Natulos ako sa aking pagkakatayo. Hindi ko aakalain na aamin s'ya agad ng ganon kabilis. I expected him to be jealous but I didn't expect him to confess to me that easily. Masama pa din ang kanyang tingin sa akin pero mas sumimangot s'ya ng bigla akong napahagalpak ng tawa.

"Oh my god!" pinapalo ko ang kanyang sarili habang nakahawak sa aking tiyan. Imo is looking at me weirdly while still seating at the driver's seat.

"Why the heck are you laughing woman?" bahid ang inis sa kanyang pagsasalita.

"I'm-m s-sorry" I tried to stifle my laugh. "Ikaw kase e"

"I'm not joking Alia," irap n'ya sa akin. Muli niyang pinaandar ang sasakyan habang deretso pa din ang tingin sa harapan.

Inayos ko ang aking sarili at nagpaliwanag. "Wala ka naman dapat pagselosan kay Alex e,"

Wala akong natanggap na sagot sa kanya. "Alex is just a friend, nothing more, nothing less." i shrugged my shoulders.

Bumuntong hininga ako nang marealize ko na hindi talaga s'ya magsasalita. I have no choice but to tame him. Isa pa yan sa nadiscover ko kay Imo. Between us, siya ng madalas na magtampo, habang ako naman lagi ako ang sumusuyo. Baliktad di ba?

Lumapit ako at niyakap ang kanyang braso. Hinilig ko dito ang aking ulo at marahan pinisil ito.

"Mon amour pansinin mo na ako." paglalambing ko. I run my fingers through his arms. I smiled when his body reacted with my touch.

So I have this kind of effect on him huh.

He tried to shove me away from him. "Alia I'm driving," saway n'ya.

"But you're angry at me," I pouted. I saw him looking at me at the corners of his eyes.

"I'm not," seryoso niyang sabi.

Napanguso ako at umiling. Sa loob ng isang buwan naming pagsasama, alam ko kung kelan ba s'ya galit or not. And in this situation, galit siya sa akin. Kaya hindi ko siya titigilan hangga't hindi nia ako kakausapin ng maayos.

"Huwag ka na kaseng magselos kay Alex. Wala siyang gusto sa akin okay? Ikaw ang mahal ko di ba? Je t'aime Mon amour." bulong ko sa kanya.

I felt him heave a sigh. A smile creep from my face. I know hindi na s'ya galit sa akin.

"But why are you talking that close?" he whined.

"Syempre nag-uusap kami duh?!" I rolled my eyes. "Paano kami mag-uusap kung magkalayo kami aber?"

"But--" I raised my forefinger at him.

"Atsaka may gusto iyon kay Sammy!" patuloy ko. "Niloloko ko lang siya na may date si Sammy with a guy. I'm just trying to help them. I'm their cupid y'know." I winked at him.

Napailing na lang si Imo sa aking kalokohan. Hinuli nito ang aking kaliwang kamay at pinatakan ng isang munting halik.

"I'm sorry Mon amour. I'm just jealous. Can you forgive me?" nangungusap ang kanyang mata sa akin. My heart melted at that sight. Nakakainis naman si Imo! Alam n'ya na kahinaan ko ang kanyang mata e.

"Apology accepted Mon amour." I gave him a kiss on the cheeks. Nakita kong namula ang kanyang pisngi.

"Kilig na naman siya oh," pang-aasar ko.

"Don't even think about starting an argument again Alia," pagbabanta niya.

I pouted my lips. Sayang! Akala ko pa naman makakalusot ako. Ang sarap niya kaseng asarin e.

He looked at my face and chuckled. "How about we go on a date?"

I shrieked. "Really?! Sure sure!

Come to think of it, ngayon ko lang napansin na hindi ito ang daan pauwi sa aking apartment. Masyado kong naenjoy ang pangaasar sa kanya, kaya hindi ko namalayan ang daan. I'm not familiar with this way.

"Where are we heading?" tanong ko.

Nilingon niya ako. "Were going to our house. Ipapakilala kita kay mama at papa."

"What?!" I felt my world stopped. Ramdam ko ang aking pamumutla sa narinig.

"Imo bakt ngayon mo lang sinabi?!" galit kong sambit sa kanya. "I thought were going on a date?!"

Lalo akong nainis sa kanya nang tinawanan n'ya ako. I glared at him and smacked his head.

"Hey that hurts!" ungot nito.

"I don't care! I hate you." sumimangot ako.

"No you don't" he confidently said.

