Monday morning . . .

At papasok pa lamang ako sa office. Sa sobrang ganda yata ng tulog ko ay na-late ako ng gising. Alas nueve na rin ng umaga. Ayos lang ma-late sa akin, ako naman ang boss. Pero ngayon lang nangyari ito.

Nang nasa counter ako, nakasalubong ko si Shell. "Bonjour, mademoiselle."

"Drop the formality, will you?" I chuckled while shaking my head. "And sorry, I'm late."

"Ayos lang, ikaw naman ang boss." sagot niya sa akin. "Saka nga pala, may naghihintay sa 'yo sa office mo. Manliligaw mo yata."

"Ha?" I blurt out. "Manliligaw? Naghihintay? Kanina pa?"

"Oo, kaninang 7:30 pa siya."

Sino naman kaya? Natanong ko sa isip ko habang nakakunot-noo. At ang aga niya, saktong-saktong sa araw na na-late ako ng pasok.

"Okay, puntahan ko na lang."

Naglakad na ako papuntang office ko sa second floor. Di naman kalakihan ang building. Typical two-storey house lang. Yep, parang bahay lang. Ang nasa first floor ay ang flower boutique namin, (isang conference room, kitchenette, common wash room, and a lanai on the backyard), at sa second floor ay ang office ko, another conference room and wash room, and employees' lounge.

Pagdating ko sa office, binuksan ko na agad ang pinto. Nadatnan ko lang naman si . . .

"Travis?" kapagkuwan, nginitian niya ako. Nakaupo siya visitor's area, katabi ng bintana.

"Yep, the one and only." sagot niya, "And it's TK."

"Kanina ka pa?" sabi ko saka na pumasok sa loob. Tumabi ako sa kanya at may napansin akong kape at box of pastries na nakalapag sa table. "Sorry, I woke up late, that's why."

"Ah, well, at least you're here now."

Pinagmasdan ko lang siya na nakangiti nang maluwag. "Ang aga mong dumating para maningil lang ng utang?"

He laughed. "Yeah, I came early to have breakfast with you. Pero dahil late ka, may interest na ang utang mo."

"Seryoso ka?" hindi makapaniwalang sambit ko.

"Yeah," he coolly shrugged.

"Sige na nga." pagsuko ko. "What do you want, Mr. Mandurugas?"

"Let's have a date." he said casually.

"Date? You know that I have work." sagot ko sa kanya sabay kuha ng kape. "Is this for me?" and I asked him, pertaining the coffee. He nodded as his reply. "Thanks." I only grinned and took a sip.

Ah, really. This coffee was the best.

"Um-absent ka kasi." suhestyon niya.

Napailing na lang ako. "May gusto ka ba sa akin?" I asked him straightforwardly.

Pagak siyang tumawa. "Jeez, Miracle. Not because I asked you a date, it doesn't mean na gusto kita."

"Okay, sorry." I told him sarcastically. "You're just asking me all of the sudden, what do you want me to think?"

"Date, as in friendly date." he insisted. "I just want to know more about you. 'Cuz, y'see, the last time I saw you—not last night—you were still unconscious. Comatose as it."

"So you had already met me before?"

"Yeah. It was C's birthday that time." TK leaned on the couch while handling a coffee. "He introduced me to you."

"In my unconscious state?"

"He's an idiot." he shook his head and took a vanilla cream puff on the box. "I don't know why Credell placed an interest on you. If I were him, baka itinapon na lang kita sa hospital at binalik sa mga magulang mo."

"That's harsh!" I wanted to punch him but I was enjoying these treats. "Here I thought that you're a soft gentleman."

He laughed louder. "That's why I'm asking you on a friendly date. To get to know each other, yeah?"

"May trabaho nga kasi ako." pagrarason ko.

"May utang ka pa nga kasi."

"Hindi pwedeng sa susunod na araw na lang?"

He pursed his lips, thinking. "It can be, pero lalaki ang interest ng utang mo."

"What the . . ?" This man was unbelievable!

TK got this victorious smile. "This is how business works, baby."

I facepalm. "Whatever." then I stood up, making my way to my working table.

After I organized my stuff, I faced TK. "Hey, I need to leave."

He muffled his face, "This is your work place, why have to leave?"

"Well," I said, grabbing the tumbler of coffee and two cream puffs. "I'm going to check my farm."

"Farm?"

"Flower farm." I repeated. "Every Monday, I go to my farm and help the people there to the farming works."

"Whoah, you're dedicated, huh?" he said full of amazement.

My lips curved into a slight smirk. "Of course, I should be."

"Alrighty!" TK jolted up from his and stretched his arms. "You motivated me, I'll go with you!"

"Seryoso ka?" I arched an eyebrow.

"Seryoso." he answered. "I'll consider this as our date."

"Okay." I smiled with a tune. "Let's go?"

