When I Chase (When #1)

Epilogue

"Where are you going ba, Grant?"  Maxie asked from my bed as she watched me get ready.

Sumulyap ako sa kanya mula sa salamin. She's looking at me through my reflection, too. Nakakunot ang kanyang noo. Obvious irritation was plastered on her face. Hindi man lang itinago sa akin ang pagkairita niya. She's too cute.

Gusto kong mapangiti pero pinigilan ko. I'm sure she'd bother me more if she sees how much her reaction amuses me.

"Logan's birthday party." tipid na sagot ko rito.

Logan is a classmate. Hindi kami close, but he's an acquiantance. He invited the whole class to their house, para kumain at uminom. I can say no, but our family businesses sometimes meet, it's good to invest on future business relationship.

"What? You're gonna ditch our plans dahil lang sa birthday party ng kung sino?" she said, sounding irked.

"Your plans, Maxwell. You decided on your own." And I fucking hate it. I fucking hate it when she does things like this. Iyong hinahabol niya ako. It's degrading for my part and scary.

Degrading, because I wanted to do all the moves. Scary, because I'm not sure if what she's feeling is just infatuation. Nakakatakot na baka kapag tinanggap ko ang nararamdaman niya at sabihin ko ang tunay na nararamdaman ko ay baka bigla siyang magsawa. Fuck. I'm torn. It's too risky.

I glanced at the mirror one last time before closing the closet door. I turned and walked towards her direction to grab my keys, wallet, and phone from the nightstand beside the bed.

Ramdam ko ang tingin sa akin ni Maxwell. Hindi ko naman mapigilan ang sarili na mapatingin sa kanya. I could barely resist her. Barely. Nakanguso siya habang nagpapaawang nakatingin sa akin.

God. How I want to kiss those lips. Her lips were so red, like it'd been kissed and sucked on. Too tempting. I took a deep breath and gathered all my self control. I looked away from her mouth, her face, and turned my back to start walking towards the door.

"Grant..." she whined cutely, I tried my best to ignore it.

Kahit hindi ko siya nililingon ay naramdaman ko agad na nakasunod siya sa akin. Mabibigat ang bawat paghakbang niya. She's throwing a tanrum now. She really hates it when she doesn't get what she wants. Kapag may gusto siya ay kailangan iyon masunod, she's usually successful, lalo na kapag pinagbibigyan ko.

Pababa pa lang ng hagdan ay natanaw ko na si Rush na nakasandal sa couch. May maliit na kunot sa kanyang noo. He looked annoyed, matching Maxwell's mood.

My cousin must have felt our presence because his head turned towards our direction. The scowl on his face earlier vanished. He raised a brow and assessed the situation. A devilish smirk curved on his face.

"Why don't you just cancel with that party?" reklamo ni Maxie mula sa likod ko habang patuloy kami sa pagbaba ng hagdan. Hindi ako sumagot at napabuntong hininga na lang.

When we reached the last step, Rush stood up from the couch and walked to where we are.

"Leaving, Grant?" nakataas ang isang kilay na tanong ni Rush. May ngisi pa sa labi niya, na parang nang-aasar. I'm used to it.

"Shhh!" suway ni Maxwell sa pinsan ko at muling ibinaling ang atensyon sa akin. "Just cancel, Grant. May piano lesson ako. Wala akong kasama!"

Here she goes again.

"Hayaan mo na yan, Maxwell. I can take you there." udyok ng pinsan ko. Nabaling ang inis ko rito. Tinapunan ko ng tingin si Rush na ang mga mata ay na kay Maxwell lang. Ibinalik ko ang tingin kay Maxwell at nakita na nalipat na ang buong atensyon niya kay Rush.