Chapter 12

"I asked him out and he said yes," diretso kong sabi sa mga kaibigan ko para lang matapos na. Nikki was grinning like a proud mom at nanlaki ang mga mata ni Gem before she proceeded to ask him a hundred different questions.

Initially, I did not want to tell them but then I changed my mind kasi kailangan ko ng support nila. Gusto ko ng opinion tungkol sa isusuot ko at sa kung ano ang gagawin ko sa date. I'd just never been on a date! I never said this out loud dahil pakiramdam ko ay dapat sa edad na 'to ay nakaranas na ako ng date, but that's how it was.

"Kailan?" Gem asked.

"Friday night," I replied.

"Anong gagawin niyo?"

I shrugged. "Hindi pa namin napapagusapan," I said and then looked at Nikki. "Ano ang sasabihin ko kapag nagtanong siya?"

"Nothing," she replied. "He's the guy—let him plan the date out."

"Very archaic naman," I said. "Saka ako kaya nag-askout."

"So? He said yes. It wasn't as if tinutukan mo siya ng baril. He could've said no if he didn't want to go out with you."

"Still—"

"No, okay?" Nikki said, cutting me off. "Here's how dating works, babe. One, let him plan the date out. Your role is to show up and to look pretty. Two, he needs to confirm on the day itself. If he doesn't confirm, take it that the date won't proceed. Call us and we'll take you out to dinner instead."

"Grabe naman."

Nikki shrugged. "I mean, that's just me, but then again, I always require the princess treatment," she said. "I establish that early on the relationship so if the guy can't give me that, we can immediately stop wasting each other's time and move on to the next one."

"Date pa lang naman."

"What do you think dating is, Arielle? It's about finding who your perfect match is. It's trial and error. If it's an error, you move on to the next."

"Ang hassle naman," sabi ko tapos napatingin ako kay Gem na kulang na lang ay maglabas ng pen and paper para i-take down iyong mga sinasabi ni Nikki.

Ang daming sinabi sa akin ni Nikki and for some reason, she's making sense, but at the same time, a small part of me didn't want to follow her advice. Ayoko kasing maging demanding kay Fabian. Ako kasi nag-aya sa kanya! Alam mo iyong nananahimik iyong tao na nagwoworkout tapos biglang kailangan niya ng magplano ng date at kung anu-ano? Hindi naman ako maarte. Kahit d'yan lang sa fastfood, okay na ako, e.

Ano ba 'yan. Panibagong problema.

"Arielle."

Napatingin ako kay Fabian nang tawagin niya iyong pangalan ko. I was almost done with my set at kanina ko pa pinipigilan iyong sarili ko na tumingin sa gawi niya. Bukas na kasi iyong Friday and Nikki told me that I should not do anything and let Fabian initiate the talk about the date. Gusto ko na ako na iyong magtanong kasi bakit ba kailangan lalaki lagi? Pero in Nikki I should trust. She'd been here. Mas alam niya 'to kaysa sa akin. Kahit nga si Gem, kay Nikki nagtatanong ng tungkol sa kanila ni Erick, e.

"About tomorrow—"

"Will you cancel?" I asked dahil for some reason, iyon ang unang pumasok sa isip ko. Na nagbago na iyong isip niya kasi feel ko nahiya lang talaga siya sa akin kaya siya umoo.

"What? No," he replied with his forehead creased like he was confused kung saan nanggagaling iyong sinabi ko. "Do you want to cancel?"

Mabilis akong umiling. "No."

"Great," he said. "I just wanted to ask if you want to meet at the resto or do you want me to pick you up? Full disclosure, I don't have a car here in Manila?"

I blinked in confusion. "Okay? Are you asking me if I have a car?"

"No, no," sabi niya with hand gestures. Suddenly, the Italian in him jumped. "I was asking if you want me to come pick you up, but we will take a Grab instead."

"Oh..." I said. "Okay."

"Great," he replied with that adorable smile of his. "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

I nodded. "See you," I said before he said goodbye dahil tapos na siya at may kailangan pa siyang puntahan. Hindi ko pa rin natatanong kung ano ang ginagawa niya rito sa Manila. Bukas ko na lang itatanong kasi ganoon naman 'di ba kapag date? Getting to know you?

* * *

I finished my work early so that I could prepare early. Fabian confirmed at around 10AM iyong tungkol sa date namin. It's weird how he's doing everything right—at least doon sa checklist na binigay sa akin ni Nikki.

Nikki told me to dress comfortably but also iyong cute daw. She said to reserve the 'sexy' outfit for the third date. Naka-ilang send ako ng outfit kay Nikki bago siya nag-yes doon sa may white pants and blue silk spaghetti top, and white sandals. In fairness naman sa workout ko, nakakakita na ako ng konting improvement sa arms ko. Mas nakaka-inspire tuloy magpatuloy.

"Maybe this was a bad idea," I uttered to myself nang makita ko si Fabian na nakaupo roon sa couch sa may lobby ng condo ko. He was wearing something really simple, but goddamn that face takes everything to a different level! Kahit simpleng black pants, black polo shirt, at accessories lang, ang gwapo niya talaga tignan.

"I mean, he agreed to go out with me," sabi ko. "I couldn't be that bad," pangungumbinsi ko sa sarili ko.

Muli akong huminga nang malalim.

Kaya ko 'to.

