Status: in-progress.
LOVE-NAT, isang makulit na lovestory!
Chapter 45-2. Tequila Baby.
Eleonor Malicsi Dimaculangan
Alam niyo ba yung pakiramdam na, wala kang paki-alam kung anong magiging CONSEQUENCE ng mga ginagawa mo? You just, do whatever you want, without worrying what the outcome will be later on!! Basta, you just break free and to hell with the consequences!!
And right now, that’s exactly how I feel...
At alam niyo... masarap pala yung ganitong pakiramdam... Yung parang, lahat kaya kong gawin... parang kahit ano pa yan, hindi ko aatrasan!! I could feel my blood pumping, I’m alive, breathing! Must be adrenaline... I’m all hyped up! Para kong umiinom ng energy booster that any minute now, pwedeng-pwede na kong sumigaw ng DARNA!!
I didn’t know kung nakaka-ilang shot na ko, basta inom lang ako ng inom. One glass after the other. I could hear cheers of many people behind me, mga hiyawan, mga palakpakan. And tonight, I’m the star!! Lahat ng tao nakatingin sakin, they’re aware of my every move... Nakikita nila ko. Pinapansin. WOOOH!! At hindi ako HANGIN na dinededma-dedma lang, hindi kagaya ng dalawang unggoy na kilala ko, kilala nating lahat!! HAHAHAHA.
I grabbed another glass, and another... and another... I could feel myself perspiring, para kong inaapoy sa lagnat, every part of me was burning hot... hotter and hotter... But I didn’t stop!! INOM PA!! WOOHOO!! TAGAY PA ELLIE!! BOTTOM'S UP!!
Ganito pala yung feeling ng isang taong tinatalikuran ng mga taong importante sakanya... ng taong na-reject... ng taong pinagtutulakan papalayo... Kung san man ako pulutin pag-tapos nito... kung ano mang mangyari sakin? Wala na kong pakialam.
Alam niyo minsan, nakakapagod na din kasing maging matapang... Oo, napapagod na ko!!
And right now, all I have in mind were these two words: BAHALA NA!!
Oo, tama... Bahala na, Ellie...
Sef sat on the couch on the VIP section, staring at his half-empty glass of Sweet Piece of @ss – yup, that’s the name of the drink Ivan ordered for him and Sef was thinking that maybe, he is really indeed named after the drink. Kung alam lang niya, Enzo and Brad would love to agree with him there.
“Oh, akala ko ba you’re here to womanize?” Sabi ni Jerry, who took the couch adjacent to Sef’s.“Bakit parang nag-iisa ka ata?”
Sef only smirked. “Yeah, if only women don’t look like--” He paused from mid-sentence when he noticed someone familiar by the distance. The lights were dim and dark kaya hindi tuloy sigurado si Sef, cause he thought he saw AJ, yung na pinsan ni Ellie. But then, siguro kamuka lang. He then shrugged, and stood up from his seat. Sh!t. He mentally cursed to himself. Ano ba yan, pati pinsan ni Ellie na iimagine na niya. “I’ll go ahead, Jer. Paki sabi na lang sa iba.”
“What? Seriously dude? But the fun is just starting...”
Sef simply nodded, not in the mood to come up with any decent excuse and he smoothly found his way towards the exit, but he slowed down when he was nearing the crowd of people rounding the bar. Curious, he tried to get a view as to what the commotion was all about only to be surprised ng matanaw ang pinsan niya na siyang nakikipag-unahan ng pag-inom ng shots.
“Hanggang dito ba naman?”Sef muttered, shaking his head in annoyance. Sef turned to leave already, actually naka-ilang hakbang na siya when he froze. In the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar figure beside his cousin... he turned back to check, kelangan pa niyang itaas ng konti ang ulo niya to take a good view... at ayun nga, ang nakikipag-drinking contest kay Enzo, ay walang iba kung hindi si Eleonor Malicsi Dimaculangan.
Ellie felt her eyes getting heavier, pero wala... tuloy pa din siya. She was already seeing double, literally. And Enzo? Well, he was just taking his time. Hindi siya nagmamadali, in fact, it was just a matter of shots at alam niyang tutumba na ang dalaga. He has played this game for so many times already, and Enzo appeared to be unbeatable.
Ellie raised her 16th glass of Tequila and just when she was to drink it, someone grabbed her arm that the drink slightly spilled out the glass, dampening her hand. Ellie frowned angrily at her blurry intruder, and she has to squint her eyes that it took her few seconds before she recognized him – Si Sef!!
