Chapter 18

I move my sleeping position and faces to the opposite side and then my usual reflexes when I'm comfortably sleeping-unconscious, I extended my arms and cuddled myself with a soft pillow.

I was about to fall back asleep when I feel that there's something wrong. Dahan-dahan kong kinapa ang bagay na yakap-yakap ko. Marahan ko itong pinisil and it's not the usual fabric I'm feeling at. Iba sigurong klase ito ng cotton? Hindi ako sigurado. And when I traveled my hands, that's when I finally figured out what's going on. 

What I felt is something hard, stiff, and sturdy. Agad kong iminulat ang mata ko ng bumungad sa akin si Cashel. And we're freaking close to each other—like an inches away at mukhang titiradurin na naman niya ako ng labi niya. But I immediately retrieved my arms from him.

"Parang diring-diri ka?" he tried his best to speak in tagalog but it's hella funny when he does that.

I pushed him away from me then I crouched on the bed. I even checked myself kung nakasuot pa ba ang damit ko and that was a moment of relief for me. I shoot sharp glares at him for doing what he did on me. And he's not playing it seriously, palagi naman niya akong tinatawanan. It's kinda annoying and cute pero minsan gusto ko na lang siyang kaltukan para matauhan.

"Anong ginawa mo sa akin?" it sounded like an accusation pero parang gano'n na nga rin.

"I didn't do anything," and his sound so defensive. Inilingan niya ang ulo niya para patunayang wala siyang ginawa sa akin.

"Did you kiss me?"

"Do you want me to kiss you?" he immediately countered.

Binatuhan ko siya ng matalim na tingin. "I'm not joking. Did you kiss me, or do anything to me while I'm sleeping?"

"No?" and he's confused now, literally. "What's the big deal anyway? The last time we shared the bed, we kissed so hard that we fell asleep right after. I mean, we both like it, right?"

He scratches his head and I'm madly fuming. Kinalma ko na lamang ang sarili ko dahil hindi ako pwedeng papadala sa emosyon ko. And for the record, nasa bahal nila ako kaya he has the right to sleep anywhere he wants even shared a bed with me. And I guess he's a bed warmer too, but I'm not expecting to sleep with him again so soon after what we did the other night. At kung iba ang nakapa ko rito kay Cashel, I'll be playing it so hard at baka ikahina niya 'yon.

"Ano ba kasing ginagawa mo rito? Didn't you see me sleeping?"

"I did," sabay tango nito.

"O, 'yon naman pala, pa'no tayo nagkatabi?"

He grinned at alam kong sa mga ngiting iyon ay nakatago ang mga masasamang balak niya. "When I head downstairs to grab our bags and when I came back, you're already asleep with the phone on your hand. And it seems like you're smiling... are you thinking of me while you're sleeping, Cosette?"

Sinapo ko ang unan sa pagmumukha niya. Masyadong mahangin. Ibang lalaki kaya ang nasa isip ko no'n. Masyadong assuming. Porque gwapo, siya na lang palagi ang relevant? Sheez.

"Mukha mo, assuming ka," irap ko pa sa kanya. "And then what happened? How did you end up in the bed with me?"

"I was tired, Cosette," he sighs, at nakuha niya pang magmakaawa sa tono niya. "You were sleeping like an angel there and I had to sleep there too. You're like sleeping on cloud nine. Then momentarily, I also fell asleep. Adie and I woke up early to prepare and so are you... we're all tired and sleep so I guess we deserved it."

I make faces to him, showing irritations. "Anong oras na ba?"

He looked at his expensive gold watch. "Il est cinq heures et demie dans l'après-midi."

Nanliit ang mata ko. "Sa tingin mo ba nakikipag-joke ako?"

"Hmm..." he hummed, creasing his forehead. "You woke up on the wrong side of the bed, aren't you? This isn't you, Cosette. Give me back my Cosette. The one that's not rude, angry, and mad at me. The one who wanted to kiss me back—"

And I keep staring at him like I'm going to do something bad at him. At mabuti na lang ay tinigil niya rin iyon.

"It's five-thirty in the afternoon Cosette," bigla nitong sagot. "Are you okay now?"

Tumango ako. "Yeah... I think I'm going to change my clothes for a minute so please can I have the room for myself?"

