Elize
"You?!"
I gave disgusted look to the newcomer. When I agreed to this meeting, I was hopeful about the prospect that Mr. Marco Torres was offering me, but the last thing I wanted to see this man again.
"You know each other?" Marco asked, looking at me and then Philip.
"Marco! You better explain to me what this is? Bakit ka nandito with her?"
What the hell was this guy saying?! "Alam mo, punong-puno na ako sa'yo," I said to Philip.
Okay let me back up to when I first met this guy.
*
Hi, I'm Elize Obispo.
I'm a graduate of culinary arts but instead of joining restaurants, I decided to build my own menu and post it up on different social media sites to get customers. I also started doing video logs of my cooking and some other interests of mine. Though not the most lucrative, I was already starting to earn from orders of my party trays and set meals, and my website was gaining endorsements. What I loved most is that it allowed me to be in charge of my time, which I spent to travel and attend concerts of favorite acts of mine.
When I heard that this foreign artist was going to have a concert in Manila, I immediately booked my ticket because I was not going to miss this. In my hurry, I didn't even check if any of my friends were going. I just knew, I had to.
That's how I ended up alone at the concert. But I didn't care. I was too enthralled.
In one of the dance tunes, I noticed this guy had sidled up to me and was dancing pretty well to the music and I couldn't help but join along.
"Hi, I'm Philip."
"Elize."
"You're here alone?"
"Yes, but my friends are picking me up." I said, not wanting him to get the idea that no one would be looking for me. Safety first these days.
"Good. Mind if I join you for the rest of the show? I'm here alone, too."
God, I hope you're not a psycho. "No, that's fine."
We found that we liked most of the same songs from the set list, most of which were dance tunes, but we also like the same of the slower ones. "Do you know that he collaborated with another singer for this?"
"Yes, I heard the female singer's version. Both are so good, although I like the female singer's version. It speaks better of the heartbreak that the song is trying to convey. The way this guy sings parang he just wants to get laid," I commented and he laughed.
"That's true. I'd tell him that later," Philip said.
My eyes widened in shock. "You know him?"
"Not exactly. But we brought him here, so I have backstage access. I could bring you there if you want?"
"No, no. I can't ask that... but if you could get me an autograph I'd be really grateful."
He promised he would, but towards the end of the show, he got called to the back. "I'll come back." But because of the exiting crowds and the hype of the end of the show, I never found out if he did. My friends already sent word that they were waiting for me at a nearby coffee place, so I left.
Not knowing that I would bump into him again, literally.
It was two days after the concert and I was rushing to a meeting with a possible advertisement placement in my blog, but in my hurry, I moved my car forward without realizing that the car in front of me had not yet moved. "Effin' sheez," I berated myself. I got down to check the damage my Toyota sedan had done to the high-end SUV in front. "Philip? Hi, it's me."
