After that conversation with my brother, mas lalo ko lang na-confirm na tama lang ang decision ko na umiwas sa kanya.

Kahit paano ko tingnan, there was no way Kuya Jacob would take it lightly if he found out I got myself involved with Racel Gutierez.

If he found out I had a crush on the very guy they told me to avoid . . .

Iniisip ko pa lang ang sasabihin niya, kinakabahan na 'ko.

My shoulders were heavy as I climbed down the stairs. Katatapos lang namin mag-usap ni Lhyle. Dapat susunduin niya 'ko para sabay kaming magpunta sa Intramuros, but I told him to pick Hiro up instead.

I joined my brothers in the dining room for breakfast after I got myself some water. Umupo ako sa pagitan nina Kuya Travis at Kuya Chris.

"Where you off to?" Kuya Jacob asked, eyeing my clothes. "You don't have classes today, 'di ba?"

"May photoshoot si Hiro now. We'll help her out for her entry sa fash."

"Ah, sasali pala siya? Goodluck kamo."

Mm. My brother wasn't acting any differently. Sabi ni Kuya Andrei, nainis daw but I couldn't see any trace of anger in him at all.

He wasn't planning to tell me? Na alam na niya?

Minsan nagugulat din talaga ako sa mga kapatid ko. I thought I knew them pero minsan, 'di ko pa rin sila mabasa.

"My next match is three days from now," Kuya Jacob told Kuya Andrei. "Pustahan ulit."

Kuya Andrei smirked. "You think you can win again?"

"Gago. Isa pa lang olats namin this round."

As usual, basketball ang pinag-uusapan ng dalawa. Kung sino ang matatalo ngayon, magiging taya na naman sa mga bar sessions nila. But that's only if the bets were light. The last time Kuya Jacob lost, ilang linggo niyang hindi nagamit ang Ferrari at X-box niya dahil 'yon ang pinusta niya. Those had been the worst weeks of his life. Heck, he'd been miserable.

"Fine. But don't cry if you lose again."

Maya-maya pa, nakisali na rin sina Kuya Travis at Kuya Chris sa hamon ni Kuya. Pinusta ni Kuya Jacob ang motor niya. Si Kuya Andrei naman, yung flyboard niya. Audio system kay Kuya Travis at airsoft rifle naman kay Kuya Chris.

They were betting again how much points he could put in this game.

Wow. Kung sino man ang mananalo sa pustahan na 'to, mukhang magiging masaya buong taon.

Lahat sila, biglang bumaling sa 'kin. Ako lang kasi ang hindi nakikisali at busy lang sa pagkain ko ng breakfast.

"Sali ka, Jav," yaya ni Kuya Chris.

Napangiwi ako. The last bet I joined wasn't a good memory for me. Plus, may class ako sa next match niya.

"Pass ako."

Kuya Jacob frowned, his way of whining. "Sumali ka na."

The way those upturned eyes pleaded me almost made me cave in. Almost. May kasalanan ako sa kanya e. Malamang ito lang ang paraan para makabawi ako. Pero holy shit. Ayokong mawala ang mga gadgets ko. I didn't have much, hindi tulad nila!

"Pass talaga, Kuya."

Nagkunot lang siya ng noo sa 'kin. "You're no fun."

"Isali n'yo na sina Nick. Mas marami, mas maganda," hirit ni Kuya Travis. Nakangisi ang mukha niya at may naglalarong kislap sa mga mata.

On rare moments naman na lalabas ang kapilyuhan ni Kuya, sa ganitong paraan pa.

"Sige. 'Yan pang sina Gian. Papatusin niya 'to. Gunggong na 'yon," natatawang sagot ni Kuya Jacob.

"Puro ka ganyan. May mas tatalo pa ba sa 'yo? E bano ka 'di ba?" asar ni Kuya Chris, sabay halakhak.

"Sige lang. Go enjoy your shit, bro. By the end of this season, you'll all be fuckin' broke."

Napangiti ako habang pinapanood ang exchanges nila.

Men bond through activities.

Kung tayong mga babae, may girls' night out, kwentumax at malling and spa sessions, sila naman, may mga ganito. We girls love to talk but one major thing to remember about guys is some of them prefer to move than to talk.

They also love to call names and throw silly jokes around.

There is some emotional attachment hidden beneath those funny and insulting nicknames. Guys are emotional lots too. Hindi lang sa paraan na nakasanayan natin. Ever heard of the saying, 'Only your real friends will stab you upfront'? That's exactly the case with men. They form emotional bonds and show it through their silly humor.

After breakfast, nilinis na ang hapag at nauna nang umalis si Kuya Andrei para pumasok. Si Kuya Chris naman, pumanik sa kwarto niya para bumawi ng tulog.

