7 PM NA pero wala pa rin si Ivy sa boarding house. I left a letter for her, baka isipin niya na hindi pa ako umuuwi. I knocked on Joseph's room and he opened it immediately. I saw the excitement in his eyes like he's really happy to see me.

"Ngiting-ngiti ka d'yan?" nakataas kilay kong tanong.

"Nakita kasi kita ngayon kaya masaya ako."

Napairap ako sa kawalan habang sinusupil ang isang ngiti.

"Siraulo!"

"Come in, milady," sabi n'ya at umakto na parang isang butler.

Pumasok ako sa kwarto nila at napansin na wala pa si Ryle.

"Asa'n si Ry?"

"Basketball," tipid n'yang sagot. "Mamaya pa ang uwi nun."

Naamoy ko ang napakabangong pagkain mula sa kanyang kinatatayuan. Sumilip ako ng konti para makita ang isang korean food.

"Samgyup ba yan?" parang nagliwanag ang mukha ko habang pinagmamasdan ang hinahain n'yang pagkain.

"Yup," he said putting all the meat in one plate. "Kakaorder ko lang nito."

"Patikim nga," kumuha ako ng chopsticks sa tabi pero sinalag n'ya ako para tusukin ang karne. Inis ko s'yang tinitigan. "Ang damot mo. Try lang naman, mukha kasing masarap."

"Mas masarap ako kesa sa samgyup," he tsked. "Gusto mo rin ba akong i-try?"

Napangiwi ako at bumalik sa kama. Tahimik akong naupo dun habang hinihintay s'yang matapos sa paghahain.

"Anong gagawin ko?"

"Just stay still, Precious. I'll do the work for you."

"'Kaw bahala."

I took his laptop and opened it pero may password. "Anong password ng laptop mo?"

Nilingon n'ya ako, he didn't look surprised when he saw me operating his belonging.

"I love you," he replied with a smile.

What the fuck? He caught me again! Ilang ganito pa ba ang mararanasan ko mula sa kanya?

"W-What?" I stuttered.

"I love you, lowercase lahat, no space."

"Huh?"

"The password you asked, Precious," nakangiti s'yang napailing. He looks amused because of my reaction. "Ang cute mong magulat."

"Tseh!" Mabilis kong tinype ang password.

INPUT PASSWORD: iloveyou |

Kainis. Akala ko talaga sinabihan n'ya ako ng I love you kanina. It was his password after all. Gaano ako katanga? Mas tanga ako ngayon kesa last year. Mabilis akong nag-scroll pababa upang tignan ang movies kaso ang daming folders na may nakakalitong pangalan.

"Do you have movies here? Puro engineering files ang andito," nakatitig pa rin ako sa screen.

"Hanapin mo sa Desktop. There's a folder named Movies, click mo lang iyon."

I did what he said. May iilang romantic movies akong nakita, some cartoons, animes, horrors, mystery, and action. Hindi halata na mahilig s'yang manood dahil sa dami ng movies na naka-store sa kanyang laptop.

"Pwedeng manood?"

"You're already operating it. Sagarin mo na," tawa niya.

"Pilosopo."

I clicked Bird Box. Mystery ata ito or horror. 'Di ko pa ito napapanood but my spoiler classmates said na it's good and worth it.

"I'm doneee," he exclaimed, putting the large plate on the bed in front of me. "Kain ka na."

Takam na takam kong tinignan ang pagkain. May iilang condiments and veggies din s'yang nilagay kaya siguro sobrang bango ng amoy. This is going to be my second time eating samgyupsal.

"A-Akin ito? Lahat?"

He nods. "Eat your heart out."

Nanliit ang mga mata ko habang nakatingin sa kanya. "May nilagay ka ba sa pagkain na ito? Gayuma? Lason?"

He chuckled a damn bit. Damn that sexy laugh.

"Pag sinabi ko bang meron hindi mo na kakainin?"

I pursed my lips and didn't answer. Kumain na lang ako at hinayaan s'yang mag-scroll sa kanyang laptop.

"What do you want to watch?" tanong n'ya at bumaling sa akin.

"Bird Box na 'yong pinapanood ko kaso nilipat mo."

"I don't like watching horror movies with you, Precious. Hindi romantic," he sighed. "So what do you want to watch?"

Ang sabihin n'ya takot s'ya sa horror movies.

"Isn't It Romantic," I replied, chewing the meat.

"I don't have that."

"May Netflix account ka kaya. Nakita ko kanina."

