His Favorite Song (Completed)

Chapter 45

The Way I Loved You
Taylor Swift
0:53 ──|────── 4:05
|◁          II          ▷|

PAUL

It's my turn.

Finally. After one week of waiting, I could start courting Ely. Nagkaroon kasi kami ng deal na tig-one week lang kami ng g*gong Vince na 'yon na manligaw kay Ely. May nalaman naman ako konti kay Vince tungkol sa past nila ni Ely dahil kay Claire. Gin*go pala niya si Ely dati. Dapat 'di na nyan pinayagan pa ni Ely na manligaw sa kanya.

Pababa na raw siya ng apartment building nila. Nasa labas lang ako, nag-aantay sa kanya hanggang sa may nakita akong lumabas ng building. He's wearing a white long-sleeve shirt tucked in his baggy pants with his eyeglasses on.

"You look great," I said.

"Thanks. Ikaw rin."

Naks. I really bought new clothes for our first date. I wanted to make a good impression on him, so I put on my best look. Tsaka, kailangan ko ring lamangang yung Vince na 'yon. Tsk.

"Shall we go now?"

I drove him out of the place with Bucky. Naka-angkas lang siya sa likuran at mukhang takot pa rin sa pagmamaneho ko. Ineenjoy ko naman ang moment kasi ang higpit ng kapit niya sa abs ko.

Nang makarating na kami ay kaagad ako ng huminto sa parking lot. Tinulungan ko naman siyang tanggalin ang helmet niya. Mukhang 'di pa rin siya marunong. But, I find him cute.

It was already 3 past 4 when I looked at my wristwatch. We lined up and bought entrance tickets at the booth. Nang nakapasok na kami, pansin ko naman na parang 'di siya mapakali kaya kaagad ko siyang tinanong. "Is there anything wrong?"

Parang nagdadalawang-isip pa siyang magsalita. "Sorry, 'di kasi ako komportable."

"We can go to another place for us if 'di ka comfortable dito—"

"No, no, I mean, napakaoverwhelming kasi yung dami ng tao. Tsaka sayang naman yung binili mong entrance tickets. Apaka-pricey pa naman."

I held his hand, as I gave him a smile. "It's totally fine. I promise. It's my treat, since I'm courting you. Don't worry too much about me. Just tell me if you don't like the place."

He looked around once more. When he glanced at me, he gave me a sweet smile. "Let's try those rides!"

He dragged me away from we stood, and ran through the crowd with his grip on my hand. I know, he's hiding something from me. I could feel it. Pero, ayaw ko siyang pilitin na umamin. I'll just wait for the perfect time.

First, we had a trabant ride. Halatang kabado siya, pero nakahawak naman ako sa kamay niya. "Sabihin mo lang if 'di mo kaya," sabi ko sa kanya at tumango lang siya.

Nang umandar na ang ride, medyo mabagal pa pag-ikot nito hanggang sa bumilis, kaya nagsipagsigawan na rin ang mga ibang nakasakay bukod sa amin. Si Ely, natatawa naman tas sumisigaw na sinasabayan ko. Sigaw kami ng sigaw habang umiikot ang ride. Mukhang kaya naman pala niya.

Sunod naman ay nagrollercoaster kami, pendulum rides, bumpcars, pati na rin carousel. Halos puro bata nga kasama namin sa Merry-Go-Round. Well, it brought me back to childhood, and there's Ely, just enjoying the moment. I took my phone out of my pocket and took some pictures of him. I called him, and as he turned to me, I captured a picture. Napatakip pa siya ng mukha. Natawa na lang ako.

We also played some arcades. To be honest, I'm not so good at these kinds of games. Nakailang subok na akong makatira ng tatlong same color na balloons, pero 'di ko talaga makuha. Pinagtawanan pa ako ng mga nanonood sa amin kaya medyo nainis ako.

Ely took his turn and grabbed three darts. Nasa tabi niya lang ako at chinicheer siya. On his first attempt, nakatira siya ng tatlong same balloons. Nagpalakpakan ang mga tao. On his second attempt, nakatira siya ulit. Napalakpakan ulit ang lahat.

On his last attempt, he just needs to hit three balloons again para manalo. Kabado naman siya. After he sighed, he raised his hand, holding a dart, pointing it at the board with balloons. Then, he started throwing the darts. On his last dart, he popped the last balloon of the same color, and everyone cheered. He was surprised, and there I hugged him. "You won, Ely!"

Nilabas naman ng in-charge yung malaking cute na teddy bear at binigay kay Ely. Kita kong naiingit pa mga tao sa paligid namin. Mas natuwa pa siya dahil sa cute ng prize.

Umalis na kami sa booth at pumila sa last ride namin. Bitbit pa rin niya ang almost human-size na prize niya. Ako na sana bibitbit pero ayaw niya. Napakacomfy raw yakapin yung teddy bear niya. Namumukhang tuloy siyang bata.

After buying tickets, it was our turn to go into the small cabin. Buti kasya kaming dalawa kasama yung dala niyang teddy bear. Then, the ferris wheel moved. Makatapat lang kami, habang nasa gitna namin yung prize niya. He looked out the window as our cabin slowly moved up to the top.

"Did you have fun?" I asked.

He turned to me. "Yes! I had fun! Kinabahan lang ako kanina dahil sobrang dami ng tao. Pero, nakakatuwa kasi ngayon lang ulit ako nakapunta ng amusement park at nakasakay sa mga rides. Thank you!"

Binigyan niya ulit ako ng isang ngiti na 'di nakakasawang tignan. Habang tumatagal, nahuhulog na ang loob ko sa kanya. Napakacute pa niya pagmasdan habang nakadungaw lang siya sa bintana.

Nilabas ko naman ang earphones na dala ko at kinabit sa phone ko tsaka kaagad nagplay ng kanta. I gave him the other one and he gladly accepted it. Together we listened the same song he played for me on our first meeting. Natawa naman siya bigla. "It's the same song."

"Yeah, the one you played for me. I couldn't believe it na magkikita pa tayo after no'n. And now, I'm playing the song on our first date," sabi ko.

It was getting dark already, and we could see the city lights here from our cabin. He was amazed by the view, while I was there, watching him.

I still have 6 days to go to court with him, but I can't wait to tell him everything.

My hand reached for his, which made him turn to me once more. As our cabin stopped at the peak of the wheel, I took the chance to reach for his lips just before he could call me by my name. My other hand went to his cheek as I pressed my lips to his.

Now I could feel his hands on my chest pushing me away, I leaned back and there I saw his surprised face.

"Ikaw..."

I just smiled. Napatakip naman siyang mukha na ikinatawa ko. Na-realize na siguro niya.

"Ikaw yung nagnakaw ng first kiss ko?" tanon niya habang takip pa rin nya ang mukha niya.

"Sorry, medyo wala ako sa isip no'ng time na 'yon. Tsaka nung sa apartment, sorry din. Alam kong natakot ka sa pinaggagawa ko—"

Nagulat ako nang bigla niyang hinawakan ang mga pisngi ko at siya na ang humalik sa akin. I held his cheek once more, as I replied to his kiss. It didn't last long, but my heart was already racing. Something sparked in me, and I felt a sudden joy that I haven't felt before.

I looked into his eyes and smiled again. "I love you, Ely."