Bad Times at Sunrise (La Fortuna Series #3)

Kabanata 13

Kabanata 13

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"Table 12, girl. Sa 'yo na 'yan," ani Kayssie sa 'kin.

Kinuha ko ang menu card at inayos ang uniporme ko bago tumungo sa nasabing table. My eyes widened when I saw Kit together with the rest of his crew there when I got near. Nagtama ang tingin namin. I smiled sheepishly before placing the menu card in front of him.

"Sunny!" he exclaimed and stood up to hug me. Nagbeso kami bago siya umupo. "Ito pala ang pinagkakaabalahan mo nitong nakaraang mga buwan? I was looking for you!"

"Talaga? Ba't mo naman ako hahanapin?" biro ko.

He rolled his eyes. "Duh? Of course, hahanapin kitang bruha ka! I couldn't find someone as natural and sultry as you!" Pinanliitan niya 'ko ng mga mata. "Bakit ka nga ba 'di ma-reach? Did you change your number? Kahit si Minerva ay 'di ko rin ma-contact!"

"Nagpalit nga ako ng numero," amin ko, "at alam mo naman si Minerva. She always changes her phone number."

"Ba't ka nagpalit ng numero? May tinatakasan ka ba?" Ngumisi siya. "Maybe an ex or something?"

Naitikom ko ang labi ko. I changed my number partly because of Ico but mostly because I was tired of dealing with my ex-flings. There was a phase last year when many of them were hitting me up, asking for my time and whatnots.

E ayaw ko nang makipaglandi dahil scholar ako at ayaw kong mapurnada pa 'yon dahil sa kanila. Besides, I also wanted to stop the rumors of my sluttiness. I figured it was the least I could do for Sab. But hell, I couldn't tell Kit that. Oversharing na 'yon!

"Actually, it's 'cause of an ex," I said to satisfy his curiosity. "Nagpalit ako ng numero no'ng nag-break kami ni Ico."

He bore a horrified look. "'Di nga? Break na kayo? Bakit? What went wrong?"

Sobrang nanlulumo ang mukha niya na tinawanan ko lang. Wala akong maalalang nagluksa ako dahil sa 'break-up' namin ni Ico. I spent all my time taking care of Isabel and making her feel like she was the luckiest person on Earth. Nalungkot ako, oo. Sayang naman kasi 'yong perang makukuha ko roon sa 'relasyon' namin! I regretted tearing off the fucking check! I shouldn't have done that!

"We're not meant to be," was all I said.

"It's too early for you to say that!" he insisted and sighed. "But then I saw Hazel Valderrama's posts on IG and it looks like they're together na!" Sinimangutan niya 'ko. "Bruha ka kasi! Ba't ka nagpatalo sa gagang 'yon?"

"Okay lang." I smiled to dismiss his remark. "So, uh, what's your order?"

Imbes na balingan ang menu card ay nagtagal ang tingin niya sa 'kin. Concern was all over his face. Para siyang namatayan ng aso. Gosh. Ganiyan ba kalala ang epekto ng 'break-up' namin ni Ico sa kaniya? Well, he did use to fanboy over our relationship back then. Fan ata talaga siya ng 'relasyon' namin ng gagong 'yon!

"Hay! I'm so sad about this news, Sunny! Kailangan mo 'tong pagbayaran!" mapang-akusa niyang utas. "How about you work for me? May raket ka bang bago? May photoshoot kami this weekend sa rancho. Mahal ang TF!" His face lit up when he saw the interested gleam in my eyes. TF daw, e. "Shet! Pasok ka na, ah? Cowgirl 'yong tema. Bagay na bagay sa 'yo!"

How could I say no? Siyempre tinanggap ko agad ang trabaho lalo na't madali 'yon para sa 'kin. I was familiar with the ranch and I could do stunts if they wanted me to! Hindi pa ako nakaka-bisita sa rancho simula nang mag-umpisa ang summer season kaya tamang-tama! I missed the ranch!

After receiving the date of the photoshoot, I started exercising as per Kit's request. Daring at sexy daw ang kailangang mga litrato kaya dapat kong i-tone ang katawan ko. It was too expensive to pay for a gym membership so Sextus hooked me up with one of their gyms here in La Fortuna.