"Akala ko ba, dinner?" himutok niya.

Bandang alas kwatro ng hapon nang bigla na lamang sumulpot sa office niya si Frey. And he was followed by Troy. Ayaw pa sana niyang maniwala na coincidence lang na magkasunod siyang pinuntahan ng ex at current niya. But it was. Coincidence nga lang.

Tumatawag daw kanina sa kanya si Troy. His proof was the call logs on her phone. Nainis daw kasi ito nang hindi na niya sinagot ang mga sumunod nitong tawag. That's why he went there to check on her. Troy saw Frey at the lobby. Pasakay na ito ng elevator.

Nasaraduhan si Troy so he waited for another one. Nang makarating sa floor nila ay agad itong pumasok ng opisina niya. And she knew the rest.

After their impromptu make out session ay hindi na ito bumalik sa sarili nitong kumpanya. Bantay-sarado siya hanggang sa mag-uwian.

They were supposed to be at the restaurant by seven, pero nag-detour ito at nagpunta na lang sa hotel. Lumampas na ang alas syete ay hindi pa rin sila nakakapag-dinner. Ilang minuto lang mula sa hotel ang Italian restaurant na kakainan sana nila, pero hindi sila makaalis-alis.

"Dinner in bed," sagot nito. He kissed her hard on the lips.

"Troy, I'm hungry," reklamo niya.

The sex was great and all, but she still needs to eat.

"Fine, let's order."

They ordered pizza, burgers and fries. Nang makarating ang order ay agad silang kumain. Sa dami ng pagkaing inorder ni Troy, she was a bit surprised na nakaya nilang ubusin ang mga iyon ng silang dalawa lang.

Gusto pa nga niyang mag-dessert, hindi lang niya sinabi dahil alam na niya ang iisipin nito.

Nagpahinga lang sila ng kaunti, and then they took a long bath together. Nagbabad pa sila sa bath tub. Kung ganito nga sila nang ganito, hindi malayong mabuntis siya kaagad. Natatakot siyang manganak. Not having a kid per se, pero yung panganganak mismo. Noong college kasi, may Filipino professor kasi silang nagkwento ng experience nito sa panganganak. Complete with all the gory details.

She was scarred for life.

"Troy, sabi mo matagal mo na 'kong gusto, di ba?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"E bakit nung nilapitan kita with my proposal, todo pakipot ka pa? You even made me buy you an expensive car before taking the deal."

He laughed and kissed her shoulder. "Well, if I acted like I really, really want to take the deal, then you'll lose interest in me. So I made it seem like you're the one who wants me, and not the other way around."

"Hmm... sneaky."

Sumandal siya rito. Lampas alas nueve na pero nasa bath tub pa rin sila. Wala na naman silang ginagawa, nakaupo lang. But it felt nice. She could definitely get used to it.

He buried his face in her hair. Mabuti na lang at tuyo ang buhok niya. Hindi na sila nagbasa ng buhok. Baka makwestyon pa siya ng daddy niya pag-uwi.

"Kung magkaka-baby tayo, ano'ng gusto mong names?" bigla nitong tanong.

"Baby kaagad? Hindi pa nga tayo kasal. Ni hindi ka pa nagpu-propose."

"Do I still need to propose?" Bumuntong-hininga ito. "Okay."

Bumaling siya pakaliwa so she could see his face. "Not now. Huwag ka namang mag-propose sa bath tub."

"Why not?" nakanguso nitong tanong. "Required bang nakadamit tayo?"

"I want it to be special, not a spur-of-the-moment thing. Paghandaan mo naman. Saka may ring ka na ba? Ayoko yung dati ha. Bumili ka ng bago."

"Ang arte mo." He made a face and pinched her nose. "Joke. I love you."

Humalik ito sa kanya. Siya na mismo ang umurong bago pa iyon mapunta sa kung saan.

"Uwi na tayo," aya niya.

"Ayaw mo na 'kong kasama?" nakasimangot nitong tanong.

"It's not that. May meeting ako ng bukas ng 7am. I need to sleep early."

"It's still early."

"Five hours naman na tayong magkasama. Bukas ulit." She got out of the tub and toweled herself dry. Sumunod naman ito at nagbihis na rin nang nagbihis siya. Pagkapag-ayos ay inihatid na siya nito pauwi, but he took the longer route. Nagpaikot-ikot pa sila ng ilang minuto bago sila nakarating na bahay niya.

"Do you want to go inside?" she asked when he stopped the car.

"Hanggang kwarto mo?"

Tumawa siya. "No, silly."

Troy stepped out of the car and opened the door for her. Inihatid siya nito hanggang sa may pintuan. But he stalled her for another ten minutes. She didn't know that good night kisses could go that long. Mabuti na nga lamang at hindi naisipan ng daddy niya na lumabas ng bahay, kundi ay malalagot silang dalawa.