He grinned and sighed. "Fine. You win."

Masaya kong nginuya ang karne habang pinagmamasdan s'yang nagtatype sa kanyang account. He clicked the movie and decided to rest his back on the wall. Nasa tabi ko lang s'ya at halos magdikit na ang balat naming dalawa. Did I forget to tell you that he's only wearing his jersey and boxer shorts?

"Ayaw mong kumain?" tanong ko ng magsimula ang movie.

Umiling s'ya bilang sagot. "I ordered pizza. Yun ang kakainin ko."

"You did what?" inis ko siyang binalingan ng tingin. "Bakit hindi mo sinabi?"

"Why? Kakain ka rin ba ng pizza?" he look shock.

"Oo naman no. Tch, mabuti na lang at sinabi mo agad. Magpapakabusog na sana ako sa samgyup, e."

I love pizza more than anything. Mabuti na lang at naagapan ko pa, and I need to give space for it. Napalingon kaming dalawa sa pinto nang tumunog ang doorbell.

"Maybe it's the pizza," he stands up at sinuot ang kanyang shorts. "Mabilis lang ako, diyan ka lang."

Hindi rin nagtagal ang paghihintay ko, he made the transaction quick. I was drooling over the pizza box. I was sniffing the room dahil sa napakabangong amoy nito.

Itinabi n'ya muna ang samgyup sa gilid tsaka nilagay sa harap namin ang pizza box. He cuts the tie around the box using a cutter. Agad kong naamoy ang nakakatakam na pizza.

"Geez, overload," reklamo n'ya. "Kumakain ka ba ng-"

Hindi ko na s'ya pinatapos pa. Agad akong kumuha ng isang slice at ninamnam iyon ng buong puso.

"May sinasabi ka?" panunudyo kong tanong.

Ngumisi s'ya sa akin at kumuha ng isang slice.

"Takaw mo rin no?"

"Masarap ang pizza kapag may kasama."

He took some cold drinks from the fridge and gave one to me. It was a root beer.

"May plano ka bang lasingin ako?"

"What? Why? I mean, no, of course. Hindi nakalalasing ang root beer."

I want to believe him, but his words stuttered. Sinampal ko s'ya sa braso kaya napahimas s'ya dun.

"Aray ko naman. Why'd you do that for?"

Ang gwapo n'ya talagang magalit!

"You planned this, didn't you? You want me to get drunk, then you're going to-"

Mabilis n'yang tinakpan ang bibig ko gamit ang kanyang kamay. Hindi ko alam kung bakit siya nagpipigil ng tawa ngayon.

"Ang assuming mo talagang babae ka! Wala akong intensyon na lasingin ka no. Assuming, grabeee!" he pinched my cheeks and grinned. "But that's not a bad idea, want to do it with me?"

My cheeks burned. Hinampas ko yung unan sa kanyang mukha. "Bastos, bastos, bastos, bastos!"

He grabbed my hands to stop me from hitting him. I halt from what I was doing when he caught my eyes to stare with his.

"Tigilan mo yang paghampas sa gwapo kong mukha kung ayaw mong halikan kita," banta niya.

Agad akong nag-iwas ng tingin at napayakap sa malambot na unan. Kainis, ako naman ang malakas bumanat noon pero ba't sobrang galing n'ya naman ngayon?

We decided to focus our attention on the movie while eating pizzas and drinking beers. Binigyan n'ya ako ng juice kanina while he consumed beer.

"Precious," pambabasag niya sa katahimikan namin.

"Hmm?"

"Do you like me?"

Nahinto ako sa pag kain tsaka bumaling sa kanya. Namula ako sa simpleng katatanungan na 'yon. Napapakurap ako habang tinitignan siya. Was that for real?

I was speechless for a minute when he asked again. "Do you? You don't?"

"I-I'm not sure if it's good to like you," sagot ko.

I was losing oxygen, he was literally putting me under pressure.

"Why not?" nilagay n'ya ang kanyang inumin sa gilid ng table bago humarap sa akin. His eyes were lonely and sad. "Ayaw mo ba sa akin?"

I looked at no particular thing instead of fixing my eyes at his lonely stares. Kinakabahan ako ng sobra ngayon. That feeling na gustong-gusto ng lumabas ng puso mo dahil sa sobrang kaba.

"H-Hindi ka pa kasi nanliligaw kaya ganun. We're dating, we're going out, nag-agree ako dun pero wala kang sinasabi na nililigawan mo na ako. So I'm not really sure if-"

Mabilis niyang sinakop ang labi ko na walang pasabi. It was quick, but I could feel my heart's going to burst at any minute. This feeling is out of my league. I can't stop this anymore. Not now, not ever.

