C2 Drunk

Madilim. Mausok. Maingay. Iyon ang bumungad sa akin pagkaspasok ko pa lang ng bar. The disco lights illuminated the poorly lit room. This bar is not like what Claire and I used to go, it’s a low-class bar. Mas gusto ko ang ganito na klase na bar dahil mas dinadayo ito ng mga ordinaryong tao. People knew me as Claire’s best friend and secretary. Kahit na hindi ako mayaman at sikat katulad niya pero nasanay na akong napapalibutan ng mga kilalang tao, and I personally knew some of them.

“Vodka, please,” I asked the bartender when I sat on the bar counter’s stool. A strong liquor is what I needed right now.

“Right away, gorgeous.” He winked and smiled seductively at me.

Napailing ako. Briggs and his flirty smile.

Inilibot ko ang paningin sa buong bar. The place was already crowded, it’s not even in the hot of the night yet but the people were getting wild every second. Itinukod ko ang suko sa bar counter, I was facing the crowd while I leaned my back at the edge of the counter.

The dance floor was already packed. Strangers were grinding their asses to other strangers, not caring about the sweat. Some were making out in the dark, hindi alintana na nasa isang pampublikong lugar sila. A typical scene in bars like this.

Nakakabingi ang tugtog ng musika, mas lalong naging wild ang mga tao. The smell of orgasm and smoke blended in the air.

Kampante ako na walang makakilala sa akin dito. Nakailang shot na rin ako ng alak at medyo umipekto na ang nainum ko. I don’t easily get drunk; I have a high alcohol tolerance. Siguro dahil ito sa maaga akong natutunong uminum at palaging nalalasing nuon.

I want to enjoy this night. Yesterday was a nightmare to forget. Gusto kong burahin iyon sa pamamagitan ng pag-inom ng alak. I know it sounded so lame and immature, but this has been my routine whenever something not right happened. I resort to alcohol, and I think it’s way better than drugs.

May tumabi na lalaki sa gilid ko. The first thing that made me notice him is the sexy scent coming from the man beside me. Medyo pamilyar ang amoy niya, mamahaling pabango na karaniwang ginagamit ng mga may kaya. I inhaled some more and let it settled in my lungs. Ang bango naman ng lalaking ito!

Hindi ko siya tinangnan. I remained my sight on my drink. Ayoko ko siyang tingnan. Men always took it as an opportunity whenever a woman glanced at them, they would think that she was interested.

I glanced at his hand instead that was rested in the counter. Malaki. Mabalahibo. Maskulado.

Napailing ako. Umandar ka naman, Kate!

Hindi siya nagsalita at itinaas lang ang kamay at sumenyas sa kay Briggs. Siguro suki na siya dito at alam na ng mga bartender dito kung ano ang madalas niyang iniinum.

I want to hear his voice. Tahimik lang siyang umiinum sa tabi ko. In some cases, men who sat beside me in the bar usually introduced themselves in the hopes of getting into my pants. Pero ang isang ito ay tahimik lang at hindi man lang tumingin sa gawi ko. Maybe he’s not here for the fun. Siguro nandito siya para tumakas at makalimot, kagaya ko.

Ipinilig ko ang ulo. Kung anu-ano na naman ang iniisip ko. I came here to forget, not to be nosy to someone else’ business.

Nilagok ko ang natitirang alak sa baso at nag-desisyon na pumunta sa dancefloor at magpapawis. I needed the rush and the heat the dancefloor could give.

Nakipagsiksikan ako sa mga tao doon. Women and men were bumping on my body, some even dare to squeeze my butt, but I just let it slide. Maingay at nagwawala na ang mga tao. They danced to the beat of the music, their hands held up in the air and their hips swayed.

Sumabay ako sa malakas na tugtog ng musika. I closed my eyes and let the alcohol take over my sanity. I let the go of all my inhibitions and just go with the flow.

Minutes later, I was screaming and dancing wildly in the middle on the dancefloor. Sa bawat galaw ng katawan ko, doon ko ibinuhos lahat ng emosyon na kinikimkim ko. Wala akong pakialam kung may mga nagtangka na hawakan ang katawan ko. I just let them touch me, it doesn’t matter to me. Hindi ako malinis na babae, so why bother?

