"SERA, ARE YOU ready to go?" Curtis asked, his head popping at my bedroom door.

"I'll be done in a minute," I replied, while checking my reflection in the mirror one last time. He just nodded his head at me.

Today's the weekend, and that means... we're going to the bar! I've been waiting for this night because it's been a couple of months since the last time I tasted alcohol. This is the longest time na hindi ako uminom kaya I have been looking forward to this night talaga!

I'm wearing a gold-draped neck satin dress and my gold stilettos. I'm not a fan of wearing heavy makeup, so I just put a little bit of blush on, some red lipstick and curled my lashes to put some colour on my pale skin. I also curled the ends of my hair, and I'm good to go.

My phone vibrated and I saw that Cash texted me. He said he was on his way to Empire, and I simply said, "OK," before slipping my phone into my bag.

Cash never came to my unit after I told him that Curtis had been living with me. Hindi ko alam kung matutuwa ako or what... I kind of miss teasing him because the last time I saw him was when I went to The Empress.

Cash pulled up in front of the Empire. Bumaba siya sa sasakyan niya para lapitan kami ni Curtis.

He's wearing a white fitted shirt over a leather jacket and black jeans. I almost drooled while watching him walk towards us, but I was quick to stop when I saw that familiar grin on his face. He enjoys watching me while I'm checking him out.

He looks so fine! How can he be this hot? It's so unfair!

"Hi." I greeted him.

"Hey, you look great," he said, smiling.

"Thanks, you look great too." I smiled back.

"So, where do you plan to go?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, actually. You're the party animal here. You should know."

I heard Curtis, who was standing beside me, chuckling at my response.

"We can go to my friend's bar at Sapphire," he suggested.

I nodded, "Sure!" I agreed, and Curtis just shrugged at us before we got inside Cash's car and headed to Sapphire.

Pag-dating namin do'n rinig mo na agad 'yung ingay na nanggagaling sa loob ng Sapphire. I could feel my body getting excited just by hearing the loud music!

"Woah, slow down babe!" Cash yelled, laughing, when I started walking faster than them.

My heart skipped a beat, and I don't know if it's because of the booming, loud music coming from the bar or the fact that Cash just called me "babe."

"Bagal niyo! I want to drink na!" I yelled back before walking faster to the entrance of the bar. Tumatawa 'yung magpinsan nang makarating sila sa entrance. May pila kasi kaya naabutan rin nila ako.

"We're friends of Kenzo," Cash said to the bouncer, and he let us in right away.

"Wow, big time talaga!" sabi ko habang tumatawa at kahit madilim kitang-kita ko 'yong pag irap ni Cash sa'kin.

He led the way inside the bar. Ang daming tao sa loob kaya mas na-excite ako! I've actually searched some popular bars here in Manila, but I think I made the right choice to let Cash decide where to go because this bar is lit!

Cash was in front of me at nasa likuran ko naman si Curtis. I was getting bumped by a lot of people when we passed by the dance floor, kaya I kept on saying 'sorry' and I think Cash heard me because I just felt his hand holding mine.

Hinila niya ako palapit sakaniya and he enclosed me in his arms while leading the way.

"Thanks," sabi ko pag lagpas namin sa dance floor.

He just smiled at me, and I noticed he was still holding my hand. Curtis was caught in the middle of the dance floor, kaya nahuli siya sa pag dating sa pwesto namin. Napatingin siya sa kamay namin ni Cash, kaya agad kong tinanggal 'yung pagkakahawak ni Cash sa kamay ko.

Cash was looking around—probably looking for his friend—when I heard Kuya Baker's voice calling my name.

"Kuya!" I exclaimed. I immediately gave him a hug. Ang tagal ko na rin siyang hindi nakita! Cash saw Kuya Baker tookaya nag bro hug sila.

"What are you guys doing here? And why are you two together?" nagtatakang tanong niya.

"Serenity wanted to drink, and she asked for my company." Cash swiftly replied to Kuya. Hindi na nagtanong pa si Kuya. Mabuti nalang talaga alam nilang magkaibigan kami ni Cash kaya hindi na masyadong duda si Kuya kay Cash.

I introduced Curtis to Kuya before we went to their table. Kasama rin nila si Arlo and Kuya introduced me to Kenzo. I kind of remember him because he was also in the picture in Kuya's unit.

"What the hell, bro?" Kuya told Cash.

Cash ordered a lot of drinks. I didn't complain though, but I could see Curtis' surprised face while staring at the 5 bottles of whiskey lined up in the middle of our table.

"What? It's been a while since the last time we hung out." Cash replied. I heard Kenzo laughing while shaking his head.

"We need Atlas here," Arlo commented. Kuya and Kenzo instantly agreed. Mukhang si Cash lang ang malakas uminom sakanilang apat.

Oh, well... I guess I have to help Cash finish the five bottles of whiskey.

We started drinking, and we got to finish the first two bottles in an hour. Umayaw na si Kuya at Arlo sa pag take ng shots. Kenzo wasn't drinking because he needed to stay sober because he's the owner. Siya nalang tuloy 'yong taga bigay ng shots samin. Si Curtis naman, after the first bottle e tumigil na rin siya sa pag-inom. Kaya kanina pa siya binu-boo ng pinsan niya, but Curtis being Curtis, he just ignored his cousin.

