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10

"Dani, baba na! Andito na sundo natin!"

I immediately grabbed the nearest clothing I got from my closet and wore it on myself when I heard Lili shouting. Papunta kami ngayon ni Dee sa Greenbelt to check on the Suarez Label branch there at balak naming mag date pagkatapos. And if you're wondering why Lili is coming with us is because she overheard me talking to Dee on the phone the other day about going to Greenbelt. She asked Dee if he could give her a ride to FEU. Back to school na rin kasi siya bukas kaya pupunta na siya ng Manila ngayon para linisin ang dorm niya. Pumayag nalang rin akong isabay siya dahil marami siyang dalang bag na puno ng kaniyang mga damit. Ayoko namang mahirapan pa siyang mag commute ngayon lalo na't pagabi na. 

I wore a casual white sunflower midi dress and a pair of nude sandals. I got my Louis Vuitton monogram multi pochette bag and tossed my phone in it. I took a quick look at the full-length mirror and fixed my hair a bit before heading downstairs. 

Pagkababa ko ay nakita kong nilalagay na ni Dee ang mga gamit ni Lili sa back trunk ng kaniyang white BMW SUV. Sinalubong ko siya ng yakap and he in turn, rested his chin on my shoulder. He faced me and held my waist while I encircled my hands on his neck. 

"Kamusta ka?" I smiled widely at him. 

"Ok lang naman but it'll be better if I see you everyday." He cupped my face and kissed my nose. 

"What kdrama is this?", tanong ni Lili. Napahiwalay kami ni Dee sa aming posisyon pero hinawakan niya ulit ang aking bewang nang makaharap siya kay Lili. It's only been a day since we last saw each other and it's been 10 days since I became his. I can say that he's a clingy type of guy but not in a bad way. Clingy na mahilig mangyakap at maglambing is what I mean. Sobrang iba niya nung hindi pa kami. He looked classy and neat na parang mahihiya kang hawakan siya. He was intimidating when I first saw him but it's the complete opposite now. He acts cute whenever he's with me. 

"Para kayong mga characters sa isang chaebol kdrama. An heir and heiress destined to be together,” dramatikong sabi ni Lili. 

"So anong kwento niyo ni Blaze? Dr. Romantic?" I jokingly said. 

"Hmm. Pwede na kaso hindi ko balak mag doctor eh. Si Blaze nalang ang bubuhay sa akin,” sabi niya habang natatawa-tawa. 

"Oh, tara na. Baka ma traffic pa tayo. Let's just talk in the car,” sambit ni Dee. Nagpaalam muna kami kay Nay Fellie bago tuluyang sumakay ng kotse.  

Nang pinaandar ni Dee ang sasakyan ay nagpatugtog siya ng mga piano songs. He even has classical music CDs in his car. Napangiti ako nang marinig ko ang "Think of Me" piano piece which is part of Phantom of the Opera's soundtrack. 

"Hindi pa rin ako maka get over sa musical na yan. It's the best,” he said. 

"Right? If only nakita mo yun Lili. Kahit di ka mahilig sa musicals, magbabago isip mo pag napanood mo- " Napatigil ako sa pagsasalita nang lumingon ako sa likod at nakitang nakatulog na pala siya. I guess classical music can really make you sleep and I think that's why a lot of people find it boring. But for me, it's something I would love to listen to whenever I come home from a stressful day at work. It relaxes me. 

"Tulog na pala,” I whispered to Dee while he looked at the rear mirror and smiled when he saw Lili's state. He took the chance to hold my hand while he manipulates the steering wheel with only his left hand. Geez, that's...hot. 

"May trabaho nanaman bukas." He faced me a little and went back to looking at the road. "Busy ulit tayo." I saw him pout. Ang cute. I gently massaged his hand intertwined with my other. 

"We can message and call each other during breaks if you want,” I sweetly told him. 

"Sige pag wala tayong ginagawa. I'll be working in my condo lang tomorrow so I can probably talk to you." He deeply sighed. "Let's not think about it first. Sulitin nalang natin itong araw na ito as much as we can." He smiled at me. I continued humming to the song being played. 

"I've been wanting to watch this again in broadway theatres in New York. Let's go together soon. We can even watch other musicals like Hamilton and Les Miserables!" excited niyang sabi. I looked at him with amusement. 

"Yes, yes we will definitely go there soon. Perhaps when I get invited to New York Fashion week? Pero syempre I still have a long way to go. I want my name to be known internationally like Michael Cinco. Hindi ba masyadong mataas ang pangarap ko?" I chuckled. 

