforter para dalhin namin sa living room. Dinala na rin niya ang bag ko dahil mag-aaral din kaming dalawa. I almost forgot that I need to write a lot of case digests because I have been busy with my work for our Valentine's event.

"Sha, naglagay na ako ng snacks niyo sa sala," ani Yaya Belinda nang makita na pababa na kami ng hagdan. "Kapag may kailangan kayo ay tawagin mo lang ako pero nandoon naman si Tasha saka si Berto."

"Yes, Ya. Just sleep na lang," sabi ko tapos bumaba na kami ni Hunter.

Nauna na si Skittle na humiga roon sa couch tapos ang himbing na ng tulog. When she felt Hunter, agad siyang lumapit dito tapos humiga sa hita ni Hunter. Hmm, inunahan pa ako? Bad, Skittle.

"I don't think you need it. You got no pores kaya," sabi ko habang tinuturo ko sa kanya ang mga dapat na ilagay niya sa mukha kaso sa huli ay ako na lang din ang naglagay sa mukha niya tapos siya ang naglagay sa mukha ko.

"Ikaw rin naman," he commented after putting on the facial mask. He even tapped it like I taught him. "So gorgeous. Anyway, how long should we put this?"

"Five to ten minutes," sagot ko tapos kinuha ang phone ko. "Let's take a selfie."

"Okay," he responded without hesitation.

"Why don't you have a social media account when you actually like taking photos?" curious na tanong ko. "I mean, you could post it."

Nakita ko kasi sa gallery niya na may mga magandang kuha siya ng kung ano-ano bukod sa mga kuha niya sa akin.

"Not my cup of tea. Saka updated naman ako sa IG mo dahil kay Aly."

"I see. It's nice... baka kasi sumikat ka pa. Right, don't use social media kasi ayoko nang maraming kaagaw."

He chuckled. "Yes, Ma'am."

"I'll just send you my photos before I post them on IG," I told him, which made him happy. "Here, there are Skittles, chips, and pineapple bits. Study na tayo."

He nodded, then picked up his notes while I started writing my digest. We sat in silence, and every 25 minutes, we would take a 5-minute break to talk about something... or nothing—just lying down and then he would hum the melody of my favorite song.

It became our daily routine, and for the first time, I didn't care whether we had a label or not... as long as I was with Hunter. Baka nga katulad niya ay hindi ko na lang din siya gusto...

>>>

What else does Hunter not have yet? I kept thinking about that since I still didn't know what to give him for Valentine's Day. Sigurado kasi ako na may pakulo na naman siya kaya gusto ko ay ako rin.

I asked River—walang kwenta ang sagot sa akin kasi condom daw ang ibigay ko. Gosh, why am I even friends with him?

Sa kakaisip ko roon ay hindi ko namalayan na ako na pala ang tinatawag ni Attorney. Shocks! Hindi naman dapat ako on-deck but thankfully nasagot ko naman ang tanong niya kaya hindi ako na-singko.

Hanggang pag-uwi ay iniisip ko pa rin 'yon. I didn't see Hunter today because he was busy with his bar review.

While I was putting my skin care, bigla kong naalala na laging nakasuot si Hunter ng mga cute na medyas. I checked his clothes in my closet to confirm and I was right so I immediately looked for online shop that sells cute socks—kaso kaya niyang bumili no'n.

Right—mabilis na tumakbo ako sa kwarto ni Mommy at Daddy.

"Mommy! Mommy!" I knocked two times before I opened it. "Mommy!"

Tumakbo ako sa kama nila tapos naabutan ko sila na magkayakap ni daddy sa ilalim ng kumot.

"Sharyn?" Mom's voice was groggy as she rolled to my side.

Si Dad naman ay bumangon saka binuksan ang ilaw.

"What is happening? Are you okay?" Nag-aalala na sabi ni Mommy sabay tayo para tingnan ako.

"Did something happen?"

"No, I am sorry... really am." I bit my nails. "It's just I want to do something, Mom. Can you teach me how to knit?"

"Knit?" Mom's eyes widened as she stared at me in disbelief. "You disturbed us in the middle of the night to ask if I could teach you to knit. Okay..." She pressed her lips while I looked down. "Is this for Hunter?"

"Yes."

Dad sighed. "If you like him that much, just say yes to him. That would be your best Valentine's gift."

"You approve of him?"

