Nakabalik na kami sa hotel sa Tagbilaran matapos naming mag-grocery. Sabi ni Grayson, araw-araw na lang kaming kumakain sa restaurant. Para raw makatipid kaming dalawa, magluto na lang kami.

Mabuti na lang talaga, natuto akong magluto. Kung hindi, nakakahiya naman dito kay Grayson kung lahat iaasa ko sa kan'ya.

At dahil naka-hotel lang ako, hindi rin naman p'wedeng magluto nang magluto dito. Dinaanan pa ni Grayson ang air fryer sa bahay niya bago kami umuwi dito, nang sa gano'n, kahit papaano raw may mapaglulutuan kami.

Kumakain lang ako ng dried mangoes habang nakahiga sa kama, nagpo-post ng mga pictures ko sa Instagram. Si Grayson ay nasa kusina at binabantayan ang chicken fillet na iniluluto niya sa air fryer. Ayaw niya rin talagang matagal na magdikit kami dahil nga sa nangyari kanina.

Naka-move on na ako, siya kinikilig pa hanggang ngayon.

Nang matapos ko nang i-adjust ang lighting ng pictures ko underwater na kinuhanan niya kahapon, nag-isip na ako ng caption.

Hmmm . . .

ctrl + r 🌊

Matapos i-post ang apat na picture na 'yon, naghanap ako ng panibagong apat na ipo-post ko ulit. Gusto ko kasi na maganda tingnan ang feed ng IG ko at maganda ang layout ng pictures once mag-post din 'yon sa Facebook ko. I want my social media to look very aesthetic so I organized even the smallest details of the pictures I am posting.

As I scroll through my gallery, I stumble upon this one photo I didn't notice when I was browsing through Grayson's camera roll.

Wow . . . this photo made it seem like I am with my boyfriend and I actually looked very beautiful in this shot.

Tulad kanina, it was an underwater shot. Suot ko pa ang snorkeling gear ko pero ang kinaganda kasi dito, kita ang buong katawan ko hanggang paa na may suot na fins. My eyes are looking directly at his camera's lens and I am smiling so genuinely!

But what really made my heart beat wildly is . . . my hand is holding the photographer's. Kumbaga, para itong isa sa mga picture na nakikita natin sa Facebook or Instagram na may caption na "take my hand, take my whole life too," and other shenanigans.

I want to post this one but . . . I'm afraid of what people will think about me.

"Summer, it's already done. Let's eat now."

Lumingon ako sa kan'ya. Nakita ko na naghahanda na siya ng mga pagkakainan namin sa lamesa.

Where did he even get those things?

Bumangon na ako at inubos na ang natitirang dried mangoes bago itinapon ang plastic nito sa basurahan. Pumunta ako sa lamesa at naupo doon.

"Grayson," I called him.

"Yes?"

Pinalapit ko siya sa akin. Lumunok siya bago naglakad papalapit. "What?"

"Can I post this one?" I asked, showing him that one photo that captured my whole interest.

Matagal niyang tinitigan ang picture bago lumingon sa akin at ngumiti. "Bakit nagpapaalam ka sa akin?"

I shrugged. "We looked like a couple kahit na hindi naman nila alam na ikaw 'to. Baka lang ayaw mo."

He laughed. "After what we did earlier, do you really think na ayaw ko?"

Napaawang ang bibig ko bago ini-lock ang cellphone, saka ibinaba 'yon sa lamesa. "Let's just eat."

Tumawa siya bago naupo sa harap ko. "Just post it. You can even tag me and I will feel honored, Summer."

After he said that, he urged me to start eating. Tumango na lang ako at ngumiti sa kan'ya.

Nang matapos naming kumain, siya na rin ang nagkusang magligpit ng mga pinagkainan namin

"Pagawain mo naman ako, Grayson! Wala na akong naitulong."

Ngumisi siya bago tinapon sa basurahan ang ilang kalat namin. "Okay lang naman, hayaan mo na."

Napanguso ako at hinayaan na lang siya na gawin ang gusto niya. Nagkukusa naman siya, hindi ko naman siya inuutusan. 'Wag talaga siyang magrereklamo at sasabihan akong tamad, naku!

Bumalik na ako sa pagkakahiga since medyo wala talaga ako sa mood gumalaw-galaw nang dahil sa hangover. I went back to posting photos on Instagram. There are a few notifications I received from the people who liked the photos I posted. There are even a few of them who left comments. They are saying how beautiful I am even in slightly tanned skin.

Yup! I know, right?

I shook my head, slightly laughing, because I suddenly felt narcissistic but that's just how I saw myself. I know I'm pretty.

Binalikan ko ang picture na tinititigan ko kanina at napagdesisyunang i-post pa rin 'yon. Bahala na sa kung anong sasabihin ng iba. This is the first time I felt slightly happy again. Alangan namang sirain ko 'yon dahil lang iniisip ko ang sasabihin ng mga taong hindi naman ako pinapakain sa araw-araw?

Wala silang ambag sa life ko, so bahala silang tumahol d'yan.

Hmp!

After adjusting the lighting of the photos to make it look better, I typed a simple caption on it.

everything about this photo is genuine. ✨

Before I posted that photo, tinawag ko muna ang kasama ko.

"Grayson!"

"Yes?!" malakas na sagot niya habang nasa loob ng malaking bathroom.

"Come here!"

"What again?!"

"Basta pumunta ka na lang dito!"

Hindi na siya sumagot pa. Ilang sandali lang, lumabas na siya ng bathroom at nagpunta sa akin.

"Why? Do you need anything?"

