CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

THERESIA'S POV

"Ladies and Gentleman, please occupy the tables. The show is about to start in five minutes," announcement na bumungad sa amin ni Martina pagpasok ng LUST DAWN.

"Hey, saan mo gustong umupo?" bulong sa akin ni Martina, kasi malakas yung sounds sa club.

"Sa upuan," sarcastic kong sagot.

Martina rolled his eyes at me before he snaked his arm on my waist and pulled me closer to him. "Don't let men flirt with you, okay?"

Ako naman ang umikot ang mata. Napaka-ano ng baklang 'to. We finally saw a table for four. No one was occupying it kaya doon na lang kami.

LUST DAWN is an exclusive nightclub na kailangan mo pang mag-apply for membership. It would take a month or two bago ka maging member, simply because the DAWN, the four owners, trust no one. Sila-sila lang din ang nagche-check at nagp-process ng membership. You can apply for either a VIP or a VVIP, and mind you, the VIP Membership would already cost you an arm and a leg.

Worth it naman ang membership. This club is the most secured yet liberated club in the whole world. Owned by four young billionaires. LUST DAWN has the best amenities from pools to bars, and even the best drinks mixed by the best bartenders. Plus, hindi rito pwede ang illegal doings, dahil yung apat mismo ang magpapatalsik sayo. Hindi lang membership ang mawawala kundi pati ang businesses mo.

Bigla namang may tumugtog na Moves Like Jagger mula sa speakers and instead of hearing Adam Levine's voice, we heard the D of DAWN, Charles Dominique Williams na sinundan naman ng A, Anurak Saetang. When the bridge hits, instead of Christine Aguilera, the W and N sang while dancing, Wynter Emerald Vazquez and Narae Melody Lee. After their performance, the DAWN hosted their own event.

"Good evening, everybody! Are you enjoying the night?" masayang sigaw ni Anurak. The audience cheered and clapped their hands.

"Before we proceed to the real party and get wasted," panimula ni Charles.

"We would like everyone to clap their hands for the designer of our outfits for this event, Martina Gill of MG Styles," sunod ni Wynter.

Tumingin pa sa akin si Martina na para bang nagpapaalam pa bago tumayo. "Go lang. Ano mo 'ko? Nanay?" pananaray ko.

Mahina naman siyang natawa bago tumayo at inayos ang suit na suot niya saka naglakad papunta sa stage kasama ang DAWN.

"We thank this artist—" Narae refers to Martina. "—for making us these masterpieces that made us look sexy and hot tonight." Umani naman iyon ng maraming positive reactions from the audience.

"Any words for tonight, Martina?" tanong ni Anurak saka may inabot na mic.

"Good evening, everyone. First of all, I thank the DAWN for giving me a chance to be part of the fifth anniversary of their club and showing off my skills to the world," nakangiting sabi niya sa lahat. Bigla naman siyang tumingin sa akin. "But I mostly thank Theresia Myers for inspiring me." He smiled at me. I rolled my eyes before smiling back at him.

Nawala naman ang atensyon ko sa stage nang may tumabi sa akin na lalake. "Alone?" His smile shows the danger and his eyes were filled with desire.

"No," simple kong sagot saka ibinalik ang tingin sa stage kaya lang wala na roon si Martina. I saw him walking towards our table with his eyes glaring at me? Ba't ang sama ng tingin niya sa akin?

"Who are you with? Friends?" I heard the flirt's voice. Ah so kinakausap pa rin pala ako ng taong 'to?

"She's with me and not a friend but a boyfriend," Martina interjected.

Napatingin naman sa kanya yung lalake. "Ahh... Martina Gill. I didn't know you liked girls now. You know..." Malanding lumapit siya kay Martina. "I play with both sides. You can say you want me and I'll take you anywhere you want," rinig kong malanding sabi nung lalake kay Martina. W-What now?

'Di ko napigilang inumin ang scotch na inorder ko kanina saka nilapitan si Martina at hinila paharap sa akin. I pulled him by the collar of his long sleeves and kissed him in front of the guy.

Naramdaman kong natigilan si Martina bago humalik pabalik. The kiss was smooth, without tongue, and warm. Bago pa ako tuluyang malasing sa halik namin, I pulled away and looked at the flirt.

"I don't think he wants you, I can satisfy him myself," I said while giving him a haughty smile.