Parang biglang napaso si Ellie sa pagkakahawak sakanya ni Sef. She quickly pulled her arm away from him, but Sef didn’t back down. He still took the shot glass from Ellie’s grasp. “Enough already.” He snapped.
Enzo’s smile disappeared and he continued watching them with arising curiosity.
Sef turned to glare at his cousin; his eyes were serious and angry that Enzo knew it would be better not to crack a joke. Without a word, Sef made his way through the crowd, holding Ellie’s hand with him.
Brad was there, pinanuod lang niya si Sef as he was pulling Ellie away. Sa totoo lang, Brad would like so much to interfere, pero pinili na lang niyang manahimik. He smirked, he was right about Sef & Ellie after all. Oh well, Brad told himself, Better luck next time, Brandon. He turned his back and went to AJ para sabihin kung anong nangyari sa pinsan niya.
Dire-diretso si Sef papalabas ng Ascend, Ellie was still striding behind him. She was dizzy and struggling to keep her balance, despite the fact na umiikot na ang mundo nya. The moment they were standing outside, Sef let go of Ellie’s hand and turned to look at her. Ellie was already breathing heavily, and she seemed drowsy and her face was red all over. She was wasted, totally drunk. She was even probably not aware kung sino kasama niya. She seemed distant at sabog na sabog.
Sef wanted to scream at her, scold her but he doubt if she’ll even understand. “Ano? How are you feeling?” Yun na lang ang naitanong niya sa dalaga, who just looked up at him with a blank expression written all over her face. Parang hindi niya narinig si Sef.
AJ then came running towards them, “Ellie!” He called and studied his cousin for a while before throwing a surprised look at Sef. “Sef, Thank You!” AJ gave Sef a weak smile. “Ok na, ako ng bahala sakanya.” Kahit naman gaano kabaliw itong si AJ, he knew better not to trust his drunk-cousin to anyone. Even to someone like Sef Monteverde.
Sef’s frown deepened. Parang, ayaw niyang i-admit sa sarili niyang nagaalala siya. Kung hindi niya ihahatid si Ellie, who will? And by just looking at her now, he knew he should follow his instinct na wag ng iwan ang dalaga. He would rather make sure na makakauwi ito safe & sound kesa unahin ang pride niya ngayon. Sef said, not actually looking at AJ nor Ellie,“I-ihahatid ko na kayo.”
Gustong mang-asar ni AJ. Gusto niyang bumanat, mag-joke at kung anu-ano pa. But the serious frown on Sef was threatening, baka mamaya ihampas siya sa pader nito, masira pa ang maganda niyang face. “Ah, sige. Sige.” AJ simply nodded, trying with all his might now to laugh. “Sasabihin ko lang sa mga friends ko na mauuna na kami.” AJ quickly went running back inside Ascend. “Susunod na lang ako sa kotse.”
“Okay.”
Eleonor’s face was blank, expressionless... walang kaemo-emosyon. She looked like hell warmed all over. Hanggang ngayon pakiramdam niya, para siyang sinisilaban. Para siyang sinusunog ng buhay. She aimlessly removed the jacket she was wearing and revealing a white sleeveless shirt underneath and most especially, exposing more of her flesh.
Sef felt uncomfortable as he was watching her in front of him. Tumalikod tuloy siya kay Ellie and glanced at her from the corner of his eye, hindi siya makatingin ng diretso sa dalaga and felt his cheeks turning slightly pink at the sight of her.
Ellie struggled to remove the sleeve from her right arm. Parang wala na talaga ito sa sarili niya. All she knew was that, naiinitan siya. Nainis na lalo si Sef. “Darn it. Ano bang ginagawa mo?!” He screamed at her, improperly placing back the jacket on Ellie’s shoulders.“You need to do more than that to seduce me.”
She looked at him, still with an empty expression. Siguro, kung hindi lang siya lasing, kanina pa siya nakapag bigay ng violent reaction.
Sef waited for her to react then something occurred to him. Namiss niya si Ellie. He couldn’t help but smile at her. “You know what, ikaw lang ata ang kilala kong lasing na ubod ng tahimik.”
Ellie just looked away as if she didn’t comprehend his words.
