Matapos kong mag-apply ng lipstick at magsuklay ng buhok, sabay na kaming lumabas ng room ko para kumain sa breakfast buffet na parte ng package na binayaran namin para sa accommodation dito.

Since I don't eat rice in the morning, I asked for two pieces of pancake instead. When I sat on our table while Grayson was getting his breakfast from the buffet, I called a waitress.

"Good morning, ma'am! Coffee?"

I smiled before answering. "Can I have tea? And a cup of dark coffee with a little amount of sugar?"

"Sure, ma'am."

"Thank you!"

I watched the waitress leave the place. Ilang saglit lang din, may dala nang plato si Grayson at dalawang maliit na mug.

Ano 'yon? Coffee? Nagpagawa na ako sa waitress! Sayang naman 'yon kung hindi namin iinumin.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Sikwate," he answered before sitting on a chair in front of me. "Try mo."

"Milo ba 'yan?" I asked, chuckling.

Kinuha niya ang isang sikwate at ininom. "Raw chocolate 'yan. Masarap."

Tumango ako bago kinuha ang mug. It's a hot chocolate at parang ang lapot. It looks delicious. Ang bango rin. I smelled it more before taking a sip on it. Nanlaki pa ang mga mata ko nang makatikim ng pait pero may tamis pa rin kaya talagang masarap pa rin sa panlasa.

"Ang sarap," I commented after tasting it.

Ininom ko ulit 'yon hanggang sa dumating na ang pancakes ko, maging ang in-order kong coffee and tea para sa aming dalawa. Nang maubos ko na ang laman ng mug, ibinaba ko na 'yon sa lamesa at ngumiti sa kan'ya.

"Thanks!" I said, pulling my plate closer to me. "I want to try Bohol's delicacies. Ano pa bang maisa-suggest mo?"

Nilagyan ko na ng honey syrup ang pancakes ko at nagsimula nang kumain. Sabay lang din kami nagsimula dahil mas inuna pa namin ang sikwate.

"Maraming masarap dito!" he happily answered before drinking from his glass of water. "Mahilig ka ba sa dried mangoes or pineapple?"

I nodded before taking a bite of my pancake. "I love dried mangoes."

He chuckled. "Marami n'on dito. Mas masarap pa kaysa sa mga nabibili sa ibang lugar. Mas sikat siya sa Cebu pero marami rin gano'n dito. Kahit saang store ka pumunta, makakakita ka n'on."

I smiled as I watched him eat his rice meal. He looked so happy as he told me stories about his province. Ibinalik ko na lang ang atensiyon ko sa pagkain at nakinig sa mga kuwento niya tungkol sa Bohol.

"Peanut Kisses is also quite famous here. You should try all the delicacies and other famous foods here. It's all worth it," he added before he smiled at me.

I smiled back. "Sure! Ituro mo sa akin."

Ilang sandali pa, bahagyang lumaki ang mga mata niya na parang may naalala. "Bohol Bee Farm ice cream? Masarap 'yon! You should try that!"

I chuckled. "We will try everything habang nandito pa ako, okay?"

He smiled and then he continued eating his breakfast.

Nang matapos kaming kumain, niyaya niya na akong mamasyal sa mga tourist spots ng Bohol.

"Sa malapit na lang muna. I don't think I have the energy for a long drive today," I said while we're walking back to my room.

Tumango siya. "Let's go to Chocolate Hills first? Gusto mo mag-ATV tayo?"

Lumingon ako sa kan'ya. "Medyo malayo 'yon dito, ah?"

He laughed. "Oo nga pala." He sighed, still smiling. "Lakad lakad muna tayo sa beach?" I nodded. "Do you want to swim?"

I shook my head before I stopped in front of the sliding glass door. "Kapag nag-island hopping na lang tayo," I said as I opened the door before entering.

He chuckled before he followed me. "How can we seize your three days, then? Ayaw mong mamasyal sa mga tourist spot ng lugar."

I smiled at him. "Ayaw mo ba n'on? Malay mo mag-extend ako."

Hindi ko na nakita pa ang naging reaksiyon niya dahil dumiretso na ako sa bag ko para kuhanin ang wallet. Bigla kong naalalang hindi pa nga pala ako naliligo. I looked at Grayson who's now sitting on the couch, looking around the room.

"Uh, Grayson."

He looked at me. "Yes?"

"Naligo ka na ba?" I asked.

His mouth dropped with my question—parang hindi niya inaasahan 'yon sa lahat. He gulped before answering. "Uhm, yes? Bakit? Mabaho ba ako?"

My mouth parted at his response. Ahh, I get it! 'Yon ang nasa isip niya dahil sa tanong ko! Napahagalpak ako ng tawa nang dahil do'n. Hindi ko napansin ang mga nagiging tanong ko sa kan'ya, iba na pala ang meaning!

Damn, I've never laughed this loud for so long!

"Sorry," I said, still laughing. Ibinalik ko na ang tingin sa kan'ya na ngayon ay katatapos lang din tumawa. "Hindi pa kasi ako naliligo. Can you leave me for a moment? Maliligo lang ako."

Umawang ang bibig niya kasabay ng pagtango nang bahagya. "Akala ko, eh." He chuckled. "Sige, maglalakad-lakad na muna ako."

I nodded in response.

I watched him stand up and went out of my room with a cute smile on his face. Hindi pa rin ako maka-move on sa katangahan ko kanina sa pagtatanong. Kung sa akin siguro itinanong 'yon, I'd be very ashamed of myself and feel offended, lalo na't hindi ko naman gaanong kilala ang nagsabi.

Hindi naman namin kilala ang isa't isa so I know that it would be very offensive. I don't know why I seem so overly comfortable with him—na nagawa kong itanong 'yon nang gano'n lang.