Umirap na lang ako at umingos sa kanya. I grabbed my bag and reached for my mirror. Tiningnan ko ang aking mukha kung presentable bang tingin. I need to be fresh in front of Imo's parents. I will make sure that they will like---love me.

Imo chuckled. "No need to put make-up on Mi amour. You're already beautiful."

Napatigil ako sa aking ginagawa at napatingin sa kanya. "I need to be presentable! Its your parents Imo!" pagdidiin ko sa parents.

He shook his head. "Trust me Alia, they will like you." confident n'yang sabi.

HIndi na ako sumagot pero napagpayahan ko na lang na maglagay ng konting pulbos at lip balam. I styled my hair into a side bun and sprayed some of my vanilla perfume. In the end I am contented with my natural look. One last glance at the mirror before Imo announced that we are already here.

Pumasok kami sa isang wooden gate. Hindi ko napagilan na mapasinghap nang makt ko kung gaano kaganda ang kanilang bahay. Its not a mansion but its close to it. Its color is a mixture of cream and blue. Even though the house is screaming with wealth, still makikita mo pa din ang sophistication at elegance. They have a very large front yard which is full of different kinds of flowers and plants. Makikita mo na hindi lang talaga business ang turing nila sa mga halaman at bulaklak, its also their passion and hobby.

Pumarada si Imo sa harap ng kanilang bahay. Bumaba siya sa kanyang upuan at umikot papunta sa aking pwesto. He opened my door and helped me getting out of the car. Up until now, I'm still amazed about the architectural design of their house. Hindi ko namalayan na may lumapit sa amin na dalawang tao na nasa mid 50's na.

"Mon chérie Antoine!" My darling Antoine!

Hinalikan nito ang parehong pisngi ni Imo na halata namang ayaw ng huli. Nahuli nito ang mata kong nang-aasar kaya naman inirapan ako nito.

Mama's boy naman pala

Magiliw kong tinitigan ang mama ni Imo na nakayakap sa kanya. Samantalang ang ama naman ni Imo ay nakita kong nakangiti sa mag-ina. I can see through his eyes, the adoration and love while watching both of his love ones. Mabilis akong umiwas ng biglang nagtama ang aming mga mata.

I think Imo felt my discomfort.

He cleared his throat. "Mama, I want to you to meet someone special,"

Hinawakan ni Imo ang aking kamay at ako naman ay nahihiyang nagmano sa ginang na nasa akig harap.

"Good evening po ma'am, its a pleasure to meet you po," I smiled shyly.

Imo's mother returned my smile. "I assume you're Alia right? Imo's Mon amour"

My cheeks reddened upon she mentioned our endearment. I nodded at her as my response.

"Wah!" Imo's mother shrieked.

I was taken a back by her reaction but later on chuckled.

"Honey! Honey!" hinila nito ang asawa na kasaukuyang natatawa sa ginang. "Our son's not gay!"

"Mom!" pigil ni Imo sa ina. Halata mong nahihiya na ito sa nangyayari. Pinipigilan ko ang aking sarili na matawa kase baka sa akin pa magalit. Mahirap pa namang suyuin ito.

"I know hon," pagsang-ayon ng asawa. "I told you before that Imo is not gay. Ikaw lang naman ang makulit na nagdodoubt sa anak mo."

I was shocked when I heard his father speaking fluently in Filipino. Even though fluent na ito, maririnog mo pa din ang konting accent sa pagsasalita. Ang cute lang pakinggan.

"Ih Honey, hindi ko lang naman mapigilan." ngumuso ang ginang. "Alam mo naman na wala pa s'yang pinapakilala sa atin babae."

"Mom, I'm still here," nakasimangot na sambit ni Imo.

His mother just gave him a peace sign that I find cute. I suddenly miss my mom. Bumaling ang mata ng mama niya patungo sa aking direksyon.

"I'm sorry hija, masyado lang akong natuwa na sa wakas ay napakilala ka sa amin ni Antoine," she gave me a tight hug and whispered something. "Akala ko talaga bakla s'ya e,"

Napahagikgik ako sa narinig.

"By the way my name is Esmeralda," pakilala nito. "While the handsome man over there---is my husband Gabriel."

I offered my hands to his husband which was gladly accepted by the latter.

"You can call us mama Mera and papa Gabriel,"

I nodded.

"Okay that's enough," pagpuputol ni Imo. "How about we go inside already? Gutom na kami ni Alia,"

"You're right Antoine!" bumaling sa akin mama. "Come on Alia! We have so many to talk about-- especially on how you met Imo." Hinila ako nito papalayo sa anak.

Imo groaned.

This is gonna be a long night.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

unedited