Sef then sighed. “C’mon.” It was useless talking to her. Sef bobbed his head in gesture na sundan na lang siya ng dalaga. He would have held her hand, pero naalala niya Ellie was pushing him away kanina nun sa bar. She obviously doesn’t want him going near her. “Let’s go get to my car. Doon na naten hihintayin pinsan mo.”
Without a word, Ellie followed behind him like an obedient little girl and Sef would just glance on his back to check on her once in a while. Pag-dating nila sa parking lot, sa mismong Pajero... Sef brought out his keys and pressed the automatic unlock. Tumunog at bumukas ang lock ng Pajero, he then opened the door sa driver’s seat at papasakay na sana siya when he realized na naka-buntot pa din si Ellie sa kanya. He slammed the door shut and knew na kelangan pa niyang isakay ang dalaga sa passenger seat. He sighed.
“Not here Ellie...” He said to her, but Ellie was only staring at him and for some unexplainable reason, Sef felt something was different with her eyes... her face must have looked expressionless, pero nasa mata niyang lahat yung gusto niyang ipahiwatig. She looked hurt as her dark brown eyes bore intently at Sef’s. “Hey,” Sef started, his voice already worried. “You okay?” She looked as if she’s just about to cry any minute now.
Siguro nga, minsan... ang alcohol hindi lang puro kasamaan ang naidudulot... minsan, kailangan talaga siya ng ibang tao para magkaroon ng lakas ng loob...
And then... nagulat na lang si Sef when Ellie wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head against his chest. Sef felt his heart jumped and his skin tingled all over with their sudden contact. Ellie smelled strongly of alcohol and sweet cherry. Sef froze, completely immobilized.
“Kung pwede,” Ellie then said, her voice was soft, barely a whisper. “Ganito muna tayo, kahit sandali lang...”
And Sef, with all his might, decided not to embrace her back, for he knew it was just the alcohol taking effect on her... atchaka, pakiramdam kasi niya, Ellie mistaken him for someone else...
Tahimik ang tatlong sakay ng Pajero – Sina Sef, Ellie at AJ. Si Sef, maya’t mayang tumitingin sa babaeng umiidlip sa passenger’s seat. Si AJ naman, nakataas ang kilay habang pinagmamasdan ang mga kilos ni Sef sa likod.
Maya-maya pa ee, biglang gumising si Ellie massaging her head. “Cuz!” Sabi ni AJ, leaning forwards so as to have a better look on his cousin. “Ano? Ayos ka na? Isang round pa?” Ellie only groaned in reply. Hinagod ni AJ ang likod ng pinsan and before Sef & AJ knew it, sumuka ng bonggang-bongga si Ellie sa floor mat ng Pajero ni Sef. “Ahy, dios por santo santisima!!” Nabulalas ni AJ with a sour look at diring-diring tinakpan ang ilong niya as the strong stench of vomit quickly drifted through the air.
Sef quickly stopped the vehicle sa malapit na grocery store na nakita niya at agad tumakbo sa loob. AJ went down at binuksan ang pinto ni Ellie. “Grabe ka naman kasi Cuz!” AJ whined. “Ang tindi mo talaga, kung makainom ka naman kasi ng alak kala mo orange juice!!”
AJ tried to clean the mess na ginawa ni Ellie. He pulled the floor mat at dinala sa isang sulok nung parking lot sa gilid ng grocery store. Siyang labas naman ni Sef sa grocery. Akala ni AJ magagalit ang binata kay Ellie when he went on the passenger’s seat sa tabi ng pinsan niya. Pinanuod ni AJ si Sef as he gave Ellie a bottle of water. “Uminom ka muna. This will make you feel better.” He said.
“May ganun?” AJ said aloud, smiling with uncontainable amusement.
After ten minutes, umandar na ulit sila. Nakatulog na ulit si Ellie. This time, Sef decided to close the air con, at buksan na lang yung mga binata so as to remove the sour smell.
Maya-maya pa ee parang merong kumagat na langgam sa dila ni AJ, that as much as he tried to keep his mouth shut, hindi na niya kinaya ang kati nito. “Sabihin mo nga sakin,” He said, looking at Sef through the rear mirror when he was sure na mahimbing na tulog ni Ellie.“You like my cousin, don’t you?”He teased.
Sef frowned at the question, parang ilang beses na siyang tinanong niyan. “Liking your cousin is the last thing I have in mind right now.”
AJ shrugged. “Aw. Sayang naman, sabi pa naman niya may gusto siya sayo.”
