Chapter 15

We were in the lobby of the hotel. We're just waiting for the teachers to finish the checking out process. I was sitting with my friends, but I felt so conscious because I could feel Finley staring at me. Like literally. That guy has no shame! I felt like sinadya niya na doon siya maupo sa may couch opposite me para naka-tingin talaga siya sa akin.

"Maia."

"What?" I asked, a bit alarmed. May nakapansin ba sa nangyayari? How Finley was staring at me and how I was avoiding his stares by looking at literally anything else? Kabisado ko na ata iyong patterns sa may ceiling ng lobby.

"Troy said that he messaged you, but you weren't replying."

"Who?" I asked.

"The guy from Brent?"

"Ah."

For some reason, napa-tingin ako sa gawi ni Finley. I saw how his whole forehead was creased. Gosh. Was he pissed? Kasi I remember tanong din siya nang tanong sa akin about that guy from Brent na apparently ay Troy pala ang name. I totally forgot about that. Ang dami naman kasing nangyari—like overnight nagkaroon ako ng boyfriend bigla!

"So? Did you receive the text? But feel ko naman tamang number 'yung nabigay ko sa kanya..."

"Uh... yes, I got the message."

"But... you didn't reply?" she asked. She was looking at me, waiting for my response. "I mean... I did ask you first before I gave the number, right?"

Shucks, oo nga, noh? Would it appear rude? Like that Troy guy didn't just have my number out of nowhere. He asked for my permission pa rin naman to text me.

"Oh, I just forgot," sabi ko na lang. I would just text him that I wasn't interested. Hopefully, he wouldn't ask me pa kung bakit. Ayokong sabihin sa kanya na off the market na ako. Mamaya biglang kumalat pa sa school and biglang ma-put two and two together nila iyong sinabi ko and iyong super weird na soft launch photo na pinost ni Finley sa IG.

"Oh, okay, cool! He was kinda bugging me about it, eh. He thinks you're really pretty."

I just smiled because at least he got that part right. Pretty naman talaga ako, but I was aware that I have some attitude... kaya medyo iniisip ko rin at what point nagka-gusto sa akin si Finley? Because I clearly remembered him making fun of me kasi maarte and what not daw ako.

I guess eventually, he still fell for my charms kasi charming kaya ako.

Finally, natapos na rin iyong sa pagcheckout. We got in the coaster. Nauna ako sa may pila sa pagpasok. I felt Finley boring a hole on the back of my neck.

'What's your problem?' I sent a DM to him sa may Instagram. My lips parted at his audacity to leave me on read?!

I turned my head to look at him. Nakita ko na hawak niya naman iyong phone niya.

'What happened to your little speech? Tell me the problem so we can talk about it?'

My forehead was creased and my lips were pursed as I sent him that message. Bakit I felt a little guilty kahit alam ko naman na wala akong fault? I mean, he's acting this way because of the guy from Brent, right? But how was that my fault?! That happened before we became boyfriend-girlfriend!

'Later. I'm playing.'

My head automatically snapped towards his direction. Naka-tingin nga lang siya sa phone niya. May suot din siya na headphones. Ugh. So annoying! Bahala siya d'yan!

Nagsuot na lang din ako ng airpods and listened to music while we're on our way to the airport. Pagdating namin sa airport, I went to the comfort room first para last ako sa may pila for check-in. I decided to just finish this school year. If hindi pa rin okay iyong family situation ko by next year, I'd have no choice but to come clean. I mean... if they're my friends, they'd understand, right? Like hindi naman siguro qualification sa friendship iyong money? Kasi personally I never really cared about their money naman. Never asked them for anything. They're my friends lang kasi we clicked.

I was there for a while. I changed into more comfortable clothes and nilagay ko na iyong jacket sa may carry-on luggage ko. I fixed my make-up lang din. Mamaya na ako sa plane magtatanggal ng make-up since matutulog lang naman ako the whole flight... and that reminds me that I need to eat here first para hindi ako magutom sa plane.