"What did you do that for?" I asked when he pulled away.

I could smell his breath reeking in alcohol. Goodness gracious, is he drunk? Ilang cans na ba ang naubos n'ya simula kanina?

"I'll court you if that's what you want," he said in a deep voice dahilan para magtindigan ang balahibo ko sa likuran.

Mabilis n'yang binakuran ang aking mga kamay sa kama. He even weighed his knee to stop me from moving. I tried pushing him away, but he's too strong. The more I shove, the stronger he comes back.

"Stop shoving me, Precious."

"Lasing ka lang. Ba't mo ako inihiga ito? Bweset, sisigaw talaga ako para marinig ng kapitbahay!" I threatened but it didn't work.

"I'll court you," sabi n'ya. "Wala ka ba talagang gusto sa akin?"

Sa sobrang pagpipilit kong makawala sa kanya nanghina tuloy ako. Tinigilan ko ang pagpupumiglas, he loosen his grip and waited for me to respond.

"I like you," my lips quivered. Baka may masabi ako na hindi n'ya magustuhan.

"Really?"

"For real."

"So, you wouldn't mind if I kiss you?" nakataas kilay n'yang tanong.

Inis ko s'yang tinignan sa mata. "Hinalikan mo na kaya ako!"

His brows bridged at the center. "That was a smack, not a kiss."

"C-Counted pa rin 'yon!"

Magkaiba ba yun? Ano ba kasi ang difference ng kiss at smack? Pareho lang naman yun na sa labi lumalapat ah!?

"No," he stared at my lips before saying anything. "A real kiss feels like this."

Napapikit ako habang hinihintay ang malalambot niyang labi na lumapat sa akin. Napadilat ako ng mga mata nang marinig ang pagbukas ng pinto. We both saw Ryle's appalled reaction when he saw us lying in bed in this stupid position! Napapikit ako ng mariin sa sobrang hiya, pero hindi natinag ang kasama ko na nanatiling nasa itaas.

"What the fuck, dude? You should've told me," aniya na may tuwa sa boses. "Dito pa talaga sa kwarto natin."

Joseph lazily sighed like what his roommate saw is not a big deal.

"Shut up and leave."

"Kaso hindi pa ako kumakain," sabi n'ya at napahawak sa kanyang tiyan. "Give me the samgyup."

"All yours, then get the shit out of here and leave!" mariin n'yang utos.

"Fine, fine," he beamed. Nakita ko s'yang nakatayo sa may pintuan. "By the way, if you need to use protection you can open my drawer. May condom ako diyan."

He banged the door and laugh.

"Damn that guy," binalingan n'ya ulit ako ng tingin. His eyes were drunk as fuck. "Now where were we?"

I pushed him hard to hide my burning cheeks. Naupo ako sa kama ng maayos at inayos ang kusot kong blouse.

"Bweset ka talaga. Napahiya ako," inis kong pinaplantsa ang blouse ko gamit ang aking kamay. "Kainis. Sabi mo kakain lang tayo, hindi ako nainform na tayo pala ang magkakainan!"

Namumula pa rin ako. Paano ba naman kasi, kinikilig ako na napapahiya, ganun.

I got him laughing again like he was amused watching me clean my mess.

"Shit! Ang lakas talaga ng tama ko sa'yo," he wraps his arm around my waist.

Gusto ko mang hampasin ang braso n'ya ay hindi ko na rin ginawa. Masyado akong nanghihina, yung buong sistema ko nagwawala. Butterflies in the pit of my stomach were flying. Nakakakiliti.

"Lasing ka kasi, shuta!"

"If Ry didn't interrupt me from what I was about to do to you, magagamit ko talaga ang condom sa bulsa ko kanina," he said, sniffing my neck.

"Bastos mo talagang hayop ka!" singhal ko at agad na tumayo tsaka sinuot ang aking tsinelas.

"Bweset, matutulog na ako. Good night sayo!"

Iniwan kong nakabukas ang pinto habang naglalakad palayo para makita n'ya na seryoso ako sa sinasabi ko.

"Dito ka na matulog, Precious. Wala akong gagawing masama sa'yo, promise," ngisi n'ya.

"Tseh!"

Matutulog ako ng maaga ngayon. Matutulog na talaga ako. Kung makakatulog man ako.

——