Tumango siya at nagtungo sa labas. Naka-stay lang si Shell sa counter nang makita niya kami. Tumigil kami sa counter.

"Hey, Shell." bati ko sa kanya. "This is Travis." pakilala ko. "He's a friend, but asking me on a date-slash-friendly date today."

"Hello, mam'selle." TK reached his hand to her. "Travis Kyle, TK for short."

"TK." Shell nodded, taking his hand for a handshake. "Nice to meet you. I'm Shelley, but Shell is fine."

Pagkatapos nilang magbatian, lumabas na kami at nagtungo kung saan naka-park ang aking kotse.

TK whistled in amusement as he sighted the sight of my car. "Jaguar XF. What version?"

"2017." I replied, "And yeah, it's a sweet car."

"So, where's this flower farm of yours?" he asked me.

"In South Yorkshire."

"South Yorkshire?!" TK repeated incredulously. "That's almost a three-hour ride from here!"

We were in Swindon, by the way.

I could not help but to smirked smugly, "I know, right?" and shrugged. "And we are having a date, aren't we? Why won't you be a gentleman today and drive for me?"

TK almost rolled his eyes as he gave up an annoyed sigh. "Fine."

Then I threw my key to him and he just gracefully caught it. As soon as he unlocked the car, he opened the door of the passenger seat. I entered inside, then he as well after few seconds.

Nagsimula na siyang mag-drive. Suaveng-suave ang biyahe namin. Walang traffic, chill lang. Kumakain lang ako ng vanilla cream puffs habang iniinom aking kape. Sabi ni TK, siya ang may gawa ng mga cream puffs at nitong black coffee.

Ang cool talaga. This guy, that happened to be this manly, could bake pastries and brew coffee. Not just that, he was one of a kind bartender.

"So, TK." I called him, pampawala ng katahimikan. "Let's do the Fast Five."

"Fast Five?" he repeated.

"Yeah. You know, I'll asked you five questions or categories, and of course, you'll answer 'em honestly." then I explained and he just nodded. "Who go first?"

"I'll go first." TK smirked.

"Go ahead." I said, shrugging.

"Book, movie genre, food, color, relationship."

I jutted my lips while looking above. "The Little Prince, tragedy, strawberries, white, and I don't know."

TK laughed, "'I don't know'? Seriously?"

"Shut up. Explanation later." I grumbled. "You answer now."

"Okay," he muffled a small laughs before answering. "Crime and Punishment, adrenaline, pastries, green, just flings."

I nodded my head in redundancy. "So, why do you like the Crime and Punishment?"

"Well, Fyodor Dostoevsky is a great author. And I like the protagonist of the Crime and Punishment, like while he was still a Law student, he was breaking the law. I somehow relate to him." then he grinned devilishly.

"You're a Law student?" I questioned in disbelief.

TK's smirk resounded inside the car. "Yeah, surprised?"

"Kaya pala ang galing mong mandugas." asik ko sa kanya. "And right, you're a Law student but you're breaking the Law."

"Yeah, whatever." he shrugged off. "How about you? Why Le Petit Prince?"

I gave him a languid grin, "He died, so, yes."

I sensed his disbelief reaction as he stared at me for three seconds. "Right, you like tragedies." and he nodded impassively.

"So why did you take law?" I inquired him. "But you like doing pastries and beverages?"

"I took up Law, because of my father. First born, that's why." he paused. "I learned pastries and stuff because of my mom. She's a pastry chef.

"Okay. How's Law, by the way?"

To my surprise, he smirked at me. "Easy. I topped when I took my bachelor's degree. And oh, even to my Law School Admission Test, thank you. Now, I'm gaining my professional experiences to my father's firm. What I am currently pursuing right now is to top on the Juris Doctor Degree."

"Isn't it hard?"

"Nah." he had a sour face. "You just need logic and common sense."

Napailing na lang ako. Mababang talaga. Well, baka nasisimplihan lang siya. Mana siguro sa ama niya.

"How about you, Mira?"

"What I have right now is because of the Mayrand's." I told him. "Unlike you, I have no degrees or titles. I'm just me and this is my everything."

"Too much humility and sincerity." he faked a sob. "I'm so touched."

"Damn you."

"Hep, that's a curse!" he said frantically while chuckling. "I can sue you with that for violating the Moral Law. To tell you, there are jurisdictions that have enacted ordinances against profanity."

I laughed with that thought. "I have my own freedom of speech, Mr. Mullins."

His smirk got wider. "Hey, hey, are you planning to have a debate with me regarding this matter?"

"Why not?" I countered. "Le'mme test the logic and common sense yer pertaining 'bout. I'm sure as hell that I possess those two."

"Really? Why don't you take Law?"

"I'm sure that I can, but that will be boring."

"Whoa. Where did you get that overconfident words, lady?"

