"How old are you again?" He asked curiously.
"25?" I was not sure. "Or 26."
"Still young," he remarked.
Silence followed. I was just staring at my shot glass, not knowing what to do. I feel like I will doze off if I will add another shot.
"You're an architect, right?" He asked again.
"Yup. Why do you ask?"
"I have a friend who's looking for an architect. I'm thinking if I should recommend you to him. Is that okay with you?"
"Really?" I peered at his side. His eyes were serious. "When?"
"Is that a yes?"
"Will I ask if not?"
"I want to make sure. There's still a tendency you will decline the offer if you don't like it."
"Depends on the job."
"What does that mean?"
"I specialize restoration. You might ask me for commercial buildings."
He slid his palm across his mouth, staring boldly at me. I turned my face away. His hot stares burned my body even more.
"Here's the thing," he said. "We need to renovate an old house and we are looking for someone who has the specialization."
I turned to his direction. His gaze was intense like daring me to compete with him.
I smiled and dug my elbow on the counter. I rested my head on my palm, mirroring him, as my eyes twinkled.
"That's what I'm talking about, dude. I am more on renovation or restoration.," I uttered.
"Is that a deal?"
"Can it wait?"
"Tomorrow morning, I guess."
"Oh shoot," I blurted out.
"Why?"
"I already have schedule tomorrow morning."
"What about in the afternoon?"
"I won't say no," I winked at him.
I turned to the bartender and beckoned him to give me one more shot.
"If you will drink one more shot I don't think you can make it," Jonas commented beside me.
"Just one last shot," I replied and quaffed my last shot. I made a face and quickly sipped my citrus.
"Damn," Jonas chuckled. "Don't tell me I'm gonna carry you again to my car and throw up."
I cracked a laugh at his statement. He sounded like he hadn't moved on from what happened.
"Damn," I mocked. "It's been a year since that happened, Joe. Isn't "moving on" part of your vocab?"
"I'm just stating fact."
"Oh hell, Joe. You hold grudges. To hell with that!"
"I barely forget," he said coldly, pressing his side against the edge of the counter.
"Since when you become a memory card?" I scoffed. "You should be like that because you would hold memories as long as you can." I wiggled my brows at him, eyes were flat.
He chuckled. He took a little amount of his wine. His eyes held laughter.
I straightened my posture but only to feel dizzy. My hands were quick enough to grip Jonas who was quicker to respond. My head throbbed and my vision danced.
"Stubborn," he grunted. "Where's your car?"
"Parking lot," I replied, feeling dizzy. "Just take me there. I'll throw up there."
I paid for my drinks and after that Jonas led the way out, keeping me close to his side. His silent treatment gave chills to my bone but I felt safe. The scent of his clothes filled my nostrils. His scent marked my skin.
He opened the car's door for me as it was already open. He placed his hand on my head as I went inside the car. He closed the door and turned around. He got inside the driver's seat.
"Throw up all you want. This is your car," he said. I can hear sarcasm in his voice.
"Three shots were too weak. I can manage," I said, smiling at him.
"Where's your house?"
"I can't go home like this, Joe. Just take me anywhere or leave me here."
I heard his low growl. "I swear you don't want to wake up tomorrow in embarrassment."
He drove the car away. I closed my eyes and rested my head on my seat. I wondered why the car stopped. A heavy breath was heard. When I opened my eyes, I was taken aback.
My heart pounded heavily against my chest. Our brows creased.
"What?" He asked irritatingly.
"Did you just want to kiss me?" I accused. My sanity went back like I was never drunk.
"Do you think I'm pervert enough to kiss you?"
"O-Of course!"
"Put your seatbelt on," he demanded and went back to his seat.
I looked at mysealt who wasn't wearing my seatbelt. I heaved a long sigh. My cheeks flared up in embarrassment.
"Or else I won't drive," he uttered.
I swallowed the lump on my throat. I put my seatbelt on silently. I felt embarrased.
"Sorry I startled you. I thought you were sleeping already," he stated.
