"I think, um, practicing in the condo isn't a good idea, sir Luke," sabi ni Claire habang papalabas na sila ng elevator. "Why?" "It's too, um, intimate." "And?" Luke asked with a knitted brow. "Sir Luke, pwede naman somewhere a little less private di ba?" hinto niyang dagdag, "Bakit hindi na lang sa may beach house nyo sa Bulacan." "At least dun—um, comfortable ako." Luke smiled and said, "Bakit, hindi kaba comfortable na tayo lang dito sa condo ko? Tabi naman tayong natutulog ah, wala ka namang reklamo dun." "Iba yun, sir Luke," she groaned, "that was business." "And this is?" tanong ng kumag na nagpapainit ng tainga ni Claire. Ang kapal talaga ng apog nitong yawa na to. Reklamo ni Claire sa sarili. Napangiwi na lang siya, "This is business too, sir Luke. Pero... basta! Sa beach house na lang tayo." "Okay." "Okay? As in, okay lang sayo?" Luke smirked, "Sabi mo eh! Oo, but let's get some things first, baka mapag-isipan mong maligo dun." mahabang sagot ni Luke habang binubuks
"So, fancy a snack? Baka nagugutom kana, Claire?" Tanong ni Luke habang nakatingin ito sa mga mata niyang, ewan kung saan na naman napunta ang utak niya. Bakit ba hinayaan niyang halikan na naman siya ng amo? Bakit ba ang rupok-rupok mo, Claire? Kastigo niya sa sarili habang naghihintay ng sagot si Luke."Um…sure.""Okay," Luke said with a twinkling smile.Points to Luke, zero to Claire, na naman. So ano? Hindi ba ako magagalit? I mean, di ba dapat magagalit ako dahil hinalikan ako ni Luke? So ano to ngayon? Nganga lang ako na parang walang nangyari? Would Luke apologize? At ano naman ang sasabihin niya rito?Lumakad na si Luke papasok sa bahay at sumunod naman siya rito.Two hours later, nag-usap sila na hindi pwedeng mangyari ulit ang halikang iyun. Which, to Luke's defense, is nabigla lang naman siya na sinang ayunan naman ni Claire.He sighed as he saw himself out and came back to where Claire was sipping a glass of champagne on one of the sofas overlooking the ocean view. If he c
Napadilat si Luke. What? Her words were impossible."Claire, are you, um, that drunk?" tanong nito sa kanya.Napataas kilay si Claire, habang parang baliw na kinakausap niya ang kanyang sarili.Ewan ko sayo, ang hina ng pick up! Kung mag a-ano... mag a-ano na! Huwag nang mag a-anohan pa! Ang ano namang taong ito! Hays! Ewan ko sayo!Luke frowned. They made no sense, no matter how loudly they echoed in his head.Luke thought perhaps he staggered back beneath the weight of all that impossibility, possibly even crumpled to the floor—but of course, he did no such thing. He was frozen into place as surely as if the stones beneath him had made him a statue, staring back at her.In horror. In confusion.Oh ano? Tutunga-nga, ka na lang dyan? Tanong ni Claire sa sarili habang yakap yakap pa rin ang among demonyong ang pula pula ng labi.There must be some mistake, a sliver of rationality deep inside him insisted."What did you say?" he managed to ask through a mouth that no longer felt like hi
As if that could save him from the nasty reality that he’d become exactly what he most loathed without knowing it. Did Claire hate him for that?He was an asshole; yes, he couldn't deny it."You keep mentioning what happened, which means you clearly knew about the first time when you were so drunk," Luke found himself saying, as if he could argue the conviction from her face. As if he could make this her fault and make it better, or different, by shrugging off the blame."Hindi ko alam, I was drunk, remember? But later on, I realised we—yes. I knew that too.""Then, bakit wala kang sinabi, Claire?""Bakit ba? Ano ba ang sasabihin ko dapat? Boss kita! Ano ka ba!""So?""Anong so ka dyan?" Her laugh sliced into him. "Wala akong ini-expect na kung ano pa man. What happened is just—a mistake. Oddly enough, you never took me seriously. Or I assume you didn’t, because it took you all this time to turn up here. Right at this very moment.""Ano? A mistake?""Oo, bakit totoo naman ah! This—" t
