Dahil araw na ng mga puso, time-out muna sa kalibugan, kiligan naman. 
I wrote this kasi, wala lang, nakikiuso lang sa Valentine’s Day. Haha.
Warning: This story is purely a figment of my imagination. Para ito sa mga taong inlove at love din sila in return, inlove pero “M.U.” “Exclusively Dating” o kaya “It’s Complicated” ang relationship status, inlove pero hanggang friends lang talaga, inlove pero tinatago sa taong mahal nila, inlove pero bawal dahil committed na sa iba, inlove pero na-basted, inlove pero kaka-break lang, inlove daw pero marami palang “loves”, bitter dahil inlove pa pala kay ex, at sa mga katulad kong gustong mainlove and waiting for “the right one”. Enjoy reading! 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prologue:
He is handsome. I am not that pretty. He is a real charmer. Ako naman, walang ka-appeal appeal. Kung ire-rate siguro sya, no doubt, people will give him a perfect 10 and still get a bonus point. At kung ire-rate naman ako, I think I would be given a “5”, average, yung sakto lang, yung pwede na.
He looks so prim and proper. Magaling manamit at maganda ang tindig.
And I am one clumsy woman. Wa-poise at palaging natataranta at nagpapanic. I can’t even remember a time when I felt cool, composed, and poised. I have no fashion sense and I usually wear an outfit which was like, two seasons ago pa nauso. Haha.
He is the the type of guy na malakas ang dating sa mga girls without exerting any effort on it. Sa katunayan nga, he is slightly snobbish, but that makes him even more desirable.
I, on the other hand , looked like a “manang”, mataray, and a super-virgin, who has never been kissed nor touched.
He is what you call, Mr. Perfect. I am Ms. Nobody. We are two opposite individuals who met by fate and accidentally fell in love. And this is our hate-turned-to-love story:
One unlucky Monday morning, nagcommute ako dahil coding ng kotse ko. Kahit naka-heels ako at namimilipit na ang paa ko sa sakit, I bravely walk from the Ayala MRT Station to get on a jeepney and get off at Paseo de Roxas. Then hinanap ko yung building where I am supposed to have my first day of work at Bellissimo, a magazine company (Note to readers: Bellissimo is not a real company, okay? I made it up just for the sake of the story. Haha.)
Tumingin ako sa map ng Makati na hawak ko, nang biglang…..
SCREEEEECH!!!!
Out of nowhere, may bumulaga sa harap ko na blue Honda Civic, at muntik-muntikan na kong masagasaan. The guy inside the car, who looked like Chad Michael Murray from One Tree Hill, but is slightly darker and who has black hair instead, stared at me, at biglang lumabas ng sasakyan nya. (Tawagin na lang natin syang GWARMO, meaning the Guy Who Almost Ran Me Over saka para sounds like “gwapo” na rin, which is super true naman. Haha.)
“Hey miss, are you okay?” sabi nya.
Sa sobrang gulat ko sa nangyari, di ako nakasagot agad. Pero naka-recover din naman ako sa pagkabigla, at bumalik ang usual na pagka-mataray ko.
Me: “Sa tingin mo, mukha ba kong okay ha?! Pwede ba, sa susunod, look where you’re going!” sabi ko sa pasigaw na tone.
GWARMO: ”But you’re the one who’s not looking where you’re going, hindi ka tumitingin sa dinadaanan mo.” he pointed out.
Me: “Excuse me, ikaw na nga ‘tong muntik makasagasa, ang kapal pa ng mukha mo para manisi. Hello, you almost ran me over!” sigaw ko ulet sa kanya.
GWARMO: “Hindi ko na problema yun, miss. You aren’t supposed to be walking around here anyway.” Tapos may tinuro syang sign sa isang corner na halos natatakpan na ng mga halaman…a “No Jaywalking” sign.
Nung nakita nya na di ako nakaimik sa pagkapahiya, sumakay na uli sya sa sasakyan nya. Ako naman, naiwang tulala habang nakatayo sa gitna, until I heard someone blowing his horn. Yung lalaking yun uli, ngayon mukhang tatawa-tawa na, plus may 5 cars pa nakasunod sa kanya at bumubusina rin. Na-realize ko na nakatayo pala ko in the middle of the street for a minute or so. Gosh, this is so humiliating. Gusto ko ng lumubog sa kinatatayuan ko. I walked away very quickly.