"Sorry I overreacted. You should have told me."
"If I am sleeping, I don't want to be interrupted." He gave me a quick glance. "That's why I didn't wake you up."
I fell silent. His oddity perplexed me. He was reasonable. I thought he was planning to do something against me.
"Not all boys like you," he said and gripped the steering wheel. "Not all men want to bed you."
I fell silent. I shuddered at the coldness of his voice. He was mean but something caught my soul.
"Sorry," I said, almost in a whisper. "I know boys only want my body."
"I'll take you home," he uttered and drove away.
The next morning, I woke up with a loud knock on my door. I checked my phone beside the table and found out it was vibrating. I answered Joshua's call.
"Good morning!" He greeted, sounding jolly. "Sorry I called so early. I just want to remind you about my offer."
"What time was that again?"
"10:30 would do. We'll just wait for the client."
"Okay. I just woke up."
"That's why," he chuckled. "It's still eight anyway. I'll call you back later."
"Sure."
I hung up already. I placed my phone back to my bedside table and stretched my body. I was still sleepy until I remembered what happened last night. I scrambled out of bed in an instant.
I cupped my mouth with my hands. Jonas took me home! He introduced himself to my parents as my friend. He didn't stay long. He left after that.
"'Etincelle," I heard Mommy's voice. I whipped around and ran towards the door. I opened it.
"Mommy," I called. My throat went dry.
"You okay? You look like you just saw a ghost."
"Uhh, nothing. I just woke up."
"Don't you have a hangover? Were you drunk last night?"
"Tipsy," I grinned sheepishly.
"Have some breakfast now. Josh called me you have plans today."
"He wants to offer me a job."
"What job?"
"We will discuss it later."
She looked strangely at me, eyes studying my face.
"You look like your dad," she said and turned around. "Hurry up. Let's go down.
"Yes, Mommy," I answered.
Folding my arms, I studied the face of Jonas who was standing mightily in front of me. He stood beside Joshua and a man I didn't recognize. He was out of out of my league, not even in my circle of friends."He's the client I was telling you," Joshua spoke up, referring to the stranger. "He has a land property in Aurora. He plans to renovate it. It's an old house and they want to turn it to a restaurant.""What era?" I asked and looked at the stranger."By the way," Joshua piped up. "It's rude to just discuss things without proper introduction, right?""I'm Architect Reyes," I introduced myself to the guy and offered him a handshake."Jacob Lozano," he smiled—it was benevolent, and accepted my hand.His hand was big and warm. I smiled warmly. He looked good. He was friendly and approachable.Jonas cleared his throat, jabbing the back of his palm again
The following morning I readied myself because we were going to Aurora. I brought extra clothes and underwears just in case of emergency. I just thought they would tell me we would go home tomorrow.Five in the morning was our call time. We have to be early because Aurora is far from here and to avoid the heavy traffic too. I calculated the time travel. It's almost five hours."Good morning, E!" Joshua greeted happily when we met outside the house. He told me he will fetch me up and we will go to Jacob's place together."Good morning, Josh! Why are you happy today?""I don't know either," he chuckled.His attire is just simple. Plain pink shirt, heavy jeans and a leather boots."You're in love," I accused."Oh?" I chuckled. "I'm just happy today.""Don't lie to me, Josh. I know you. So, you're hitting on someone?""Nah," h
"I was surprised that Jonas was there. I remembered he offered me a job too. Maybe that's the offer he was referring to. He said his friend is looking for an architect," I told Thrante. I recalled what happened yesterday."And? Have you talked to Jonas again?""I haven't yet. Someone called him yesterday when we were off to go. He called her Honey. Do you think that's his girlfriend?""I'm not sure. But I know someone whose name is Honey.""Really?" She nodded. "Who is she?""Honey Rallos, my family lawyer.""Oh," my lips formed in O shape. "Do you think there's a connection between the two? Isn't she a friend of Joshua?""I don't know," she shrugged. "Jonas is a friend of Joshua, I supposed.""They were batchmates.""Maybe Jonas and Honey were batchmates too?"I fell silent. What is it with me if they wer
They left after that while I and my friends remained on our round table. I wandered my eyes around and realized how full of people this place was."Boy hunting you want?" Morthena asked all of the sudden."Boy hunting?" Morayta repeated, sounding confused."It's up to you, guys. You might like to. Philip told me there's a lot of boys here.""Pass," Morayta quickly replied, waving her hands dismissively. "I'm not into boy hunt tonight.""Same," Haponesa shrugged off."Where's Azy by the way?" I asked. This is why I feel ùlike someone is missing. Azy isn't here."She's not available. You already know why," Morthena replied.This was why marriage sucked. It restrained you from doing your old lifestyle. Thinking about it made me sick."I'll just room around," I told them and excused myself.I looked for a shot to drink. I would drink tonight but not too much. I promised to Mama I wouldn't come home drunk.