Parang nawala yung kunot sa noo ni Sef and caught AJ’s eyes by looking at the rear mirror.“Uh - Talaga? She –uh- said that?”
AJ laughed, “JOKE!! HAHA. Ikaw naman, di mabiro—ehem, ehem.”Biglang umubo si AJ, then suddenly, he made a vomiting sound kagaya nung kay Ellie kanina. Sef hit on the breaks and angrily whirled at the back of his Pajero, kung saan naka-upo si AJ.
“What the hell!!” He hissed. “Bukas na nga yung bintana ee, you should have brought it outside!! Dammit!!”
Biglang umayos ng upo si AJ and glared meaningfully at Sef. Hindi naman talaga siya nagsuka ee. Haha. Trip-trip lang so as to prove his point. “OVER!! Maka-sigaw ka wagas! Samantalang nung si Ellie, tuwang-tuwa ka pa!! So, you’re still going to deny liking my cousin?”
Sef’s face turned red in mix embarrassment and the fact na BUKING siya ni AJ. He silently went back to look on the road at tahimik na nag-drive.
Pag-dating sa tapat ng bahay nila Ellie, AJ said before going down. “Ahy, oo nga pala. Hindi dito natutulog si Ellie ngayon.”
Sef raised a brow questioningly, napaisip tuloy siya. Parang wala naman nasabi si Ellie na may isa pa silang bahay.
“Malapit lang yun dito.” AJ instructed, with the intention of not mentioning MAX’s name.“Diretsuhin mo ‘tong street na ‘toh. Bilangin mo yun pangalawang kanto sa kaliwa. Kumaliwa ka dun tapos kanan sa unang street. Yung pang-limang bahay sa kanan. Yun na yun.”With that, bumaba na si AJ. “Salamat nga pala. Ingats sa pag-uwi. Ingatan mo pinsan ko.” He waved a good-bye. “And remember, ang puso parang bata yan, hindi yan marunong magsinungaling.”
Sef chuckled. Nakakaaliw talaga itong si AJ. Lahi talaga ni Ellie kahit kelan oh. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Bye. Good night. Sa uulitin.” AJ was grinning as he watched the Pajero in the distance and thought to himself, May ilan-ilang tao talaga sa mundo na sadyang tanga... Tsk tsk.
To be continued.
Alam niyo ba yung pakiramdam na, wala kang paki-alam kung anong magiging CONSEQUENCE ng mga ginagawa mo? You just, do whatever you want, without worrying what the outcome will be later on!! Basta, you just break free and to hell with the consequences!!
And right now, that’s exactly how I feel...
At alam niyo... masarap pala yung ganitong pakiramdam... Yung parang, lahat kaya kong gawin... parang kahit ano pa yan, hindi ko aatrasan!! I could feel my blood pumping, I’m alive, breathing! Must be adrenaline... I’m all hyped up! Para kong umiinom ng energy booster that any minute now, pwedeng-pwede na kong sumigaw ng DARNA!!
I didn’t know kung nakaka-ilang shot na ko, basta inom lang ako ng inom. One glass after the other. I could hear cheers of many people behind me, mga hiyawan, mga palakpakan. And tonight, I’m the star!! Lahat ng tao nakatingin sakin, they’re aware of my every move... Nakikita nila ko. Pinapansin. WOOOH!! At hindi ako HANGIN na dinededma-dedma lang, hindi kagaya ng dalawang unggoy na kilala ko, kilala nating lahat!! HAHAHAHA.
I grabbed another glass, and another... and another... I could feel myself perspiring, para kong inaapoy sa lagnat, every part of me was burning hot... hotter and hotter... But I didn’t stop!! INOM PA!! WOOHOO!! TAGAY PA ELLIE!! BOTTOM'S UP!!
Ganito pala yung feeling ng isang taong tinatalikuran ng mga taong importante sakanya... ng taong na-reject... ng taong pinagtutulakan papalayo... Kung san man ako pulutin pag-tapos nito... kung ano mang mangyari sakin? Wala na kong pakialam.
Alam niyo minsan, nakakapagod na din kasing maging matapang... Oo, napapagod na ko!!
And right now, all I have in mind were these two words: BAHALA NA!!
Oo, tama... Bahala na, Ellie...
Sef sat on the couch on the VIP section, staring at his half-empty glass of Sweet Piece of @ss – yup, that’s the name of the drink Ivan ordered for him and Sef was thinking that maybe, he is really indeed named after the drink. Kung alam lang niya, Enzo and Brad would love to agree with him there.
