The Emancipation of a Fuckboy [BxB] √

Chapter Thirty-Six

Dominic

I've been waiting for this type of moment since the day I started missing my high school best friend. You see, when I was still studying in Singapore, there are multiple times that I've thought of Yhannie. It might not be an everyday thought but there are really numerous times that I suddenly space out for a long moment just to bask in the rain of regret. Whenever I see two seemingly close friends teasing and even insulting each other my mind always think of Yhannie and how we always roast each other to crisp until someone raises the white flag of defeat.

I'm so psyched up that I'll be seeing Yhannie for the first time in five years and I just can't describe this feeling of excitement and longing. This feeling of yearning is rather different than the type of feeling that I have for Valentine. My longing for Yhannie is like someone having a stick of cigarette for the first time again after being deprived of it for such a very long time. You know you've missed it and once you get even just a single puff of it you instantly feel such a breath of relief.

Hearing Yhannie's voice over the phone most definitely paid me with some type of joy and relief and I'm certain that meeting her in person, with the underlying thought of mending our forgotten friendship is certainly something I needed. I started thinking how much change she had gone through with all the years that we've lost. Her appearance comes first on my mind. The old Yhannie that I've known was this put together, kind of fashionista, supermodel in the making woman and I'm just wondering if she had undergone some surgeries such as breast implants or lip silicones to enhance those natural features. Of course, five years is more than enough for someone to change drastically. I'm trying to hold on to my own knowledge that she's still the same old Yhannie that I came to know and loved. Loud and nosy but fun to be with.

I woke up earlier than my mom most probably because of the fact that my excitement is so strong that it had infused itself with my brain triggering something like an alarm clock. Despite of getting into bed real late last night, I was able to wake up this much early than I thought. I stayed comfortably crouched on my bed as the sun tardily inched its way towards the horizon freely letting filaments of sunlight cutting through the curtain. I don't feel like getting out of bed so early and I ended up spending an hour scrolling through my social media accounts when I happen to stumble to a post from Yhannie's account on Instagram. And much to my surprise, she's hanging out with Vincent and Valentine. At first glance, the background looks exactly familiar as far as I can recall. The walls and the set up seemed like it was at Valentine's house.

An inferior part of my mind is wondering what the hell she's doing there but the more dominant part went straight to Valentine. He still appeared to be that someone I used to know. That someone I used to cuddle with. That someone who used to say I love you to me only to receive a shunning response from me. I don't want to think it that way but it's the reality that I want to change. Just like that one song, he was just somebody that I used to know. But I believe that I can change that somehow, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but I will. That's a promise to the man upstairs.

My eyes were glued just as sticky as it appears towards Valentine who was captured candidly. He was having a bite of the slice of pizza when Yhannie and Vincent took a quick selfie and I'm kind of mad that they didn't even bother to get his attention so he could smile for the camera. But this photo of him is quite adorable; it somehow reminded me of his innocence. I blinked once, then twice and I thought to myself, you're the one who got away and I will truly take you back. My desire of wanting to take him back is burning into a conflagration.

By the time I decided to go downstairs, my mom and Collene were already finished having their breakfast and was just about to leave the house for work and school. I greeted my mom and gave her a kiss before they left and I'm alone again. These past few weeks I've been having the whole house just for me and I feel like it's no different from when I was in Singapore. Dad is always busy with work that it feels like I'm on a vacation alone.

The day rolled up a little bit slower than I initially thought. I had my breakfast at nine and then killed time sitting on the couch and watching movies on Netflix. Just thirty minutes into the movie, I was already thinking it was time to prepare to meet Yhannie but when I look at the time it was still ten. That's how excited I was.

Eventually, after finishing several movies and a lot of checking the time, the time has come for this much anticipated reunion to finally happen. I was just about to take a shower when I received a message from Yhannie asking where should we meet and I thought we already settled on that old coffee shop that we used to hang out when we were in high school. That was our first stop before we go somewhere else. We ended up changing the place four times before I decided to take a shower first and when I got out of the shower Yhannie was the one to decide. I opened her reply and of course, out of all the places we could hang out she chose the most obvious place. It was that restaurant.

For some reason, I'm pretty exhilarated to go back there; most probably my already existing excitement went shooting to the stars above. Of course she already knew that the Grande family owns that restaurant. I quickly confronted her about it even though deep inside me, I'm pretty much okay with it. In fact, why didn't I even think about it in the first place? There's a big chance that Valentine might show up to our table and have a quick chitchat with us. There's a big chance that he might show up just to see me. That simple thought is already making me squirm with pleasure and I'm already beginning to imagine some scenarios that might just happen but I pulled myself together. I reminded myself that I want things to surprise me, I want things to go smoothly and naturally, and that's why I tried not to think about what's going to happen in a few hours. But the more I try to block those kinds of thoughts, the more my mind tries to create another thought.

This is really getting into me. My heart began to pound faster. The thought of seeing Valentine again is making me rush as if I'm going to be late for work but it also slowed me down at the very same time. I thought I've already worn something nice and presentable but when I take one last glance at the mirror, I always end up changing my whole outfit. One outfit feels too much and the next one feels lacking of decency. I ended wearing just a simple outfit. Just a simple black sweater and a short.

When I got to the restaurant, I was met by a kind crew who immediately showed me our spot that Yhannie had reserved. It was exactly the same spot where I first had a conversation with Valentine but there was no Yhannie to be found at all. If I'm remembering it right, we settled on five thirty and I'm wondering where the hell is she? I fished my phone only to be surprised that it's still five fifteen. I instantly realized that I'm fifteen minutes early. I'm going to put the blame on the excitement.

Ten minutes later there was the woman that I've been waiting for confidently strutting her way towards me. She was smiling from ear to ear letting me know that she's very much happy and excited to see me as well. I didn't recognize her at first as she has changed her signature wavy strawberry blonde into a bob cut.

"Damn, you are a full grown woman now!" I gawked at her the moment she arrived at our spot. Her sense of style definitely evolved to an extent. She's wearing a red lace cocktail dress and oh do I recognize her Louboutins.

"And you are a full grown man." She replied and gave me a quick hug. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too!"

She sat on the chair right across me and that's the moment we began having the longest conversation that we've had ever since high school. Even when we were trying to order our food, the waiter didn't stop us, we are still talking to each other and that showed how much we've missed each other. In fact, the ordering process took quicker than most people do. We just ordered the first thing we saw that we liked and that's it, no changing of order just because we saw this and that and liked it better than the first one.

The food took so long that even when the smell of other foods being served at other tables made our stomach churn; it still felt okay because we are trying catch up to each other so much that we forgot about the food. I even forgot about Valentine for a moment. I was thinking that he might show up right before our food is served but then our food came and he hasn't showed up yet. I was extra careful to hide that feeling of waiting for someone to show up. I was actually careful not to talk about Valentine this early with Yhannie. I'm not yet ready to reminisce those nasty events. For now, I just want to share my adventures with Yhannie.