I woke up feeling exhausted and in pain. I checked myself and to my great surprise, I was naked! I abruptly covered my body with the comforter. I felt like all my blood went dry."What?!" I shouted.I wandered my eyes around the place. My eyes quickly widened as I realized I was inside a familiar room. My heart hammered against my chest.The door opened and a familiar face of a man came into view. My eyes quickly widened. I checked myself again and I was utterly naked!"W-What..." I trailed off.My cheeks flared up in embarrassment. Why is he here?! Why am I here inside his room?! Why am I naked?! Did something happened last night?!I swallowed the lump in my throat. My mind went wild. I hear voices in my head but I can't even open my mouth to speak up. My tongue cowered."Did we have some fun last night?" I asked directly."You forgot?"
One month passed and that was the last time that I saw Jonas. I tried not to show up in front of him. I don't to remember what he said that I did the first move that led to something. That was the least thing I would do! Men beg for me. I don't beg for heaven's sake!He really thinks highly of himself, huh?As I descended from thre stairs, I smelled an awful odor from the kitchen. I winced, fanning my nose to shoo away the bad odor."What are you cooking, Manang?" I asked our helper as I arrived at the kitchen."Adobong manok, hija. Why?""Why does it smell so bad?""Really? I put some ginger already.""It makes me so sick, Manang. Please, change your menu.""Your mother requested me to cook this.""Nah," I waved my hand dismissively. "Please, Manang. Just change it already. I hate the smell.""What do you want me to cook?""Anything. Just please not chicken."I walked away. I can't endure the
Two red lines on the pregnancy test made my heart pound cruelly against my chest. The result told me I was positive. I was pregnant!My hands were shaking in fear. I don't want to believe my eyes. I don't want to believe that the results told me I was pregnant. I wasn't! This can't be!My menstruation was delayed for two months already. I never missed my period so it's quite questionable. It's my first time to experience this.A tear escaped from my eyes. My hands were shaking while putting the testing kit on the sink. I tried another test and it had the same result. There were two red lines.I picked up my phone and called Thrante. It took few rings before she picked up her phone."Thrante," I called out."Why? Is there something wrong?""W-Where are you? Are you home?""Yes, Etincelle. Is there something wrong? You sound troubled.""Uhh," I trailed off. "I-I have something to tell you.""Huh?" She sounded dread
The following morning I called Jonas to meet up with him. Thrante convinced me that I should tell Jonas about the baby. If he will accept the baby, that's good. If not, it's okay."Uhh, sorry I didn't clean up. I didn't expect your arrival," Jonas said shyly, rubbing his nape. "You told me you brought me some news?""Yes, Joe." I swallowed a chunk of fear. "Uhh..."His place suddenly became hot but cold sweat gleamed on my forehead. My heart never stopped beating so wild against my chest. Just like a lionness that wanted to escape from its cage."I'm listening," he said calmly."About what happened two months ago..."His throat moved. Shock flickered in his eyes. He probably didn't expect this. Neither did I.I walked past through him and roomed around. I stood few meters away from him."Y-You got me pregnant, Joe," I said directly even if I stuttered. I was anxious again I could not think straight. "I just want you to kn