Nakipagkwentuhan muna sa 'kin si Kuya Travis bago umalis para sa lakad niya. Always the busy man. How he was alternating between his masters and our family business at the same time was beyond me.

"Saan ba ang lakad mo?" Kuya Jacob asked me.

"Sa Intra lang, Kuya."

"Susunduin ka ni Lhyle?"

"'Nah. I'll book a ride."

He got up to his feet. "Wait here. I'll get my keys," he said before going up to his room to change.

I waited for him at the living room and checked my social apps while passing the time.

There were a few notifications coming from Twitter. Mostly from my cousins.

Paul @PaulAlexDeVilla • 1hr

You love the chase that much?

💬 72 🔁 197 🤍 1482

Onyx Eli De Villa @AllivedXyno • 1hr

↪️ replying to @PaulAlexDeVilla

Damn whipped. #PussyCat

🤍 1392

Mathev Axel @Mthxl • 51m

↪️ replying to @PaulAlexDeVilla

You're losing touch, bro.

🤍 3485

Gian @TheDeVillaG • 50m

↪️ replying to @Mthxl @PaulAlexDeVilla

Kulang sa practice lol

🤍 1003

Onyx Eli De Villa @AllivedXyno • 39m

↪️ replying to @TheDeVillaG @Mthxl @PaulAlexDeVilla

Ask for some tips from @JamieAnnav Girls know their shit the best.

🤍 973

Paul @PaulAlexDeVilla • 21m

↪️ replying to @TheDeVillaG @AllivedXyno @TheDeVillaG @Mthxl

Lmao

🤍 748

Natawa ako sa convo. But when it fully sank in, napakunot na ang noo ko sa nabasa ko. Was Kuya Paul really interested in a girl?

J a v e e @JamieAnnav • 2s

↪️ Replying to @PaulAlexDeVilla @AllivedXyno @TheDeVillaG @Mthxl

Stop tagging me :)

🤍 433

There came the dozens of favorites from different users. Marami ring sumagot pero hindi ko na binasa. I didn't know half of them at kung mga pinsan ko naman ang nag-reply, panigurado naman na puro kalokohan lang din.

Isasara ko na sana ang app when something crossed my mind. Bumalik sa isip ko ang mga sinabi ni Anjo the other day. I didn't want to check his account but my fingers were moving before I could stop myself.

RCG @RacelCGutierez

My heart skipped a beat at napapikit ako sa inis. This crush would be my undoing.

Promising myself this would be the first and last, binuksan ko na 'yon. His account wasn't private and, as expected, had a massive reach

RCG

@RacelCGutierez

Centaur #4

19 Following 1M Followers

Followed by Anjo, Lhyle, and 7 others

I checked the first of his tweets. Puro mga replies lang ang mga 'yon. Some were photos of events and retweets of their game schedules for the season. I browsed through hanggang sa mapadpad ako sa tweets niya after the Youth Camp.

RCG @RacelCGutierez: I can't get over it. How come?

It garnered multitudes of replies. Lahat nagtatanong kung ano ang tinutukoy niya. The next tweets made me even more curious.

RCG @RacelCGutierez: Fucking trouble.

RCG @RacelCGutierez: Losing my mind.

RCG @RacelCGutierez: Really walking your talk?

Sa mga tweets na 'yon, mas maraming nakasunod na replies. Ang mga iilan pa nga, galing sa mga teammates niya mismo.

RCG @RacelCGutierez • 5d

Damn. I want to see her again.

💬 482 🔁 582 🤍 9182

Sumikip ang dibdib ko. Sinasabi ko na nga ba. Hindi ko na dapat tiningnan ang profile niya. Nag-backfire pa tuloy.

Ito malamang ang tinutukoy ni Anjo. The tweets for Claui, kung sino man 'yon.

Justin J @JJMercedez • 5d

↪️ Replying to @RacelCGutierez

Can't blame you, dude. Go get her. #Thatsdangeroustho

🤍 3812

I closed the app. Bumaba na rin si Kuya Jacob na nakapagpalit na ng damit.

"Why the long face?" kunot-noong tanong niya.

Tinago ko na ang phone ko sa bag at tumayo. "Ang tagal mo kasi."

He just chuckled. "'Di na lang mag-thank you."

Hinatid ako ni Kuya Jacob sa Intramuros. Nando'n na sina Lhyle at Hiro nang makarating kami. Nakapagsimula na silang kumuha ng iilang shots.

Tumango lang sa kanila si Kuya Jacob at umalis na rin kagad. He was in a hurry. May date pa yata.

Lumapit ako kina Lhyle nang makaalis na si Kuya.

"How is it?"

"Some shots are good na. Pero kuha pa tayo ng iba para makapili," sabi ni Lhyle habang inaayos ang adjustments ng DSLR niya.

