1 Vince and Aya

KUKURAP-KURAP na napatitig si Vince sa may pintuan matapos masaksihan ang pinaka-intense na "door slam to hell" ng buong buhay niya. Mabuti na lang at malakas ang pagpapatugtog sa mixtape ng mga kanta ni Drake-Almighty, kaya't mangilan-ngilan lamang ang mga bisitang nakarinig doon.

All right, he acted like an asshole. 'But I just did what I did for Aya's sake.' Of course, she didn't know that. The anger in her soft dark eyes still lingered in his mind. Nabuwisit sa kanya si Aya kaya't nagmartsa ito palabas ng bahay ng college friend nilang si Stacy—leaving the party too soon.

And now, Gerdy and Barney were shooting imaginary optic blasts in his direction from the doorway.

Bago pa siya maisipang sugurin ng former clubmates ni Aya, itinaas niya ang dalawang kamay para magdeklara ng ceasefire. He smiled sweetly to them. But the girl-who-wanted-to-be-a-boy and the boy-who-wanted-to-be-a-girl both gave him the finger and walked away.

"Is that your girlfriend?"

Napalingon siya sa babaeng nagsalita. Big eyes, plump lips, nice rack—bouncing in her chili-hot club dress and sky-high heels. She wasn't an A-grade beauty, but she's definitely got a pornstar body.

"Who?" he asked idly while giving her a once-over. Megan would love to have this chick join a threesome with him.

Pumaling ang ulo nito sa direksyon ng pintuan saka inipit sa likod ng tainga ang ilang hibla ng mahabang buhok. "The girl who stormed out. I've seen the show earlier. Nakita ko pa siyang dumeretso sa washroom, but I guess, she gave up trying to get rid of it. That was some nasty trick you pulled on your girlfriend. I kinda enjoyed it though."

"She's no one's girlfriend." He waved his hand dismissively. "But I'm currently in an open relationship with someone else."

"Wow… sounds fun. Nandito rin ba siya?" Kinagat nito ang ibabang labi.

He pointed above and lifted his gaze for a second. "She's somewhere in the sky right now. I'm Vince, by the way." Inilahad niya ang palad dito.

The chick smiled flirtatiously and accepted his hand. "Angelica."

Angelica and her pornstar body. He was already thinking of couch-wall-bed erotic trip to kingdom come with her. She blushed when his thumb fondled her knuckles.

"Why is my honey syrup here? May nag-raid ba ng kitchen cabinet ko?" Naagaw ng dominanteng tinig na iyon ang kanilang atensyon. A short-haired woman with perfectly tanned skin was scowling at the food table. Nang makita siya ng babae ay mabilis itong lumapit sa kanila, nginitian si Angelica, saka siya hinatak palapit sa mesa.

"Nasaan si Aya?" tanong ni Stacy.

"Bakit sa 'kin mo tinatanong?" kaswal niyang tugon sabay dampot ng shrimp tartlet.

Ipinagkrus ng babae ang mga braso. "Because someone told me that she was last seen here, on the verge of chopping your head off. Ano na naman ba ang ginawa mo sa kanya?"

"Nothing." He shrugged and tried a tortilla roll-up next. "Kalalabas lang ni Aya. Uuwi na raw."

"Already? Halos kasisimula pa lang ng party, ah? Binad-trip mo na naman, ano?"

"Sumakit daw ang tiyan niya."

"Did you poison her?"

"Ouch, Stace!" He crinkled up his face in fake disgust. "Hindi ko magagawa 'yon kay Aya. She makes my life happy."

Napabuga ito ng hangin. "You're really such a bully, Vince. When are you going to leave her alone?"

Ngumisi lamang siya.

"Sayang, nandito pa naman si Steve. Kauuwi lang niya galing Paris para magbakasyon. Sigurado akong matutuwa si Aya kapag nakita ulit niya ang crush niya."

The smile slid off his handsome face. Napadagit tuloy siya ng baso at sinalinan iyon ng kung ano mang weird whisky punch na naroon.

"Mukhang na-excite siya kanina n'ong sinabi kong wala pang boyfriend si Aya eh. You still remember Steve, right?"

"Si Twilight Boy?"

