My Only Exception

Chapter 25 - His Thoughts

My heart pumped and thumped ten times faster than my normal heart rate.

I took a deep breath and blew thru my mouth like a fish. Seff laughed and patted my shoulders while Cali left me to check on his mom outside. They had a short conversation and five minutes later, he went back running inside with Gavin.

I walked up to him to check. The waiting time is killing me.

"How's Mom?"

The boy shook his head and smiled mischievously at me. He wasn't telling me anything.

"Gavin, how's your tita?"

Gavin laughed and imitated his cousin. I retreated and went back to where Seff and my dad were standing.

"Those kids wouldn't tell me anything. God, I haven't seen her wear that wedding dress and she didn't even let me know what it looked like," reklamo ko.

"That's one of the hidden joys of weddings, bro. What the bride is wearing," Seff told me and fixed my bow tie.

I was wearing a white polo inside my white tuxedo with a black lining on its lapel. Instead of a neck tie, I was wearing a bow tie. Seff's is almost similar though he was wearing a neck tie and his coat's purely white.

"Chad's here," Seff told me.

"Yeah. We both invited him. His sister is also here," I answered. Shortly, one of the planner's team went up to us and told me that we would be starting in two minutes.

"This is it."

         

        

••

The piano played.

It was the usual wedding march that people hear when someone gets married. I walked in first and faced the people watching me. I took my time walking on the aisle of forever, remembering what brought us to this place.

"Why didn't she allow us to introduce ourselves?" she whispered to me. She hasn't given me a look since she came inside our room like an invader. She looked surprised when she saw me.

She looked beautiful with her simple ways. "She's our professor last year so she practically knows us. Except you, I guess."  

I took a few more steps. I saw my friends from the college basketball team who I know are used to wearing ties and tuxedos other than our jerseys.

"Okay. If you need someone to talk to, I'm here. I'll listen, I'll shut up," she said. I didn't say anything.

"Okay, I think you need your me time. I'll go now. Please drive safely," she told me when I remained looking somewhere still.

She was about three feet away when I finally called her name. "Can you go with me somewhere? Maybe a place far from here?"

I smiled remembering that day when she brought me to Intramuros and we had a long walk. She remained quiet the whole time. She knows how to keep her words.

"It's not really something different but I am hoping you can be my study buddy. You're already helping me out but I am trying to make it official and well... required of you to help me out."

She laughed. "Is that it?"

Now I wondered if I already had something for her that day and if I was already subconsciously making my way on her. Her question surely made sense as to why I didn't ask Em that time. We were good friends then.