Pinipilit kong 'wag tumingin sa mga tao sa reception lobby dahil for some reason ay nahihiya ako kasi parang ilang linggo lang ang nakakalipas, ibang lalaki ang umaakyat sa condo ko tapos iba na naman ngayon.

"Fabian," I called.

Tumingin siya sa akin. His lips parted for a bit. Was he disappointed with how I looked? God, this was a bad idea! Why did I keep on going after really hot guys?! I kept on setting myself up for disappointment!

"Wow," he said as he stood up. "You look good."

I blinked.

Oh.

Tama ba iyong rinig ko na sinabi niya o muli ay nag-short-circuit na naman ako? Also, lagi bang mangyayari 'to kapag nandyan siya sa harapan ko?

"Thank you," I replied as I felt my cheeks heating up.

"I'll just get us a ride," sabi niya habang nilalabas iyong phone niya. I saw him booking a ride for us nang maalala ko na hindi ko pala siya nasabihan na ang gwapo niya ngayon.

"You look good," I said.

Napatingin siya sa akin. "Thank you," he said with a smile. I was sure he was so used to hearing that. I wonder kung ano kaya ang naiisip niya kapag nakikita niya ang sarili niya sa salamin?

We were in a three seater couch. Gusto ko siyang kausapin pero sobrang aware ako na nakatingin sa amin si Ate sa reception.

"Friday," I said when he tried to book for the third time pero wala pa ring kumukuha.

"Yeah..." he replied. "Are you hungry? I'm sorry."

My eyes widened a bit. "What? No, no," sabi ko kasi baka isipin niya na demanding ako. Sabi ni Nikki, i-establish daw agad iyong princess treatment requirement but to be completely honest? I didn't need that. I just wanted someone who likes me for me and enjoys spending time with me. That's all.

"It's just that it's Friday and it's usually hard to book a ride since everyone's out tonight," paliwanag ko sa kanya. "What time is the reservation?"

"8PM."

"Oh," sabi ko kasi 7:30PM na. Kahit makakuha kami ng ride ngayon, taking the Metro Manila traffic into consideration, malabo na makarating kami on time.

"You wanna go elsewhere instead?"

I nodded. "If it's okay with you," sabi ko since siya iyong nagplano. Baka kasi may iba pa siyang gustong gawin tapos kailangan na doon na area kaming dalawa.

"Yeah," he said. "I don't want you getting hungry."

My lips parted in shock. "I did not say that," mabilis at defensive na sabi ko, but the cheeky grin that later appeared on his face told me that he was just messing with me.

Nakahinga ako nang maluwag nung lumabas kami sa condo dahil wala ng audience na nanonood sa amin. Good idea nga ata na hindi na kami umalis sa Greenfield area dahil dito pa lang ay kita mo na iyong mga sasakyan na nasa labas.

"Do you like Chinese food?" I immediately nodded and that earned me a chuckle from him. "There's a Chinese resto around 15 minutes walk from here."

We began to walk in that direction. Nikki told me that one of the ways to get someone to like you is to make them feel interesting. You need to be asking them question about themselves. I mean, it wasn't a problem for me because I was genuinely interested to know anything about him.

"So... you're here for work, right?" I asked kasi nabanggit niya na before na may work siya. I had a feeling actually na model din siya kasi iyang mukha na 'yan? That face belongs to billboards. But I didn't want to assume. Malay ko ba kung gwapo lang talaga siya pero iba pala ang gusto niyang gawin sa buhay?

He nodded. "I actually just arrived in Manila a month ago."

"Oh, welcome to Manila."

He smiled. "Thank you," he said. "But I'm here like two times a year."

"For business?"

Umiling siya. "For work," sabi niya. "My main agency is in Milan, but I also have an agency here in Manila, so I have to go here twice a year to finish all the booked shoots and engagements."

Oh, fuck.

Another model kagaya ni—

No.

Maraming model sa Manila. Impossible naman na magkakilala sila ni Zion. Besides, twice a year lang naman pumupunta rito si Fabian, so baka hindi pa sila magkakilala kasi sabi ni Zion, kaka-start niya pa lang sa modelling career niya.

"Arielle," he called.

"Yeah?"

"Nothing," he said. "You've been quiet for quite a while."

I shook my head and forced a smile on my face. "Nothing," I replied. "So... until when are you here?"

* * *

I hated how the entire date, I felt like I was just on the lookout na baka kilala ni Fabian si Zion. It was so unfair of me na siya iyong nasa harap ko, pero iba iyong nasa isip ko. At saka ano naman kung magkakilala sila?

Una, hindi ko naman naging boyfriend si Zion.

Pangalawa, I doubted that he'd even care.

I covered my face with a pillow when I was so tempted na i-search iyong pangalan ni Zion at i-stalk siya. It had been more than a month since I last saw him. Baka nga nalimutan niya na ako, e. Ako lang 'tong bobo na kayang i-associate sa kanya lahat ng bagay.

'Hope you got home safely,' message ko kay Fabian since hinatid niya ako pabalik sa condo at naglakad siya pauwi. I would feel sad kapag hindi siya nagreply, but still, I'd understand kasi baka ramdam niya na lumilipad iyong utak ko kanina.

'Home already,' he replied. And then I saw some typing bubbles. 'See you soon?'

I bit my lower lip. 'Is this you asking for a second date?' makapal ang mukha na tanong ko.

'I was talking about gym.'

Napaawang iyong labi ko.

'Kidding. Yes. Let's schedule the next date.'

I could imagine him chuckling, but damn it, ang cute niya mang-asar!

**

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