Chapter 1

"Honestly, one of the biggest mistakes ng mga retailer is masyado silang naka-focus sa sales kaya nakakalimutan na nila ang customer retention," daldal ng lalaki sa harap ko. "Madali lang naman makahatak ng customer eh, ang mahirap eh kung mapabalik mo sila. Doon mo malalaman kung talagang successful ang negosyo mo."

Tumango-tango lang ako habang palihim na naghahanap ng paraan para makatakas sa usapan.

"What about you, Jace? You agree right?"

Ngumisi ako. "Ah, yes, absolutely." sagot ko.

Sana lang ay hindi halatang hindi ako interesado sa sinasabi niya. The worse part is, hindi ko maalala kung sino 'to. Was his name Mark? Matt? Basta, nagsisimula ata sa M.

To be fair, I'm really bad with names, at ilang taon na rin nang huli kong makita ang karamihan sa mga narito. When Dave invited me to a high school reunion, akala ko ilang mga classmates lang. Instead, pagkapasok ko sa function hall, I was met with a bunch of familliar looking faces I barely recognized.

The thing is, pumunta lang ako rito dahil my Mom asked me to come home today, and it just happened that I remember Dave invited me out on that same day, which gave me the perfect excuse not to. Sigurado ako, Mom was lying. Hinding-hindi lulunukin ng matandang yon ang pride niya para pauwiin ako. My parents and grandfather always had a high expectations from me. They wanted me to carry on the family legacy, its the property development company na ilang taon nilang pinaghirapan. The thing is, my older brother, James, was already thwre, training to take the business. Apparently, I have to either. Gusto nilang pareho kami ron.

But instead, I chose a different path. Instead of following what thet wanted me to do. I invested in a small golf course and slowly turned it into a thriving business. It's doing better than I ever imagined. It took years of hard work, hindi ako tumigil because I genuinely love what I do. Naalala ko pa ang sinabi ng matandang yon years ago. Sinabi nito na babalik din daw ako kapag naubusan na ako ng pera, na hindi ko raw kakayanin mag-isa. He hated being proven wrong.

I still visit them from time to time, though. Hindi dahil nagbago na ang isip ko, and definitely not because I needed money. They're still my family, but it sure as hell awkward there. Mom and Dad tries their best to keep the conversation going, while the old man pretends he isn't interested in what I do. Whatever.

Parang pinagsisisihan ko na pumunta pa ako rito. Everyone looks like they are enjoying themselves, while I'm the opposite. This kinds of gathering used to be fun, now it just made me feel uneasy. May mga ilang bumabati sa akin and trying to start a casual conversation, but this man in front of me is insufferable.

Kukunin ko na sana ang cellphone ko para magkunwaring may tumatawag nang marinig ko ang pamilyar na boses sa tainga ko.

"You look miserable."

Napalingon ako sa pamilyar na boses and almost sigh in relief. Hinarap ko si Kael na may hawak na baso sa isang kamay. Bakas ang pagod sa mukha nito, though it didn't make a difference, this guy was still ridiculously good looking, objectively speaking. Ngumisi ako.

Kael always stood out, partly dahil sa six foot one niyang height and his looks. Medyo humaba na ang maitim niyang buhok, ang ilang hibla nito ay bumabagsak sa noo niya. He has a sharp jawline, straight nose, and ang parang walang pake niyang expression ang lalong dumadagdag sa appeal niya. He was also fit, but not overly mascular pero may natural na tikas sa katawan ni Kael na mahirap hindi mapansin nang kahit sino, which honestly didn't make any sense dahil sa dami ng oras na ginugugol nito sa hospital iisipin mong wala na siyang panahon para alagaan ang sarili niya. Umiling ako, mas mukha pa itong model sa magazine, you wouldn't think he's a medical resident.

Well to be fair, I had my fair share of attention too. Back in high school, pareho kaming considered attractive ni Kael. If anything, ako pa nga ang mas madalas mapansin. Being an athlete definitely helped, and I never really had trouble making people like me. Kael was different, he didn't have to do anything para mapansin. He wasn't loud or outgoing, somehow people were naturally drawn to him.