"Of course!" masigasig niyang sagot sa akin. He jumped out of the bed and fixes his wrinkled shirt. "Don't forget we'll have dinner by seven, okay? You don't have to wear anything nice or wear Parisian dresses, that's not necessary. You're in the Corprew's, just be yourself and be simple."

"Okay, noted Mister Corprew," I bitterly said.

He pulled his brows together like a question formed in his mind. "Do you still want my kiss or not?" Aabutin ko na sana ang unan para ibato sa kanya pero nagmadali na siyang pumunta sa pintuan para mabilis makatakas sa akin. "See you later, babe."

He blew a kiss for me pero inilag ko ang ulo ko, intended para hindi ko saluhin. He pouted as he closes the door and left.

Hindi naman talaga ako naiinis sa kanya, gusto ko lang mag-inis-inisan sa harap niya at makita kung anong reaksyon niya. At kahit anong gawin ko, hindi naman tumatalab. Sa tingin ko, Cashel wasn't the type of person na galitin o kaya naman madaling mainis. He controlled his patience way too much at pakiramdam ko naaabuso na siya ng ibang tao and he didn't know that yet.

Pero nandito na rin naman ako to guide him, I wouldn't let anyone na mabudol-budol siya. Kahit ako na lang, 'wag lang si Cashel.

I grabbed my bag and put it over my legs. Sinilip ko naman ang mga damit na pinagdadala ko and Cashel would be darting stares to me now dahil karamihan ng mga dala ko ay mga dresses. Binunot ko ang kaisa-isa kong shirt at ang plaid skirt ko. I think this would be enough. Just like what he said, hindi ito fashion show so this would be fine.

Mabilis din akong nagpalit ng damit. Humarap ako sa salamin para taliin ko ang buhok ko. Binabalak ko pang mag-retouch pero ayoko namang may masabi sila sa akin. Hindi naman malaking okasyon ang pupuntahan ko. It's just a dinner at kung mag-aayos pa ako, I would definitely getting non-stop stares tonight. Kaya in the end, pinatungan ko na lang ang ulit ang labi ko ng lipstick at voila, pwede na ulit laplapin.

When I'm finally done, I remembered Chevy. Agad kong kinuha ang phone ko sa kama at chineck ko kung nakapag-send ba ako ng reply sa kanya. But I'm such a freak, sineen ko lang siya at it's been hours already. 

Nanginginig pa ang kamay ko habang binibigkas ko ang mga salitang ire-reply ko sa kanya. "Yes... I'm Cashel's girlfriend. Wait, how do you know him?"

Kaka-send ko pa lamang, ilang segundo pa lamang iyon ay na-seen na kaagad ang message ko. Hanep! Ang lakas siguro ng data nito. 

Baka naman pwedeng pasundot ng data mo? If only I could send it, baka iba pa ang isipin no'n sa akin.

Ang kalat naman kasi!

Chevy Fitzgerald: I know him. He's famous, right? Everyone knows him.

Cosette Calafiore: Ah, yes! How that slip out of my head. 

Chevy Fitzgerald: Ça va?

Cosette Calafiore: I'm definitely fine now. Grâce à toi! I think I owe you big time for it though. I was so helpless from that moment and if you weren't there to pull me out, there could be something worst had happened.

Chevy Fitzgerald: De rien, Mademoiselle. Can I call you Cosy?

Cosette Calafiore: Oooh, that's cool, only a few call me by that. Yes, you can call me like that if you want.

Chevy Fitzgerald: Genial, Cosy. Are you free tonight? How about we meet and talk about some things? Cashel won't mind though, right? I'm a new friend anyway.

Cosette Calafiore: Yeah, I don't mind but I'm afraid that I won't be going with you tonight. Maybe some other time.

Chevy Fitzgerald: Pourqoui?

Cosette Calafiore: Nothing serious. I also wanted to talk with you it's just that I can't until the holiday.

Chevy Fitzgerald: Are you on vacation?

Cosette Calafiore: Oui, sort of. 

Chevy Fitzgerald: Quand? Maybe I can see and meet you there! ;)

Cosette Calafiore: I'm in Boujoulais right now. Did I type it right?

Chevy Fitzgerald: You're too far. I'm on the 15th right now in Paris. And it's Beaujolais but it's cute when you typed it. Though it would be nice if we can see each other but oh well, we still have another day and time to do so.

Cosette Calafiore: Yes, that would be it.

Chevy Fitzgerald: So, you're alone there?