Strong and muscular arms crawled from my stomach down to my hips. Maramdaman ko ang isang matigas na bagay na tumutusok sa likod ko. And I’m not innocent not to know what it was. Nakadikit ang katawan niya sa akin habang sinasabayan ang pag-sayaw ko.

“What are you doing here, Kate?” A masculine voice spoke behind me. Doon ko napagtanto na magkapareha ang amoy nila doon sa lalaki sa counter. The same sexy scent. And the worst part was his voice. I knew that voice!

Gulat akong napadilat at nilingon ang lalaking nagmamay-ari ng boses na kahit kailan ay hindi ko makalimutan. He had a very deep and masculine voice, one that’s so hard to forget.

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang makitang ang asawa ng best friend ko pala ang lalaking sumasayaw sa likod ko kanina. Antonius!

I scanned him from the head to his feet. He looked unusual, he’s not in his suit and ties like I used to see him wearing. Naka hapit na v-neck shirt lang siya at isang kupasing maong ang suot niya. He still wore his eyeglasses and it made him look more like a model than a CEO.

Dammit, Kate! You’re not supposed to give him nice compliments!

Anong ginagawa ng isang CEO ng isang kumpanya dito sa isang mumurahing bar?

“Antonius, what are you doing here?” My eyes turned into slits as I waited for his response.

“Dancing, I guess?” natatawa niyang tugon.

Agad na sumama ang timpla ng mukha ko sa sagot niya. He chuckled and his lips formed into a loop-sided smirk.

Hindi ko pinansin ang ngisi niya. Kumunot ang noo ko dahil hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala na makikita ko siya sa lugar na ito.

“Alam ba ni Claire na nandito ka? And what I mean was, what are you doing in a place like this?”

Pag-uulit ko sa tanong ko.

Nagkibit siya ng balikat at marahang sumayaw sa harapan ko.

“This place is for people who need alcohol and a little sweat just to get by a day without getting insane, and I guess I'm one of those, you already know what I mean,” he told me.

His eyes scanned my body, from my head to my almost spilled breast and down to my very skimpy skirt. Bumalik ang tingin niya sa dibdib ko at ngumisi siya. “Gorgeous,”

Umikot ang mga mata ko at tinulak siya sa gilid. “Tabi nga,” asik ko.

Iniwan ko siya sa dance floor at bumalik sa bar counter. Minsan talaga naiinis ako d’yan sa nakakalokong ngiti ng asawa ni Claire. Akala mo walang asawa kong makaasta. At ang mas nakakainis ay napakaguwapo niya kapag gano’n ang ngiti niya. Parang good boy na may kalokohan na gagawin.

Teka nga, alam na ba ng babaeng iyon na nandito ang asawa niya? Akmang tatawagan ko si Claire nang maalala ko na kasama pala nito si Sebastian. Hindi ko na itinuloy ang balak.

Omorder ulit ako ng alak, pakiramdam ko ay nawala bigla iyong epekto ng ininum ko kanina nang sumayaw ako sa dance floor at lalo na iyong nakita ko na sumasayaw sa likod ko ang asawa ng kaibigan ko.

“Sex on the beach, please,”

I rolled my eyes. Sinundan pa talaga ako dito ng isang ito.

“Hindi ko kasama si Claire, at hindi ko rin alam kung nasaan siya. You can leave me now,” pagtataboy ko. Hindi k pa rin nakalimutan na may kababalaghan itong ginagawa. He has an affair with an actress, and even though their marriage is only for business, he should at least respect it.

“Feisty,” he laughed as he drank his shot in one go. Muli niya akong binalingan, ngayon ay nakaharap na talaga siya sa akin, “why are you like that? Did I do something wrong to you? Kaibigan ka ng asawa ko kaya dapat mabait ka sa akin,”

Muli ay umikot ang mata ko. “I am a nice person, Mr. Altamirano, but I chose not to be nice to you, and I think you know the reason why,” makahulugan kong saad. He knew what I meant by that. It's doesn’t need to be elaborated clearly.

