Who on goddamn Earth would make out with the guy they hate? Twice? In a single day?

I hated Snooty Guy for the reason why I called him Snooty Guy. Sobrang condescending niyang tao, and making out with someone like him would be the last thing I would do in my entire life.

Well, that was my thought before . . . until the making out part happened.

"Bakit ka pa kasi nagbihis? Ang ganda na nga ng suot mo kanina!" Ate Melba scolded.

Thanks to Snooty Guy, my bra was on the floor, and my panties were soaking wet. If he didn't cum earlier, fuck him big time.

The band passed by, and all I could watch was their parade from the back.

The thing about my grandmother's front yard was the idea of a yard not being a house yard. It was a whole ass limestone road and a baldy grassland around it. At nasa loob itong road na 'to ng buong lote.

"Hindi mo na tuloy naabutan," Ate Melba added as we watched the band go. "Pinapasok pa naman 'yan dito ng Inang mo para mapanood mo sa malapitan."

Oh, that's why. Kaya nagtataka ako kung bakit pumayag si Inang na may maingay dito sa lote niya.

I was watching the helpers giving money to the band leader. Each of them was handing coins and paper bills to the guy holding a fancy can. There, I glanced at Jessa, who was standing behind the group of helpers. She was just watching the band with her hands clasped together.

Her white tee was loose, and her floral skirt was too long to reach the top of her ankles. You couldn't tell at first glance that she removed that top earlier for a guy who doesn't like her.

I felt bad for Jessa. She flashed her tits to Snooty Guy only to be rejected afterward. And the worst part of all? That guy made out with the girl who punched him because of her. What a twist.

Jessa was watching the band as they passed through the huge iron gate of our land. Her view reminded me of one time when I was in Scottsdale.

I had a boyfriend, James, when I was in eleventh grade, and making out was a casual thing for us until he had to go to the military. We had no official breakup, and I was left with a promise that we would see each other again someday.

College was only for those with brains, which I don't think I had at that time. James and I graduated from high school, and I worked in a diner as a waitress after he was enlisted.

Jessa reminded me of myself watching their troops in a huge truck passing the border of the state.

I suddenly felt bad about the fact that maybe James would still be sending letters for me from the military, and I had no chance to tell him that I'd already moved to the Philippines.

The sun was already setting, and I thought baka tapos na ang party para sa wedding anniversary ni Inang.

I thought wrong.

Nagsisimula pa lang pala ang party.

Huge speakers were playing a song that screams 'cha-cha-cha' every now and then. It was playing on fucking repeat! For an hour!

Ang daming sumasayaw. They were all in dresses and skirts, while I was in high-waisted denim shorts and a black tank top.

Ngayon ko lang nakitang mapuno ng tao ang loob ng ancestral house namin. Inang was already in the ballroom as they celebrated her wedding anniversary. Plot twist, ang apo ng greatest the one that got away niya, nandito rin.

"Esther, kumain ka," offer ni Ate Melba. I nodded kahit ayoko pang kumain. But the moment she handed me a whole damn plate full of everything on the menu, I guess declining was never on the choices.

Ayokong kumain sa ballroom pero nakailang hatak si Ate Melba sa 'kin para lang makapasok doon. I thought she was just being pushy, but after I heard the mellow sound of Moon River's instrumental part, tinanggap ko nang hindi na ako makakaalis.

I got a seat at the back of the visitors' chairs. I was picking all the sapin-sapin bits on my plate when I saw Snooty Guy wearing a very nice pair of clothes—red long-sleeved button-down, black pair of slacks, and shiny Oxford shoes. Ang layo sa suot niya kaninang polo.

He was smiling when he gently held my Inang's hand. My grandmother was barely seventy. She could still stand and walk. Hindi lang puwedeng ma-exhaust nang sobra kaya siya naka-wheelchair.

"Moon River . . . wider than a mile . . ."

Snooty Guy carefully placed my Inang's right hand over his shoulder blade, then held her other hand above the air, forming a smooth curve.

"I am crossing you in style someday . . ."

Their steps are mildly gliding and measured. I could easily tell that Snooty Guy was leading my grandmother to dance.

"Oh, dream maker, you heartbreaker . . . wherever you're going, I'm going your way . . ."

Inang sweetly smiled at Snooty Guy, as if she remembered a life with him. Snooty Guy, by the way, has a serene expression but with empty eyes. Or maybe that was just my impression. I couldn't tell.

My grandmother's elegant red dress looked so majestic in the yellow chandelier lights. If I didn't know she was my grandmother, I'd assume Snooty Guy was his grandson rather than me as her granddaughter. I mean, kahit nandito ako nakatira kay Inang, hindi ko naman siya nakakausap nang madalas. There were days na wala talagang usap at all.

But I guess she was fine with that as long as Snooty Guy's presence was here.

And now Snooty Guy—a singer, a guitarist, a pianist, a cook, a helper, and a damn dry humper—can dance slow waltz.

Jessa's type was very specific. Can blame her. 

If only his attitude matched all those good things on the list.