Sinilip ko ang damit ni Hiro. Mm. It looked stunning on her. Nagmukha siyang mamahaling manika. Bumagay kasi sa kaputian niya ang pastel colors ng dress niya. With that sun hat, she nailed the cute and innocent image down to the tee.

We walked around Intramuros to find a good spot. When we reached the portraits of the presidents, we began the shoot.

Lhyle gave her specific instructions to accentuate her features more. Lalo na sa close-ups dahil mahalaga na ma-emphasize ang mga mata niya.

Hiro's eyes were very striking kasi. Sa mala-baby niyang mukha, 'yon lang ang bukod tanging naiiba. They were the eyes of a woman. It could look really seductive on her if she'd really try to project it.

D'yan sila nagkaiba ni Anjo na talaga namang balingkinitan at hour glass ang figure. Anjo had a voluptous body but her doe eyes made her look so young. Cute and pretty.

Kumuha pa kami ng ilang shots sa iba't ibang lugar. Nang hindi na namin matiis ang init, we decided to wrap up.

Tumambay muna kami sa loob ng sasakyan ni Lhyle habang nire-review niya ang mga shots. They were good. He's really a professional na, like he said he was.

"I like this shot. Maganda," turo ko. "Pati ito."

"I think so too," Hiro said with a soft smile. "Thanks talaga for today, Jan, Lhyle. Thanks talaga."

"Don't sweat it." Lhyle chuckled. Tinago na niya ang camera niya at binuhay ang makina ng sasakyan.

"Where to?"

"Punta na lang kayo sa 'min? I'll cook for you," Hiro answered.

"You guys can go ahead. I need to go to ATC to buy a present."

"For who?"

"For Tita Jackie. Birthday niya yung pupuntahan namin sa Cebu this weekend."

Tumingin sa 'kin si Lhyle mula sa rearview mirror. "Bakit do'n pa? D'yan ka na lang sa SM Manila o Rob Place."

"'Di pwede. May usapan kami ni Kuya Jacob. Lilibre pa ako sa Banapple no'n."

Tumango si Lhyle at pinaharurot na ang kotse. He dropped me off at ATC tulad ng napag-usapan.

"Behave," paalala ako pagbaba ako kahit naman alam kong wala silang gagawin.

Hiro was a sister to him, just like how we all were. Malandi lang 'yan pero hindi douchebag.

"Ayaw mong samahan ka namin?" Hiro asked.

"'Wag na. Too far from your place and you're probably tired. You guys take care."

They just nodded, and then they were off.

I took that time to go around the mall and look for good presents suitable for Kuya Onyx's mom. Nakailang ikot ako bago makapili. Kalalabas ko lang ng Topshop when I saw someone alarmingly familiar.

Napahinto rin siya at napa-double take pa. Tapos umusbong ang pagkalawak-lawak na ngiti sa labi nang makilala ako.

Justin Mercedez ambled toward me, waving.

"Javee!" he greeted. "Long time!"

"Hi," bati ko, binabalik ang ngiti niya.

He was alone, I noticed in relief. That meant wala siya kasama. It was safe.

"What are you doing here?"

Inangat ko ang mga paper bags na hawak ko. "Buying presents."

"Tapos ka na ba?"

"Yup," sabi ko na lang. "Pauwi na ako."

Not true. Hihintayin ko pa si Kuya Jacob dahil mamaya pa kami magkikita but he didn't have to know that.

"'Wag muna. Join us."

Us? I thought, panicking.

"I really need to go, though."

"Sus. Lunch muna tayo!"

He placed his hands on my shoulders and began steering me toward somewhere. Pipiglas sana ako pero may mga nakatingin na sa 'min na ibang tao. Mostly girls admiring him. Yung iba, nakikilala siya.

Wala akong nagawa kundi magpatianod hanggang sa makarating kami sa Outback Steak House.

My breathing went erratic and my heart sped up when I saw who was waiting inside.

His eyes too widened in surprise when he saw me.

Hoshet. He still looked the same as he did in Youth Camp. Same eyes, same lips. Same quiet expression. Simpleng itim na v-neck sleeveless shirt lang ang suot niya at kitang-kita ko ang perpektong hulma ng deltoid muscle at biceps niya. My gosh. He was ravishing. I needed to get out of here.

"Bro, look who I found," nakangiting simula ni Justin nang makapasok kami. "Sabay siya sa 'tin mag-lunch."

Racel Gutierez glanced at me through his hooded eyes, his face absolutely unreadable.

I fought the urge to squirm under his scrutiny. And then, I sighed in defeat.

Wala.

Wala na ang chance na makatakas pa ako rito.

Lahat ng 'yon nakalipad na nang akbayan ako at hatakin palapit ni Justin.