“Oh, akala ko ba you’re here to womanize?” Sabi ni Jerry, who took the couch adjacent to Sef’s.“Bakit parang nag-iisa ka ata?”
Sef only smirked. “Yeah, if only women don’t look like--” He paused from mid-sentence when he noticed someone familiar by the distance. The lights were dim and dark kaya hindi tuloy sigurado si Sef, cause he thought he saw AJ, yung na pinsan ni Ellie. But then, siguro kamuka lang. He then shrugged, and stood up from his seat. Sh!t. He mentally cursed to himself. Ano ba yan, pati pinsan ni Ellie na iimagine na niya. “I’ll go ahead, Jer. Paki sabi na lang sa iba.”
“What? Seriously dude? But the fun is just starting...”
Sef simply nodded, not in the mood to come up with any decent excuse and he smoothly found his way towards the exit, but he slowed down when he was nearing the crowd of people rounding the bar. Curious, he tried to get a view as to what the commotion was all about only to be surprised ng matanaw ang pinsan niya na siyang nakikipag-unahan ng pag-inom ng shots.
“Hanggang dito ba naman?”Sef muttered, shaking his head in annoyance. Sef turned to leave already, actually naka-ilang hakbang na siya when he froze. In the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar figure beside his cousin... he turned back to check, kelangan pa niyang itaas ng konti ang ulo niya to take a good view... at ayun nga, ang nakikipag-drinking contest kay Enzo, ay walang iba kung hindi si Eleonor Malicsi Dimaculangan.
Ellie felt her eyes getting heavier, pero wala... tuloy pa din siya. She was already seeing double, literally. And Enzo? Well, he was just taking his time. Hindi siya nagmamadali, in fact, it was just a matter of shots at alam niyang tutumba na ang dalaga. He has played this game for so many times already, and Enzo appeared to be unbeatable.
Ellie raised her 16th glass of Tequila and just when she was to drink it, someone grabbed her arm that the drink slightly spilled out the glass, dampening her hand. Ellie frowned angrily at her blurry intruder, and she has to squint her eyes that it took her few seconds before she recognized him – Si Sef!!
Parang biglang napaso si Ellie sa pagkakahawak sakanya ni Sef. She quickly pulled her arm away from him, but Sef didn’t back down. He still took the shot glass from Ellie’s grasp. “Enough already.” He snapped.
Enzo’s smile disappeared and he continued watching them with arising curiosity.
Sef turned to glare at his cousin; his eyes were serious and angry that Enzo knew it would be better not to crack a joke. Without a word, Sef made his way through the crowd, holding Ellie’s hand with him.
Brad was there, pinanuod lang niya si Sef as he was pulling Ellie away. Sa totoo lang, Brad would like so much to interfere, pero pinili na lang niyang manahimik. He smirked, he was right about Sef & Ellie after all. Oh well, Brad told himself, Better luck next time, Brandon. He turned his back and went to AJ para sabihin kung anong nangyari sa pinsan niya.
Dire-diretso si Sef papalabas ng Ascend, Ellie was still striding behind him. She was dizzy and struggling to keep her balance, despite the fact na umiikot na ang mundo nya. The moment they were standing outside, Sef let go of Ellie’s hand and turned to look at her. Ellie was already breathing heavily, and she seemed drowsy and her face was red all over. She was wasted, totally drunk. She was even probably not aware kung sino kasama niya. She seemed distant at sabog na sabog.
Sef wanted to scream at her, scold her but he doubt if she’ll even understand. “Ano? How are you feeling?” Yun na lang ang naitanong niya sa dalaga, who just looked up at him with a blank expression written all over her face. Parang hindi niya narinig si Sef.
AJ then came running towards them, “Ellie!” He called and studied his cousin for a while before throwing a surprised look at Sef. “Sef, Thank You!” AJ gave Sef a weak smile. “Ok na, ako ng bahala sakanya.” Kahit naman gaano kabaliw itong si AJ, he knew better not to trust his drunk-cousin to anyone. Even to someone like Sef Monteverde.
Sef’s frown deepened. Parang, ayaw niyang i-admit sa sarili niyang nagaalala siya. Kung hindi niya ihahatid si Ellie, who will? And by just looking at her now, he knew he should follow his instinct na wag ng iwan ang dalaga. He would rather make sure na makakauwi ito safe & sound kesa unahin ang pride niya ngayon. Sef said, not actually looking at AJ nor Ellie,“I-ihahatid ko na kayo.”