Finally, nakarating din ako sa office, and at the entryway of the office, kumaway sakin yung receptionist and she directed me to one of the desks. I looked around and noticed na wala pang ibang tao except for one guy—O-M-G! It’s that’s guy! GWARMO! What the hell! Of all the places, bakit naman dito rin sya sa same company nagwowork at 2 desks away lang sya sakin. Geez, what a bad way to start my first day of work!
After a few minutes ng pag-aayos ko ng desk ko, dumating na rin yung iba, including our boss, Ms. Carmela, who introduced me to everyone in the office.
Ms. Carmela: “Guys, listen up, we have a new writer.” She gestured towards me, as the employees stopped what they are doing at lumingon para tignan ako.
Me: “Hi! I’m Maria Alphecca Juliana Katerina Magdulayo.”
Then someone said, “Wow, ang haba ng name mo! Wala na bang mas hahaba pa? Hahaha”
Me: “Aba, gusto mo pang pahabain? Masokista ka teh? Haha. Sige, practice-in mo muna sabihin yang name ko, parang tongue twister. Iperfect mo ha. Saka natin dagdagan. But seriously, everyone calls me Phec.” I added.
I notice that everyone is smiling at me, except for GWARMO, who just gave me a short glance then raised an eyebrow at me. Sa isip isip ko, “Leche ‘to, kala mo kung sino, porke’t gwapo. Sige ha, sinusungitan mo ko, fine, magsungitan tayo. Che!”
“Then welcome to our office, Phec!” Bati nilang lahat sakin.
And then one of the guys, chubby sya na semi-bald, says, “Hey Phec, may boyfriend ka na?” And then he adds, “Sayang, ikakasal na ko.” At nagtawanan ang lahat. I just smiled politely. Then pinakilala na ako isa-isa sa kanila. Napag-alaman kong Enzo pala yung name ni GWARMO, the all-around art guy and at the same time, photographer in our office.
Then, in the afternoon, I was quite surprised to see Enzo standing in front of my desk, kala ko magha-”hi” or kakamustahin ako kung okay lang ako so far, but unfortunately, he is like the usual, hindi pa rin ngumingiti. He just said 3 words: “Check your mail.” and that’s it, umalis na rin ang loko at bumalik sa desk nya. Sa isip isip ko, Ano bang problema nito? Is he PMS-ing? Langya, daig pa babaeng may PMS sa kasungitan eh. Kainis. (Note: Pre-Menstrual Syndrome ah, hindi Pre-Marital Sex. Haha.)
Katulad ng sabi nya, I checked my mail, galing pala sa boss namin, and it says there na ang first assignment ko raw is that I am going to write a review for a newly-opened Thai restaurant in Greenbelt, while Enzo will take pictures. Well, a restaurant review is not bad for a first assignment, kaso I have to spend my afternoon with Enzo. That’s the problem. A major major problem. Haha.
Ginamit namin yung kotse ni Enzo, yung mismong kotse na minamaneho nya nung muntikan na nya kong masagasaan, papunta sa nasabing resto. Binuksan nya yung door nya sa driver’s side at agad sumakay ng kotse. How ungentleman! Hindi man lang ako pinagbuksan ng pinto. I stood on the side of the passenger seat, just staring inside at medyo nag-aalangan kung sasakay ako.
Enzo: “Ano? Sasakay ka ba o hindi?” Sabi nya na nakataas yung isang kilay.
I gritted my teeth, pinigil ko ang sarili ko na sagutin sya, then maingat akong pumasok sa loob. I can’t believe I have to sit so close beside him.
Tahimik lang sya the whole ride, which drive me nuts naturally, lalo na pag traffic, kasi ang awkward ng silence. And to make it worse, he was listening to some kind of loud music na never ko pang naririnig.
Me: “Hey!” I tried to smile at him.
Enzo: “Yup?”
Me: “So you like to listen to loud music, huh?
Enzo: “Yeah.”
Me: “Alam mo, I don’t like this music myself, but it’s—uhm—interesting.”
Enzo: “Buti naman.” sabi nya. I hear a bit of sarcasm there, but I decided to ignore it.
Me: “Um, so how long have you been working for Bellissimo?”
Enzo: “Since college.” Gosh, ang tipid talaga sumagot. One o two words lang. May bayad ba yung pagsasalita? Hello, it’s free! O baka naman hindi nakapag-toothbrush, kaya nahihiyang magsalita?Hahaha. Or it can be na, may crush sya sakin at natotorpe lang? Pwedeee. Hahaha. But I decided to keep these thoughts to myself.
Me: “That’s great. So what did you study in college?”
