Live work

~~~~~

It's been five days since Miss L's birthday night-out at League but I still couldn't forget about the guy whose kissing expertise most probably rivaled that of a male porn star.

Yes, he did give me one dance that night, like he promised. Ngunit nang masyado nang nagsisiksikan sa dance floor ay hinila na niya ako at dinala sa isang madilim at mas tahimik na sulok. Nasa loob pa rin kami ng club pero mas muted na ang music sa bandang iyon at walang masyadong taong nagdaraan. It was a perfect spot to do naughty things.

He'd obviously brought me to that perfect spot to do naughty things with him.

Drunk me had been very indulgent.

"I think that's enough dancing," he'd breathed huskily, pushing me onto a pillar and trapping me with his arms and body. I'd opened my mouth to complain (I still wanted to dance!) but right that moment, he'd leaned forward and fused our mouths together.

Napasinghap ako. Sinamantala niya iyon.

Very easily his tongue found mine and I just about lost my sanity when he positioned my head in the right angle . . . and sucked. My tongue, my lower lip, my upper lip, my earlobe, my jawline, down the length of my neck and exposed collarbones, he kissed and licked and sucked. My bones had turned to freaking jelly, and if only his knees weren't locking my legs in place I wouldn't have been able to stand upright.

Hindi iyon ang una kong halik pero unang beses na nag-enjoy akong makipaghalikan. At sa lalaki pang dito ko lang na-meet sa isang club.

I didn't mind, honestly. He can kiss me for as long as he liked, as long as he let me roam my hands freely on his arms and chest. He especially had a nice, well-defined chest. Lalo na nung hinubad niya ang kanyang jacket at ang natira nalang ay ang suot niyang manipis na puting v-neck shirt.

Wow, wow, wow. My hands were having a feast.

"Sino ba yung iniiwasan mo?" he murmured out of the blue, his lips travelling from my chin to that spot below my ear and then back. My eyes rolled back in my head in pleasure. "Stalker?" He placed one of his hands on my butt and squeezed.

Napaigtad ako ngunit hinayaan lang ang kamay niya roon. Bahala siya. Basta bahala rin ako kung saan ko gustong ilagay ang kamay ko. Ughh, what a lovely chest. I was obsessed with his chest. "P-parang ganoon na nga. I hate stalkers."

"Hmmm," was his only response before he was kissing me again.

Tatanungin ko sana siya kung paano niya nalamang may iniiwasan ako ngunit hindi na niya ako hinayaang makapagsalita pa. His mouth became more demanding. He kissed me deeply. Aggressively. Urgently. His tongue didn't show any mercy.

His hands slid down behind my thighs then he lifted me so now I was straddling his body and I could feel . . . holy shoot, he was huge. A strangled moan escaped my lips as he began rolling his hips against me. He groaned in my mouth. I returned his hot kisses. Masyado na kaming nagkakainitian sa piling ng isa't isa nang may maulinigan kaming boses ng dalawang lalaking papalapit nang papalapit sa aming private little spot.

"Ezra, san ka na, bro? We're leaving!"

"Stop hiding, Ez! We know you don't wanna see her but this is just immature, man! Face your fears! Nandito kami para sa'yo!"

"Ezra! Yoohoo! Pakita ka na, pare! Baka umalis na yung ex mong hilaw! Ezzzz!"

I was mostly just ignoring the voices (who was Ezra, anyway?) ngunit tila natauhan si Mr. Expert Kisser sa mga narinig. Agad siyang tumigil sa paghalik sa'kin at binitawan ako. I fell on my butt.

"Aray!" Napanganga ako sa sobrang gulat. Ngunit mabilis iyong napalitan ng pagkainis. Crap. That sobered me up a little bit. I raised my head to glare up at him. "Ano ba! Ba't mo'ko binitawan?"

"Shit. Fuck! Fuck!" sabi niya sabay sabunot ng sariling buhok. "What the fuck was I thinking!" He glared back at me as if I did something really wrong, and without another word, he left.

The hell. What the hell just happened?

Nakaupo lang ako sa sahig ng ilang minuto, nakatulala, sinusubukang intindihin kung ano ang nangyari. Did I do something wrong? Did I bite him too hard? Then a guy appeared all of a sudden, and for a moment I thought he came back for me. Hindi pala. It was a guy I didn't know, and when I scowled at him, he only smiled.

Bigla itong yumuko at may pinulot na bagay sa sahig. Iniabot nito iyon sa'kin.

"Jacket mo, o."

"Thanks," I said absently and took it, then he left and I was alone again.