"There's nothing wrong in dreaming, babe. It's limitless. And as long as you work hard for that dream, everything is possible." Napatigil ako sa sinabi niya. 

B-babe?

I felt my cheeks blush. Nakita rin niya ang reaksyon ko kaya natawa nalang siya. 

"Why? Masyado bang masagwa pakinggan ang babe? What do you want me to call you? Honey? Sweetie? Cupcake? Love? My queen?" Natawa ako nung sinabi niya ang cupcake. Ano ang itatawag ko sa kaniya pag ganun? Icing? Para siya ang icing sa ibabaw ng cupcake ko?? Shit. Iba ata ang naiisip ko. Erase that. 

"You can call me anything you want." Iyon nalang ang sabi ko sa kaniya. Wala akong maisip na matinong tawagan eh. 

"Ok, then. I'll call you bub. It sounds cute. Parang ikaw." I saw him scrunch his nose after. Kanina ko pa gustong pisilin ang cheeks nitong si Dee. Ang galing magpacute. Nakakagigil. Parang baby...ko. Charot!

Mga halos mag-iisang oras bago kami nakarating sa P. Campa. Sunday ngayon pero traffic parin. Siguro dahil tapos na ang holidays at back to normal na ulit bukas. Ginising na namin si Lili nang marating na namin ang dorm niya. Nakita pa naming naghihintay si Blaze sa labas. Sabi niya kakain daw sa sila sa 7-11. Umalis na rin kami at pumunta ng Suarez Label sa Greenbelt. 

Pagka-park ni Dee ay dali-dali siyang lumabas. I was a bit confused kasi akala ko kung anong gagawin niya. Pagbubuksan lang pala ako ng pinto. He reached out for my hand and gently squeezed it while I got out of the car. 

We walked hand in hand going to Suarez Label. When we arrived there, the employees greeted us and were shocked to see me going inside the store with Dee.

"Good evening po ma'am...sir," bati sa amin ng store manager na si Jen. Napako ang tingin niya sa aming mga kamay habang todo ngiti. 

"Dee, this is Jen, our branch manager. Uh, Jen, this is Dee, my boyfriend,” pagpapakilala ko sa kanila. I called him my boyfriend. Ang sarap sa tenga. 

He took Jen's hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you, Jen."

"Nice to meet you rin po, Sir Dee. Bagay na bagay po kayo ni ma'am. Sobrang bait niyan sir kaya wag niyo pong siyang sasaktan."

"Don't worry." He looked at me and smiled. "I won't." Narinig ko pang tumili si Jen making me giggle. 

Dee and I sat on the couch as Jen gave me the binded book of the newest catalogue. I left Dee on his seat while I went to check the new designs on the racks myself. Sinulyapan ko si Dee at nahuli ko siyang pinipicturan ako. 

"Hey! What are you doing?" I immediately covered my face with the book I'm holding. He kept on laughing and went near me to hold my waist. 

"You're so beautiful. Do you know that? I'll never get tired of saying that." I tried to take his hands off my waist dahil may mga customers sa loob ng store. Baka masabihan kami ng PDA.

"Bub, may mga tao,” hiya kong sabi.

"Who cares what others think, bub?" Namula ako nang marinig ko ang endearment niya sa akin. 

"Alam mo, ang clingy mo." He gave me a pout cause he probably thought it was a bad thing. "But I'm actually loving it,” sabi ko sa kaniya. He immediately smiled from ear to ear.

"Let's have dinner after this. Where do you want to eat?" tanong niya sa akin. 

"Kahit saan basta ikaw ang kasama ko." Walang preno na ang bibig ko ngayon ah. 

"Kung ako clingy, ikaw naman sobrang cheesy,” pambawi niya sa akin. 

Nang matapos kami sa Suarez Label ay dinala ako ni Dee sa isang Japanese restaurant named Kimpura. What's nice about this restaurant is that it has teppanyaki grilling wherein a flat stove is in front of the table and the chef would cook the food in front of the guests which is a pretty awesome experience. The only downside is that these kinds of restos are quite expensive. 

The waiter led us to our table. He quickly grabbed the chair and motioned for me to sit down. 

"Bub, you don't need to do this. Di ako matandang kailangan mong alalayan umupo." He sat down in front of me and got the menu on the table. 

"It's okay, bub. Let me do these simple things for you. I love doing it." He smiled. That smile of his. Ayun yung nagustuhan ko sa kaniya. It's genuine. 