"What's your IG?"

Namula ang mukha niya. "I will give that to you but don't you freak out if you'll see yourself there once I accept your follow request, okay?"

Napakunot-noo ako bago tumawa nang dahil sa pagpa-panic niya. "Oo, so, ano na?"

"It's just my first and second name without the space but with double x in the end."

Natatawa akong ni-type sa search bar ang username niyang marcgraysonxx. Unang lumabas ang account niyang naka-private pa kunwari, ang dami namang followers! Ilang libo lang ang inilamang ng followers ko sa kan'ya, ah!

"Wow, you're quite famous, ha?" I said as I hit the follow button.

He smirked. "So, you're lowkey admitting that you're famous?"

I looked away. "Those are just the people who bought my books, my workmates, college classmates, close friends, relatives and other random people on the internet. Eh, ikaw?"

He shrugged. "Maybe they liked my photographs?"

I smiled. "Accept mo na!"

He chuckled. "Okay, wait lang. Atat na atat."

I was thinking of tagging him this photo on my drafts kaso . . . I was really afraid. Baka mamaya, awayin siya ng friends ni Enzo. I doubt that they know anything about what really happened between Enzo and I. Pero mali yata na madamay si Grayson doon?

"It's done. I already followed you back."

I laughed. "Wow. Kunwari ka pa, you're visiting my account naman from time to time!"

Umawang ang bibig niya. "How do you even know?"

I smirked. "Kasasabi mo lang na you're lowkey admitting that you're famous which means you already know that I have more followers than you. Duh?" I chuckled. "It's okay. Tanggap kong crush mo ako."

I heard him laugh a little. "We're too old for crushes, Summer."

Napanguso ako at hindi na siya pinansin pa. Tiningnan ko ang posts niya sa profile. He never posted any selfie of him. Puro photography niya lang underwater, the scenery, random people that he was paid to take photos, and the recent posts are . . . all me.

The first photo that he posted was the night that we first met by the beach. I was sitting on the beach while my chin was on my knees. I was obviously sad and my background was so many people who are not alone—as in, ako lang ang alone sa photo na 'to! It was a back-and-white photo which made it look sadder.

He's great, huh?

I read the caption.

In a sea of happy people, there will always be one sad person that stands out the most.

The next photo was when I was swimming that one night after we drank at the poolside bar. Nakatalikod ako habang nakalubog ang kalahating katawan sa tubig. I looked so hot at this angle, wow!

I read the caption once again and it says, high temperature.

I smirked as I knew that he meant I am hot.

The following photos were my stolen shots that he showed me before. Katulad ng ginagawa ko bago mag-post, ina-adjust niya rin ang lighting. Hindi naman ako pumuputi sa picture niya since natural nang maputi ako pero mas gumaganda ang kulay—yung color palette. He really knows a lot about photos.

The series of photos that follow after my stolen shots were my snorkeling session with him in Balicasag Island. Sobrang ganda ng bawat kuha niya at kahit hindi masiyadong kita ang mukha ko sa ibang picture, ang ganda pa rin dahil para niyang pinakita na nagsasayaw ako sa ilalim ng tubig!

The way my legs moved underwater as I swam away from him while he's taking photos of me, parang pinapakita niya na may exhibition na nagaganap underwater. I can't stop myself from smiling. The captions were all one-word but then, I suddenly realized that it meant something if I put those jumbled words into a sentence.

Take my hand. Take my whole life, too.

Anyone, literally, can easily figure it out since it is very obvious. Kahit na pag-iba-ibahin niya pa ng p'westo ang bawat word, madali pa rin malalaman na ito ang ibig niyang sabihin.

But . . . why?

Why would he make that a caption sa mga pictures ko?

"Kilig na kilig ka naman."

Nag-angat ako ng tingin kay Grayson na ngayon ay naupo na sa gilid ng kama ko.

I chuckled. "Hindi naman. Sakto lang."

The final photo that I saw was the same that I showed him a while ago. And the caption made my heart beat wilder.

The Summer that made my heart flutter.

Hindi ko napigilan ang pagkagat sa kuko ko dahil gusto kong kumalma ang puso ko pero hindi ko magawa. I know it's not the summer that made his heart flutter. It's me—his Summer—that made his heart flutter.

It's been only a few days. Why am I feeling so happy over this? Baka mamaya, hindi naman pala totoo ang lahat ng 'to. Baka mamaya . . . ako lang ang masaya sa amin tapos siya, pampalipas-oras lang pala dahil wala siyang girlfriend ngayon.

Pero . . . one month lang naman.

Ibabalato ko na sa sarili ko ang isang buwan na 'to para sumaya sa kan'ya. Let's see how this whole month lasts with him.

I went back to my profile and opened the photo I was about to post earlier. Hindi ko na ita-tag si Grayson since baka awayin siya ng mga nakakakilala sa akin na related din kay Enzo. Baka maantala pa. Ngayon ko na lang ulit naramdaman yung ganito. I need to take care of this very well.

Wala na akong binago sa caption. Basta ni-post ko na lang bago tumingin kay Grayson na nasa Instagram din, ini-stalk ang account ko. I watched him like every photo that I posted until he realized that I posted a new photo. He scrolled up to see it and he immediately double tapped it.

He turned to me. "Why did you not tag me?"

Nagkibit-balikat ako. "I want this moment to last."

"Huh?"

I shrugged. "Privacy. Maraming mangingialam kapag maraming nakakaalam."

He chuckled. "Right. We should do that."

Nahiga na siya sa tabi ko at sabay naming ini-stalk ang account ng isa't-isa.