“THANK you.”
“You’re always welcome, Sahara. You know that,” mahina niyang sabi rito.
Nakatayo lamang si Ace sa harap ni Sahara, na nakasandal na sa pinto ng townhouse. Hawak ng isa niyang kamay ang baywang nito para alalayan ito sa pagtayo.
“Thank you uli.”
“You’re welcome uli,” he said, smiling.
Ace could smell her minty breath, as well as her sweet perfume. Nakatingala ito sa kanya upang matingnan siya nito nang diretso sa mata. Ang ilaw lamang mula sa poste sa labas ang pinanggagalingan ng liwanag nang mga oras na iyon kaya kailangan niyang ilapit ang sarili sa dalaga para makita ito nang maigi.
“Good night, Sahara.”
“Good night,” ulit nito.
Mas malakas ang kabog ng kanyang puso kaysa sa normal nitong pagpintig at hindi niya maintindihan iyon kung bakit. Dahil ba sa kalasingan? Sa pagod? Sa antok? O talagang dahil iyon sa mga titig ni Sahara?
“Sige na, papasok na ‘ko sa loob. Umuwi ka na.” Itinaas nito ang kanang kamay para itulak ang kanyang dibdib pero nahuli niya iyon.
“Hindi mo ba ako papapasukin?”
“Hindi na,” mahina nitong sabi habang nakatingin sa kamay nitong nakakulong na sa malaki niyang palad.
“Even for just a cup of coffee?” Hawak pa rin niya ang mainit nitong kamay na nakalapat sa kanyang dibdib.
Umiling ito.
“I’ll behave. I won’t bite, I promise.”
Kung bakit ba naman tila iba ang naging dating niyon sa pandinig ni Sahara. She licked her lips and bit them unsuspectingly, na lalo lang nagpainit sa kanyang pakiramdam.
“Oh no, don’t do that,” bulong niya. “I might lose myself and forget the promise that I just made.”
Bago pa man ito makapag-react ay hindi na niya napigilan ang sarili na halikan ang naghihintay na mga labi nito. Napapikit si Sahara at napahigpit ang kapit sa collar ng suot niyang long sleeves. Malambot ang mga labi ng dalaga, mainit. At ang tugon nito sa kanyang mga halik, mapangahas.
They were both intoxicated and it was probably the reason why they didn’t care about anything but to kiss – intensely. But other than that, Ace knew that he’s been anticipating this kiss for the longest time. That at the back of his mind, he’s been fantasizing about how her lips would taste and how it would feel the moment her lips touched his.
And how did it feel? Ah, just like heaven.
It was evident that Ace had no plans to make this one a sweet, short kiss. Though one of his hands remained on her waist and the other was innocently caressing the length of her back, what his lips were doing was a completely different story. Their kiss was open-mouthed, that both of them needed to break the kiss just to catch their breaths.
“Oh…Sahara,” he whispered against her ears. “That was unbelievable.” Unbelievable was probably just one of the many words to describe what had just happened. Now, after tasting Sahara’s lips and feeling her body, he knew at that point that he won’t be able to get enough of her. He has to have her – all of her.
She smiled. “Unbelievable but so wrong. I’m sorry, this shouldn’t have happened.”
“Sahara, please, no apologies. We both wanted it to happen, right? Tell me…that we wanted that kiss to happen.” Hinawakan ni Ace ang magkabila nitong pisngi at tiningnan niya itong mabuti.
“Pero-”
Pero sa halip na hayaan itong magsalita pa ay inangkin na naman niy ang mapupulang labi nito. Kasing-lalim, kasing-init ng halik na pinagsaluhan nila kanina. Wala na silang pakialam kung mayroon mang makakita sa kanila, o may makarinig sa impit nilang mga ungol. It just felt so right. His warm hands on Sahara’s back and waist, his hot lips all over her mouth. It was too much and it felt oh so right.
“Sahara…I’ve been wanting to kiss you this way the very first time I saw you. This is like living a dream.”