"Are you insane?!" Sigaw na tanong ni Claire."Yes, I'm insanely in love with you.""No! Take that back!" She exclaimed. "Owen is a great guy. He is your friend, damn it, Luke." Pabulyaw niyang dagdag sabay punas sa luhang kanina pa niya pinipigilan. "Owen is kind; he is, oh God. Why are you doing this? He likes me; he loves me for who I am.""Enough, Claire!" Pabulong na tugon ni Luke, habang hawak hawak ang kamay niya, na panay suntok sa dibdib niya. "Enough, but please let me love you.""No, Luke. No! Owen is much more well-mannered than you. Alam mo yan! He is warmer, nicer, more considerate to me. He is honest. He is everything I want." Napapikit si Claire sabay diing, "Alam niya kung nasasaktan ako, alam niya kung nalulungkot ako. He knew how to make me smile. He doesn't pretend; he is sweet, he is—""I said stop!" Pabulong na wika ni Luke habang napapayuko ito sa di malamang dahilan. He thought he had never been hurt before, but ang mga mata ng babaeng mahal niya na puno ng gal
Whatever distress might have been lurking in Claire, it disappeared in a flush of temper as her chin tipped up again. "Luke…""You wanted to give up on us, Claire?" Luke asked between kisses."No! I think I can't. I've loved you for so long I don't know what—""Oh Claire.""Mahal na mahal kita, Luke. Hindi ko alam kung—"Once again, Luke couldn’t force his mind to process that. He couldn’t seem to breathe past it. It was bad enough that they’d come here on a whim to discover that all this time, the woman who’d haunted him for the past few months had kept it a secret from him. That she knew that it was him. He never had the slightest notion of what he’d lost—not until Owen came into the picture.For the first time since what happened to them at the party, he saw the woman he’d adored so many years ago. The one who had always known what he was thinking, the one who had so often been thinking the very same thingShe certainly is now."Mahal na mahal kita, Claire. I can't give you up. I'l
"I will never let you sway me!" Saad ni Claire sa labas ng pinto ng dating amo."Okay," sagot naman ni Luke na sinabayan pa ng iling, napabuntong hininga ito at napatanaw sa labas ng bintana habang hinuhubad ang basang amerikana.Sa labas naman ng pintuan, napapikit naman si Claire habang nakadikit sa pader ang ulo nito, "I will never like you again, Luke. I'm done with you; I don't love you anymore." Halo halong emosyon ang nararamdaman niya sa mga oras na iyon, —galit, inis at panghihinayang ngunit parang sasabog ang puso niya sa inis sa sarili because she knew, deep down, there were words left unspoken for many years that were now lurking again and she hates to admit it. "That’s enough." Sagot naman ng lalaki, lumingon ito sa naka saradong pintuan. "You need to change your wet cloth, baka magkakasakit ka nyan, may bakanteng kwarto pa dito sa resthouse,” napabuntong hininga ito. “May CR dun, maligo ka muna. May extrang t-shirt ako dito. Ihahatid ko mamaya," pahabang dagdag nito ha
Ten months ago."Hays, late na naman ako," kastigo ni Claire sa sarili habang papasok sa elevator.She pummeled the button for the fifteenth floor until the doors finally closed and she felt the elevator begin to move."Kung mamalasin nga naman oh," dagdag niya habang inilagay ang hawak-hawak na cellphone sa pagitan ng kanyang mga labi at inayos ang itim na bag sa kanyang balikat at dala dalang brown envelope.She then curled her long, dark hair up into a bun, teasing errant strands until she could get a hair tie around all of it to hold it in place. Sa oras na natapos siya, ang elevator naman ay nag-ping, nagpapahiwatig ng kanyang pagdating sa fifteenth floor at bumukas na ang pintuan.Lumabas si Claire sa lobby area, habang panay pa rin ang kastigo sa sarili, inayos niya ang kanyang puting blusa sa baywang ng kanyang palda, habang napapamura dahil sa hindi niya na set sa tamang oras ang alarm clock.Inilagay niya ang cellphone sa bag at niyakap ang envelope. Inayos ang salamin sa ma