The dark circles under his eyes had become a permanent part of his face sometime during medical school, at ilang buwan pa lang sa residency, parang mas kapansin-pansin na ang mga yon.

Kumurap ako.

"Woah, what are you doing here?" gulat kong tanong.

Kael snorted. "Wow. Nice to see you too."

"No, seriously dude." muli ko siyang tinitigan making sure he was real. "I figured nasa hospital ka."

Nagtaas siya ng kilay. "Believe it or not, hindi nila ako kinukulong don."

Humagalpak ako sa tawa. May ilang bumaling sa pwesto namin.

To be fair, hindi naman talaga nakakagulat na makita si Kael. We still saw each other regularly despite our schedules. At least once a week, usually for a few drinks (where I was usually the only one drinking) . It wasn't much, but somehow we managed to stay part of each other's lives. Kaya hindi nakakagulat na makita siya. Ang nakakagulat ay makita siya rito. Kael was usually the first person to decline an invitation.

Nagdududa niya akong tinitigan. "Okay ka lang ba?"

"Ah yes? Why?"

"You look miserable earlier, now you have that smug look you always have."

Lalong lumapad ang ngisi ko. "I'm just surprised man, if someone told me you would actually show up tonight, I would've asked for proof."

Sasagot na sana si Kael when someone interrupted us. It was a woman, an attractive woman at that. Her face was striking.

She looked familiar though. Kumunot ang noo ko, trying to figure out who she is as she came closer. Then it clicked.

Fiona.

I'm almost certain that was her name. I've seen her in a few commercials before. Naalala ko back in highschool, people used to talk about how she would make it big someday. Apparently, they were right.

I found myself staring for a second. Damn, how did I never notice her before? Was she always this pretty?

"Hi. I'm sorry. Did I interrupt your conversation?" nakangiti nitong tanong sa amin.

Nagkatinginan kami ni Kael.

Umiling si Kael. "No, it's okay."

"Remember me? I'm Fiona Lucero. We were in the same section in high school."

"I'm Kaelian Valmora."

Tumawa si Fiona. "Yes I know." bumaling siya sa akin. "And Jace Lorenzo Yñiguez, ofcourse."

Did I imagined it, or she changed her tone when she talked to me. Tumaas ang kilay ko at ngumisi.

"Actually, I was gonna ask for your number sana Kael, if that's okay."

Nakatuon na kay Kael ang buong atensyon ni Fiona. Unti-unting nahilaw ang ngisi ko. The fuck? I thought she was into me.

Hindi na maipinta ang mukha ko. Does she not know?

Sumabat ako bago ko pa mapigilan ang sarili ko.

"He's gay."

Umawang ang labi ni Fiona bago bumungisngis.

"Well duh? Everybody knows that already, Jace. I was asking for a friend. He's also a man." tumatawa pa ring sabi nito.

Oh.

Ngumiwi ako. Well damn, that was embarrassing.

Bumaling ako kay Kael. He looks amused at may naglalaro ring ngisi sa labi niya. Umismid ako.

Pinapanood ko lang ang palitan nila. I'm surprised pumayag si Kael na ibigay ang number niya. He usually rejected people who came to him asking for it, especially women. Honestly, medyo nakakaawa rin minsan. I've seen a lot of girls go from excited to completely devastated the moment Kael casually mentioned that he was gay. Hindi naman niya tinatago yon. Supportive ang mga magulang niya mula pa noong una. They accepted him for who he is without making a big deal out of it. And so did I, Kael was my friend long before I knew he was gay, and he remained the same person after. Sure, may mga pagkakataong nakakalimutan kong he's not into women. Usually kapag may magandang babae akong ituturo and wala siyang pakialam. Or when he would point out a guy and I would spend the next few seconds wondering what exactly he found attractive. But that was pretty much it. It never got in the way of our friendship.

Nagulat ako nang biglang bumaling sa akin si Fiona. She held out her phone, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Here. Put your number there," she said, laughing softly.

Humalakhak ako. So I wasn't wrong after all. She was actually interested in me.

Agad kong kinuha iyon at tinype ang number ko.

Nang bumaling ako kay Kael. Nagulat ako nang makitang nakatingin na ito sa akin habang may mapaglarong ngiti sa labi habang umiiling.