The guy smirked before he left our table, saka ko lang na-realize ang ginawa ko. Tere! Anong kalokohan 'yun‽

Hawak ko pa rin pala yung collar niya at ramdam ko pa rin ang lapit ng mukha niya sa akin kahit nakatagilid ako sa kanya.

I cleared my throat before letting go of his collar. Lumayo pa ako sa kanya bago humarap sa kanya.

I saw his eyes darkened with desire. "Why did you do that?" he asked in a low voice that made me gulp.

"Ano... Chaka yung guy, 'di bagay sayo. Sinalba lang kita," sagot ko before I went back to my seat.

Pero bago ko pa siya malampasan ay hinawakan niya ang braso ko saka inilapit ang mukha niya sa tenga ko. "If you do that one more time, I might not stop from that, Tere. So, think twice before you do that. Baka magkatotoo ang sinabi mo sa kanya. You might satisfy me if that happens."

I gulped and nodded my head. He looked at me before guiding me back to our seats.

Bakit mo naman kasi ginawa 'yun, Tere? Ano bang pumasok sa isip mo? Anong kalokohan 'yun?

I just didn't like the fact that someone was flirting with him. May Noah na ngang kaagaw ang anak ko sa atensyon ni Martha, dadagdag pa siya eh.

Tama. Para kay Martha ang ginawa ko. Tama, for my daughter.

"Theresia Myers and Martina Gill! Omy! Thank you for attending!" Narae exclaimed nang makarating silang apat sa table namin. Narae even hugged us both.

"Hey! The best friends on Narae's charity. Are you enjoying the party?" tanong naman ni Anurak.

I politely smiled at them. "The party's awesome, and the place is just great. Thank you for inviting us."

"Thank you for the compliments. We're glad you're having fun," sabi naman ni Wynter.

"The real party's about to start. We're just finishing roaming around and welcoming the guests personally," Charles interrupted. Tumingin naman siya sa akin. "Gab is at the bar. You can go visit him. He mentioned you're actually friends."

Napangiti naman ako. "Yeah, I pose no threat," joke ko na tinawanan naman ni Narae, Wynter, at Anurak.

"Forgive my best friend for being possessive—" Wynter was cut off by Charles.

"I'm not possessive," he growled.

"Yeah right, tell that to the marines," pananaray ni Wynter sa lalake. She then smiled at me, gone with the cold aura. "So you're a friend of my brother, well then, I'll send some more drinks for you. A special one."

"Thank you, Wynter," sabi ko, tinanguan niya lang naman ako.

Napatingin naman ako sa kasama ko na kausap sina Narae at Anurak.

"Tell me if ever you'll want to have personalized clothes again," nakangiting sabi ni Martina.

"Oh, I like your designs and choice of fabric," Narae praised Martina.

"Advice for you..." rinig kong bulong sa akin ni Wynter. "If you want someone, grab them already. Don't let anyone have them first." Napatingin ako sa kanya and she smiled as she points to Charles. "'Wag kang gumaya sa isang 'to na ambagal." She matched her words with a chuckle.

Sumama naman ang mukha ni Charles. "Shut the hell up. Best friend ba talaga kita?"

Oh, so they can speak in Filipino. "At kapag may nauna na sa kanya?" I whispered while looking down.

"Steal him. Mark him as yours. Hindi naman siya magpapamarka na sayo kung seryoso siya sa nagmamay-ari sa kanya ngayon eh," rinig kong sagot ni Charles na nagpatingin sa akin sa kanya.

"Wow ha. Is that your plan? You'll wait for someone to have him bago mo siya kunin?" Wynter scoffed.

At nagpatuloy na silang dalawa sa pagbabangayan. They look cute though. Kung 'di ko lang alam na gusto ni Ang si Charles, baka shinip ko na 'tong dalawang 'to.

Ilang saglit pa ay nagpaalam na sa amin ang apat at naiwan na lang kami ni Martina sa table.

Steal him. Hindi naman siya magpapamarka na sayo kung seryoso siya sa nagmamay-ari sa kanya ngayon eh.

Charles' words are bugging my mind. Now I'm not sure what to do.

He kissed me back, he was flirting with me, his actions were confusing, at wala pang Noah na nababanggit si Martina hanggang ngayon. Should I hope? Can I hope now?

Kung para rin naman kay Martha, maybe... just maybe, I could do that.