Hindi siya nakasagot sa sinabi ko. Buti nga sa kaniya. If he thinks Claire didn’t mind him having an affair, ibahin niya ako. I cared for Claire, she may not love Niu as a husband, but she would be the laughingstock of everything. People would blame her for Niu’s infidelity, and I hated him more because of that.

“Being trapped in a loveless marriage is one thing, but being in love with the woman you can’t have is the worst. I didn’t mind if I have to play a good husband for the rest of my life, but looking at her every time we bumped into each other, and she saw me in the arms of another woman, the pain is unimaginable.”

Nawala na ang pagiging pilyo niya. I looked at him through my peripheral vision and I saw him looking darkly at his glass.

Ano ito? Pabiktim masyado ang taong ito.

“Ikaw, anong kwento mo? You can’t be here just because you like this place.” he asked me. Binaling niya mukha sa direksyon ko. Napalunok ako sa tindi ng kaba. He asked about my story. “C’mon, Kate. Let that out, or else it’ll eat you alive,” patuloy niya. He was waiting for my answer.

Suddenly, I felt the urge to spill everything to him. The weight of his stare is just too much. May nakaharang na nga na salamin sa mata niya pero ang lakas pa rin ng epekto ng titig niya. He's like a soul reader.

I swallowed an invisible lump in my throat. Why do I feel like I telling him?

“You know what? It’s oka-

Kinuha ko ang tissue na nasa mesa at pinahid iyon sa balikat ko. The concealer that hides my hideous scars and bruise were erased.

Mula sa mukha ko ay bumaba ang tingin niya sa balikat ko. Mabilis na nag-iba ang timpla ng kaniyang mukha. His brows met and he looked serious.

He grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look at him.

“Who the f*ck did that, Kate?” mapanganib niyang tanong.

No! Don't tell him!

Umiling ako at hindi nagsalita. It's enough for him to know my story, and a part of me felt like a heavy boulder of rock was lifted. May dumaang ginhawa sa baga ko. It felt refreshing.

“Damn!” he cursed as he took a little closer look at my bruised skin. he inspected it and slightly touched it like he's afraid to hurt me.

Ngumiti ako ng mapait at napayuko.

Kinuha niya ang kamay ko at hinila ako patayo.

“Teka lang, Niu, saan tayo pupunta?” naguguluhan kong tanong.

Hindi siya kumibo at hinila lang ako patungo sa exit ng bar. I tried to let go of his grip but he’s holding my wrist tightly. Nagpatianod na lamang ako sa ginawa niya.

Nang makalabas kami ay pinasakay niya ako sa kotse niya.

“Teka, sandali nga! Ano ba! Saan mo ba ako dadalhin? Remember, we’re not that close para sumama na lang ako sayo ng basta-basta.” asik ko. Basta-basta na lang kasi nanghihila.

“C’mon, don’t be stubborn. Huwag kang mag-alala, hindi kita type kung iyan ang ikinabahala mo,”

“Bwesit ka talaga!”

Masama ko siyang tiningnan pero tumawa lang siya habang pinapaandar ang kotse niya. I sat there silently.

He drove out of the parking lot. It’s almost midnight and the streets were almost empty now. Nagningning ang mga streets lights sa gilid ng kalsada.

“We’re going somewhere peaceful and quiet, ang gulo na doon,”

“At bakit naman ako sasama sayo?” nakataas kilay kong tanong. Feeling close naman this guy!

“Because you don’t have any choice but to choose me?” patanong niyang sabi. May multo ng ngiti sa labi niya at wala na iyong seryoso niyang mukha.

Antonius Altamirano is a carefree man. Ginagawa nito kung ano ang sa tingin nito na makapagbigay ng saya sa kaniya.

Pinanatugtog niya ang car stereo na nakakabit sa kotse niya. Napataas ang kilay ko. Bakit hindi player? His car is an old model.

A CEO of a multi-million company but preferred to use old model cars.