Paglabas ko sa may CR, I was planning to look for food muna. I stopped on my tracks when I saw Finley leaning against the wall doon sa isang gilid.

"What?" I asked. Kanina ko pa siya gustong kausapin. Ngayon, wala na ako sa mood. I just wanted to look for food.

"Let's go check-in," he said.

"Later na. Mahaba pa 'yung line," I replied.

"Wala na," he said.

Tumingin ako sa line. "Are you blind?" I asked him, sarcastically, kasi ang haba kaya ng line sa may economy.

"Bulag ka rin ba?" he replied, pointing at the empty line in the first class.

I looked at him and frowned. "Stop flexing your ticket."

He cocked his head to the side. "Come on," he said. "Let's go check-in," he continued.

"Mahaba pa nga 'yung line."

"Hindi na nga."

"Magkaiba kasi tayo—"

"You're in first class, too."

"I just got a free upgrade—" I paused upon realization. "You... did that?"

"Duh. Did you think you were just really lucky?"

"Well, yeah!"

"Well, lucky enough because you're my girlfriend," he said.

"Sshh!" sabi ko kasi baka may makarinig sa kanya.

He rolled his eyes. "Come on," he said tapos he tried to get my luggage from me para siya na ang maghahatak, but I quickly pulled it away from his grasp. He's really so makulit! Sinabi na ngang we got to be lowkey tapos siya naman laging sinasabi na girlfriend niya ako every chance he gets.

We got in line. Finley got in line first because he said that he's got to check first kung may slot pa sa first class. I asked him paano kung wala? He'd downgrade to business class or economy with me? He just rolled his eyes but... he definitely would.

Ugh.

So down bad for me.

"Do you want to eat here or we can eat in the lounge?" Finley asked.

I looked around. I knew that some people from our school were still around kasi they'll still do some shopping sa Duty Free. I told Finley na sa may lounge na kami dumiretso.

I sat on some two-seater couch. "Why are you here?" I asked. Finley sat beside me kahit ang dami-daming vacant seats around us.

"Will you reply?" he asked back.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"The guy from Brent."

"Oh, that," sabi ko. I got a sanitizer from my bag and then applied some on my hands. "Yeah, probably." Napa-tingin ako sa kanya. Naka-kunot iyong noo niya. "Why? Ang rude kasi if hindi."

"And it's not rude to me? Your boyfriend?"

I immediately felt the end of my ears heating up dahil sinabi na naman ni Finley na boyfriend ko siya. "It's not like I'm gonna flirt with the guy, okay? I'll tell him I'm not interested."

"That will just make him try harder."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Block him."

"You're insane."

I wanted to end this conversation quickly. I had friends who had boyfriends like him. I hated kaya kapag iyong boyfriend masyadong controlled iyong ginagawa ng girlfriends nila. Kahit hindi naman ako iyong girlfriend ay nasasakal ako for them. Like you're just in a relationship, you didn't merge into one person! Give her some space, gosh!

"Bakit ayaw mo?"

"Because."

"Because?"

"I don't like you telling me what I can and can't do," I told him. I mean, he did tell me to tell him if may problem ako. I was just practicing it.

He just stared at me for a while. It was like some... evil plan was formulating inside that evil head of his.

"Fine," he said. "You won't mind if I text girls my friends introduce to me, too."

I rolled my eyes. "You literally just told me that I'm the only girl you're ever interested in."

"Doesn't mean I can't text them. Do I need to be interested to exchange messages with some girl?"

"Why are you trying to pick a fight with me?"

"I'm not."

"You are."

Hindi agad siya nakapagsalita. Naka-tingin lang ako sa kanya. What was his problem ba? Because we're gonna be next to each other sa flight and it's gonna be a long flight. I didn't want it to be awkward.

"Because," he said.

"Because what?"

"I'm just worried," he replied. There was a hint of slight confusion on my face. "You're too trusting."