Gustong mang-asar ni AJ. Gusto niyang bumanat, mag-joke at kung anu-ano pa. But the serious frown on Sef was threatening, baka mamaya ihampas siya sa pader nito, masira pa ang maganda niyang face. “Ah, sige. Sige.” AJ simply nodded, trying with all his might now to laugh. “Sasabihin ko lang sa mga friends ko na mauuna na kami.” AJ quickly went running back inside Ascend. “Susunod na lang ako sa kotse.”
“Okay.”
Eleonor’s face was blank, expressionless... walang kaemo-emosyon. She looked like hell warmed all over. Hanggang ngayon pakiramdam niya, para siyang sinisilaban. Para siyang sinusunog ng buhay. She aimlessly removed the jacket she was wearing and revealing a white sleeveless shirt underneath and most especially, exposing more of her flesh.
Sef felt uncomfortable as he was watching her in front of him. Tumalikod tuloy siya kay Ellie and glanced at her from the corner of his eye, hindi siya makatingin ng diretso sa dalaga and felt his cheeks turning slightly pink at the sight of her.
Ellie struggled to remove the sleeve from her right arm. Parang wala na talaga ito sa sarili niya. All she knew was that, naiinitan siya. Nainis na lalo si Sef. “Darn it. Ano bang ginagawa mo?!” He screamed at her, improperly placing back the jacket on Ellie’s shoulders.“You need to do more than that to seduce me.”
She looked at him, still with an empty expression. Siguro, kung hindi lang siya lasing, kanina pa siya nakapag bigay ng violent reaction.
Sef waited for her to react then something occurred to him. Namiss niya si Ellie. He couldn’t help but smile at her. “You know what, ikaw lang ata ang kilala kong lasing na ubod ng tahimik.”
Ellie just looked away as if she didn’t comprehend his words.
Sef then sighed. “C’mon.” It was useless talking to her. Sef bobbed his head in gesture na sundan na lang siya ng dalaga. He would have held her hand, pero naalala niya Ellie was pushing him away kanina nun sa bar. She obviously doesn’t want him going near her. “Let’s go get to my car. Doon na naten hihintayin pinsan mo.”
Without a word, Ellie followed behind him like an obedient little girl and Sef would just glance on his back to check on her once in a while. Pag-dating nila sa parking lot, sa mismong Pajero... Sef brought out his keys and pressed the automatic unlock. Tumunog at bumukas ang lock ng Pajero, he then opened the door sa driver’s seat at papasakay na sana siya when he realized na naka-buntot pa din si Ellie sa kanya. He slammed the door shut and knew na kelangan pa niyang isakay ang dalaga sa passenger seat. He sighed.
“Not here Ellie...” He said to her, but Ellie was only staring at him and for some unexplainable reason, Sef felt something was different with her eyes... her face must have looked expressionless, pero nasa mata niyang lahat yung gusto niyang ipahiwatig. She looked hurt as her dark brown eyes bore intently at Sef’s. “Hey,” Sef started, his voice already worried. “You okay?” She looked as if she’s just about to cry any minute now.
Siguro nga, minsan... ang alcohol hindi lang puro kasamaan ang naidudulot... minsan, kailangan talaga siya ng ibang tao para magkaroon ng lakas ng loob...
And then... nagulat na lang si Sef when Ellie wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her head against his chest. Sef felt his heart jumped and his skin tingled all over with their sudden contact. Ellie smelled strongly of alcohol and sweet cherry. Sef froze, completely immobilized.
“Kung pwede,” Ellie then said, her voice was soft, barely a whisper. “Ganito muna tayo, kahit sandali lang...”
And Sef, with all his might, decided not to embrace her back, for he knew it was just the alcohol taking effect on her... atchaka, pakiramdam kasi niya, Ellie mistaken him for someone else...
Tahimik ang tatlong sakay ng Pajero – Sina Sef, Ellie at AJ. Si Sef, maya’t mayang tumitingin sa babaeng umiidlip sa passenger’s seat. Si AJ naman, nakataas ang kilay habang pinagmamasdan ang mga kilos ni Sef sa likod.
