That Unexpected Feeling

Chapter 9

The employee orientation was a welcome distraction. He was starting out that week as a junior graphic specialist for a start-up company recommended by a friend. The work hours were reasonable and he could pursue freelance jobs after shift if he wanted to. It was the perfect excuse to avoid being cross-examined by friends why Alessa had been avoiding them for days.

"Rosacena, right?" A scruffy-looking guy called his attention on the way to the pantry. Justin nodded and the guy offered his hand, "Markus Demetrio. I'm a big fan of your designs."

He heaved a sigh of relief thinking the guy could've been one of Daniela's admirers out to teach him a lesson. It was a pleasant surprise, however, to run into someone who actually knew of his works online. Justin had always been passionate about design and knew it was the career path for him after college. He soon found out that he and Markus shared some common friends which shifted their discussion into possible freelance jobs to help out a friend's backlog.

When Markus excused himself thirty minutes later, Justin's first instinct was to message Alessa about this wonderful development for his design career. But it dawned on him that they were still not on speaking terms. Three days of constantly checking on her through Manang Susan made him realize he needed to give her some space to think about what happened. He missed her. They have always been each other's sounding board and now there's a possibility their dynamic might change. He was prepared to be honest but not at the risk of losing their friendship.

"You actually told her what?!?" Erik asked as Justin fiddled with his phone while they were having breakfast at a well-known sinangag place near the university. His expression was a cross between disbelief (at Justin's lack of tact on the 'Rafa' issue), embarrassment (still on the lack of tact) and amusement at how his friend screwed his only chance of pursuing anything other than friendship with Alessa.

"I slipped, bro. I didn't mean for it to sound that way." Justin explained himself. "Now she won't even return my calls."

"Can you blame her?" Benj chimed in, not looking up from the book he was reading. "I'd be offended too if I was in her position."

Erik took a sip of his coffee before dispensing some friendly advice. "Rafa would probably smack you in the head if he'll know about this. He and Alessa have moved past that phase long ago."

"Are you concerned that she might still have feelings for Rafa after all these years," Benj added.

"What? No!" Justin said defensively. "That's none of my business."

"Exactly!" Erik shot back. "Now quit acting like a jealous boyfriend and go apologize."

"I only said those words to make her realize her plan will never work with Daniela." he reasoned out.

"Bro, the witch is already insanely jealous of her and she's just your best friend at the moment," Benj drilled a thought into his friend's head. "It would drive her nuts once she knows you've made it official."

"I have no plans of enabling an obsessed ex," Justin stated.

"You won't," Erik assured. "If anything, this would free you from her clutches. The only reason why she's been hanging around is because you've never had a serious relationship after you broke up."

"In other words, she thinks you're not over her." Benj said matter-of-factly.

Justin began to argue how absurd that assumption was but realized that his friends had a point. He was the root of the problem and he had to do something to get Daniela off his back. It was bad enough Alessa got dragged into their mess unknowingly. But first, he needed to make an apology.

"Do you and Jen have plans tomorrow?" he asked Erik.

"I'm meeting her at Starbucks after church. Why?"

"Can you ask her to bring Alessa along?" he pleaded. "But please don't mention my name."

Erik laughed. "This is quite a juvenile move, Justin. What are you, in high school?"

"Please?" He was desperate to make things right.

"Oh, all right! We're meeting up at 7PM."

"Great! I'll see you both then."