"My IQ tells me so." I shrugged.

I noticed him raised an eyebrow. "Really? Humor me about your IQ."

"It ranges between 130 to 140."

Napanganga siya. "Seriously? Kaya pala hopeless romantic ka!"

"Sira!" singhal ko sa kanya sabay palo sa braso. "Inggit ka lang."

"Blah, I'm not." he almost rolled his eyes. "Kulang ka lang sa halik, Miracle. Ikaw ang inggit sa akin."

"Eww, mangilabot ka nga."

"So why won't you take a high professional course, Miracle?" TK prompted. "Why settle in the world of business with flowers? Too much girly, ugh. Not so like you."

Kung maka-ugh ang lalaking ito.

I scoffed. "This is what I like, why not? I don't even know if I finished my high school."

"Remember, sweetheart, we faked all your documents—that includes even your diplomas—you can go to any college universities you like." he suggested.

"I'm fine with this." I sighed. "I fell in love with art. At ayaw ko ng dagdagan ang utang ko sa pamilya ni Credell."

"If you're worrying about the Mayrand's, please don't bother. They're powerful in wealth, they can provide everything you need." still, he insisted. "If you love art, you can take up architecture."

I frowned at him, bit irritated. "Why are you discussing this to me? What's wrong managing a business regarding flowers?"

He dropped his shoulders down. "Okay, fine, I'm sorry. So why do you like white?"

Napatawa na lang ako. "Because no matter how dark is the color, just put some white, it'll be lighter." TK nodded twice. "You, why green?"

"Seeing the shades of green makes me feel so relaxed."

"Okay. Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Like what I have said, I only have flings."

"Plural, huh?" I laughed in a low tone.

"What's the matter with that?" he also laughed along with me. "I'm a good looking guy."

"Fine. I won't be against that."

"How about you, Mira? Don't you like Credell?"

Napaisip ako sa tanong niya. I pursed my lips thinly as I started thinking. "Maybe I did have a huge crush on him."

"Did?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, naging crush ko siya. Brother material kasi siya, especially when I was in recovery state." I explained. "But as time goes by, I realized that he's really just a brother to me."

"What if . . . Credell himself likes you?"

I lost my words for a moment. "I don't know. If ever that happened, I think I can like him back. He's easy to like, yeah."

"I see, I see."

"Ikaw, bakit hanggang flings lang?" I questioned next. "To tell you, girl flings are annoying naggers."

"Yeah. But if ever they are bitching around, I drop 'em off just like that."

"Wow." I smirked with a raised brow. "I'm with a real jerk."

TK laughed that caught me so surprised. "I'm glad that you guessed my middle name. Travis Kyle "Real Jerk" Mullins."

I made a disgusting look and rolled my eyes. "I don't know why I'm with you."

"You're here with me, because we're on a date, okay?"

"So that would make me one of your flings?"

He chuckled, "You're a friend and you're very close to Credell. I respect that. So nah, you're not a fling. But I like you."

I puffed a sardonic laugh. "Now the truth has been told."

"Sorry, a lawyer can't lie."

"Really?" I replied. "Here I thought that lawyers are all liars."

"Well, change me." he said proudly.

I snorted. "The last time I checked, you denied that you don't like me."

It only surprised me when I saw him gulped faintly as a light color pink rendered on his cheek. "Damn." he hissed silently. "Fine, that was just my defense mechanism, all right?"

I didn't know why, but I found him so cute just being so honest. I ended up laughing.

"Stop laughing!" he whined and his cheeks got redder. "Don't get too flattered now that I told you that I like you."

"You're so cute, Travis Kyle." I said between my soft laughs. "And charming."

He muffled his face. "Thanks for not embarrassing me." and said sarcastically.

"No. For a man like you, who particularly knows how to bake, bartend, and make coffee, makes you cute and charming." I told him honestly. "So it's not surprising that you have a lot of girls."

The bubbly yet conceited TK came back to normal. "Of course. And it is not surprising that you like me, too."

"Piss off." I said.

He continued driving. Nadaan na namin ang Oxford at ang Churchill Town. We were about to reach Cambridge. One more hour needed in order to arrive at South Yorkshire.

Driving and driving in a normal pace. If I were to describe the place we were taking, the place screamed more of a forest type. Mas marami ang mga greens, such as fields and farms. There were some houses built nearby, tapos sa kabilang dako, iyon ang forest.

Sa gitna ng biyahe, biglang napa-apak sa preno si TK!

Sobra ang pagkagulat ko, muntik na rin akong napasubsob sa dashboard.

"Hoy! Anong problema mo?" singhal ko sa kanya. Na-stress ako! Buti na lamang naka-seatbelt ako.

Tumingin ako sa kanya. He looked so troubled. Why all of the sudden?

"There's . . ." he muttered. "I . . . saw a corpse along the way."

