What happens in Boracay, Stays in Boracay

April 22-25, 2010: Whatta great summer it is!!! 4 days and 3 nights? WORTH EVERY MOMENT! Inspite the scorging heat and crowded white shoreline, we still managed to have the time of our lives, with one single motto: "What happens in Boracay, stays in Boracay!"

I wasn't really expecting much and I never thought he could make it. But when he says he will, he will find a way indeed, now proven. Poor guy though! He was all the way from Sara having completion duties for a week on a graveyard shift (11-7), and when Friday morning came, he rushed to go back to the city, packed his things for an hour and then headed again for the next bus ride to Caticlan! He didn't have proper sleep the whole day, since they had 2 DDRs in the wee morning, just short naps probably in the bus --- yeah all the hassle, just to make it to Boracay with me. I did try to tell him that it was okay if he can't go there, since his schedule was quite fully booked with completions already....but it didn't stop him, he even insisted that it doesn't matter at all. All he cared about is spending time with me, making our first date, our first adventure possible and memorable. He made it, arrived around 7:30pm.

It's crazy but it's true. Tired and all, I can very much tell, but he never complained. My friends planned to go out enjoy that night, and he still went with us, bonded with my friends almost instantly. At 2am, I can't take it anymore my conscience is killing me, I wanted him to have some much needed rest already so I told my friends that both of us would be heading back to the b&b first and that then can follow afterwards if they're done partying. It was a quiet walk back to where we were staying. Then I spoke up, "I can't believe you're here na, sabi ko naman sayo ok lang sakin if you can't make it, I'll understand naman" and smiled. He smiled back, "Diba sabi ko susunod ako, at wala naman sakin yun, basta kasama lang kita. It's our first travel together, making way for the many first that would come our way."

The next day, we are scheduled for boat sailing at 6am. I didn't bother waking him up and insisting on letting him go with us because he needed that extra hours of sleep. Aww...concern na nga ba ako? ^_^ Even my friends were concerned as well na wag na lang cyang gisingin. Sympre ako na ang topic the whole morning of boat sailing, na grabe daw ang effort, sundan ba naman ako sa BORA! Ako pa sinisi kung bakit ko daw pinagod yung tao. Eh sabi ko naman its his choice, he even insisted when I said it was alright if he can't come. When we headed back to our rooms after the boat ride, he was already awake, having coffee at the little veranda outside our room. He was now more conversant and more like himself. We talked and got to know more of each other. Random things were exchanged, from favorites to dislikes. He laughed when I said I don't eat cake only brownies or basta same consistency as brownies, and I'm lactose intolerant. Sabi nya good thing he didn't bring me a cake to celebrate daw sana yung first adventure namin, kasi he'll end up eating the cake din pla. Tapos biglang he added, "Papano na nga pla sa wedding natin, eh d naman pwedeng walang cake, traditional yun slicing and eating, eh d ka pala kakain?" with a smile. I laughed! Bakit naman napunta sa wedding na kaagad! Namula ang lola nyo. Sabi ko na lang, "Eh d dapat yung cake, brownie na consistency para makain ko!" Napatawa cya. Tapos biglang nagmoment of silence. We looked at each other and we knew deep down there kinilig kaming pareho, wala lang nagsalita.

We had our first lunch, pochero! And we ate the remaining 2 fried chickens from the brunch my friends left for us. Habang continue ang getting to know more portion. We talked about our families. He opened up a lot of things to me, past and present; how he ended up in Iloilo; his habits good and bad and many others. And vice versa. I asked how he knew I was single. Or if he only knew it nung binyag ni Yasha (Barbie's, one of our common friends, daughter). He said no, actually he already knew na for quite some time. Si Paulaling daw ang nagtext at nagbalita sa kanya, and naconfirm din because madami na rin cyang naririnig. So I told him that it was since January, actually even before that. And told him all he needed to know lang (because what he doesn't know can't hurt him).

I asked him kung kelan nya na realized na may feelings pala cya sakin. Na shock ako sa answer.

HE: Matagal na. Una tayong nagmeet sa Annex after capping. Dun kina Tyke sa Dumangas, the next day na realize ko na tinamaan ako sayo.

SHE: Ha?? Lasing na lasing ka naman nun! How would I know you meant what you said. You were calling me, Your my Vitamin C. (laughed)

HE: Inaamin ko madami na akong nainom pero that's the only way I can say my true feelings. Nawawala ang hiya. Teka nga pero nung time na yun, kayo na ba?

SHE: D pa ah. Mga after checking ng Pharma test papers, kinabukasan pa end of 1st sem ba yun, tsaka na naging kami. May bf pa kasi ako sa Dubai nun pero malabo na rin so I ended up with him na muna bago naging kami kasi d ako ganyang klaseng babae.

HE: Ahh iba kasi narinig ko. Napinagsabay mo daw sila.

SHE: NGEE! D ko magagawa yun!

HE: Nagbreak kayo ng taga Dubai dahil sa kanya?

