Arrange To You (Tagalog)

Unti-unti akong napapahakbang pa atras at halang na ngumiti. What they said was congested in my mind.

"Alam mo na kung gaano ka kaswerte, Celestia? Lahat ng babae ay pinapangarap na makapalit ng pwesto mo! Ano ba ang sekreto mo sa buhay?"

"Uhh... mali kayo ng iniisip, okay? I'm... actually renting in his house for quite awhile since I just moved here in Punto Sierra." I explained but it looks like they are not buying it. May mga panunudyo sa tingin nila.

"Promise! There's nothing going on between us." Sabay silang napatango-tangong tatlo pero hindi pa rin makakaila ang mga panunudyong tingin sa kanila.

"Sige... naniniwala kami ah. Puntahan mo na ang jo- este si Mr. Patterson at baka nababagot na yun kakahintay. Regards mo nalang kami sa kanya ah..." napangiwi ako sa kakaibang tingin nila. Mukhang hindi talaga ako titigilan kakatudyo ng mga 'to kapag hindi ako aalis.

I bid my farewell before running towards the parking area. Pero hindi palang ako nakakapunta sa parking area ay nadatnan ko si Wayde ilang hakbang kang mula sa bakery na naghihintay habang ang dalawang kamay ay nakalagay sa magkabilang bulsa ng pantalon nito.

When his eyes met mine, bakas sa mukha nito ang pagka-inip.

Oh, napahintay ko ata siya ng matagal.

Marami 'ring mga vendors ang nagliligpit roon at nagdadala ng mga malaking gamit para iligpit. It was a busy area indeed

"Sorry for keeping you wait." Paghingi ko ng tawad sa kanya. We walked together-heading to the parking area.

"You shouldn't leave your belongings like that, Celestia. If I haven't seen your bag at the sala, then I wouldn't knew that you don't have something with you." Is this the reason why his in a bad mood earlier?

Well, he got a point tho. I've been so reckless lately that I didn't notice that it affected my shift for the day.

"I'm sorry, muntik na kasi akong malate kanina kaya ganun."

He bobbed his head and looked faraway.

"Always keep your things with you. That little boy will not always be with you to save you." Wayde bitterly said.

My forehead creased due to curiosity. Si Clayton ba ang tinutukoy niya?

"You mean, Clayton? I didn't expect him to see there early in the morning. It was also a blessing of disguise since I'm also late for work." I smiled. Clayton was just in time to save me from being tardy. "Good for you, then." He replied, pero tila ba may iba pang tono ang pagkakasabi niya yun.

I raised my hand and showed him the paper bags. Napakunot ang noo niya at napatingin sa hawak ko

"What's that?"

"I made some cookies! I told you, don't challenge me or you might embarrass yourself. Have some!" malaki ang ngiti kong sabi sa kanya.

Bubuksan ko na sana ang paperbag nang hinapit niya ako sa bewang at napasubsob ako sa dibdib niya. My breathing hitched when he pulled me closer to him. I could even smell his scent because of our closeness. "What..." Hindi ko na natuloy pa ang sasabihin ko nang bumulong siya sa'kin. His lips brushed slightly in my ear that made me stunned

"Careful," he whispered before pulling away. Kaagad nanindig ang balahibo ko sa ginawa niya. There's... something in his act that made me confused lately. And it always correlates with the beating of my heart. I don't know what it is, but one thing for sure is that Wayde really has an effect on me.

It's just then I found out na may nakasunod pala sa amin. The guy is holding a sharp object and barely notices that I almost got hit by it.

"Pasensya na po ate. Hindi ko po sinasadya." I smiled and nodded not to bother the person.

When the person left, kaagad kaming nagpatuloy sa paglalakad.

"T-Thank you," I said without even taking a glance at him. In my peripheral vision, I just saw him nodding.

Bago kami makarating sa parking late ay nakarinig kami ng busina ng sasakyan. No, a van rather. It's not just one but two. Pinagtitinginan na rin ito ng mga taong naroroon. Nang lumingon ako roon ay isa-isang naglalabasan ang mga lalakihan.

My mood shifted when I saw the logo imprinted in the van.

Vircarcel's Empire.

Tila nanlamig ang buong katawan ko at napako iyon sa mga nagsilabasang mga kalakihan roon. There were my dad's men.

What are they doing here?

May nilapitan ang mga itong vendor at mukhang nagtatanong. When one of them looked at our direksyon, kaagad akong nag-iwas ng tingin.

"W-Wayde..." He looked at me and saw the panicked in my eyes. Tila nakuha niya ang ibig sabihin ko at tumango.