Stacy shook her head. "Para kayong triplets nina Droy at Hans. Gan'yan din ang reaksyon nila sa 'kin kanina. Alam n'yo, inggit lang kayo dahil sikat si Steve sa campus noon."

"Bakit ba kayong mga babae ngayon, ang dali n'yong ma-in love sa mga lalaking mukhang K-Pop at bampira? Iniinsulto n'yo ang breed namin eh." He flexed his muscles and Stacy chuckled.

He ladled another round of the sunset-colored punch.

"Hi, guys! Vince? It's been a while, bro."

Muntik na siyang masamid nang maaninag sa sulok ng mata ang paglapit ng pamilyar na lalaking kinaiinisan niya. He was the reason why he went rogue earlier and pissed Aya off so she would decide to leave the party early. Hindi alam ng babae na naroon si Steve.

Maliliit ang mga mata ng lalaki, mas matangkad sa kanya ng isang pulgada, at ang balat ay parang minsan lang makatikim ng sinag ng araw. Mas maputi pa yata ito kay Aya.

"'M-not yer bro," he murmured, then cleared up his voice, "Hey, long time no see." He gave Steve a half-hearted smile.

"Kumusta? Uhm, have you seen Aya? Gusto ko sana siyang makausap."

'In your dreams, dipshit.'

"Umuwi na raw si Aya. Pinagtripan na naman ni Vince," malambing na sabad ni Stacy.

Nagtatanong ang mga mata ni Twilight Boy sa kanya pero hindi niya ito pinansin. Inubos niya ang inumin.

"Oh shit, someone's stripping by my pool." Nabuhay ang pilyong pagkatao ni Vince nang marinig ang tinuran ni Stacy. Handa nang tumagos ang mga mata niya sa salaming bintana nang matigilan sa sunod na sinabi nito. "Oh God, it's Elton! I need to stop him. Iwan ko na kayo ha."

Fat guy… cookie monster smile… going naked. No thanks. 'I've fuckin' lost my appetite.' Mabilis niyang ibinalik ang mga mata sa mesa.

"Anong nangyari kay Aya, Vince?" narinig niyang muli ang boses ni Steve. Bakit ba parang interesadong-interesado pa rin ito kay Aya? Apat na taon na ang lumipas. Wala bang babae sa France?

"Oh you're still here?" he blurted with sarcasm. "Akala ko sumunod ka kay Stacy. You're gonna miss the show, man." Sa pagkakataong iyon ay napasilip na siya sa may pool area. Elton looked drunk as hell and he was being escorted away by Stacy—probably to lock him up in some secret evil dungeon.

"I feel guilty na hindi ko man lang siya nakausap bago ako umalis ng bansa four years ago. Iyong sinabi mo sa 'kin noon tungkol sa kanya—"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I just want to ask you Vince if you like to go to my place?" Saved by the hot chick. Amen.

"Of course." Nginitian niya si Angelica at muling binalingan si Steve. Tinapik-tapik niya ang lalaki sa balikat. "I have to go, man. Nice chatting with you."

"S-Sure. See you around?"

'Or you can take your ass back to Eiffel Tower for all I care.'

Inakbayan niya si Angelica at dumeretso sila palabas ng bahay. Kinuha niya mula sa bulsa ng pantalon ang phone at nag-send ng private message kay Stacy:

>GTG. Nice party. Snatched your lovely guest.

Also claiming my 1 shot ask a favor stub:

Don't give T-Boy Aya's # or home ad or email or any of her private social media accts.

Blast to the group.

Thanks, Stace.<

"Which one is your ride?" narinig niyang tanong ni Angelica.

"The red Accent one," sagot niyang sa screen ng phone pa rin nakatingin.

"Ooh, the one that has a GO TO HELL, VINCE sign?"

"What now?" Nag-angat siya ng mukha at napakunot-noo sa nakitang papel na nakasingit sa kanyang windshield. A black marker was used to write the words. And then his eyes dropped to the front tires of his car, horrified upon realizing that they were both slashed.

"Son of a bitch!"

Vince clasped his hands behind his head and pressed his lips hard. Pinagsisihan tuloy niyang niregaluhan niya si Aya ng Swiss Army knife noong pasko.