Going the Distance (Book #1 of Distance series)

16: Discovering You

Hinalikan konsi Andy Brent. Hindi ko akalaing mauuna akong gawin iyon. Maybe it was because of my inner heroine, the goddess in me, who snatched my hand to place it at Andy's face and pushed me to kiss his lips.

Literal na tumigil ang mundo ko nang halikan ko siya sa pinakaunang pagkakataon. I cupped his face, steadied it to me, feeling the shape of his soft lips against mine. I opened my eyes a bit and I found his eyes closed, his brows arched, and his forehead showed some fortune lines. I could smell his manly fragrance and it sent shivers down my spine.

His lips started moving and as if on cue, I closed my eyes subtlely while my lips danced with his. Hinaplos niya ang buhok kong nakalugay sa aking likuran. Ang haplos niyang iyon ay parang halos sumasabay sa galaw ng kayang mga labi. Ang isa niyang braso ay nanatiling nakapulupot sa aking likuran hangang sa baywang. Sinusubukan niyang pilit na buksan pa nang husto ang aking mga labi ngunit hindi ko iyon hinayaan.

Totoong masarap sa pakiramdam ngunit alam kong malapit-lapit na akong mawala sa katinuan. I'm not yet ready for something too intimate with him. I don't even know what we are. Ano ba kami? Well this is is real now. We're not in our phones nor in front of our computers anymore. I pulled away from his grasp. I confessed to him that I feel the same way. His eyes lighted up then he hugged me tightly without delay, kissing my forehead repeatedly, and in a while I was locked in his warm embrace again.

"Are you enjoying the food, Sophia?" sa isang iglap ay nahimasmasan ako mula sa pagbabalik-tanaw ng nangyari kanina sa park. Wala na kaming nakitang bukas na kainan sa daan, kaya nauwi na lamang kami sa pagkain sa isang local convenience store na katumbas ng 7-11. Um-order kami ng prepared caesar salad bowl at ready to eat pesto pasta na may zuchinni bread.

"Yes I do. In the Philippines, I tend to eat at convenience stores too when I'm in a hurry on my errands." I twirl my pasta onto my fork.

"Good." His smile instantly widens into a grin. "Good in such a way that it's not an issue if I only took you out to a convenience store for our first date."

Dinampot ko ang ilang piraso ng tissue paper sa ibabaw ng mesa upang ipunas sa aking bibig. "So this is our first date?" Nginitian ko siya. I prop my elbow onto the table and look at him straight in the eye. "You know why, I don't care wherever you take me, Andy. Kahit pa siguro sa karinderya mo ako dalhin."

Amused at what I just said, he tilts his head and props his elbow onto the table too, pushing his face closer to me, then chuckles with wrinkled eyebrows. "What did you say? It's Tagalog, right?"

The store is well lit, just like the 7-11, sabayan pa ng maliwanag na lamp post sa labas na nakadaragdag pa ng liwanag sa loob ng store. Dahil diyan ay mas napagmamasdan ko nang husto ang kanyang hazel eyes. I fell for those eyes the first moment I saw them in his picture in Connected. I dreamt about those eyes for several months. Those eyes which used to stare back at me my laptop screen. Ngunit ngayon, nakakatinginan ko na nang diretso ang mga matang iyon.

"I meant that even if you just take me to a karinderya I wouldn't mind." I sit back and rock a little on the chair. "A karinderya is a local eating place that serves affordable home-cooked food. They're scattered everywhere in Phili."

"So have you eaten there yet?" t.
anong niyang bakas ang interes sa kanyang mga mata.

Napalunok ako. "Not yet." Wala naman kasi sa mga kaibigan ko ang kumakain sa ganoon. Pero sa tuwing nadaraanan ko ang mga iyon o napapanood ko ang mga ganoong kainan sa tv ay madalas kong nakikitang puno sila ng mga kostumer. "But I would love to try. I hope to try it one day with you in Phili."

"When you take me there?"

"When you visit me."

He's done with his meal while I have yet to finish mine. Nakaramdam ako ng pagkailang dahil pinapanuod niya akong kumain. Binilisan ko tuloy ang pagkain ko. Maya-maya lang ay napansin kong may isinesenyas siya sa pamamagitan ng paghaplos niya sa gilid ng kanyang bibig, at sabay turo sa akin. Iyon pala ay namantsahan ng pesto sauce ang gilid ng aking labi.