He wrapped his arms on me. Tinago ko ang mukha ko sa leather jacket niya at kaagad naman niya akong niyakap.

"Please, don't let them see me." I tried my best to remained my composure but the plea in my voice is still visible.

"Trust me..." he whispered. At sa pagkakataong iyon, I nodded. The way he said it gives me assurance that he wouldn't do something bad. I can feel his hand brushing my hair lightly. "Just believe with what I say." Kaagad akong tumango sa sinabi niya.

"Sir, excuse me po." Humigpit ang pagkakahawak ko sa kanya at mas lalo pang nagsusumiksik sa kanya. Wala akong pakialam kung magmukha akong tanga sa paningin ng iba. "What is it?" His voice is stern and distant.

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Kagayang-kagaya nung una palang naming pagkikita

"Kilala niyo po ba ang taong 'to?" My heart is beating so fast that I could even hear its own beating from the outside. Kagat ang labi kong lihim na nanalangin na hindi ako mapansin. "Sorry, I haven't encountered this person yet here." Wayde's hand travelled in my back and caressed it back and forth.

"Sige sir, salamat. Asawa niyo po?"

I'm hoping that the guy would just walk away but he didn't.

"Yeah, buntis kasi kaya naglalambing. Wala na raw akong oras sa kanya." Wayde casually said and chuckled lightly. Mas pinag-igihan talaga nito ang pag-aacting at mas nilambingan pa ang boses. If I were the guy asking him, I wouldn't even suspect that he's with the perpetrator. He is so convincing!

"Ahh ganun ho ba sir. Suyuin niyo lang ng suyuin at bibigay rin yan si misis. Salamat sir!"

"I'll take note of that." Amusement is visible in Wayde's tone. We stayed in that position for a couple of minutes.

"They're gone." Kaagad akong bumitaw sa kanya at kinurot siya.

"Really?! Out of all the excuses, yun pa talaga ang naisip mo?" napapantastikuhan ko siyang tinignan.

"It was adrenaline rush. Kesa naman wala akong masabi sa kanila. Why? You're affected?" tila napapaso akong lumayo sa kanya at marahas na umiling.

The confidence!

"H-Hell no! not even in a million." That's a lie, really. Hindi ko man aminin, but I know that there's already something growing inside me

"Ows? Do you think that I didn't notice those simple glances from you?" he teased.

I rolled my eyes, "E ano naman ngayon?" defensive kong sagot.

Napatigil si Wayde. I looked at him as if I said something wrong.

"What?" I mouthed.

Pinipigilan nitong ngumiti at nang hindi nito iyon napigilan ay malakas itong humalakhak. I was confused, really. His heartily laugh got some attentions from the people in the place too. What could I say? It's him who's laughing. It makes him more attractive.

"You didn't realize, didn't you?"

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"Na ano... ba? Oh my!" napatakip ako ng bibig nang marealize ang sinabi ko kanina lang.

For the second time around, Wayde chuckled. Hindi ko kayang tumingin sa kanya dahil sa kahihiyan na sinabi ko. Did I just actually confessed in front of him?

How much embarrassment could I get?!

Ramdam ko ang pag-init ng pisngi ko. My face is red as the tomato right now. I glared at Wayde who's clearly just teasing me the whole time. Siya pa ang masamang tinignan ko gayung ako naman ang gumawa ng sarili kong kahihiyan. "You're the one who said it not me." Unang naglakad si Wayde kaysa sa'kin.

I grimaced with what I did. Nakasunod lang ako sa kanya nang tumigil ito. I frowned.

"Celestia." tawag ni Wayde at hindi pa rin ako nililingon.

"hmm?" I replied. Containing myself to remain calm when in fact, my stomach is rumbling with the different kind of feeling inside.

"I..." he paused for a while.

"like you, too." He said and went to his motorbike.

Napatigil rin ako at mahigpit ang kapit sa paper bag. It left me dumbfounded.

Starting from that day onwards, it's like everything shifted from its right position. He is still that Wayde that I knew, but whenever he is around, something changes.

Seeing his smile was already more than that. Witnessing as the sun rises or sets was even more comforting and peaceful whenever he is around. From those jokes, the things I learned from him and a lot of teasing. It's a memory that is worth keeping.

I'm starting to get used by his presence. I always noticed those small gestures from him. As the days passed by, those admiration kept getting more stronger that it was almost mold into something that I wasn't expecting. That interaction continues and grows. That I didn't even notice that...

it wasn't already crush or admiration.

It was already something else.

Something...

That we called 'Love".

And in that moment, I just knew that there's no holding back for the feelings that keep growing each day and are worth looking forward to.