hand to hold
“I-angat mo pa konti sa right,” Beanca dropped her hand down heavily, sighing in frustration. It was an easy task, supposedly. And yet Bert looked even more frustrated than she was as he tried to follow her instructions. Kanina pa sila sa harap ng Vinzons, at halos di na sila magkarinigan minsan dahil na rin sa ingay ng mga sasakyang dumadaan since 4PM na at uwian na ng karamihan. Sa palagay niya ay pinagtitinginan na sila ng mga tao sa tagal nilang (or more likeniyang) magkabit ng poster na ’to para saoryetwo weeks from now.‘Mas maganda nang mas maaga tayong mag-promote, okay? I want to beat the record of attendees this sem!’she reasoned to him yesterday when he complained about it being too early.
Kung hindi lang talaga ito malakas sa kanya, ay hindi siya papayag sa pangungulit nito kahapon.
Well, that’s probably a lie. Hindi niya matatanggi sa sarili na kinilig siya kahit papaano nung nalaman niyang hinintay talaga siya nito sa lobby ng Albert Hall (na out of the way sa lahat ng buildings ng university) nang mahigit isang oras para lang kausapin siya. Siguro ay kahit ano pang hiningi nito sa kanya nung oras na ’yun ay oo na agad ang sagot niya.
Oo na, marupok na siya pagdating kay Beanca. Aminado naman siya doon.
“Aligned naman na ah? Okay na ’yan, B.” Right before he could even take a step back from the bulletin board, her hand was already on his back, pushing him back to his place. A glare met him when he turned his head. Of course, this is Beanca we are talking about.Hindi pwede sa kanya ang pwede na.
“Okay, okay!” He raised his hands in surrender, pouting as he grumbled almost incoherently under his breath, ′Ako na nga nagpuyat magdesign ng pubmat, ako ang nagpaprint, tapos pati pagkabit ako pa rin?′
“Ayan, okay na?” Not hearing an answer, he turned around and saw, with a smile that was all lips, an arm raised to give him a thumbs-up. A sigh of relief left his lips. Great. One down, 19 more to go.
He picked up his backpack from the ground and grabbed hers from her shoulder. Nakita niyang hinahanda na nito ang susunod na poster na ikakabit nila sa next na bulletin board. He moved to her other side, keeping her on the inside of the sidewalk as they walked.
“Grabeng hinga naman ’yan. Sobrang deep,” she teased a few moments later, pinching his arm lightly. “Remind lang kita na pumayag ka dito kahapon, ha? Baka mamaya sabihin mo, inaalila kita masyado.”
He made a face, na narinig niyang tinawanan lang ng katabi.
“Tawa ka pa ha? Ansakit na ng paa ko, B.” He whined, hunching his shoulders. She pushed his arm slightly, rolling her eyes in response. Sanay na ito sa mga pagrereklamo niyang ganito, gawa ng kung saan-saan na siya niyo nakakaladkad minsan. Siya naman, si Kaladkarin, willing victim naman.
“Huy, iisang poster pa lang ’yung naikakabit natin. Wag OA ha?”
“Oo nga, pero kung saan-saan mo ako kinaladkad ngayong araw para sa mga permit na ’yan. Anlayo rin kaya ng nilakad ko para dun sa printing shop na gusto mo. Bakit di na lang kasi natin phinotocopy sa colored papers gaya ng ginagawa ng iba?” pagrereklamo niya, sabay akbay sa balikat ng kasama. It felt so natural, she didn’t even flinch. Ganito sila palagi.
“That’s the main point, okay? We have to stand out from the rest! Yung tipong, isang tingin lang, sa poster natin napupunta ang mata ng mga tao. Besides, ako naman ang nagbayad for the pubmats ah? Labor of love mo na lang sa akin ’yung pag-design, okay?” His heart almost jumped from his chest at the word.Love.He knew she didn’t mean it that way, but damn, the way it rolled off her tongue sounded so... tempting. He’s been wanting to cross that line for the longest time. And yet here he is, merely a few breaths away, watching her talk, hearing all she has to say as afriend.
The way she moved her hands as she spoke looked theatrical almost, explaining the whole rationale. She was talking about reach, visual branding, among many other things. He was listening, but also part of him had already clocked out. She looked so in the zone like this, and he couldn’t help but admire how enthusiastic she could get for things she feels passionate about. She looked so damn attractive.God, help him... but he wanted to kiss her so bad.
“Hey, are you still with me? Hindi ka naman nakikinig eh!” She stopped dead in her tracks, looking up at him and reaching out to pinch his cheek, which he promptly blocks, laughing.
“Nakikinig ako, ah? Ikaw naman, masyado kang judgmental sa thinking face ko,” he scoffs, placing his free hand on his chest, feigning hurt.
“Ewan ko sa’yo. Tara na nga!” She rolled her eyes at him again before she turned on her heels grumpily, grabbing the hand that was on her shoulder to drag him to the next bulletin board.
He stilled yet again at the action, taking in the sight of her holding his hand and the feeling of hers in his. His pulse raced as he stared, and stared, and stared. He wished this moment could last forever.
One day, maybe he will cross that line. But today, his heart is full. For now, he can live with this.