And he wasn’t exaggerating. Simula nang makilala niya si Sahara ay hindi na ito nawala sa isip niya. He could get any girl he wanted, anytime but all he wanted was her. Ano ba ang mayroon si Sahara at bakit ganoon ang epekto nito sa kanya? Marami na siyang nahalikang babae pero kakaiba ang sarap na dulot ng mga labi ni Sahara, nakaliliyo ang bawat pagkapit nito sa kanya, maging ang pag-ungol nito.
Wala siyang anupamang narinig mula kay Sahara, bagkus ay ikinawit nito ang dalawang braso sa leeg niya, hinila siya palapit at saka sinimulan siya nitong hinalikan.
“I want you, Sahara…please tell me you want me too.” It was hard to break away from the kiss but he had to. Kailangan niyang makita ang mga mata ni Sahara at malaman mula rito na pareho sila ng nararamdaman. Pero umiling lang ito.
“Hindi p’wede. Alam mong hindi p’wede,” mahina nitong sagot. “May girlfriend ka at kaibigan ko siya. Mahal na mahal ka niya.“
“But I don’t love her, Sahara and she should know that by now.”
“It doesn’t matter. Ayokong maging dahilan ng paghihiwalay ninyo.”
Alam ni Ace na hindi lang iyon ang dahilan. Alam niyang may nobyo pa rin ito at daig pa niya ang tinamaan ng kidlat sa katotohanang iyon. After numerous heartbreaks, he promised himself not to fall too hard. He’s not into love anymore and for many years, women are just for fun for him…until she met Sahara. At ngayong nalaman niyang itong mahal, lalo lang niyang napatunayan na hindi lang simpleng pagkagusto ang nararamdaman niya para sa dalaga. He’s falling for her, for real.
And he’s not going to give up just like that.
“Do you like me, at least?”
“Hindi pa ba obvious?” natatawa nitong sagot.
“Well, I guess that’s good enough for me…for now.” He kissed her again. This time, sweeter, and more gentle. Hinapit niya ang baywang ni Sahara para magkadikit ang kanilang mga katawan. Napabuntung-hininga siya at pagkatapos ay napalunok. “Just so you know, I’m willing to be your kept lover. Sabihin mo lang, papayag ako sa kahit na ano’ng set-up ang gusto mo. We could meet once a week…o kahit kung kailan mo lang ako gustong makita…”
“No, Ace…don’t do this. You deserve more than that.” Ngumiti si Sahara at hinalikan siya nang marahan sa pisngi.
“No. I want you, Sahara. Only you. Now.”
Kita niya ang panghihinayang sa mga mata ni Sahara at kahit paano ay nagpalakas iyon sa kanyang loob. Niyakap niya ito at muling hinalikan sa labi. Kahit siguro buong gabing magkahinang ang kanilang mga labi ay hindi siya magsasawa rito. Everything about her makes his everything weak. Her tempting scent, her soft hair against his hand, her luscious lips, the way she moves, the seductive sound she makes.
God, and he was just kissing her. Halik pa lang ang nangyayari sa pagitan nila ni Sahara pero halos mabaliw na siya. Paano pa kaya kung…
“Let me in, please…” sabi niya sa pagitan ng mga halik. He’s expecting her to shake her head, say no and ask him to go now but she kept on kissing him. It made him anticipate more on what’s to come…
But then, she grasped his hair before letting go. “Did I do something to lead you on?”
“What? No, Sahara, never. Bakit mo naman naisip ‘yon?”
“Baka kasi…binigyan kita ng motibo para mapunta tayo sa ganito.”
“No, no. I liked you ever since. Naalala mo ba ‘nung una tayong magkita? In-invite agad kita na mag-coffee, because I’m already attracted to you then. I even invited you to go to Boracay, for Christ’s sake.”
Napangiti si Sahara dahil doon.
“You never lead me on, okay? At bago dumating si Karen, magkakilala na tayo, hindi ba? You didn’t do anything wrong, you shouldn’t feel guilty or bad about yourself. We like each other and I think there’s nothing wrong with that either.”
“But I want to do this right.”
“Don’t worry, I can wait for the right time. That is…if you are willing to give me a chance. ”
“I cannot promise you anything…it’s just that-“
He smiled and caressed her cheeks. “I’m gonna wait anyway. Whether you like it or not.”