Playful Seduction

Chapter 12.

My eyes darted to my boyfriend’s face. Kita ko ang pagkunot ng noo nya at pagtataka. He put his arms away from Stephanie at nanlalaki ang mga mata nya na yumuko para tingnan kung sino iyon. Nakita ko na tumingala si Stephanie and the expression on his face changed.

I saw familiarity. And relieved.

I saw Stephani giggle. I saw Raius give off an awkward smile when Stephanie let him go. Magkatinginan pa rin silang dalawa.

I was just standing there, looking at them. Hindi ako makagalaw o makapag salita. I am full of confusion on what is happening. Palipat lipat ako ng tingin sa kanila.

It took Raius a few more seconds before he maybe realized that I was there. Tumingin sya bigla sa direction ko. His face became stoic. I saw him murmur an excuse to Stephanie and he started walking towards where I am standing. Nakita ko na lumingon si Stephanie na puno ng pagtataka ang mukha.

“Hey,” He smiled when he was already nearby. His arms snaked on my waist as he gave me a quick kiss on my lips.

I was just staring at him. Hindi ko alam ang sasabihin. I swallowed when I felt a lump on my throat. Iniluwa ko ang ulo ko mula sa pagkakaharang ng katawan nya dahil sinilip ko si Stephanie sa likod nya. May kaba akong naramdaman when I saw her walking closer to us.

Napansin yata ni Rai na sumilip ako kaya lumingon rin sya.

Nagliwanag ang mukha ni Stephani.

“Hi!” Masiglang bati ni Stephanie. Hindi ko alam kung sa akin iyon o para kay Raius.

Tiningala ko si Raius nang tumikhim sya. Tapos tumingin ako kay Stephanie na nakatingala rin kay Raius. This time ay hindi nan aka ngiti kundi nagtataka na rin.

“Raisa, this is Stephanie. Kaklase ko sya noong High School. Steph, this is Raisa, girlfriend ko.” Biglang sabi ni Raius.

Kita ko ang gulat sa mukha ni Stephanie. “G-girlfriend?” She murmured.

It was almost like a whisper, pero narinig at nakita ko ang pag galaw ng labi nya so I knew what she said. Huminga ako ng malalim. I snaked my arms into his waist just like his arms on mine to show our intimacy.

I am not threatened, per se. But I just like to show her more of the obvious.

Mukhang naka bawi naman agad si Stephanie dahil ngumiti na sya nang humarap sya sa akin. “Wow. Girlfriend ka pala ni Raius. I didn’t know! Small world!” Masiglang sabi nya.

Nginitian ko rin sya. “Yeah, a really small world.” Maybe they are just close, right? Stephanie was able to hug Raius a while ago without a warning. Nagulat lang sya but when he recognizes her, parang hinayaan nya na, eh.

But maybe I should not be thinking about it now. I should not give myself a reason to be upset dahil successful ang launching party ng newest collection ng RaiRen Apparel.

“Ikaw, sobrang lowkey mo na naman, ha. Hindi mo man lang nabanggit that you have a girlfriend again.” Stephanie turned to Raius and teased her.

Hindi sumagot si Raius, I saw him gave an awkward smile.

“You two seem close,” Singit ko. Mukhang wala nang balak kasi na makipag-usap si Raius and I am interested on what type of relationship or friendship they have. I am not nosy, but it would be nice to somehow know Raius in other people’s eyes.

Not that I think that he’s a completely different person, though. Alam ko at ramdam ko. It’s hard to pretend to be someone you’re not. In the few months that I know him, he’s consistent. Siguro, the only thing that I can somehow see na tagilid kay Raius is the fact that he’s really not talking about the other job he has, but it’s for another time.

Ngumiti si Stephanie kay Raius bago sya tumingin sa akin. “We used to live in the same village before.”

I nod. “Oh, I see.”

Raius cleared his throat again tapos mula sa bewang ko ay itinaas nya ang kanyang kamay until it reached my shoulders. Ngayon ay naka akbay na sya sa akin. “Nice seeing you here Steph. And congratulations.”

I am actually already planning on inviting Stephanie in our table para sana makapag catch up rin sila and para mas makilala ko rin sya pero parang biglang nagmamadali si Raius to end the conversation. Hindi na lang ako nagsalita.