"The hell?" I said abruptly, "Where?" then I freed myself from the seatbelt and went out of the car.

Bumalik kami sa nadaanan namin. Agad namang sumunod si Travis sa akin. Itinuro niya kung saan niya nakita ang bangkay.

"Shit." I muttered upon seeing a lady dressed in white full of blood lying on the ground

We run to where she was. TK quickly checked her, "She's not breathing!" and he exclaimed. His voice was coated with nervousness.

I went next to him and grabbed the wrist of the unconscious lady. I tried to feel her pulse, and miraculously, "She still have heartbeats! Though it's weak."

I calmed myself. It was my first to encounter something like this.

Just darn. If Credell would be here, he could provide a solution for this. Or even a first aid.

I checked the body of the lady, looking for the main damage of her dying state. Then I only found out that she was shot on her spinal column!

Gosh, darn it. This was a serious matter!

"Travis, we need to bring her to the hospital!"

"The hell with that?" he retorted. "What if she died along the way?!"

"I don't care! We can't just leave her alone here!" Right, there were no people around. It was only us.

TK had no choice. We carried her carefully. We had no idea what happened, but we managed to bring her inside the car. Maybe because of the adrenaline rush.

I was the driver now. TK was spacing out. He was not in the state to drive calmly.

I didn't know, but I felt something entered my soul. My heart was beating so loud. It was excitement. I felt so excited. I had no idea why. It was as if, I longed for something that I had forgotten because of my amnesia.

My emotions wanted to burst out! And the only thing to overflow my excitement was to drive this car like a careless motherfucker!

I gunned the engine, and drifted the wheels as if I was a professional drag racer. I heard the screeching tires . . . ah, music to my ears.

The car was easy to handle and it could correct easily as I drove.

My eyes were on the road, still driving in a high pace. Whatever the hell was it, all I could think was I missed driving like this!

"Slow the fuck down!" I heard TK on the backseat with the girl.

I only smirked and added some numbers on my speedometer.

It was an emergency. The lady needed to be cured. TK saw the girl. Here we thought that she already had no breaths, but no, she still had. It meant that her life was still not finished. Not now. Not never.

There was a hospital nearby. The Churchill Hospital.

After naming makalagpas sa Churchill Town, we reached the main road. The hi-way.

It became much more exciting.

I wanted to slow down, but I was more concerned to the life of that lady. Thus, I drove even faster, overtaking all the cars on my way. In my mind, I was like: "Eat my smoke, people."

I even did an illegal stuff regarding the road laws. It should be wrong, but it felt right for me.

Not long enough when I heard police sirens. Drat it. Now we were being chased.

I held the clutch and maneuvered the steering wheel to overtake a truck in front of me. I pressed the acceleration paddle to increase speed.

Perks of having a sports car.

The police mobiles were still after me. As if they could chase me. I could drive faster than them. Just follow me until I reached the hospital. I would gladly surrender after.

At long last, we reached the hospital!

We went out and TK was just carrying the girl, then entered the emergency hall. The nurses hurriedly paid attention to us and they brought her to the emergency room.

TK and I both sighed of relief. He was on my side.

"That scared me, Mira." he told me while grinning. "But it was fun. You could drive, huh?"

I chuckled then pursed my lips. "I never knew I can. It was just a rush."

When we turned our back, the police officers were here.

Oh, right. I still had to face something. They had to take me to the precinct. Magbibigay sana ng rason si TK, pero pinigilan ko siya.

"Just call the Mayrand's, Travis." I sighed. "And please stay here and inform me about the girl."

TK sighed as well. "This supposed to be our date."

Natawa na lang ako.

~ ♕ ~

They took me to the precinct. Ikinulong nila ako for over-speeding. They said: "Law is law."

Law, my ass. If that happened to their life, they would do the same thing.

One hour had passed, I was still here.

Did TK call the Mayrand's? How about Credell? I needed someone to bail me out.

Few minutes after, a police officer went to me.

"You've been bailed." he said while opening the door of the cage made out of steel bars.

I was looking for someone who helped me.

From here, I saw Credell.

I couldn't hide my smile upon seeing him. I was happy. Because of my happiness, I ran to him and gave him a big teddy bear hug.

"You made a big fuss, huh?" Credell hugged me, too.

I laughed, "It was fun, though, 'di masaya ang makulong." then I pouted.

"You are such a trouble." said Credell.

And as if on cue, I felt a sharp sting on my head. What he said triggered something in me.

I was clueless what was it, so I shook that thought away.

"By the way, Mira." tawag sa akin ni Credell habang yakag-yakag ako papalabas ng Police Station. "We are going back to the Philippines."

Natulala lang ako sa sinabi niya. It was a simple statement, but it had a huge impact to me.

We were going back to the Philippines. Nothing excited me more than this.

↭ ♡ ↭

♕ handtheirend