Love is a Riot

11

« Your walls are high
because you're tired. »

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"I wasn't stalking you!" depensa ko. "I just came across Cain's post while I was scrolling. Tapos naka-tag ka. Napindot ko lang..."

I don't even know why I'm explaining. Maybe I really don't want him to get the wrong idea since he thought before na may gusto ako sa kanya. Kahit nga itong si Rourke, nakakahalata kahit na hindi naman totoo!

"It's okay..." sabi niya at umupo na kaharap ko habang katabi si Rourke. Inilapag niya sa mesa ang in-order niya. "Nagjojoke lang po ako..."

"How could you tell a joke with a straight face!" singhal ko sa kanya na medyo natatawa. And he's not even the type to joke around! I know I seem kinda suspicious to him!

Tumawa siyang bigla kahit na busy sa pag-aalis ng balot ng rice at inilagay iyon sa pinggan ni Rourke, at nagulat ako. This is the first time I saw him smiling widely, at nakita ko na may pangil siya! May lahing bampira kaya ito kaya baby-faced pa rin hanggang ngayon?

I can't help but notice how he eats too. Mas marami pa siyang nakain na sundae kesa kanin at ulam! Does he like sweets?

Pinagmasadan ko rin siya habang hinihimay niya sa maliliit na piraso ang fried chicken para makain ni Rourke nang maayos. Isang tingin lang sa kanilang dalawa, pwede ka nang maghinala na magkapatid sila o mag-ama habang ako naman ang yaya nilang dalawa.

After eating, masayang-masaya na si Rourke at hindi na nag-tantrums. We even took a picture together kahit na medyo nahihiya si Imari. We decided to bring Rourke home after receiving a text from Imari's sister, at kasama rin nila akong umuwi. Doon kami tumigil sa labas ng bahay kung saan ko nakita si Imari na may hinalikan na matandang babae sa pisngi.

Nang makarating kami sa harap ng gate, bumungad sa amin ang babaeng hinalikan ni Imari sa pisngi, and she really is Imari's aunt. Mabuti na nga lang at hindi na ako gaano nagulat ngayon noong hinalikan nya ito sa pisngi bago umalis. The lady eyed me too pero wala namang halong panghuhusga. I think she's just curious about me and why I'm with Imari. She even asked us to come inside dahil nandoon ang Mommy ni Imari pero sinabi ni Imari na nagmamadali siya.

"Is it really okay na hindi mo na-meet ang Mommy mo?" tanong ko kay Imari habang nasa byahe kami pauwi. "Won't you miss her?"

Natawa ako pagkasabi ko noon, pero wala naman akong intensyong mang-asar. Naalala ko lang talaga ang sinabi niya noon habang nag-iinom kami na ayaw niyang malayo sa Mommy niya.

"She'll get mad at me," sabi niya sa akin. "She told me I won't get a girlfriend if I'm too much of a Mama's boy."

"Why?" natatawa kong tanong. "It's cute!"

"C-Cute?" ramdam ko ang pagkautal niya kahit na nagmamaneho.

Why? I find it really cute when guys aren't afraid to show their affection, lalo na sa parents nila. I think Imari has a really healthy relationship with his parents and siblings too.

Mukhang may nahagip ang paningin niya at bigla siyang napatigil. Napalingon naman ako sa tinitingnan niya hanggang sa naramdaman kong itinigil niya ang motorsiklo.

"Chou?" sambit ko habang nakatingin sa itim na pusa na ngayon ay nakaupo lang sa bench sa community park, rubbing her paws on her head. Marami ring bata sa paligid pero unti-unti silang nagsisi-alisan dahil medyo kumukulimlim na at nagbabadya nang umulan. No one even notices Chou, and not a soul cares kung mababasa man siya ng ulan ngayon. Maybe they really believe that black cats are bad luck but in my case, Chou is a blessing. She's being misunderstood by people just because of her appearance. It's not even her fault that she's born a cat. It's not her fault that it's her color. It's not like she can do anything about what people think of her.

Nakasunod lang ako kay Imari habang naglalakad siya palapit kay Chou. When we reached Chou, he immediately grabbed her at kaagad na humarap sa akin. "I'll take care of Chou from now on..."

Noong makauwi kami sa bahay, nakasunod lang ako kay Imari papasok sa loob ng bahay niya habang dala-dala niya si Chou. Kumuha kaagad siya ng mababang tupperware at nilagyan iyon ng gatas mula sa refrigerator.

Nakaluhod lang kami pareho habang pinanonood na uminom si Chou. I saw Imari pat her head and she purred. Natawa kaming pareho. Maybe Chou is feeling relaxed dahil wala na siya sa hindi ligtas at hindi sigurado na paligid.

Imari likes taking care of things and people, so I know that he'll take good care of my friend.

"I was too curious but I never bothered to ask," sabi niya sa akin. "Are you not allowed to take Chou home?"

I sighed. "I want to," pero hindi pwede, because Deuce wouldn't like it. "But I'm not sure if I can really take care of it."

"Oh," sabi niya. "I wanted to bring her home too, but my Mommy is allergic to cat fur. Would you like some coffee?"

Tumango lang ako sa kanya habang naglalakad siya papunta sa kusina. I stood up and looked around his place, and I noticed Nordic paintings hanging on his wall. Marami rin siyang mga halaman kahit sa loob ng bahay, at napansin kong mas marami siyang halaman sa labas. Guess he likes taking care of plants too.

"So you like pets and plants?" tanong ko sa kanya noong inilapag niya sa mesa ang tasa ng kape. Sumulyap ako kay Chou at napangiti noong nakita kong natutulog na siya sa gilid.

"Huh? Yeah," he said, at umupo nang malayo sa akin. "My Dad likes plants too. So I've taken a liking to them ever since I was young. And I like pets, but I'm really afraid of dogs... I got bitten by a dog before. Maybe she didn't like me."

Napalingon ako sa bintana at nakita na bumuhos na nga ang ulan. Mabuti na lang at nakauwi kami kaagad at hindi kami naabutan.

"Why did the dog bite you?" natatawa kong tanong. I didn't even had this kind of conversation with Deuce because he's not interested with animals.

"I don't know. I was just petting her newborn," he said sadly. "I had no intention of hurting it!"

Natawa ako dahil sa paliwanag niya. "Maybe the mama dog is being territorial. She's just protecting her pups. Maybe she thought you were a bad guy so she bit you."

He sighed all of a sudden. "I forgave the mama dog a long time ago. Maybe it was my fault. Even people bite those who they don't like."

Hindi na ako nakasagot sa kanya, and I just took a sip on my coffee na halos hindi ko na naalala kaya medyo lumamig na. Nagtaka naman ako bigla dahil mukhang hindi siya umiinom ng kape. "Why are you not drinking coffee?"

Mukhang nagulat siya dahil napansin ko. "Too bitter..."

Natawa akong bigla. Seriously, why did I even think before that he looks scary. Now that he'd put his guard down, para lang siyang batang nasa loob ng isang grown-up na lalaki.

"So you don't like doggies," tanong ko sa kanya. "Pussies only."

"Opo."

Natawa akong bigla kaya naman napatingin siya sa akin. Mukhang na-realize niya ang sinasabi ko at naging panicky na naman siya. "No, I mean–"

"I'm just kidding!" sabi ko habang humahagalpak dahil pulang-pula na ang mukha ni Imari. He's so cute! He looks like a big puppy!