Parang nagulat rin si Stephanie. “Uhm,”

“We’re going. Nice seeing you here,” May finality na sabi ni Raius bago nya ako inakay para umalis na rin.

I saw Stephanie left stunned. Hindi ko rin maintindihan kung bakit nagmamadali si Raius. I decided to just go with him. Tinuro ko sa kanya kung saan ang private room ko para kainan naming dalawa. Nakita kami ni Adelaine na busy pa rin sap ag asikaso sa ibang guests. Sya ang main organizer ng event and I am really proud of her.

Tumitingin na kami sa menu when I decided to finally ask him.

“Bakit naman parang nagmamadali ka kanina? I was going to invite Stephanie to join us sana.” Masigla ang boses ko at naka ngiti ako.

“Hindi ako nagmamadali, hindi lang siguro ito ang lugar para magkamustahan kami.” Kibit balikat na sagot nya sa akin.

“Okay, but you recognized her on the stage?”

“Oo naman. Hindi naman nagbago ang mukha nya, at sinabi rin naman ang pangalan nya.” He was focused on the menu and I am sure na hindi nya naman Mabasa iyon ng maayos. He’s fiddling with it using his fingers. This is not his usual behavior.

“I see. Small world, no?”

“Yes,”

“Sabi nya you used to live in the same village? Saan ‘yon, mahal?” I kept my tone light. Ayokong isipin nya na iniinterogate ko sya pero sandali lang kaming nagkaharap ni Stephanie ay napamukha na sa akin na I didn’t really know much about Raius in general.

Yes, I know things about him, even personal ones. But I want to know more. And I don’t think it’s bad especially that I just love him. Ganoon naman yata talaga. Palagi kang interisado kasi mahal mo ang tao.

I caught him breathing deep in a subtle way before he answered me. “You probably don’t know it. Somewhere in Muntinlupa.”

“Muntinlupa? So, you used to live there? Ang layo, ah. How long are you living here in Quezon City?”

He licked his lips. He seemed uninterested but I want to know. “More than ten years. Order na tayo ng food?”

I smiled at him. “Sige,”

Ayoko na tuluyan syang mainis sa akin kaya hinayaan ko na lang rin. Hindi ko pinahalata ang disappointment ko na parang ayaw nya talaga pag-usapan ang ibang aspect ng buhay nya. I respect his choice and I don’t want to ruin this moment so I let it go.

After eating, nakipag mingle pa ako sa ibang guests. I made sure na personal ko silang makausap isa-isa kahit na sandali lang. They took photos of me and with me. I let Raius stay in our private lunch room dahil una, I don’t want him to be involved in this side of my life yet dahil alam kong hindi pa namin yon napag uusapan.

I don’t know if he will be okay with being taken photos with me and be posted somewhere and end up in different websites or in any form of social media. I want it to be discussed first. Ramdam ko kasi that he kind of values privacy. Even with the way he’s posting me.

“Uy, sino ‘yung kasama mo sa loob? Boyfie?” One of my closest colleagues in the industry, Adriana, asked me. She’s one of those influencers like me na hindi nag stay sa pagiging influencer or social media personality. We are now both business owners and we both invite each other if we have events.

Before, nakakasama ko lang sya sa mga launchings ng ibang brands but now, we both own our brands at kami naman ang nag-iinvite ng mga bloggers, vloggers, influencers and people from media to support our businesses.

So, we are kinda of tight kahit bihira na kami magkasama or magkausap kahit online.

“Yep,” Nakangiti na sagot ko.

“Oh gosh! Congratulations! Finally! Where did you find that hunk?” She said giggling.

“Naku, long story! We should have a girl’s night and catch up soo! Eh ikaw? Anong balita sayo? How’s your business doing?” I would love to tell her how Raius and I met pero mabibitin kami sa kwentuhan. Adriana is the type of friend pa naman na makikinig talaga sayo and you’ll love her reactions to your stories.

“We’re doing good! Mas marami na kaming distributors and the people loves our products. Anyway, papadalhan kita ng PR kit in two weeks, ha? May bago kaming ilalabas na sabon. You’ll love it!” Excited na sabi nya.

“Oo naman! Lahat naman ng pinapadala mo sa akin, ginagamit ko. And I bought four more lavender lake scented candle kasi naubos na ‘yung dalawa. I have one in the office, two in my condo and one in my room in Forbes.”