"Too trusting?"

"Yes," he said. "You got scammed. Then that weirdo from your previous work," he continued. "Can you blame me for being worried?"

Finley said the words that I couldn't help but feel the worry and sincerity in his voice. I thought he was just being a strict boyfriend who wanted to cut off my access to the world. But... he was just worried. And he had reasons to. Every time I got scammed by a man, he was there to help me.

I bit my tongue.

Ugh.

Ako na naman nag-give in.

"Besides, between Troy and me? Trust me, you already got the better end of the deal." I looked at him, frowned, and he smiled as he tousled my hair. "So... are we good again?"

I wrinkled my nose. "I guess," I said. "You still want me to block him?"

"Yes."

Inabot ko sa kanya iyong phone ko. "Do it yourself," I told him kasi nakaka-guilty kaya mamblock ng tao na wala namang ginagawa sa 'yo. But judging on my record lately... it's better to avoid the male population for the time being.

Finley only happily obliged. He quickly hit that block button tapos ay inabot niya pabalik sa akin iyong phone ko.

"Thank you," he said.

"Wala ba akong iba-block sa phone mo?" I asked, my brows arched. I was just kidding. Wala naman akong balak mamblock sa phone niya. Ang sungit kaya ni Finley—I bet he'll do the blocking himself.

"I don't really save numbers," he said.

"So, hindi rin naka-save number ko?!"

"It's saved," he replied and showed me his phone. My whole face heated up when I saw how my number was saved as M.

It was just one letter but... why did I feel so kilig?

I bit the insides of my cheeks para hindi masyadong obvious na I was kilig.

"So... should I save your number as F?"

He shrugged. "Sure."

I quickly edited his name. Naka-save kasi talaga siya because before, he'd call. Minsan ayaw ko siyang kausap, so I learned to save his number para alam ko when to ignore the call.

After that, Finley went on to play games on his phone while I ate food. Tapos boarding na. Nung nasa plane na kami, I was just trying to sleep tapos minsan, magigising ako. It's like Finley has some spider sense because he'd know kung kailan gising ako. He'd go to my suite. I didn't even know that this guy's so clingy!

"You're so clingy," I said because we're literally cuddling.

"Ayaw mo ba?" he asked as he nuzzled his head closer to the nook on my neck.

I rolled my eyes. I didn't want to say na ayaw ko kasi baka umalis siya. "Kapag tayo napagalitan ng flight attendant, I'll throw you under the bus."

Finley was just sleeping while hugging me kahit mas comfortable naman sa may suite niya. I was just watching a movie. Doon lang natapos iyong buong flight namin.

"Finley," I said, gently waking him up nung nasa Manila na kami. "We're here na."

He slowly opened his eyes. Gosh, so gwapo naman ng boyfriend ko even though he looked a bit disoriented pa.

We were the first ones to get off the plane. Naka-labas din agad kami and a car was already waiting for him outside.

"Let's go," he said.

"Is it okay?" I asked. Alam ba ng family niya na umalis lang si Finley pa-New York tapos may girlfriend na siya pagbalik niya?

"Yes, of course," he replied.

The guard—yes, he has a freaking guard—put our suitcases sa trunk. We got on the backseat of the car. Finley made me put the seatbelt.

"You wanna go home or do you wanna grab dinner somewhere?"

"Go home," I said. "I'm so tired."

He nodded and told the driver na pumunta na sa condo. I leaned in and whispered in Finley's ear, "Hindi ba magagalit parents mo?"

"Why?"

"Because... I'm staying sa condo mo?"

"No," he said like he's certain.

"Really?"

He nodded. He even grabbed my hand and held it! In front of his driver and guard! Shame is afraid of this guy!

"My mom's already learned her lesson," he began. "To never meddle with her children's love life," he continued as he intertwined our fingers again. This must be his favorite move... and it was starting to be mine, too. "So, stop thinking about what other people think and just focus on me and only me."

**

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