Splendiferous (Legazpi #1)

Sixteen

16.

I woke up from Xerxes' bed having a headache. My eyes flew on the man lying down beside me and was shocked when I saw him staring at me.

Padapa ang pagkakahiga nito sa kama at nakatagilid ang ulo habang nakapatong iyon sa isa niyang braso. I could only see half of his face since his fluffy pillow's covering the other half. For his body, I could only see his bare back and his arms. The rest is covered with the comforter. It seems like what he said last time was right, he sleeps naked.

"Kanina ka pang gising?" gulat ko ditong tanong.

"Is that the proper way of greeting me on a morning?" he huskily questioned.

I bit my lip. "Good morning."

"Good morning, doll," bulong nito at mahinang tumawa.

Tumayo na ako mula sa kama. "I'll go back to my room," paalam ko dito. "Maliligo pa ako."

"Hmm," he nodded and grinned. "Ayaw mong sabay tayo?"

"Perv," I rolled my eyes.

He chuckled and covered his face with another pillow. "Close the door when you get out."

I didn't answer but I still closed the door when I got out of his room, like what he told me to do. I went back to my room and took a relaxing bath. Noong nagtanggal nga ako ng damit ay hindi ko napigilang mainis sa aking sarili dahil natulog lang naman akong nakasuot ng bra. Jeez! I brushed my teeth after taking a bath and went out of the bathroom to get some clothes at the closet.

I only wore a baby pink spaghetti strap top and maroon dolphin shorts since wala namang lakad para sa araw na ito. At kung meron man ay mamaya na lang ulit ako magpapalit. I also blow-dried my hair before going out of my room.

When I went downstairs, I was about to head towards the dining area when I saw that the door from the living room was open.

Nilapitan ko iyon at akmang isasarado nang makita ang labas kung saan naroroon si Xerxes na may kausap na lalaki. Malakas ang ulan kaya naman hindi ko marinig ang kanilang pinaguusapan. At ang nakakuha pa ng aking pansin ay ang dalawang kotseng nakaparada na sa garahe.

Hindi kalaunan ay umalis rin iyong lalaki kaya naman doon ko lang naisipang tanungin ni Xerxes.

"X," I called. "Iyan 'yong kapalit noong Lambo mo?"

"Yep," he glanced at his cars. "I have three cars in all. Pero ngayon, dalawa na lang. 'Yong pinakamahal pa ang nawala na."

I took a peek at his silver BMW i8 and matte black Audi r8. They're both good-looking and an attention-getter. Kahit sino ay mapapalingon kapag nakita iyon lalo na't kakaunti lang naman dito sa Pilipinas ang nagmamay-ari ng mga magagarbong sasakyan.

"Bakit mo kasi ibebenta pa 'yong Lambo mo kapag napaayos na?" tanong ko dito.

"Kailangan," sagot niya. "Laging iyon ang napapasundang sasakyan ko."

"Sino ba kasi talaga ang sumusunod sa'yo? Sino 'yong sumunod sa atin noong nakaraan?" nagtataka kong tanong.

"Huwag mo na alamin," kalmado ngunit may diin niyang sagot.

"Okay, ano na lang 'yong dahilan kung bakit may sumusunod sa'yo?" I asked instead.

He looked at me intently before answering. "You don't need to know. What's important is that you should be careful on who you trust, and who you go with."

"Why?" kuryoso kong tanong.

"Hay un criminal en nuestra escuela."

"Huh?" lito kong tanong. "Criminal lang naintindihan ko."