Nagising nalang ako kinabukasan sa  condo ko na may nakamamatay na hangover at hindi pamilyar na jacket sa may paanan ng kama ko. And oh, right. Also a bunch of hickeys all over my chest and neck.

Damn that man for doing this to me.

Napangiwi na lang ako sa mga alaalang iyon.

It was Wednesday today and we were hard at work because of a sudden onslaught of clients. Masaya ako na pumasa ako--with flying colors--sa final diagnostic test kaya pangalawang araw ko na ngayon mag-live work. Ibig sabihin, tapos na ako sa mga modules, manuals, at exams. I finally get to do the real thing and have my own legit manuscripts to copyedit.

Magagamit na rin ang training ko all those weeks. And I will do my best to make Sir Cris and Miss L happy with my performance.

Nakaka-excite!

"Huy, Starbucks daw tayo."

Bahagya akong napatalon nang biglang sumulpot sa tabi ko si Jaina, isa sa mga senior editors pero kaedaran ko lang. She was grinning hugely at me and I couldn't help but grin back and nod.

"Sounds good," sabi ko saka sabay na kaming lumabas ng department at tumungo sa lockers area. All our stuff were in our assigned lockers since we were prohibited from bringing anything to our work stations. Company rules. I was amazed by that at first. Ngayon nasanay na ako. Nakakapag-phone lang ako tuwing break time. If that wouldn't make me a productive employee then I don't know what would.

Binuksan ko ang locker ko gamit ang aking assigned code tsaka hinablot ang bag para kunin ang Starbucks card ko. Ngunit napatigil ako nang mahagip ng aking paningin ang isang maroon na bagay sa loob.

The leather jacket I accidentally took home that night.

Pinukol ko ng masamang tingin ang nananahimik na bagay. Brings back bad memories. Bakit pa nga ba ako nag-abalang dalhin ito dito? It's not like I can return it to the owner if I wanted to. Hindi ko kilala ang taong iyon, at lalo nang hindi ko alam kung saan iyon hahagilapin. I didn't have his contact details. I didn't even know his name!

Kung hindi ko lang sana alam kung gaano kamahal ang jacket na ito. Hindi ko na ito isasauli.

Who leaves behind a limited edition Givenchy worth £1,930.00, for goodness' sake! Ganoon ba talaga kaatat ang lalaking iyon na takasan ako? Ano, natauhan siya? May girlfriend siya? May asawa? May mga anak?!

Leche niya.

Naiirita na naman ako, bweset! I was imagining his damn kisses again. The thought of those sinful lips and tongue left me tingling every time, especially at night when I could think of nothing else. Feeling sexually frustrated tuloy ako. Which was funny, since I've never had sex in my life before.

A sexually-frustrated virgin. I should be ashamed of myself.

I closed the locker loudly, making the elderly security guard by the door give me a funny look. Throwing him a peace sign as I passed, I went straight for the elevators to meet Jaina and the others. Mabuti at hindi nila ako iniwan.

"Hayy, overtime na naman tayo mamaya, mga bes," nakapangalumbaba na reklamo ni Amelia nang nakahanap kami ng bakanteng mesa. "You already know what it means, right? Especially for you, Rainy girl."

"More money," Freyah answered with a satisfied smirk. Jaina laughed then mockingly rubbed the fingers of her right hand together. Ako naman ay walang muwang na nagtaas lang ng mga kilay.

"Ha-ha." Pinaikot ni Amelia ang mga mata sa dalawa bago bumaling sa'kin. "It does mean more money. But it also means you," itinuro niya ako, "will be receiving new files tonight on top of all your current manuscripts. Since live work ka na ngayon, hindi ka na makakaligtas sa hagupit ng extra workload ni Madam Leandra." She leaned forward on the table and added in a lower voice, "And then you'll finally realize that she's not the cool and awesome boss you thought she was. Believe me. Magbabago ang pananaw mo sa buhay simula ngayong gabi."

Tinapik ni Jaina ang balikat niya. "Huy, grabe ka naman!" nanlalaki ang mga matang saway nito. "Don't discourage her! Baka mag-resign iyan bukas!"

"No way, Jaina!" I laughed for her benefit. "Ang laki ng sweldo ko tapos dream job ko 'to. It will take more than that to make me quit."

"Ah, oo nga pala. Dream job mo 'to." Nakahinga ito ng maluwag. "Mabuti na lang."

"OA mo, eh," ani Amelia.

"Nananakot ka, eh!"

"Ano ako, multo?" Amelia rolled her eyes. "I was simply giving Rainy a head's up about what's coming. Wag kang dramatic."

Tahimik lang akong nakikinig sa pag-aasaran ng dalawa at nakangiting umiinom ng mainit na kape. Pero ramdam ko ang titig ni Freyah mula sa tabi ko. I had a feeling she had something to say.

