The Surprise

I took one deep breath and I boarded a cab to the meeting place.

"Here goes nothing...", I whispered.

The trip was rather uneventful. Traffic was very much tolerable and I arrived at the meeting place a few minutes early - exactly as planned. I wandered around the place trying to find a familiar face in the crowd. There was none. I window-shopped instead.

"Hey, malayo ka pa?"

"Dito na ko. San kita pupuntahan?", you asked.

"Cinema level near the carousel...", I replied.

"Suot mo?"

"Blue all over. Kaw paano kita makikilala?", you asked.

"Blue long sleeved shirt, black pants..."

Then I heard a familiar tune.

"All the single ladies... all the single ladies... now put your hands up!"

I almost raised my hands.

"Uh oh oh oh oh oh oh..."

"Oooh it's my song!", I giggled.

"Enjoying the music?", you texted.

I laughed. People probably thought I was crazy.

"Uh oh he's really close...", I whispered.

I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the worst.

"What if he's not my type?", I asked myself.

"How can we even get through dinner if he's effeminate?"

I looked around and there he was. He started walking towards me as if trying to figure out if I was indeed the guy he was about to meet. He smiled.

"It's him... thank God!", I whispered.

I smiled back and interestingly enough, I was really smiling. He's almost as tall as me and yes, he was indeed wearing blue. I tried to figure out the company logo stitched on the front pocket of his shirt.

"Sorry, no idea...", I thought.

With his puppy dog eyes, perfectly shaped nose and pink lips, I think he can make people swoon if he just believed that he is marketable. His smile drew me in.

"Hi...", I finally greeted him.

He smiled again.

"Damn..."

I don't really kiss but at that instant, I wanted to just kiss him on the lips.

"He's cute...", I thought.

"Babatukan kita... cute ka kaya!", I was generous with my compliments.

He laughed. I sensed the awkwardness in his actions.

"Relax... don't worry. No pressure.", I assured him.

Finally he started to open up. We walked to this small Japanese restaurant that I saw while wandering the mall earlier. I remember that we agreed to have Japanese the night before. The meal we had was fairly uncomplicated but our stories livened it all up. We spoke as if we've known each other for a long time. We agreed not to put our best feet forward. It was afterall a no-stress date. I found out more about him and I shared, as promised, my details. The dinner went on for more than a couple of hours and it ended with cigarettes puffed on the top floor overlooking the city skyline. We continued to discuss things at random - preferences, experience, poverty, and my being a "tibak na naliligo" back in school.

"There has been a breakdown in families... people need to feel more loved...", you commented.

"Don't you feel loved?", I jokingly replied.

You did not say a word but I still understood what you were trying to say. We decided to finally have coffee where more stories were shared.

"Parang ganito pala ang sharing in the city...", I thought as I remembered another blogger who enjoyed sharing.

In between laughs, I wondered if there might be something to this. I decided to lay my cards on the table.

"I might leave in a couple of months..."

Silence. You tried to hide your reaction but I saw it clearly.

"Babalik ka pa ba?"

I could not immediately respond.

"Maybe for vacation...", I finally replied.

"Oh ok..."

We continued to talk.

"It's really difficult to find someone you can connect with on this level...", you commented.

I nodded in agreement.

"When I told you earlier that I'd be leaving, I really felt sad...", I finally responded.

"I guess that's how things should be..." I continued.

The night ended a few minutes past eleven.

"So how do you intend to get home?", I asked.

"Is it okay if I spend the night with you?"