As soon as Deina steps into the bar, she wanted to go back. She had much better things to do at home but her best friend has sent her an SOS and her mother practically shoved her out the door. She said she needed to see the world outside of their home and the mini grocery they have in front of it. Her Nanay insisted that she needed to meet more people outside of their small community where everyone knew everyone.
A couple brushes past her by the entrance. They look at her, the girl shooting her a sharp glare while the guy smirks a surprised appreciation. She is suddenly self-conscious, feeling the need to cover her long silky legs that are exposed from the short denim skirt her friend Lea made her wear. Her so-called friend also picked a black halter top that hugged her slim figure and exposed her perfect made-for-a-goddess shoulders. If Lea didn't volunteer to take care of her mother for the night while she was out, she would've shoved the tiny outfit her friend made her wear up her... RING! RING!
"Hello? O, Baks! Nasaan ka na? I'm here at the bar already." She asks the person on the other line.
"Malapit na ako, bestie. Umorder ka na diyan. Ako nang bahala pagdating ko." Marcy answers.
Marcy, short for Marcelino, is her best friend. They were schoolmates since pre-school. They grew up right next door to each other, went to the same college, finished the same course— Business Management and started in the same company.
They would've even shared the same success story as her best friend is now Operations Manager of a major branch of the hotel chain they worked for if Deina didn't quit over a year ago to take care of her mother who was diagnosed with breast cancer. She used her separation pay to start a little store in their home until it grew into the mini-grocery they have now. She's now earning enough to support her mother's treatment and medication plus their basic needs. In a way, that was her own success story. Her mother always said she was her lucky star and she also said Deina got her talent for business from her father— a father she never knew and her mother refused to talk about. She doesn't even know his name since she's using her mother's last name— Mendoza.
"Sigurado yan ah? Pag wala ka pa dito in 10 minutes, uuwi na ako talaga." She says.
"Uy! Grabe, girl! I-enjoy mo naman tong night out natin."
"Alam mo namang I wouldn't even be here kung hindi ka nag-drama at nagmakaawa na samahan kita dahil iniwan ka na naman ng boylet mo. Pati si Nanay dinamay mo pa."
"Bes, naman, eh. Sorry na. Pero please stay. I need you." Marcy pleads.
"Tse! Sige na. Bilisan mo. 10 minutes."
"Yes! See you, bes."
They end the call and Deina looks around the place. She feels like she's in an alien planet. She also feels more exposed than she intended with her little outfit and black high heels. Thank goodness, Lea didn't notice her slip a thin bolero jacket in her bag earlier. She takes it out and puts it on then makes her way to a table near the stage where an acoustic duo is playing.
She just sits there for some time watching and listening to the song they're playing, one of her favorites— Adventure Of A Lifetime by Coldplay. She finds herself singing along to the words she knew by heart.
🎶 I feel my heart beating
I feel my heart beneath my skin
I feel my heart beating
Oh, you make me feel
Like I'm alive again
Alive again
Oh, you make me feel
Like I'm alive again 🎶
Maybe this night won't be as bad as she thought.
"Good evening, Miss. Ready to order?" A baritone voice asks her, it's a smooth and voice with a smile to it.
She looks up to it's owner and is met by a pair of deep brown eyes. He is smiling and it's probably the most handsome smile she's even seen with his pink lips curved up to show a perfect set of teeth and a deep dimple on his left cheek.
"The night just got better," she thinks.
He watches as the pretty girl tucks her hair behind her ear and smiles at him timidly. If he hasn't seen the shy kindness in her brown doe eyes and the awkwardness in the smile on her full red lips, he would have thought of her as all the other girls who threw themselves at him with the way she's dressed.
"Uhm... I'll have a soda please and..." She looks down at the menu. "Nachos."
"Soda? You mean rum and coke?" He asks.
"No. Just Coke. Thank you." She says.
"Doesn't drink." He thinks. "What's a pretty girl like you doing alone in a place like this on a Friday night?" He smiles at her. "Okay, Miss. I'll be right back with your order."
"Thank you..." She looks at his upper left chest where the other waiters's name plates are placed. She frowns. He doesn't have a name plate and he's not in their uniform too.
"Jay." He says. "You were looking for my name?" He asks.
"Yeah. The others have it. Do you really work here? Baka ginu-good time lang ako ng kaibigan ko."
"She's smart and observant too. Interesting." He thinks then out loud he says, "I do really work here and I haven't met any of your friends. I'd love to though. Swerte sila to have a pretty and smart friend like you."
She bows her head, blushing profusely as she again tucks her hair behind her ear. "Thank you, Jay." She whispers.
He's not even aware of it but he smiles to himself as he watches her chew on her lip nervously and struggle not to look at him again.
"I'll be back with your order..." He repeats, letting the sentence hang for her to complete it.
"Deina." She tells him as she shyly turns to him again.
His smile widens. "Deina. It's a pleasure to be at your service tonight."
***
Hey, guys! This is just the first chapter to introduce the new story to you. I will be publishing this and the succeeding chapters in a separate book. This is one of the two concepts that I talked about during my discussion with @ADNBookClub. I hope you can all enjoy this.
I will post the first chapter of the other story in this book too. Okay. I'll tell you now that the other new story will be A Glorious Mess 2.
Also, if you have been reading my other stories, you'll know that I don't normally proofread my chapters so I apologize for the typos and grammatical errors you see.
Thank you for reading.
xoxo,
Deng