"We approve of the man who fills your life with excitement, joy, and unwavering love. If it is Hunter, then, go for it," Dad replied, smiling.

"Just make sure you are not using him as a rebound," Mom eyed me. "Hindi mo na ba talaga gusto si Jhules?"

I shook my head. "I still care for him, Mom, but I am into Hunter. I won't ruin it... just like what happened with Owen."

"Speaking of Owen," Dad looked like he remembered something. "He sent a package and an invitation a while ago. You can ask Manang Belinda about it."

"Oh. Sure, Dad. Thanks a bunch... but back to the topic? Can you teach me how to knit socks? And can it be done in a week? Valentine's will be next week."

"Depends how many socks are you going to do and also the pattern."

"Hmm, maybe three? I wasn't sure yet, Mom. I will search for the pattern and let you know. Anyway, thank you. Sorry for disturbing. Can't kiss you 'cause of my facial mask but here..." I blew kisses.

"Good night, Sharyn," Mom said.

"Yeah, make sure to get enough sleep," Dad added.


I spent the whole week knitting socks for Hunter. I thought it would be easy, pero ilang beses pa akong nag-ulit bago ko talaga na-perfect. I kept it simple since I still don't know how to do patterns. Instead of three, dalawa lang ang nagawa ko kasi hindi na umabot ang oras. I was reading cases and writing digests in between.

The finished product is two pairs of black ankle socks. Nilagyan ko ng pangalan ni Hunter at pink na heart para malaman niyang ito ang ginawa ko. Sana magustuhan niya.

Ngayon pa lang ulit kami magkikita kasi busy siya sa fraternity nila. Inisip ko ngaa kung paano ko itatago ang band-aid sa kamay ko kaso nakita na niya agad kaya imbes na papasukin ako sa sasakyan niya ay tiningnan pa niya muna.

"What happened to your fingers? When did you hurt yourself and why didn't you tell me?" parang pulis na nagiimbestiga ng kaso. "Does it hurt?"

"No. I did something lang," sabi ko. "Don't mind it."

"How could I not? You broke your nails. See?" Pinakita niya sa akin ang nabaling kuko ko. "Surely, masakit 'to. Aly always complained about this."

"Okay, it is your fault talaga kung bakit nagkaganyan 'yan."

"Huh? What did I do?" He blinked.

I chuckled. "Let's get inside the car. Baka ma-late pa tayo sa klase."

Pinagbuksan niya ako ng pinto saka siya pumasok sa loob ng sasakyan pero hindi pa rin niya pinaandar hangga't hindi ko sinasabi kung bakit.

"Okay, fine." I unzipped my backpack and pulled out a small box. "I wasn't supposed to give this to you yet, but since I know you won't stop asking... here you go. Happy Valentine's Day, Daddy!"

His eyes lit up as he took the box from me. He immediately opened it.

"Wait, hold on..." His voice was filled with happiness. "You knitted these socks for me?"

"I did," I said proudly.

"Aww... that's so... wow," he murmured, gently caressing the socks and even bringing them to his nose to catch the scent. "You even sprayed your perfume on them. I don't think I'll ever wear these."

"Do whatever you want with them, they're yours," I replied.

He glanced at me, then took my hand and kissed the back of it.

"I have something for you, too," he said softly.

"What's that?" I asked, curious.

He pulled out a small box and opened it, revealing a Cartier D'Amour bracelet in pink sapphire. But instead of just one stone, he had it customized with three heart-shaped sapphires.

"Hey, no. This is too expensive," I protested.

"Of course it is. It's for you, so you deserve it," he said, pinching my cheeks playfully. "Shall I put it on your wrist?"

"Hmm, okay," I agreed, thinking that Hunter might get annoyed if he thought I didn't appreciate it.

He grinned as he clasped the bracelet around my wrist. "Wear this on my mother's birthday. She'll love it, especially since one of the stones is from our family heirloom."

"Oh my, now my knitted socks feel so small in comparison," I pouted. "Maybe I should take them back and—"

"No, Latisha," he interrupted, his voice firm but gentle. "I love the socks because you made them with your own hands. I should be the one feeling embarrassed; all I did was buy something. But don't worry, I'll make it up to you."

And he did. Instead of surprising me with the usual Valentine's Day dinner date, he took me to a cozy picnic in their backyard and spent the entire evening crocheting a bandana just for me—while his brother's band serenaded us with my favorite song.