SHE: No, nagbreak kami kasi he doesn't trust me with him. Tulad din ng akala mo, madami rin cyang narinig pero instead of going to me, he chose to believe others, at mga paliwanag hindi na napakinggan. Sayang nga kala ko cya na.

HE: Ahh. That makes sense. Kung alam ko lang sana, ako na lang at hindi na cya. D ka pa napahamak dahil wala akong lihim na tinatago.

SHE: (smiled)

HE: Hindi kasi klaro. The next thing I knew kayo na. Kung alam ko lang na ganun.

SHE: Hmm..pero d mo alam na aalis na ko not until recently?

HE: Yeah d ko alam. Akala ko your still going to take the board this Dec. Nagulat nga ako. Pero d bale susundan kita dun. Kukuha lang ako ng board. If not magtotourist ako. Maski Canada dun sa brother ko, at least malapit na yun kaysa dito.

SHE: Yeah pero ang hirap na pumasok dun tapos nurse kapa. Sympre may show money tapos dapat may properties ka na naiwan dito kung tourist ka. As proof.

HE: Yung mini grocery namin sa Bataan pwede ko namang ilagay sa pangalan ko kung kinakailangan. Basta, don't worry. Nasundan na nga kita dito, simula pa lang to. I will follow you.


The rest of the Bora days were spent walking, laughing, talking, holding hands, blushing, smiling, teasing, picture-taking --- all the works! Mas hinahanap pa cya ng mga close friends ko kaysa sa akin! Gosh hehe! Cya na ang bago nilang best friend. hehe! But anyway, I'm happy, it's like 2010 just started for me, when I thought things are just going downhill, he showed up, starts picking up the broken pieces of my heart and share a piece of his to me without rush and opportunistic ideation. I really appreciate everything he's been doing so far. He respects me, the one quality most of the guys I've been with, lack.

You know how sometimes, I kinda have this crazy fantasy of having a summer love thing, that walking along the beach holding hands kinda thing, staring at the moonlight quietly together with a faded background music churva ek ek??? Well, guess what, it's so much better in reality! Kinda like those pocketbooks I've read back in high school, and those short stories I've written growing up, I never thought it could happen, I never thought magic can exist away from the pages of a perfectly good Nicholas Sparks' romance novels! But... as they say:

REAL LOVE STORIES NEVER HAVE ENDINGS!

May nagTEXT!

HE:

The best part of being in love is when you just love a person and be happy about it!

SHE: RU inlove? hehehe

HE:

every second with you!

SHE: Dasig man ba, hehehe hinay hinay lang.

HE:

Huo eh, kay karon bse may makauna pa sakon na taga-states pangaluyag

SHE: Grabe ka man. hehehe

HE:

biskan hindi ko tani gusto wala ko right/power to stop you kay kinanlan mo na

SHE: Maapas ka gid man to haw? daw kabudlay man magsulod.

HE:

D ba i told u that after i get all the exams here, hambal ni auntie may work na ko didto sa texas ako na lang ginahulat. if ever as tourist ok man ky may brother man ko sa ontario,canada. damo options i will find you. ok na po ma'am?

SHE: Much better.

Taking the Passenger Seat!

Masarap pala ang feeling ng nakasakay sa passenger seat ng sarili mong sasakyan noh? Something I don't experience every so often in my life, and what better way to experience it again with someone last night, ay este kanina... umaga na pla kasi. Anyway this is what happened.

Because words are just mere words without actions involved, he decided to take some action. I didn't think he was serious enough to see me without the company of our group in school until tonight. I was with my close girlfriends today strolling around when he texted if we could meet up, if he could visit at home. Naloka ang lola sympre abay manliligaw ata haha! So quickly I told him I'm with my friends and I'm not sure until when. Aba! hindi nagpaawat...he replied saying he'll wait. One of my friends asked what's bothering me because I unintentionally became silent. And I told them about him. They laughed. It's no surprise for them already whenever I have this kind of dilemma, sanay na daw sila. One even joked, "Why don't you invite him to have dinner with us? In that way we can all meet him. Who could better entertain your sutors than us?" In which I have to agree. They are the best panel of critics ever in this planet and compared to my meek attitude, these ladies will surely have something to say, that's how dorky they are, and proud of it too :)

So anyway I didn't text him back, I was too afraid and nervous to meet him away from the comfort of our common friends. And around dinner time, he did not only text but tumawag na talaga! Hahaha. He ask if we are still meeting up. I was actually looking for excuses but couldn't find anything useful seeing as my girlfriends were all looking at me with same expression, widely grinning. I told him if we could meet some other time because I don't know what time I'm going to be done bonding with my friends. Ala eh.... he insisted! He told me that he has 2 days duty in Antique and 5days duty in Sara after, so like the whole week of next week, he'll not be around the city and he added that he likes to meet my friends too. Awww... who could say no to that afterwards? So I invited him to have coffee with us since we're done eating dinner. You could hear from the tone of his voice when he said thanks that he was damn excited. Hahaha!