“Ack! I love you so so much! And we areally really need that girl’s night out! Let’s ask Emmy kailan sya babalik sa Pinas so the three of us can go! I really miss you two!”

Emmy is also an influencer that we met from the same events we went to few years ago. But unlike us, Emmy’s still young. She just graduated college and currently in Spain with her family for a break before she starts working or something.

“Oo nga! She’s been in Spain for three months now, baka naman anytime eh umuwi na sya. She’s enjoying there so much!”

“But I love her photos. Grabe, bagay na bagay sa kanya tan nya, no?”

“True! Ang tingkad nya, I so love it, too!”

Our small catch up got interrupted when Adelaine called me dahil magpapaalam na raw ang mga ambassadors. I saw the three of them near the entrance of the place. Dala nila ang mga paperbags na giveaway namin for them in this event.

Aside from the ambassador p*****t they will receive monthly, royalty for every purchase of their collection and talent fee for this event, we still prepared a paperbag filled with chocolates and other trinkets. They will bring me sales and I also appreciate that all of them are actually already customers of RaiRen.

Iyon nga ang naging main basehan naming dalawa ni Adelaine in sending them an offer. All of them already posted not one, but a few photos na suot nila ang ilan sa mga past collections ng RaiRen and I really appreciate it. We started with sending them a thank you box before we sent them the offer of ambassadorship.

I thanked them before I said goodbye. Napansin ko na nauna nang umalis sila Aileen and KD, but Stephanie stood still in front of me. I knew she would want to talk to me. Raius just dismissed her a while ago, and although I find it rude of him, hindi ko alam kung ano ang reason nya for doing it.

“Is there anything we can help you with?” Malumanay at nakangiti na tanong ko nang ilang seconds na at hindi pa rin umaalis o nagsasalita si Stephanie.

“Uhm, nothing. I was just… I want to be friends with you. And no, this has nothing to do with Raius. I did not just agree to be RaiRen’s ambassador to endorse your product but I actually want to genuinely be your friend. Even way back. Hindi mo na siguro naaalala but we already met before.”

Napa awang ang labi ko. Pilit kong mabilisang inalala if I can remember her from the past but I cannot. Nangunot ang noo ko. “I’m sorry, hindi kita maalala. But maybe you can refresh my memory?”

Tumango si Stephanie. “About three years ago, when The Briggs Hotel opened. Hmm, I was just starting to gain more followers at that time and you were with celeb kasi.” She gave me a shy smile. “I was already following you at that time. We even have a picture! I asked you for a picture and you were so so nice.”

Nakatitig lang ako sa kanya the whole time she’s talking. I am not the type of person to look for the worse in other people, but something inside me is telling me to look for a red flag in whetever Stephanie is saying but instead, my heart melted when she pulled out her phone, took a few swipes tapos ihinarap nya sa akin ang screen ng cellphone nya.

Napahawak ako sa dibdib ko. It was us! Natandaan ko na ang event na sinasabi nya kahit na hindi ko natandaan ang exact moment na nakilala ko sya. I cringed at the outfit and hair style I was rocking in the photo but we look cute!

“Oh my gosh! We look cute in there!” Tuwang tuwa na sabi ko. Lalo kong tinitigan ang picture. The more I did, the more I felt that my heart is melting.

“I know. I just want to let you know that I am really happy that I got to be a part of your brand, and that I met you again.” She said giggling.

I was speechless for a second. “Thank you, too for supporting RaiRen.”

She was about to say something when her assistant called her. Aalis na yata kasi sila. She signed her hand to say ‘wait’ before she turned to me again.

“Uhm, I hope that we can meet again!”

“Sure, sure!”

“Bye, and thank you!” Kumaway sya bago nakangiti na umalis.

Hindi ako makapaniwala sa nangyari. I feel so touched. Hindi ko alam kung gaano na ako katagal na nakatayo doon until Adelaine touched me on my shoulders.

“What happened? Para kang namatanda dyan?”

I smiled at her. “Nothing.”

“Oh sya, hinahanap ka na yata ng boyfriend mo. Puntahan mo na,” Nginuso nya si Raius na nakatayo na sa labas ng private lunch room namin at lumilinga linga.