Cosette Calafiore: No, I'm with Cashel. We're at his family home.

Chevy Fitzgerald: Oh, putain, I keep forgetting that he lives there, anyway, hope we can meet again soon and ride on my bike? What do you think so, Cosy?

Cosette Fitzgerald: Sure! I would love that! Let's just keep this to Cashel, okay?

Chevy Fitzgerald: J'adore ça, Cosy. 

A moment later, nakarinig ako ng mga malilit na yabag ng paa at hindi kalaunan ay sumilip si Adie.

"Mademoiselle, ils vous appellent maintenant," she announced at dali-dali rin naman akong tumayo sa kinauupauan ko.

"Oui, Adie. I'll be going and please, you can call me ate when we're not in school, okay? That's fine for me. "

Her smiles grew even more. "Genial, ate!"

Dali-dali rin naman niya akong iniwan sa kwarto at muling pumanik pababa. Muli ko namang binalikan si Chevy at nag-type ng i-re-reply sa kanya.

Cosette Calafiore: Hey, Chevy. I'm gonna go now, gonna talk to you and meet you soon!

Chevy Fitzgerald: À bientôt! :*

Tuluyan akong lumabas ng kwarto at tumungo sa sa unang palapag. Pero unang sumalubong sa akin pagbaba ay si Cashel at Amauree na magkayakap. She puts her eyes up on me at bumitaw din siya sa pagyakap sa bintana. She smiles at me then Cashel turned to face me at pinalapit niya ako sa kanila.

"I know you have met earlier but why don't you guys get to know a little more while we're setting up the table?" 

"Sure, that's fine..." I pressed my lips thin.

"Go on, Cash, but I would love to help though," Amauree giggles and I feel jealous of how nice she is now.

She's only wearing a plain grey shirt and denim pants. Her hair nicely falls on her shoulder. She could be the perfect girl for Cashel though. Wala naman akong against sa kanya. Wala naman kaming relasyon  when it's all just for a show.

Amauree, Cashel, CaMauree could be a great couple name. But I guess, CoChe sounds sophisticated.

"I'll let you guys talk for a while now," Cashel said and he goes directly to the kitchen area.

"Would you like to go to the backyard?" Amauree invited and I went for it.

Naglakad naman kami ppaunta sa backyard. It was already dark but there's still a little sunshine from the west. And it's actually nice, a dark gray sky filled with sparkling little stars.

Tumuloy kaming dalawa ni Amauree sa sun lounger na nakapwesto ilang hakbang ang layo mula sa pintuan.

"So, how are you feeling today, Cosette? And my bad that I left too early earlier," she said, and she seems so pleasing and gentle. That's why Cashel and she almost got married.

"I'm feeling great," I replied. "I just had a rest and I do think I'll be up for the rest of the night."

"Oh, don't worry about that, you'll be sleepy right ahead."

Napangiwi n Lamang ako sa sinabi niya. Hindi ko kasi alam kung anong sasabihin ko sa kanya. I don't even know how to carry our conversation at all. Bakit naman kasi kailangan ako pa ang mag-entertain dito sa kaibigan niya?

"How did you guys meet?" she asked and I feel like I'm being interrogated by her. Necessary ba 'tong ginagawa niya? Or she's just trying to get to know me? Feeling ko both. "I mean you and Cashel? I feel like I had to know, and we're really close friends since when we were young."

"Honestly," I swallowed hard. And if I'm going to speak about it, siguradong akong ija-judge niya ako. "We first meet I arrived in France. I meet him in a pizzeria and then things happen and a few days later, he reached out to me on my Instagram, then it happened."

"Nice..." her only quivering comment to me. "I haven't been active in my social media lately because I have been caught up by works since we've been getting a lot of business to pile up. But it's nice that you guys found each other."

"Merci..." I winced and I'm still not comfortable. If we're just going to talk about Cashel, I'll definitely screw it up. "But can I ask a question?"

"Sure, what is it?" she smiled solemnly then she puts strands of her hair in the back of her ears.

"Are you and Cashel are together... before?"

"Do you really want to know it?"

I shrugged off. "If you'd like to..."

"Well," she paused and she showed a cryptic smile. "When we were teens. He's like 17 and I'm 15. It was just a teenage relationship and we're thinking about making it serious and he actually proposed to me and then we told Father about it but later on, we thought it'll be great we just remain friends."