We finally met. I introduced him to my friends and he was heck quiet! Good thing my friends were asking him questions, sharing fun stories, and later at the end of the night, he started warming up already and share his own both funny and serious stories, the way I've known him (actually he chose his topics to share very appropriately, not like the usual random rants he blurts which is for me, impressive) and my friends had a nice time. Actually I was more nervous for him than he himself. Silly! Then as the night passed by we transfered to one of my friend's house, she invited us over for a drink since she was meeting with her buddies from college there too. Talks, laughs continued and the works.. As to both of us, we talked too, mostly regular stuff since you can very well tell that he is nervous too hehehe! Seriously, he do glance my way every so often which I can very well tell because of my peripheral vision :) and its weeiiiirrrrdddd. Anyway, another highlighted thing I liked aside from impressing my friends in a subtle way, was taking my half full 2nd bottle of beer away from me silently and placed it infront of him replacing his finished bottle because at that very moment, we did stare at each other and its like he was telling me, "I think you had enough beer for the night, you don't need to finish that." His non-verbal communication worked. I didn't bother asking nor arguing anymore because it was one of the nicest things a guy ever did to me. He didn't need to wait till I pass out drunk or wait till I say I'm too drunk Ill stop now, instead he had the initiative to step up for me and at that moment, I feel secured that I'm being cared for, that someone is looking out for me for real without me doing something first.

I sat quietly afterwards, thinking about it while not making it too obvious that I can't hear any of the talks and laughs because I was in my own little world, just thinking.

When it was time to go, we excused ourselves and head home. Now it was more awkward than ever because this time, there was nobody there anymore except for the two of us. When we were nearing Jaro plaza he said I'll just drop him off there because he can just take a taxi home. He said that he is not used to seeing me, having to drive him home. I laughed. I told him it was ok that I don't mind but he insisted! I laughed. I stopped, literally stopped in the middle of the road. (if you know me well, you know how I do it right, LOL) I looked at him and said, "Is this about pride?" He laughed. He said it wasn't about that but.......and he had a long answer I was just smiling at him, frankly didn't really paid much attention to what he said but I saw him blushing.

"So okay...you know how to drive right?" I asked. He looked at me questionably and answered, "Yes". "Hmm...so why don't you drive yourself home, and I'll drive myself home as well, in that way it's fair and no pride and favors are stepped on. Do we have a deal?" He sat there for a moment trying to digest the idea and though seemingly crooked, it was the fairest thing two drunk people can come up, he agreed. So yes.... I let him take over the wheel and I scooted to the passenger seat. When he was ready to drive, he looked at me, shook his head and smiled. He probably realized that I'm such a dork myself. Then he blurted out, "Din ka manaog nong?" And he laughed, he's back in his old self again. Being in the passenger seat, I never realized till that night how comfy it feels to be just sitting there for a change. Haayyy naku. In fairness, he was a pretty safe driver. Or he's just probably driving safely to impress me? I dunno. But he's pretty good. Eventhough how narrow the road was in the street where his aunt's house was, he still managed to backed up and made a U-turn so smoothly so that it wouldn't be so hard for me to go out of that street. When we pulled over infront of the house, we bid goodbye, said our thanks and I went home. Smiling.

A text message came soon after, which reads:

"My life doesn't seem such a waste because of you. We should be
lovers, and that's a fact."

No reply was needed. He's not so good at keeping his feelings to himself either. It's all over his FB na. :)

TIME WILL TELL. TIME WILL TELL INDEED.

Mwah

Good early morning madlang people! I know I'm supposed to be sleeping already but there's just something that keeps me out of it obviously. And no, no... I'm not going to do the whole EMO-tional melodramatic blog post that I've been doing for the past 2 or something months now hehehe! Yeah took me that long huh, yikes!

Well anyway, someone made me smile tonight. It was so out of the blue. I never knew that person had been there at a distance, just watching, trying maybe, and that all this time I just completely ignored him because I thought that he was just in it for the show. But now I realized he was doing it because he wanted me to be aware that he exists somehow.

Ahhh...

You think I'm going to go through another whirlwind romance thingy? Hmm.. not yet. I'll enjoy singlehood for a while, but you know, I'm not getting any younger either so I hope it won't be a long wait again.

He's right, time will tell. He said, "Punta naman ako U.S. if not this year, early next year. I will find you." Naks, bigla ko na sanang kainin ang celphone ko...kinilig ang lola eh pano ba yan! hehe! But I won't hold on entirely to that thought because I can't deal with expectations anymore, they eat the best of me. So, for now its a good start, I'll try to make it as one of my inspirations for a new beginning.

It ain't easy you know. I'll just be around. I'm tired pleasing anybody right now. I want them to please me instead, and I'm not that hard to please. I laugh at corny jokes, how hard can it be? hehehe!

Ok, now my rant is over. I'll head to bed because I have a big day tomorrow. I'm going to line up to renew my passport at DFA office. Yeah, sarcastically fun. Ciao for now!