THE deliciousness of kare-kare melted in Pavlo's mouth as he scooped an amount of it from his pan. He cooked for Vester, just a little compensation because of his broken promise of fetching him at the airport earlier. He decided to cook his favorite as his peace offering with wishful thinking that this kind act was enough to make it up to the younger.
"Medyo okay na rin naman ang lasa. Pero sana magustuhan mo pa rin," he commented meticulously.
"Seriously, you don't have to cook for me, Pao..." Vester protested from the other line.
"No, I insist."
"Naiintindihan naman kita eh pero sige, patikim ako ng luto mo," Vester giggles, "Ano nga 'yon? Prito lang ang alam mo?"
"Kainis. Sige na. Ibabalot ko pa ito para dalhin sa'yo," he said while chuckling a little.
"Wait... pupunta ka rito? As in, sa bahay ko?" Vester asked, panicking.
He paused for a while, staring at the other guy on the screen. "Uhm, yeah? Ayaw mo ba? If you're not comfortable, ipapadala ko na lang."
"Anong ayaw? Gusto ko. Wait lang, naghapunan ka na? Dito ka na kumain. Magluluto lang ako saglit," Vester offered, smiling toothily.
This made him smile too. "Okay. Gonna get ready. See you soon, Vester."
"See you, Ampao. Ingat sa biyahe. Love you!" It is quite a routine.
Whenever Vester said such a thing, the younger didn't give him a chance to speak since the call just ended right there. All he can do is flush furiously as he finds time to recover.
***
HE TAKES a sharp breath as the cold night breeze touches his face but when Vester's door opens up for him, his cold cheeks turn scarlet, meeting by the warm smile of his sunshine boy. How he missed that smile so much and he feels like it's been a very long time since he witnessed it again in the flesh.
He's also wondering why Vester looked more stunning now than usual. Or maybe he just misses the younger so much that all he wants to do is sink himself into the other man's broad chest, inhaling his strawberry scent while listening to his heartbeat.
"Alam kong cute ako pero talagang tititigan mo lang ako buong gabi?" Vester commented and he blinks, a little bit embarrassed about the way he acted. "New talent mo na nga siguro ang titigan ako, 'no? Ayan, titig well. For real na ito at hindi na virtually."
He clears his throat purposely. "U-Uhm... hi?"
Vester laughed at him. "Hi! Ang cute mo, Pao. Halika na? Ang lamig na sa labas oh."
"Oh, yeah. S-Sorry." Now he's more furious because he just stammered.
Vester winked as he tugged him inside. "Wait lang. Kaunti na lang at matatapos na ang adobo ko. Upo ka muna."
Pavlo swallowed a lump on his throat and he's glad that Vester's TV is humming in the background. In that case, the younger won't hear his heart's erratic beating. "F-For you..."
Vester paused for a minute. The younger might have failed to notice it earlier as his eyes are directly glued towards his visitor's pretty face. He only expected a lunch box of kare-kare and not a bouquet of roses from him.
When Pavlo observes Vester's stillness, he looks down. "S-Sorry. Ayaw mo ba ng bulaklak? Allergic ka ba sa roses? I-I should've asked you first. Ilalabas ko na lang—"
"Thanks, Ampao! Ang ganda!" Chewing his lips, Vester immediately grabs it. He brought it to his nose. "Ang bango pa... ugh! The smell of roses... heaven!"
ŞİMDİ OKUDUĞUN
Parcel | StellJun
Hayran KurguFor Pavlo Oliver (Paulo Nase), it takes courage to count the waves of love. It takes a piece of his heart to go beyond the reef and is afraid to commit since the water is too shallow to begin with. Even if knowing there's someone who took a risk to...
