"This is better. . ." komento ni Morriah habang umiinom sa Champagne glass na nilibre ng bartender sa kanya. She hasn't been going out ever since kaya nang makita siya nito sa club ay ikinatuwa nila ang pagbisita nito. Napabitaw din ito nang malalim na hininga.

"What was the for?" Rik wondered. Taka namang napatingin si Morriah sa kanya. "You're heavy breathing. . . The sigh. . . Was it a bad thing or what?"

Bahagya namang natawa si Morriah. "It was a good thing."

"Phew," Rik said, feeling relieved. "You've got two glasses of alcohol tonight. You don't want me to end up in your room once again."

Her eyes widened and almost spit out the drink from her mouth. She quickly gathered her thoughts after remembering what happened.

"For real, Rik, what happened that night?" she asked him, hoping for an answer that would make her sleep at night.

Rik chuckled. "You were drunk. You had three glasses of Mojito, right? I tried stopping you, but you told me not to get close to you. I didn't get close to you, but I kept on watching you. I told Aldo not to give you any more alcoholic drinks so he only gave you water with peppermint flavor in it. I think you bought it and thought it was still alcohol."

"Alright. What happened next?"

"You were drunk and I can't let your guests find you drunk. I brought you to your room—you know, that part didn't change much so I was able to get you to your room quickly. We talked, but you weren't making sense anymore. I tried to put you to sleep, but you ended up puking on me. I took my shirt off and left it there."

"We didn't do anything other than that, right?"

Rik shook his head. "Of course not. I wouldn't take advantage of you because you were drunk. I respect you and I don't want to mess up again."

Morriah reached out his hand. "You didn't mess up anything."

"I think I did because if I didn't mess up, we would still be together."

"It wasn't you, Rik. . ." 

"Do you still love me, Mo?" he asked, looking straight into her eyes hoping to get the answer he was looking for. 

Hindi sumagot si Morriah kung hindi ay uminom lamang sa Champagne glass nito. Rik was disappointed he didn't get an answer from her. He cleared out the beer he was drinking and thought of getting a new one for himself. Tatayo na sana si Rik para bumalik sa loob nang muling tawagin ni Morriah ang atensyon niya. He wasn't expecting for her to say anything, but kind of, still deep inside his heart, he was hoping she would say that would put the flames back up.

"What is it?" he queried.

"Ah, nothing. . . I'm sorry. . ." she said.

"I'll get myself another drink. . ."

Tumungo ito pabalik sa bar counter at um-order ng isa pang bote ng beer. He wasn't drunk yet. It would take a while before he could feel the the doze of the alcohol hitting his body. Malinaw pa ang paningin niya sa paligid. Napangisi naman ito nang makita niya si Alleah na may kausap na foreigner, but on the other hand, he found her ex-boyfriend with some of her friends as well.

When he realized that he was just like Alleah his past relationship was around. Maybe it was time for him to find that kind of love once again since Morriah already closed her door in pursuing the same kind of love they had before. All of it was gone to waste.

"Rik?!" Mabilis naman itong napalingon nang may tumawag sa pangalan niya. Nang makita niya kung sino ito ay hindi naman niya inaakala na makikilala niya ito. "It's really you! I never thought I would see you here!"

"Deni! What in the world?!" Niyakap naman nito ang babaeng kaibigan. "How did you end up here?"

"I was looking for some tourist spots here in the Philippines and I remembered what you told me when we met back in Bali!" she giddily responded. "Oh, boy! It's so nice to see you again! I wasn't expecting to see you here sooner!"

Rik laughed. "Well, I was having the best time here in Baler just like what I've told you."

"I thought you would go to Siargao or Coron?! I've been to those places last week. I just had a bad experience in Coron, but was still good. Siargao was the place nightlife I ever had in the past few months I was traveling."

"I would love to go to those places, but my love for Baler wouldn't leave me in the city."

Deni giggled. "I get it! So, why are you alone tonight? And got a beer for yourself, huh?"

"Yeah, this was actually my second bottle. I would get another one if I don't have work tomorrow, but this should be enough. I also came along with some guests from the hotel I was working on."

"Oooh," she swooned. "Which hotel was it? I didn't know you got a job here.'

"Well, fortunate of me, I got the job earlier. I'm a Guest Experience Coordinator at the Casa Casillas."

"That's sound so familiar," Deni muttered, trying to get the thoughts out of her mind. "I think I've heard that place before or I might've seen it on the booking platforms when I was looking for some place to stay.

"I did tell you about it," Rik said. "Casillas' is my ex-fiancee's last name."

"Ohhh! Right! I get it!" Deni said, nodding her head as if that get all those thoughts back to her mind. "Have you seen her again? Or what?"

