Arctic Heart [#Wattys2018 Winner]

Chapter 25

Chapter 25
Flight

The electropop music blasting through the speakers greeted me as soon as we got inside the club. The party wasn't at its peak yet when I saw that there were only few people dancing on the floor. It has a different atmosphere than the club in BGC that I last went to. I realized that the people coming here only came to chill than to party real hard.

"Nandoon si Sandro!"

Abrielle grabbed my hand when she saw her boyfriend on one of the booths. She dragged me all the way there in fast pace.

When her boyfriend saw us approaching his way, he smiled and stood up. He wasn't alone on the table. He was with three boys and a girl who's probably the girlfriend of the one she was cuddling with.

Mabilis na sinalubong ni Sandro ng halik si Abrielle sa labi bago lumipat ang kanyang tingin sa akin at naglahad ng kamay.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Zarina," he told me with a smile on his face.

I quickly observed Sandro's looks before giving him my hand for a hand shake.

He was a good looking man and he seemed like a good man with the way his hair was styled. Kumpara sa histura niya no'ng nakita ko siya sa video chat at pictures, napatunayan kong mas may hitsura siya sa personal. He must not be that photogenic.

"I'll introduce you to my friends. Kilala na kasi nila si Elle at medyo malapit na rin. I hope you don't mind spending the night with my friends," he said.

I tried to stop my eyebrows from rising. I'll give him a point for being considerate.

"No problem," I assured him. "If Elle's close with them, I don't think there'll be a problem. Hindi naman ako mahirap pakisamahan."

Ngumiti na lamang si Sandro bago muling hinarap ang kanyang mga kaibigan.

"Guys, this is Zarina. Best friend ni Abrielle," pakilala ni Sandro sa akin.

The guy with the clingy girl just nodded his head and smiled at me. Ang dalawang lalaki ay tumayo upang makipagkamay sa akin habang ang babae ay bumeso pa sa akin.

Pinapasok nila ako sa loob at katabi ko ngayon ang isa sa mga lalaking kaibigan ni Sandro at sa kabilang tabi ko ay Elle. Sa dulo na pumuwesto si Sandro na katabi rin ni Elle.

I can tell that Abrielle's already close with them because of the way she mingled and joked with them. It was actually awkward for me to join their conversation, especially when I couldn't relate to their topic, but Elle never failed to talk to me and give me her attention from time to time.

"I want to dance..." dinig kong sabi ni Abrielle kay Sandro.

"Whatever you want to do," sabi naman ni Sandro at agad na tumayo bago inilahad ang kamay sa aking kaibigan.

Nilingon muna ako ni Abrielle bago sila tuluyang umalis ni Sandro sa booth.

"Sasayaw lang kami. Pagkatapos ng isang kanta ay babalik din ako," paalam niya sa akin at tumango na lamang ako.

She didn't need to stick beside me all night. I knew that she wanted to have fun with her boyfriend tonight.

Kinuha ko ang cocktail na inorder ni Abrielle para sa akin at saka iyon ininom. I checked my phone after and read a message from Jace ten minutes ago that he was already on his way.

"Sandro told us earlier that you came from New York..."

Halos masamid ako nang kausapin ako ng lalaking katabi ko. If I remembered correctly, his name was Thad.