Prelude

Cari Ramirez

I was in my freshman year when I saw him for the first time. 

At the time, hindi ko siya masyadong napansin. I was too caught up with my cousin, France, who just came home from Canada after having been away for almost seven years. I had no way of noticing that the De Villa family had arrived.

The party was in full swing by the time they came in. Pinagsabay ang welcome party nina France sa success ng isang business venture ng uncle ko, so I'd been quite busy entertaining people, too.

I was drinking my margarita with my other cousins when my sister came over to us and said they were here.

Naturally, I was curious.

Puro babae kami halos, kaming magpipinsan (France being the only guy), and a bunch of picky girls at that kaya gano'n na lang ang gulat ko nang makita ko silang magpanic at the mention of Travis De Villa.

I'd heard of him before, actually. Kinda.

He's from that prestigious international university. Most remarks about him said how handsome and promising he was. People expected him to inherit the family businesses in the future. They were well-off. And the reason why they were invited to our family event namin was because they were business partners with my parents.

But that was as far as my knowledge went. Up until today, I'd never met him in person. I wasn't even interested until I saw my cousins shrieking in excitement. Their reactions were amusing. My cousins were not the type fall for just anyone. At sa kung gwapo lang din naman, sanay na sila. We have lots of those at Consuello.

"Oh, my god! Travis!" Katrina squealed, unable to contain her wide smile. She started shaking my arm out of excitement. "Super hot niya talaga!"

Out of intrigue, I sneaked a glance. Medyo marami ang nagpasukan pero kilala ko na kagad kung sino siya sa mga 'yon. I saw a tall guy, almost a head taller than everyone here, walking straight to my parents. From his built, he's definitely working out. Tisoy. May hitsura. Mukhang may lahi.

But not my type.

He looked uptight, obvious na nanggaling sa strict upbringing. Others may fall for that kind of charm, but not me. I prefer guys na may kasamang thrill. Yung tipong masaya kasama, with the right hint of mystery that will make you want more. By looking at this Travis guy, I knew instantly that he wasn't any of those. It was obvious in the way he carried himself. He didn't even smile at the girls who called his attention.

Polite nods and waves lang. Blank. Obvious na nandito lang siya for business, just pure business.

I barely found that fun. Also, he looked way older than me.

"Gwapo nga pero ba't sya lang? I thought there were five of them?" tanong ni Mariane, pinsan ko din, from beside me, looking around.

"Baka busy! Ba yaaan, si Andrei pa naman yung inaantay ko!" added our youngest, Marishka, while pouting.

We burst out snickering. She's only twelve, and already she was crushing on someone she barely knew. Adorable.

"Pupunta daw ba?" Ate Emmanuelle asked.

"Ewan ko d'yan kay Mari. 'Di naman pumupunta sa ganito 'yon, e," sagot ni Katrina.

Before long, our relatives greeted Travis and his parents. I noticed all the people here knew their family. That meant they were really big in the industry.

As soon as we were called, my cousins immediately scampered off to get the chance to see him closely. People looked at them. 'Di na ko lumapit. I just waved. Mas maganda kasi ang vantage point ko dito. Kitang-kita ko ang mga kalokohan nila. They looked so funny that I just had to take a picture. For my blog.

See, I'm a blogger. My following was okay. Medyo marami na rin naman but not that much. I'd just started.

I chuckled when I scanned the photos I took. Katrina was absolutely mooning and didn't even bother to hide it.

"Not interested?"

I turned over my shoulder and saw a tall guy walking toward me. In fairness kay France, mas lalo siyang naging rugged. Canada did him good, I guess.

I wrinkled my nose. "Too old."

He chuckled, his dimple showing on one side of his face. "'Di naman. Just a few years."

I wrinkled my nose. "Still old."

"Pihikan," biro niya.

"Nothing wrong with that," I shot back, smiling too.

"Yeah," he said, then a teasing smile played on his lips. "That's good, actually. Bata ka pa, wag muna."

Napasimangot ako doon. Technically, he was right. I was still young. Pero hindi ako inosente like what he was hinting. At mas lalong hindi ako close-minded. I knew things.

Seeing my reaction, France tipped his head back and laughed.

I crossed my arms playfully. "Well, it's good to see you're having fun at my expense," I feigned anger but I was smiling.

"Sorry, couz. Nakakatuwa ka lang asarin," sagot niya, tumatawa pa rin.

I laughed with him. I missed him. No'ng mga panahon na nasa Canada siya, puro messages at video calls lang kami. It actually felt good to have him back.

"Si Geon pala?"

He was talking about my childhood best friend, Angelo Castillo.

"As usual, late," simple kong sagot.

Kahit kailan naman talaga late 'yon. Wala nang bago. Sa tagal ng pagkakakilala ko sa kanya, isang beses palang yata siya 'di na-late at dahil pa 'yon sa mama niya.

"Kailan kaya magiging kayo?" France wondered suddenly.

I looked at him incredulously as if he'd grown another head.

Where did that come from anyway?

Geon is just my best friend, emphasis on 'just.' Sure, he's fun to be with. And okay, so maybe there's an air of mystery to him, but no girl in her right mind would ever go for her best friend.

That's the biggest taboo for me. More importantly, just to put it out there, if France loves to play around, Geon is definitely worse than him.

"Bagay kayo," France added, reading my mind. "I'm serious. You look good together."

I looked at him weird. "And how did you know that? Wala ka naman dito."

"Pictures, videos. Common friends," he said nonchalantly, shrugging. "Don't underestimate me, couz. Updated yata 'to."

Natawa ako. "Impossible."

"Why not?"

"Just because."

"He's your type. I remember you telling me you like fun guys."

He had a point but still, no.

I placed a hand on my hip. "Bakit ba nirereto mo 'ko?" tanong ko nang nakataas ang kilay. "Akala ko ba bata pa 'ko?"

"At least with him, I'm certain he'll never hurt you. He's practically family at this point."

"Which brings us to my point. He's family."

Plus it wouldn't work. Geon was just too childish for me.

Another thing, I wasn't into relationships right now. Ayoko ng kahit anong seryoso sa punto na 'to. I just wanted to have fun.

"Hey, what did I miss?" piped in a familiar voice.

Speaking of the devil . . .

I turned to the right and saw Geon looking glorious in his light blue long sleeves and black vest. Naka-swept to the side yung buhok, a refreshing break from the spike he loved to sport.

He grinned at us, waving. "Yo!"

"Bro," France greeted.

"Man, long time!" Geon answered, fist bumping. Then he placed an arm around my shoulder, all smiles. "Hey, bes. Missed me?"

I rolled my eyes.

Tumawa lang siya at tumingin ulit kay France. "Dude, you won't believe kung sino nakita ko on my way here."

France furrowed his brows. "Sino?"

I also waited for his reply.

"May kausap lang outside—oh, there he is," Geon said with a grin, looking at the entrance.

I followed his line of vision, and . . .

Okay.

I didn't know how to describe it. Someone just entered and the people near the entrance stopped what they were doing to look.

When he walked closer, mas nakakuha ako ng closer and much fuller view. Maputi siya, but in an alabaster kind of white. Matangos ang ilong. Soft lang ang jawline and cheeks, but what caught my attention were his eyes.

They were deep set and striking.

"Sino 'yan?" I asked, my gaze still trained on the quiet guy that just came in. I didn't have to ask though. Because not soon after, Marishka squealed and looked like she was gonna pass out. Plus, the new guy stopped to where Travis was and the hosts immediately entertained him.

From that, I already deduced just who this guy was.

It was the brother. Andrei De Villa.