Nang tuluyan nang maka-move on sa kanina, naghanda na ako para maligo.

***

Nang matapos maligo, tinawagan ko si Grayson sa number na ginamit niya para tawagan ako kanina. Mabilis niya lang din itong sinagot.

"Hey, Summer."

I smiled as I left my room, wearing my usual casual clothes—blue maong shorts and a white sleeveless blouse.

"Where are you? I'm done."

"I'm still here at the resort. Nasa beach. Sa event's place."

"Okay, I'm coming."

He chuckled. "Okay."

I ended the call before I continued walking. Marami akong turista na nakasalubong habang nilalampasan ko ang malawak na pool. They are swimming in their sexy bikinis as they talk with their friends, or loved ones. I couldn't tell because I never really cared. Naiinggit lang ako kasi . . . mag-isa ako.

Pero pinili ko naman 'to.

The light mood that I had earlier faded as I felt envious of the people that I watched as I walked to the beach. Hanggang sa mapuntahan ko na ang nakahiga sa lounger na si Grayson habang tinitingnan ang pictures sa camera niya.

"Oh? What happened?" he asked before getting up. "Bakit parang nawala ka sa mood lalo?"

I sighed before sitting on the lounger beside him. "Ewan. Ang lungkot pala mamasyal mag-isa, lalo kapag lahat ng turista na nakikita mo, may mga kasama. Masaya. Nag-e-enjoy."

I sighed as I stared at the sea in front of me.

"Sorry, nawala talaga ako sa mood. Hindi kasi talaga ako sanay na mamasyal mag-isa. I was always with my ex-boyfriend before whenever I went out of town—or out of the country. I never did this. Ang hirap pala."

He wasn't talking at first even after a minute of telling him those things. I looked at him and saw that he's staring at me.

"Why?" I asked.

He shrugged as he looked away. "Kaya ba nandito ka . . . kasi iniwan ka niya?" He looked back at me again.

I smiled a little as my heart felt deep pain. "Oo, eh." I chuckled.

"Kaya ka rin nag-resign?"

I nodded as my smile slowly vanished. The wind blew my hair. "Nawalan ako ng gana sa bagay na mahal kong gawin, kasi iniwan ako ng taong mahal ko."

My eyes are starting to heat so I tried to take a deep breath to relax myself but it didn't help. Reminiscing the days that I was happy with him, while I am alone here, makes me feel so awful.

Kumusta na kaya siya ngayon?

Is he getting better with the treatments that he's receiving now?

I know that it's already been a few days since he made it clear to me that he won't come back, pero yung sakit kasi . . . parang kanina lang nangyari ang lahat. Pati yung mga kasalanan ko . . . noong sinabi na niya sa akin lahat kung bakit hindi na katulad ng dati ang pagmamahal niya sa akin. Ang sakit masampal sa katotohanang hindi kami naghiwalay dahil sa may nagloko, kung hindi dahil binalewala ko yung nararamdaman niya.

"You can talk to me about it whenever you want. Marami pa namang oras para mamasyal mamaya."

I looked at him again. He smiled at me. I tried to smile back but it only made me wince. Hanggang sa tuluyan na nga akong naiyak sa harap niya. Grayson didn't talk beside me nor asked what happened while I was crying hard in front of him. He stayed quiet, watching me tore apart, hanggang sa tuluyan na akong kumalma.

Nahiga na ako sa lounger habang siya ay nananatili lang sa puwesto niya kaninang nakaupo sa gilid ko. I sighed repeatedly as I listened to the waves of the sea in front of me and the wind that blew in the area.

"Kasalanan ko. Walang nagloko," pagkompirma ko sa haka-haka niya.

The way his hands turned into fist earlier and his jaw clenched makes me think that he thinks Enzo cheated on me. So I had to answer it even though he wasn't asking yet.

"Then . . . why did he leave you like that?" he asked with a creased forehead.

I smiled at him. "Ikaw? Bakit ka iniwan ng mag-ina mo? Nagloko ka ba? Nagloko siya?"

His mouth parted, unable to answer my question. I chuckled.

"Charot lang! Don't answer me if you're still not comfortable." I sighed as I watched the sea again. "Hindi ako nagloko pero nasaktan ko siya. Binalewala ko yung nararamdaman niya."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Hindi ko pinansin yung mga shini-share niyang struggle sa akin sa workplace niya simula nang ma-promote siya. Para kasi sa akin, swerte na siya kasi ang laki ng sweldo niya sa real estate company na 'yon. Para sa akin, masaya kami sa mayroon kami. Every night, whenever we were beside each other before we fell asleep, that's my favorite moment of the day. Kaya tuwing nagsasabi siya ng problema niya sa ganoong oras, lagi ko siyang shina-shutdown kasi nanghihinayang ako sa magandang oras na 'yon para lang mabahiran ng lungkot . . . ng problema . . . ng negativity."

For the nth time, my eyes started heating again as I reminisced the days that I shut him down whenever he tried to open up to me.

"Ang . . . ang gago ko kasi ako 'yong babae, ako dapat ang mas sensitive, 'di ba? Kaso, hindi. I was selfish. Insensitive. Sarili ko lang inisip ko." I sobbed as my tears fell again. "Inalagaan niya ako sa lahat ng paraan pero yung pag-alaga sa mental health niya na ilang beses niyang sinubukang hilingin sa akin . . . hindi ko pa magawa."

I wiped my tears with my bare hands as I tried to laugh when I looked at Grayson.

"He wanted to hold my hand so I could save him. But instead of doing that, I let him hold on the rope alone as I watched him struggle in trying to climb from falling down. Sinubukan niyang hingiin ang tulong ko pero . . . binalewala ko siya at ang lahat lahat sa kan'ya."

Grayson gulped as he looked away from me.