"By the way, let's have rules,” sabi ko sa kaniya. He was looking at the menu kaya naman tumaas ang tingin niya sa akin.

"Rules?"

"Whenever we have dates, hati tayo sa bayad. Ayoko namang isa lang sa atin ang magbabayad. I mean, we eat at places like this so I think it's just fair for us to pay half. Para di naman lugi yung isa. What do you think?"

"Ok lang naman. I mean, di naman sa pagmamayabang but I can totally pay for every date we go to. You are worth every penny I spend for. Heck, you are worth more than that."

"Nahahawa ka na ata sa ka-cheesyhan ko." He laughed at my remark. 

A minute later, dumating na ang chef at niluto ang pagkain sa harapan namin. We ate our hearts out. Ang sarap ng pagkain dito. Worth it ang bayad. 

Habang kumakain ay panay kuha niya ng picture sa akin. The chef even volunteered to take a photo for us para naman may pic kaming dalawa. 

After eating, we decided to stroll a little bit outside the mall para magpababa ng kinain at para magpahangin na rin. It was a windy day. Hindi parin nawawala ang kaunting lamig. It still feels like the holidays. 

"Sana ganito nalang weather palagi. Ang sarap sa feeling." He pulled my hand closer to his face and kissed it. 

"Oo nga eh. The wind is so relaxing." I felt my hair sweeping over my face as the wind swiftly passed us. 

When I looked at Dee, he was smiling at me. "You're so beautiful."

"I know right?" pagyayabang ko. Kinaltukan niya ng marahan ang aking noo. 

"Di ko na nga sasabihin yun. Lumalaki ulo mo eh,” he jokingly told me. 

"Eh kasi wag mo palaging sinasabi. Baka mamaya masanay ako eh,” tugon ko. 

"I just can't help it. My girlfriend's beautiful so why wouldn't I tell her that?" Tinignan niya ako at nilagay ang kaniyang kamay sa aking balikat. I held his waist to support my weight. We continued walking along the garden of Greenbelt hanggang sa nag-aya na akong umuwi. 

"What are you gonna do tomorrow?" tanong niya sa akin habang nagmamaneho.

"Nothing much. I am just going to meet a few clients in the morning. Wala naman ata akong schedule sa hapon pero di pa ako sure. Baka kasi magbago eh. Why'd you ask?"

"Nothing. I'm just curious about your day. Sa condo lang muna ako bukas dahil susunduin ko pa sila Mama at Papa sa airport sa hapon. My cousin will go with me."

"Oh pauwi na pala sila Tita?" tanong ko. Pansin ko, he doesn't talk about his dad that much. Nahalata niya atang nagtataka ako kaya naman nagkwento na siya. 

"I don't really get along well with my dad. He just married my mother because of the company. I don't even know if he loves her. I've never seen them being intimate with each other. I've witnessed my mother loving someone who doesn't love him back. When they talk, it's like they're coworkers or something. That's why I promised myself that I would marry someone who loves me equally because I don't want my future children to grow up in a family where love doesn't even exist", kwento niya. I looked at him with sad eyes. 

"I'm sorry about that,” I told him. 

"It's ok. We're casual with each other. And you deserve to know because you're my girlfriend. I also want him to meet you. Kahit di kami magkasundo, he's still my family and I want to introduce my girlfriend to him. Want to schedule dinner with my family soon?" I smiled at his thoughtfulness. 

"Of course, I'd be happy to." Nakakalungkot isipin na kahit kumpleto silang magkakapamilya ay wala namang pagmamahal sa pagitan ng kaniyang mga magulang. Not all families are perfect. They can be flawed too. Worse, broken like mine. 

Pagkarating namin sa bahay ay nagpaalam na ako kay Dee at umuwi na rin siya dahil gabi na. Dumiretso na rin ako sa kwarto para magpahinga. I watched a kdrama in Netflix dahil hindi pa ako dinadalaw ng antok. I checked my phone when a notification popped up and smiled when I saw that it was a text from Dee.

From: Bub

I'm home now. Good night :))

Ever since we became together, my smile never left my face. He became my happy pill. He's my year-ender plot twist and probably the best thing that happened to me last year. Nawala man si mommy, dumating naman ang isang taong hindi ko inakalang papawi sa kalungkutan ko. 

A few seconds later, tumunog ulit ang phone ko. 

@diorlous mentioned you in a story. 

