THE REBEL'S HEART

Chapter 2

"Damn it! Alam mo ba kung magkano 'yang kotseng ginasgas mo?!" He was seething with anger at full decibel ang pagsigaw niya habang ang babaeng nakadisgrasya sa auto niya ay nakatingin lang sa malaking gasgas at kupi sa pintuan ng pulang sports car niya. Mabuti na lang at nandoon siya sa loob nang mangyari, kung hindi ay hindi man lang niya mapapagbayad ang taong may sala. He was expecting a lame apology or even a plea of mercy but what he got was unexpected.

"Hindi. Mukha ba akong materyosong tao na inaalam lahat ng presyo ng mga walang kwentang bagay?" He looked at the girl and he wanted to strangle her neck. Siya pa ang may ganang magtaray at sumagot ng pasigaw rin samantalang siya na nga ang nakadisgrasya. The girl has some nerve but he wouldn’t let her get away that easily. Kahit na may insurance pa siya, dahil sa kayabangan niya, he’ll make sure that she would suffer.

"Ikaw pa 'tong mayabang, ikaw na nga ang nakaperhuwisyo! I'll call my lawyer. Idedemanda at Ipapapulis kita!" Luis smirked when she fell silent. Takot rin naman palang makulong. Mukhang nag-hyperventilate na ang babae at malalim na ang paghinga nito. Hindi niya tuloy naiwasang mapabaling ng tingin sa maumbok nitong mga dibdib na umaalon sa ilalim ng itim nitong t-shirt. Kung tama ang pagkakatitig niya, walang panloob ang pesteng babae. Sa dami ng makikita ni Luis, iyong weakness pa niya. He looked back at the stranger and her expression made him frown. Mukhang may binabalak pa itong masama sa kanya.

"Mukha ka namang mayaman at may insurance naman ang kotse mo. Hindi ko alam kung bakit atat na atat kang ipakulong ako. Pero sige, sasakyan ko 'yang trip mo. I'll pay for the car damages with my talents kung papayag ka." Mas lalong lumalim ang pagkunot ng noo niya nang lumapit pa sa kanya ang babae at nagkalapit ang mga mukha nila. Damn! He felt weird with the nearness at mas na-weirdohan pa siya sa sarili when he involuntarily looked at her shiny lips and smelled her cherry scented breath. Parang gusto tuloy niyang kumagat ng cherries. Nagugutom na yata si Luis at kung anu-ano nang naiisip niya. He vanished the thought at saka nagtanong.

"Ano namang talent 'yan?"

"I'll do a very private lap dance and show for you. Two nights pa kung gusto mo. Sayaw lang and just the two of us. What do you say?" Kung hawak ni Luis ang cellphone niya ay baka nabitiwan niya ito sa sobrang gulat. Lap dance and private show? Is this girl a hooker? Bigla niyang naisip na hindi naman ito mukhang p****k. Sa katunayan ay maganda ito at mukhang mayumi. Mayuming tinginan ngunit wild naman pala sa loob. She pressed her body to him at bumulong pa sa tainga ni Luis. He almost cursed with the sudden heat in his ears. "I will make it very much worthy of your time...I promise..." He couldn’t control the effect of her voice on him. He shivered and he almost cursed at himself for letting her know that she affected him. This is bad. Hindi maaring may babaeng makaapekto sa kanya ng ganoon. He had to do something about it. He’s too experienced para umarteng teenageer na nabulungan lang at nakakita ng hapit na dibdib at makinis na legs. He stepped backwards and took his phone from his pocket. What the heck, he handed the phone to her. Sana ay hindi niya pagsisihan ang gagawin niya.

"You better be good. Give me your number." He handed her his phone and couldn’t help but stare at her perfectly shaped and long legs as she input her name and number. Pina-ring nito ang sariling phone at saka iniabot muli ang cellphone sa kanya. Nakaramdam ng inis si Luis na nakamaiksing shorts ang babae habang nagba-bike. Siguradong mas tataas pa ito kung nakasakay na siya at nagpepedal. He saw her name on his contacts. Simone.