"I see... His father mentioned you and Cashel almost getting married though."

"Yup, his mom doesn't know about it and that remains just to the three of us. We're happy at that time. Cashel's a good boyfriend though but I only do find him as a great friend of mine. Nothing more. And now, I'm so happy that he actually find someone like you."

"Thanks though... I really appreciate it," I smiled kahit na hindi ako kampante sa usapan naming dalawa.

"Mesdames," sabay kaming napalingon ni Amauree kay Cashel na nakadungaw sa pintuan. "Dinner's ready."

Tumayo na kaming dalawa at sumundo kay Cashel papasok sa loob. We were following him behind then we finally reached the kitchen and found the others. We finally settled all around the table. Bumulot sa buong paligid ang amoy ng pagkaing niluto nila for dinner.

What I wasn't expecting there was a Beef Caldereta serves on the table along with white rice. Biglang kumalam ang sikmura ko kasi I haven't been eating enough rice lately on my meals and this is actually a good time to make my tummy full. Kinikilig ako bigla.

Aside from the Caldereta, there are also some staple french cuisines such as Potato Dauphinoise, Chicken Cordon Bleu, and then the croissants. Hindi na mawawala 'yon.

I was excited to grab a Filipino dish on my plate and they happy that I liked it. They also our red wine on my glass, si Adie lang ang bawal so all the adults can have the alcohol.

Our dinner went great, I still feel like I was home dahil kinakausap ako ni Tita ng tagalog kaya hindi ako nahirapan makipag-usap sa kanila. They are a happy family. Tito jokes a lot and we couldn't stop but laugh at whatever one-liner jokes he threw to us.

Mabuti na lang ay hindi na-ficus sa akin ang atensyon when it's all been them and I'm glad to know them more than telling my story and they wouoldn't like to hear how I failed at al things.

When we're finally done eating, I insist to help them cleans the table and the plates. Kahit ayaw nila akong payagan, nagpumilit pa rin ako kaya wla nang nagawa si Tita bandang huli.

"I hope you like the dinner, Cosette," she smiled.

"Of course naman po, I miss Filipino dishes agad and this brings a lot of memories to me. Thank you for being nice to me, Tita."

"Naku, walang problema," aniya. "Sige na, Cosette, ako na magtatapos nito at puntahan mo na lang sina Cashel at Amauree."

Nang umalis ako sa tabi ni Tita at tumungo palabas ng kusina ay hinanap ko naman iyong dalawa. Nakita ko naman si Adie na nakahiga sa couch sa living room kaya tinanong ko kung nasaan ang kuya niya. She just pointed to me where they are at now. Tumungo ako sa pinto sa front door ng bahay at natigilan ako ng maabutan kong sobrang dikit ni Amauree at Cashel sa isa't isa.

Amauree's leaning her back from the car while Cashel's pocketing his hands close to her. It's more like a scene I should've been seeing right now.

Hindi ko alam kung tatawagin ko silang dalawa o kaya naman lalapit ako. I stiffened and was just staring at them. At ang sunod kong hindi inaasahan ay biglang tumingkayad si Amauree at hinawakan sa likod ng ulo si Cashel at inilapit niya iyonsa kanya.

They kissed.

Fuck. They just kissed.

Hindi na agad ako nanatili sa kinatatayuan ko kung hindi tumakbo ako papunta sa ikalawang palapag. Narinig ko pa ang pagtawan ni Adie sa akin pero hindi ko na siya nilingon. Tumuloy ako sa kwarto ko at sinarado ko ang pinto.

Para akong lantang gulay na naupo sa kama at malalalim na hininga ang binibitawan. Kinuha ko ang phone ko sa bulsa ko at mabilis akong nagtype ng message.

Cosette Calafiore: Hey, Chevy, would you like to talk over the phone?

Chevy Fitzgerald: Hey, Cosy, sure, I'll give you my number and dial me, okay?

And he did send his phone number and I quickly dialled it. Humiga ako sa kama on my left side habang nakapatong ang phone sa tainga ko.

Calling Chevy Fitzgerald...

"Salut, mon ami, and what's with the sudden call?"

I breathe in deeply before I spoke, "I just want to talk... I guess..."

And I'm sure I don't have to be jealous but why do I feel like one? I hate it. I hate this feeling. I hate to be in a fake relationship.

***

#FrenchKissInParis18 #FKIP18

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