Pagkatingin ko sa story niya, it was the stolen photo he took of me a while ago sa store while I was busy looking at the clothes and the catalogue. The caption he put was "MINE + girl in the sunflower dress @chaneldanica" I laughed and added it to my story before falling asleep.

The next day, back to work nanaman ako sa office. 

From: Bub

Good morning bub. Have a great day at work!

I was smiling while texting Dee when Faye came by my office. 

"Oh, there you are Faye. May nag book ba ng last minute appointment kahapon?" tanong ko sa kaniya.

"Wala po ma'am. Sila Mrs. Beltran lang po ang client niyo today para sa last fitting ng mga gowns nila."

"Ok, how about paperworks? May gagawin ba ako sa hapon?" 

"Wala rin po ma'am. Clear po tayo sa hapon."

"Ok, thank you. Just call me when Tita Jo arrives." 

First day back to work pero mukhang hindi naman mabigat ang schedule ko ngayon. Halos tapos na kasi ang mga events for the holidays. Balak kong puntahan si Dee mamaya. Uuwi muna ako ng bahay para magluto and I'll surprise him in his condo with homemade food. I've always wanted to cook food for a significant other and now's my chance. 

"Berniece! Tita Jo! Nice to see you again." I hugged the both of them and led them to the fitting room. Medyo matagal na rin simula nung first fitting nila. Berniece's debut got pushed back a little because of reasons and they decided to do it this year instead. 

"Dani, here's our Christmas gift for you. Sorry kung medyo natagalan,” Tita Jo said while giving me a huge white paperbag. 

"Nako, Tita. Nag-abala pa kayo."

"It's ok, Dani. Token of appreciation na rin namin ito for making our gowns."

Ilang saglit pa ay lumabas na si Berniece na suot ang kaniyang light blue ballgown. 

"Wow! My unica hija is so beautiful! Thank you so much, Dani." Seeing my clients' smiles while wearing my creations makes me so happy. Them appreciating my designs is so rewarding.

"Always my pleasure, tita."

"Ay ate Dani. Ito pala yung invitation for my debut." Berniece reached out for the invitation in her bag and handed it to me. 

"Thanks, I'll be there." 

Pagakatapos ng fitting ay iniuwi na nila ang mga gowns at ako naman ay umuwi muna sa bahay para magluto ng paborito kong Pinangat na Pampano. Nagpatulong na rin ako kay Nay Fellie para mas mabilis akong makapunta sa condo niya. Naalala kong pupunta pala siya sa airport mamaya para sunduin ang parents niya.

Pagkalabas ko ng elevator sa floor ng unit niya ay nagulat ako nang makita kong nasa tapat nito si Berniece. Dee went out a few seconds later, kissed the top of her head, at pinapasok siya sa unit niya. I suddenly felt weak. Tinignan ko ang pagkaing dala-dala ko at napaiyak nalang. How could he do this to me? We've only been together for a few weeks and he's also seeing somebody else who is a lot younger than us? Am I a toy to him na pwede niyang pagsabayin? Kahapon lang ang saya saya namin ah. Was all of that just a show? I started questioning everything about me. 

I wiped my tears and was about to leave when I saw Tita Jo entering from the elevator. 

"Dani, you're here. Dito ka rin ba nakatira? Hey, did you cry?", she asked, noticing my puffy red eyes. 

"Ay hindi po ti-" Natigilan ako nang marinig ko ang boses ni Berniece. Little bitch. 

"Mom, what are you doing the- Hey! Ate Dani. Andito ka rin pala." I turned around to face her with a blank look on my face. 

"Ok ka lang po ba, ate?" She looked confused as to why I was eyeing her so badly. Dee came out not too long after.

"Ok ka lang po ba, ate?" She looked confused as to why I was eyeing her so badly. Dee came out not too long after.

"What's taking you so long, Berniece?" Natigilan siya nang makita ako. "Oh, bub. I thought you have work?" So if may work ako, ibang babae naman ang kinikita mo?  Hindi ko siya sinagot at tinignan lang siya ng mariin. He was kind of taken aback by the way I was staring at him. 

"Bub? Girlfriend mo si Ate Dani, Kuya?" tanong ni Berniece.

K-kuya?

"Yes. Kilala mo siya?" Nilapitan niya ako at inakbayan. "Berniece, Tita Jo, this is Dani, my girlfriend. Dani, this is Berniece, my cousin and Tita Jo is my mother's sister-in-law." Napanga-nga ako sa sinabi niya. 

Tanginang yan. Selos ka pa ghorl?

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