La Cuevas #2: Hazards Of Love (PUBLISHED UNDER IMMAC)

EPILOGUE

"Matigas kasi ang ulo ng batang 'yon e, puwede bang ikaw na ang sumundo sa kaniya? just make sure na makakauwi siya before 2 kasi parating na si dad." I grab my jack and coke while looking at the woman who just finished dancing her ass off the dancefloor.

"Sure, send me her picture. I haven't met her for years." I reasoned; Truth is, I really have no idea how does this Azalea looks like. Sa lahat ng mga pinsan ko, pangalan niya ang madalas kong marinig mula pa noon. Not because they all know she's adopted, but because she's unexpectedly the favorite. Maganda raw sabi ni mama at malambing sa mga kamag-anak namin.

I wasn't just curious enough to search for her socials so I never really knew her face. I don't know if Sage knew about her true identity, because Loren for sure does. Still, I don't wanna meddle.

"Okay, wait." Sage ended the call to send me the picture of his 'sister'. I heaved a sigh while looking at that woman. When she walked her way back to their couch while answering her phone, I followed her with my eyes as I took a sip on my drink.

I just got here in La Cuevas because Loren asked me to stay for wedding. While I'm aways from wor, I let engineer Torres to take charge of our project in Manila. Aside from that, I also wanna meet the girl who replaced Sadie's place—my real cousin.

I saw her friend whispered something to her and I licked my lower lip as the girlfixed her eyes on my direction. The moment she laid eyes on me, I felt immediately tensed. Hindi ako nag-iwas ng tingin kahit pa may kung ano sa mga mata niya ang nagpabalisa sa akin. Nang ibalik niya ang paningin sa mga kasama, ay sakto namang maka receive ako ng reply mula kay Sage.

Natigilan ako nang makita ang litrato ng parehong babae na umagaw ng atensiyon ko rito sa bar. Napakurap-kurap pa ako habang palipat-lipat ng tingin sa kaniya at sa litrato. No way, she can't be this girl. Sabi ko sa isip ko, pero wala namang duda na siya 'yon.

"Man, who's that? chics?" tanong ni Klio, may katabi siyang dalawang babae na napapatingin din sa cellphone ko.

"That's Azalea," sabi pa ni Jonas na nakatingin din pala doon kaya mabilis ko iyong pinatay. May dumating na mga babae sa table namin at ang isa ay tumabi sa akin. Bumunong hininga ako at hinayaan siyang kumapit sa akin.

Dumikit siya sa akin at bumulong. "Do you want to go somewhere private?" sabi niya sa mahalay na boses. Nilingon ko siya at binigyan ng tipid na ngisi.

"Do you have a place in mind?" I asked with my lazy voice as I put my hands on her bare thighs. I squeeze them roughly. That made her bite her lower lip and smiled seductively.

Nang magbalik ako ng tingin kay Azalea ay naglalakad na siya palapit sa direksiyon namin. Nagulat ako pero hindi ako gumawa ng kahit na anong reaksiyon. Kinuha ko ulit ang jack and coke at sumimsim doon para magpanggap na hindi siya nakikita.

"Auntie, can you move a little?" damn. Even her voice sounds like music to my ears.

She's far different to what I've heard about her. Napatunayan ko iyon nang ipatong niya ang isang paa sa pagitan namin ng babaeng katabi ko at magsimulang maghubad. I panicked in my mind at parang nawala ako sa katinuan. And the fact that she's looking straight into my eyes with her bedroom drunk face, burned me. So before I could grab her waist andlet my intrusive thoughts win, I stood up and put my coat on her shoulders. She was startled and couldn't react much while heading our way outside the bar. Damn, thanks to our good God we're not cousins.

"I want to see my family." It was Sadie on the other line asking me why I didn't bring her with me here. It was really sudden and I think it's not the right time yet.