"Just call me when and where and I'll be there. Bye!" Totoo nga ang hinala niya. He saw her mount her bike and the tiny fabric called shorts na dapat yata ay micro shorts went up to her thighs. Kung inaakala ni Luis na wala nang iiiksi pa ito, nagkakamali siya. He took his chance. He pulled her towards him and pressed his chest to her back. It was her turn to shiver when he whispered in her ears. "I'll see you soon, Simone." He ensured to use his bedroom voice na hindi naman naging mahirap gawin. He smirked when he saw her close her eyes and she was frozen in place. He walked back to his car and revved the engine. Ibinaba niya ang top ng kotse niya at pinaandar ang sasakyan. He looked at her from the rearview mirror as he slowly drove away. When she looked at his retreating car, sumaludo si Luis sa kanya at napangiti siya lalo nang makarinig ng mahinang mura.

He circled the block to release some of his tension from that meeting bago bumalik sa parking lot ng condo building. Bago siya bumaba ay tiningnan ang number ng babae. Simone. She’s bad news. Umiling siya bago napanbuntung-hininga. Luis deleted the number and went out of his car. On his way to the elevator ay tumawag ang agency ng cleaning staff niya. Nasa building na raw ang temp na ipinadala nila.

“Just send the cleaner up in fifteen minutes. May kukunin pa ako sa pad. Nasa concierge na ang spare key. Just give them the name and show some identification.” Ibababa na sana niya ang tawag nang may maalala siya. “Oh, by the way, let him or her or whoever it is that you hired to stay until the mattres and carpet I ordered has been set up. Para hindi na ako babalik dito mamaya. I’ll pay extra.” Pumayag naman ang nasa kabilang linya. Sa laki ng singil nila ay wala silang karapatang humindi sa request ng client. He hurried to his room para hindi siya maabutan doon ng kung sino man ang tagalinis.

Mabuti nang hindi niya kakilala ang mga nagliligpit sa unit niya. Sa gulo ng mga kwarto doon na halos nagagamit niya lahat, ang mga condom na minsan ay nagkalat sa sahig at sa kama at mga anu-anong  mga naiiwang damit ng babae doon, he doesn’t want to see the look of distaste from anyone. He would not tolerate other people na pagsabihan siya o tingnan siya ng masama dahil sa lifestyle niya.

Luis swiped his card key and entered his room. Kumuha na rin siya ng damit na gagamitin sa sleep over niya sa bahay ng kapatid. May gym bag na siyang nakahanda at maging ang mga toiletries niya ay nasa kotse na. When he’s done, he went out and locked the unit, making sure that the alarm was turned off para masusian ito ng tagalinis. He used the common elevator instead of the one used for the Penthouse to the Parking lot dahil mas nauna itong dumating. When he entered the lift na kabubukas lang ay hindi na niya napansin ang taong lumabas mula sa elevator. He was looking at his phone that time. Sabagay, hindi naman talaga mapagmasid si Luis sa paligid niya. Kung hindi lang may prospect siyang babae ay laging sa cellphone lang siya nakatingin at nag-babrowse ng mga social media accounts. Marami siyang endorsements na nakadepende sa social media. From top to bottom, ultimo underwear niya ay sponsored at kasama sa contract niya ang mag-post ng mga larawan na suot ang mga ito. He took an OOTD at the mirrored elevator and posted it in IG. Pagka-click pa lang niya ng post ay napangiti na siya sa bilis ng pagdami ng nag-heart nito. With his 3.5M followers, hindi malabong ilang minuto lang ay libo na rin ang nag-heart dito.

He smiled when he saw some of the comments. He may have an overinflated ego because of the praises that he always receives. Pero may isang comment siyang napansin at hindi niya nagustuhan ito.

“s*x maniac and egotistical moron? Ako? Moron? Hindi ba nila alam na mataas ang IQ ko?” He whispered when he entered his car. He checked the account of the good for nothing basher at napailing na lang siya nang makitang dummy account lang ito na kaka-create lang ilang minuto ang nakakaraan.

Luis sped out of the building and into his appointments, letting himself forget about the unfortunate events of his early morning. Tungkol naman sa pagpapaayos ng kotse niya, it could wait until makahiram siya ng sasakyan sa mga kapatid. Hindi siya sanay mag-commute sa Maynila and it would ruin his image kung mag-tataxi siya o mag-Grab. Ano na lang ang ibabalita sa mga magazine o diyaryo?

Sikat na Formula 1 Race Car driver, naka-taxi

Luis laughed at his silly thought at sakto namang nakapagpark na siya sa gym. He looked at himself at the mirror. Sana lang kung makakilala siya ng babae sa umagang ‘yon ay hindi ito kasapi ng mga amazona, kagaya ng dalawang babaeng naka-engkuwentro niya.