"So, Rain. I'm curious."

Hayun na nga.

I turned in my seat slightly towards her. "Hmm?"

"Di ba sabi mo single ka?"

It took me five seconds to respond to that. "Uh, yeah. I am. Bakit?"

Her voice was low so only I could hear. "Then who was that guy you were making out with in the dark?" She sipped her coffee, smirking. "Last Friday night."

Nasamid ako sa aking sariling kape.

Oh, my syet. Agad na nag-init ang aking magkabilang pisngi.

"Y-you saw?" Binabaan ko rin ang boses para hindi marinig ng dalawang babaeng busy pa rin sa pag-aasaran sa harap namin. I fought to keep the panic off my voice. "How much did you see?"

"Really? Want me to tell you everything from my perspective?"

Everything?! Gosh!

I quickly put my index finger on my lips to shush her. "Don't tell anyone, please! That was the most embarrassing night of my life!"

Freyah looked thoroughly confused. "Huh? Embarrassing? I saw the guy, R. He was really hot! Dapat proud ka pa nga sa sarili mo na na-score mo iyon! Hayy, if only it were me."

Tinapunan ko siya ng tissue. "Score ka dyan! He dropped me on my ass, Frey. He. Dropped. Me. Nakita mo naman siguro iyon! That was not hot at all."

"Nakita ko nga." She chortled low in her throat. "Your face was priceless! Pasalamat ka nga, di ko vinideohan."

"At ako pa talagang magpapasalamat sa'yo, noh?" Iniling ko nalang ang ulo. I suppose I should feel offended that Freyah had spied on me, or humiliated, at the very least. Pero dahil si Freyah ito, si Freyah na wala sa matinong pag-iisip most of the time at alam kong hindi ako tatraydurin, inirapan ko nalang siya.

"So jowa mo ba iyon?"

"Hindi. Wala akong jowa."

"Huh? Sino'ng walang jowa?" biglang sabat ni Amelia. Ang talas talaga ng pandinig nito basta jowa ang pinag-uusapan. "Bakit, Rainy? Gusto mo ng jowa? Marami akong kakilala. Want some?"

Amused na bumuntong-hininga si Freyah. Ako naman ay hindi nalang nagkomento. I didn't like talking about boys. They mostly get on my nerves. Ilang beses ko na iyang napatunayan.

Luckily, break time was almost over so it was time to go back to the office. Naging busy na kaming lahat at tahimik na muli ang paligid ko. Nakahinga ako ng maluwag.

Kinagabihan ay nagkatotoo nga ang sinabi ni Amelia. Not about the part na magbabago ang pananaw ko sa buhay. That was too early for that. But Miss L did send me an e-mail telling me to check my updated tasks in our software. May bago nga akong natanggap na mga manuscript on top of the other seven on my waiting list.

I sighed, then prepared to get back to work. Tonight, I was going to finish them all. Easy peasy.

Joke. Mga dalawa o tatlo lang. I'll just scan through the rest and then go home. Alas siyete na rin kasi. Mother dear won't be too happy if I overworked myself.

Bandang alas dyes ay natapos kong i-edit ang isang children's book. It was my last one for the night, and I had fun. Parang bumalik ako sa pagkabata. Also, I was confident na kaunti lang ang additional comments ni Rei this time, ang aking peer reviewer. I was finally getting the hang of it. Nakatapos ako ng apat na MS in three hours!

I deserve a pat in the back, y'all.

Humming, I clicked on the next file on the list. Napatigil ako nang makita ang genre. Oohh. Poetry. I've encountered poems during my trainee days. I would say editing them was easier compared to fiction novels, self-help books, and autobiographies, which can be just as lengthy as Rapunzel's hair, but even though poems were quite shorter, they were actually the most challenging to work on. Lalo na para sa isang baguhan na katulad ko.

Poems have their own grammatical style. Hindi mo kaagad masasabi kung aling line ang dapat i-edit, kung kailangan bang palitan ang isang salita, o kung kailangan bang itama ang spelling . . . and so on and so forth. You had to respect the writing technique and consider the language of the author. There's English, but then there's also American English and British English, and so many other kinds of englishes.

Who said being an editor was a simple job?

Curiously, I checked the name of the author. Ezra Kade. I raised an eyebrow. A male poet? Nice. I was curious to see what it's going to be all about.

Life? Tragedy? Satire? Haiku?

Romance?

Pero bukas na. Bumibigat na ang mga talukap ko. I will work on this one first thing in the morning.

Ezra Kade.

I have a feeling it was going to be an interesting read.

~~~~~