Rik smirked. "I was talking to her a few moments ago before I got back here at the bar counter. We were just talking about random stuff and then when I asked her if she still loved me, but I didn't get an answer so I don't think we would ever be coming back together. She basically told me non-verbatim that we were over and love won't be in the picture anymore."

"Awww, that's so unfortunate, Rik! Can I give you a hug?" Deni requested.

"Of course, you can!" Rik laughed.

Niyakap naman ni Deni si Rik. "You can finally get laid again after that," she joked.

Bahagya namang natawa si Rik sa sinabi nito. Deni is a German national who he met when he backpacked in Bali. She would admit he was gorgeous and could easily fall in love with him but remained good friends when Rik kept talking about his past relationship with Morriah.

"Well, yeah, but that's not what I have in my mind right now."

"Alright, alright," Deni giggled. "If you ever need a friend, you got me."

"Sure, sure, Deni. It's so nice to have you around. How long will you be here though?""

"I'll be here for five days only," she said. "Do you think there's more interesting stuff to do here other than surfing on Sabang Beach?"

"Oh, you asked the right person, Deni. Tomorrow, I'll be taking our guests to a waterfall. I've been there a few times before a few years ago so I'm not sure what it looked like now, but it was so wonderful. You should come to us. You can come by the Casa Casillas reception and look for me so we can add you to the list of guests who would participate in that tour."

"Wow! It's like you're a local now, huh? Love that for you, Rik."

Mayamaya lamang ay may lumapit kay Rik. Nang makita niya na si Alleah sa tabi.

"I think I saw Morriah there vomiting. You should get her. I was about to get to her when I saw Willimar in my way so I had to go back and here you are. . ."

"Alright! Thanks for letting me know. Where's your date?"

"Date?" Napangiwi naman si Alleah.

"Nevermind. I'll go," Rik said. "Hey, Deni. I'll be back. I just have to go and see my boss."

Nang umalis si Rik para puntahan si Morriah sa labas ng club ay tinatanaw naman iyon ni Alleah. Nalapitan din naman agad iyon ni Rik, pero nagulat na lamang siya nang biglang itulak palayo ni Morriah ang lalaki. Rik was left confused about what happened.

Alleah looked at the person Rik was talking to. She didn't many any glances with her. Ubos na ubos na siya sa English niya kakausap do'n sa mga British na ikinita niya. She just slowly left her space and look for her friends. She didn't want to go back with Kyle who seemingly was red flag  for her. Siya na mismo ang umiiwas kapag mapapalingon ang lalaki sa direksyon niya. He surely think he can score with Alleah tonight, but she had another plan.

As she was about to make her way through the crowd, she was bound to meet Mando once again.

"Hey again," pagbati ni Mando sa kanya. Alleah put a thin smile on her face. "How are you doing?"

"Okay lang. . ." Tipid nitong sagot. Hindi niya tinitingnan ito sa mukha.

"If you're looking for Dominique and Cara, I think I saw them go to the bathroom together."

"What the fuck," she muttered as she exactly knew what was going to happen. "You shouldn't have told me that one."

"As if they didn't do that while we were all in the same room together. They were fucking under the duvet," pagkuwento pa ni Mando. "I'm not sure where Daia and Kennard are. They could be somewhere else. I thought I would be hanging out with them as well and they invited me to come. I came alone and my cousins were at our hotel. Would you like to get some drinks?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Oh, come on, Ley. Just one?" Kinuha ni Mando ang kamay nito at tumungo sila sa bar counter at um-order ng inumin para sa kanilang dalawa. "So, you're into foreigner's now?"

Tumaas ang kilay ni Alleah sa tanong ni Mando. "Why do you care?"

"I was just asking. You told me before, falling in love with someone who had a different culture than yours would be a terrible and hard thing to do, but yet here you are."

"Yes, and here I am? Are you judging me, Armand? Ang kapal naman ng mukha mo magsalita ng ganyan sa akin." Nang iniabot ng bartender ang drinks sa kanila ay agad na isinaboy ni Alleah ang laman ng baso nito sa mukha ni Mando. "Don't you dare talk to me once again. Kausapin mo na ang mga kaibigan natin, 'wag lang ako."

She was about to leave him away when he grabbed her hand.

"Are you still mad about why I have to break up with you? It's nothing personal."

She jerked his hand off of hers and joined the crowd once again.

While on the other hand, some people found Dominique and Cara coming out the bathroom together after hearing soft moans inside. Hindi na naman nila pinansin ang mga taong nakatingin sa kanila at hinanap na lamang ang mga kaibigan.

Everything happening inside the club was mad. Everyone has business to mind, someone wants to hook up, get wasted, be the best among everyone else, and have fun all night long. All those crazy nights were to die for and many young adults came to discover that kind of moment who knows that at the end of the day, it was more than just all about fun.

***