Enzo: “Information Systems Management.” Wow, three words na. In fairness, improving ang loko. Haha.
Me: “What?”
Enzo: “Information Systems Management.”
Me: “I mean, no, that’s so strange. You’re a photographer for this magazine and yet—”
He paused to look at me, parang may gustong sabihin, pero he changed his mind, at ipinagpatuloy na lang ang pagmamaneho. After 10 minutes siguro ng pakikinig sa tatlong sunod-sunod na death metal music sa kotse nya, hindi na rin ako nakapagpigil.
Me: “So, hindi ka talaga mahilig magsalita noh?”
Umiling lang sya, nang hindi tumitingin sakin. Napapansin kong palakas ng palakas yung music nya, and it’s more than I can take. Argh, I really hate loud music.
Me: “Actually, I hate your loud music. Sumasakit yung ulo ko just listening to it. It’s giving me a headache.”
Enzo: “Oh, okay.” pambabalewala nya sa sinabi ko.
Naningkit yung mga mata ko sa inis.
Enzo: “Alam mo, pwede ka namang mag-taxi if you really hate the music. Pero sa mga taxi, it’s even worse. Pinapatugtog nila yung mga local stations that only play the latest pop and OPM hits. Unless you’re the type of person who actually like that sort of music…” Lumingon sya sandali sa akin, siguro para tignan ang reaction ko. “Anyway, the point is, walang nagbabago ng music dito sa kotse ko.”
Me: “Which means wala namang ibang sumasakay sa kotse mo dahil walang nagrereklamo. Saka isa pa, it’s not much of a car, if you ask me. It’s kind of old.” Kung kanina, nagpipigil ako, ngayon, tuluyan ng lumabas ang pagka-mataray ko.
Enzo: “Well, if you hate it that much, you can walk. Or kung ayaw mo naman, magpasundo ka na lang sa boyfriend mo, tapos pahatid ka sa resto.
Me: “My God, do you hate me that much? Paglalakarin mo ko? Hello, ang init-init kaya, saka I’m wearing heels. At isa pa, I have no boyfriend. Well, let me rephrase that. I NEVER had a boyfriend.
Enzo: “What? You never had a boyfriend?” He seemed shocked and at the same time, interested, na somehow eh ikinagulat ko. Kaya rin pala nitong magpakita ng ibang expression bukod sa poker face nya.
Me: “Yeah. No boyfriend ever, not even MU….ever! Hay!”
Enzo: “You’re already what? 25? 26?”
Me: “Hoy, sobra ka naman. 22 pa lang ako, I’m turning 23 pa lang this year. Mukha na ba kong ganun katanda?” Then kinuha ko yung mirror ko sa bag, and looked at my reflection, “Ugh! Ang laki na pala ng eyebags ko. Gosh, no wonder, you thought that I’m older. Hindi man lang ako nakapagretouch ng make-up ko.”
Enzo: “Eto naman, nagkamali lang ako ng sabi ng age mo, and you overreacted. You look better with no make-up on. Mas maganda sa babae ang simple lang.” Wow, did I heard it right? Binigyan nya ba ko ng compliment ngayon ngayon lang?
Me: “Well, guys wanted girls to be pretty all the time, kaya kelangan ko magmake-up. Isa pa, pano ako mapapansin ng guys kung hindi ako magpapaganda?”
Enzo: “The guy is an idiot if he doesn’t notice you.” Then he changed the subject bago pa ko maka-react, “Anyway, alam ko may tawag dun pag hindi pa nagkaka-boyfriend eh… NB..uhh..basta NB something. Nakalimutan ko na eh.”
Me: “You mean NBSB, as in No Boyfriend Since Birth?”
Enzo: “Yeah yeah, that’s it! NBSB huh, it’s my first time to have encountered one in the office. Wow! May mga ganun pala talaga. Yung wala pang nagiging boyfriend, not even MU or a fling at that age. Hahaha. Sorry, I couldn’t suppress my laughter. Mula ngayon, ang itatawag ko na sayo, ang babaeng NBSB. Hahaha.”
Me: “Ang lakas mo mang-asar ah. Oh well, I’m glad that one of us is entertained.” Somehow, deep within me, I was secretly entertained with him. He is fun to be with naman pala pag walang topak. I couldn’t understand, but my heart is beating wildly right now. Hmmm, bakit kaya?
To be continued…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sorry kung hindi nakakalibog. Na-inspire lang ako gumawa ng love story. I hope magustuhan nyo kahit papano. Thanks for reading!