Love Lingers: Down the Line

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Out of Curiosity

He was tall. In her rough estimate, he was probably five-foot eleven or a few inches above six feet, somewhere near her brother's height. His green polo shirt had two white linings on the chest area, around the collar, and on the sleeves, its hem was also tucked inside his black jeans and he also wore a pair of dark brown boat shoes to complete his overall outfit.

She could recall how the night breeze blew some strands of his neatly cut hair and how his eyes got buried beneath his brows and cheekbones when he smiled at her.

The shape of his eyes and the way his lips curled up around the corners were replaying on her mind the instant he said, "Not yet nga," to mimic her response.

She clicked her tongue, fanning her hand out over her face as if it could also fan out every detail she had recalled of the man that has been lingering inside her mind for the past two weeks.

She doesn't even know why, but it was bothering.

It bothered her how he stayed for a while out of concern that something might happen because she was all alone in a dark parking lot. It bothered her how he easily offered the remaining medicine he could've ingested to relieve his body pain . . . he was even willing to fetch some water for her.

There was no doubt whether his concern was genuine or not, especially when he also stayed with her at the parking lot for a couple of minutes before she decided to go back inside the bar.

He didn't try anything weird. He just sat there on the curb next to her, keeping her company and sparking up little conversations just to make her comfortable and familiar with his presence.

It was actually . . . nice.

But she wasn't able to see much of him inside the bar when she asked her cousin if she could go home after spending less than five minutes at their table.

Yuchi tried to weigh if he was the type of person who could handle his liquor well like her Tito Chiko, or if he dances along the music when the drink kicks in, or what type of drunk he was, or if he also enjoys eating the snacks more than drinking like she does.

She sighed, fiddling with the empty ibuprofen wrapper inside the pocket of her lilac hoodie. If only she could go back to that night, she would've asked for his name.

It's funny how she could vividly recall his clothes and his face, but she forgot to ask for his name.

"Pero . . . what for?" she wondered, mumbling.

Why would I ask for his name?

Yuchi racked her brain for viable reasons. Maybe so I could reach out to him and thank him properly?

She chewed inside her lip while thinking of the next steps she would do when his voice peeped at the back of her mind saying, "Miss Migraine na hindi mumu."

She smiled.

"Hala?"

Nalingat ang pansin niya sa nagsalita.

Her cousin, Marty, was standing near the archway that was connected to the dining hall.

"Bakit ka biglang ngumingiti d'yan?" she asked, peeking at the television screen. "Wala ka namang pinanonood? Nakapatay 'yong TV?"

"Uhm . . ."

"Tapos 'di mo rin hawak phone mo?"

"It's nothing, Ate. May naalala lang ako."

"Naku! Ikaw, ha! Medyo namumula pa pisngi mo, o!"

Yuchi blinked, pressing her lips together in a tight line to keep her smile away.