Maya-maya pa ee, biglang gumising si Ellie massaging her head. “Cuz!” Sabi ni AJ, leaning forwards so as to have a better look on his cousin. “Ano? Ayos ka na? Isang round pa?” Ellie only groaned in reply. Hinagod ni AJ ang likod ng pinsan and before Sef & AJ knew it, sumuka ng bonggang-bongga si Ellie sa floor mat ng Pajero ni Sef. “Ahy, dios por santo santisima!!” Nabulalas ni AJ with a sour look at diring-diring tinakpan ang ilong niya as the strong stench of vomit quickly drifted through the air.
Sef quickly stopped the vehicle sa malapit na grocery store na nakita niya at agad tumakbo sa loob. AJ went down at binuksan ang pinto ni Ellie. “Grabe ka naman kasi Cuz!” AJ whined. “Ang tindi mo talaga, kung makainom ka naman kasi ng alak kala mo orange juice!!”
AJ tried to clean the mess na ginawa ni Ellie. He pulled the floor mat at dinala sa isang sulok nung parking lot sa gilid ng grocery store. Siyang labas naman ni Sef sa grocery. Akala ni AJ magagalit ang binata kay Ellie when he went on the passenger’s seat sa tabi ng pinsan niya. Pinanuod ni AJ si Sef as he gave Ellie a bottle of water. “Uminom ka muna. This will make you feel better.” He said.
“May ganun?” AJ said aloud, smiling with uncontainable amusement.
After ten minutes, umandar na ulit sila. Nakatulog na ulit si Ellie. This time, Sef decided to close the air con, at buksan na lang yung mga binata so as to remove the sour smell.
Maya-maya pa ee parang merong kumagat na langgam sa dila ni AJ, that as much as he tried to keep his mouth shut, hindi na niya kinaya ang kati nito. “Sabihin mo nga sakin,” He said, looking at Sef through the rear mirror when he was sure na mahimbing na tulog ni Ellie.“You like my cousin, don’t you?”He teased.
Sef frowned at the question, parang ilang beses na siyang tinanong niyan. “Liking your cousin is the last thing I have in mind right now.”
AJ shrugged. “Aw. Sayang naman, sabi pa naman niya may gusto siya sayo.”
Parang nawala yung kunot sa noo ni Sef and caught AJ’s eyes by looking at the rear mirror.“Uh - Talaga? She –uh- said that?”
AJ laughed, “JOKE!! HAHA. Ikaw naman, di mabiro—ehem, ehem.”Biglang umubo si AJ, then suddenly, he made a vomiting sound kagaya nung kay Ellie kanina. Sef hit on the breaks and angrily whirled at the back of his Pajero, kung saan naka-upo si AJ.
“What the hell!!” He hissed. “Bukas na nga yung bintana ee, you should have brought it outside!! Dammit!!”
Biglang umayos ng upo si AJ and glared meaningfully at Sef. Hindi naman talaga siya nagsuka ee. Haha. Trip-trip lang so as to prove his point. “OVER!! Maka-sigaw ka wagas! Samantalang nung si Ellie, tuwang-tuwa ka pa!! So, you’re still going to deny liking my cousin?”
Sef’s face turned red in mix embarrassment and the fact na BUKING siya ni AJ. He silently went back to look on the road at tahimik na nag-drive.
Pag-dating sa tapat ng bahay nila Ellie, AJ said before going down. “Ahy, oo nga pala. Hindi dito natutulog si Ellie ngayon.”
Sef raised a brow questioningly, napaisip tuloy siya. Parang wala naman nasabi si Ellie na may isa pa silang bahay.
“Malapit lang yun dito.” AJ instructed, with the intention of not mentioning MAX’s name.“Diretsuhin mo ‘tong street na ‘toh. Bilangin mo yun pangalawang kanto sa kaliwa. Kumaliwa ka dun tapos kanan sa unang street. Yung pang-limang bahay sa kanan. Yun na yun.”With that, bumaba na si AJ. “Salamat nga pala. Ingats sa pag-uwi. Ingatan mo pinsan ko.” He waved a good-bye. “And remember, ang puso parang bata yan, hindi yan marunong magsinungaling.”
Sef chuckled. Nakakaaliw talaga itong si AJ. Lahi talaga ni Ellie kahit kelan oh. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Bye. Good night. Sa uulitin.” AJ was grinning as he watched the Pajero in the distance and thought to himself, May ilan-ilang tao talaga sa mundo na sadyang tanga... Tsk tsk.
To be continued.