After the second bottle, I told them that I was going to the dance floor muna. I'm a bit tipsy, but I could still manage. I'm a heavy drinker. Hindi lang halata sa itsura ko. A lot of people always think that I'm prim and proper because I look angelic and mahinhin daw. Kaya they get really surprised when they get to know me and find out that I don't really act the way they imagined me to be.

I'm used to partying at the club way back in LA, kaya hindi na ako nagugulat when a guy starts dancing behind me. As long as they don't touch me in the wrong way.

I loved all the songs that the DJ was playing, kaya I kept on dancing. Bumalik lang ako sa table namin when I got tired.

Pag balik ko sa table, napansin kong wala si Cash.

"Where's your cousin?" I asked Curtis, who was busy on his phone.

"I... don't know. I haven't seen him since you left," he replied, while his eyes were fixed on his phone. Gusto ko sanang silipin kung sinong kausap niya, but I already have an idea of who he might be talking to, so hindi ko na siya kinausap.

Kuya and Arlo were both busy talking. Hindi na nagalaw 'yung tatlong bote ng whiskey sa lamesa. I took shots while waiting for Cash to come back, dahil hindi ko naman kayang ubusin lahat 'to ng mag-isa.

After my tenth shot, I've decided to look for Cash. I'll really punch him in the face if he leaves without telling us!

My head starts spinning but I still made my way back to the dance floor to look for him. The strobe lights are not helping at all! I was constantly getting pushed and bumped by random people, and that made me feel sick, so I decided to go to the washroom, and that's where I found Cash talking to someone.

I stood there for a moment while I watched them flirting. I saw Cash whisper something in the girl's ear that made her giggle. She started rubbing Cash's arms, and Cash seemed to like it.

"What a flirt," I mumbled to myself before going to the washroom.

Pagbalik ko sa table nando'n na rin si Cash. Napatingin siya sa'kin and I gave him a meaningful look that made his eyebrows furrow.

"Nakita kita kanina," I told him while grinning. I sat beside him. Naka-kunot pa rin 'yong noo niya bago niya ma-realized 'yong tinutukoy ko.

"Don't worry, you're allowed to flirt with other women naman. I can flirt with other guys too. It's not like we have a relationship or anything..." I mumbled so Kuya won't hear us.

Cash did not say anything. We just continued drinking until the 4th bottle of whiskey. And this time, I'm really drunk and so is Cash!

Nagpaalam ulit sakanila na sasayaw ako sa dance floor. Hindi ko alam kung anong oras na pero sobrang buhay na buhay pa rin ang mga tao sa bar. Hindi nawawalan ng tao sa dance floor because of the DJ! He really knows what to play. I should probably talk to Kenzo about giving him a raise!

Before I left, I saw Kuya nodding at Cash to follow me to the dance floor kaya alam kong nakasunod si Cash sa likod ko. Hinayaan ko lang siya. I just dance to the music. Cash did the same too, because I saw him dancing with some random girl.

A guy approached me from behind, and he started dancing. He started grinding behind me, and I just let him. I was being drowned out by the loud music and I lost control of my body. I felt the guy's hand on my waist, and I rested my body against him while we kept on dancing, but our dance was interrupted when Cash pulled me out of the dance floor.

"Hey! What was that?!" I yelled at him. He pulled me until we got outside the bar.

"I... I want to take a walk," he replied without facing me.

"Bakit kasama pa ako?" inis na sabi ko. I walked around to face him. Sobrang pula na ng mukha hanggang leeg niya. He is drunk!

"I-I don't know... Ayaw mo ba?" He couldn't look me in the eyes. My head is spinning, but I find him really cute right now.

"Okay. Let's go for a walk." I agreed. We needed to sober up anyway, dahil wala kaming driver pag-uwi kapag lasing pa rin si Cash hanggang mamaya.

It was already dark outside, but the streets were still busy. Madami pa ring tao ang nasa labas. Buhay na buhay pa rin ang Manila. There are a lot of bars on this street, kaya hindi nawawalan ng tao sa labas. The street was filled with loud music.

"Here," Cash said before putting his leather jacket over my shoulder. It's not even cold, kaya nagtaka ako kung bakit niya binigay pa niya 'yong jacket niya sa'kin, but I just smiled and thanked him anyway.

Hindi ko alam kung saan na kami nakarating ni Cash. We were both quiet while walking down the street until I saw a tattoo shop that was still open.

I immediately pulled Cash and went to the tattoo shop.

"What are we doing here?" he asked. I gave him a playful smile before he noticed where we were.

"I've been wanting to get a tattoo!" I beamed. Ang tagal ko nang gustong magpa-tattoo pero hindi natutuloy dahil takot ako sa needles and right now, I'm really drunk and I'm not in the right state of mind, kaya I have to do this now!

"Are you serious?" he said. I immediately nodded my head.

"Dali na! You can decide where and what I'm going to get, and I can decide yours. Deal?" Cash sighed before nodding and shaking my hand.

W H A T Y A S E Y