--

The next day, another bouquet of flowers arrived from Troy. But this time, ibang klase ng rosas naman. Rainbow-colored Ecuadorian roses. Mahal ang isang stem ng ganoong klaseng rosas. Troy gave her a big bouquet of those. Dahil inggit na inggit si Vico ay napilitan siyang bigyan ito ng isang tangkay.

"Pabili ka kasi kay Mitch," sabi niya rito.

"He's so frugal kasi. He doesn't like wasting money on flowers," nakanguso nitong sabi.

"Pa'no na lang sa wedding nyo? Walang flowers? Damo na lang, ganon?"

Natawa ito. "Gaga, syempre meron."

She had three meetings that morning. Past lunchbreak na silang natapos. Kao-order lamang nila ng pagkain nang biglang dumating yung mga bulaklak galing kay Troy. Vico stayed inside her office as they waited for the food. Tapos nang dumating iyon ay sabay silang kumain, habang pinag-uusapan ang details ng kasal nito.

Dalawang buwan na lamang bago ang kasal nito. Wala na silang problema sa pagpaplano dahil unang proposal pa lamang ni Mitch ay may plano na ang mga ito. They will use the same plan, with a few modifications.

Simpleng beach wedding ang gaganapin at sa tabing-dagat na rin ang reception. There'll be a bonfire and lanterns will be lit, to be freed to the night sky. Gusto na rin tuloy niyang mag-plano. At one point, gusto nya na ring beach wedding ang maging kasal niya.

Or a garden wedding, in a garden field with yellow roses. Now, that would be nice. Pero hihintayin muna niyang mag-propose si Troy.

Kinagabihan ay nag-dinner ulit sila ni Troy. Sa isang skyscraper naman this time. The walls were made of glass, so kitang-kita ang view sa labas. Sa gilid mismo sila pumwesto kaya kitang-kita niya iyon.

The tables were adorned with a bunch of red roses. Sa gitna ng mga iyon ay may mga strings na nakatali naman sa helium balloons.

Troy looked so nervous. Kanina pa ito tingin nang tingin sa gilid niya, kung saan nanggagaling ang mga waiter.

"Do you want champagne?" he asked.

"No. Magtutubig lang ako ngayon," sagot niya.

"But I already ordered."

"You asked me," she said with a shrug. "And I said no."

Troy grimaced. Sinenyasan nito ang waiter na papalapit sa kanila dala ang bote ng champagne na nasa ice bucket.

"I don't like proposals over dinner," sabi niya habang tumitingin sa menu. "Masyadong cliché."

"You're torturing me," himutok nito.

"Babawi ako kapag married na tayo. Promise. I'll even learn how to cook."

He leaned back in his chair and looked at her with a frown, maybe trying to figure her out. But he eventually gave up because he knows that he can never know what she's going to be up to next.

"I know. I'm complicated," she said with a smile.

"Let's just order then," naiiling nitong sabi.

--

Pagkauwi ni Troy ng bahay ay agad niyang pinuntahan si Vince sa study room. He knew he'd be there. Simula nang tanggapin sila nito bilang bago nitong pamilya, tuwing nasa bahay nila si Vince, sa study room ito naglalagi. Even his dad's not that workacholic.

It's no wonder why his father favors Vince more. Mas responsable kasi ito kaysa sa kanya. Mas desente, mas masipag, mas work-oriented, mas reliable at mas matalino. He may have gotten a lot of girls with his charm and good looks, but Vince got his father's approval to manage their business empire. And when the two companies merge, palagay niya'y kay Vince na naman mapupunta ang pamumuno roon.

Does he care? Well, he doesn't like responsibilities. But it would be nice to feel valued by his father, kahit minsan lang. Mabuti na lamang at sa kanya napunta si Red. But he can't even make her happy with his proposal attempts.

It sucks that he still needs to come to Vince for advice.

"How did it go?" tanong nito nang pumasok siya.

"It didn't," simangot niyang sagot.

Vince raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. "She said no?"

He shook his head. "I didn't even have the chance to ask. She said that she doesn't like proposals over dinners. Masyado raw cliché."

That made Vince chuckle. "Mabuti na lang talaga, hindi ako ang ikakasal sa kanya."

Sinamaan niya ito ng tingin. "It's not funny."

"Sorry." Tumikhim ito at sumeryoso. "So, ano na'ng plano mo?"

He sat on one chair and sighed. "I don't know anymore. Ano pa bang klaseng proposal ang hindi pa nagagawa?"

"It's safe to assume that every gimmick has been done," sagot nito. "Unless sa Marianas trench ka magpu-propose or if you'll have your proposal written on the face of the moon..."

"Be serious."

"I am."

Bumuntong-hininga siyang muli.

Vince closed his laptop. Pinagdaop nito ang mga palad at mataman siyang tiningnan.

"Do you need my advice?" tanong nito.

"Can you give me any?"

"I can give you one," sagot nito. "Proposals don't need to be gimmicky to be special. You just need to know what's special to her and include it in your proposal. I guarantee you, she'll say yes in a heartbeat."