It all happened one Monday night.
I was online, checking my mails and my other accounts, when I suddenly received a message from this guy.
He was direct and pushy with his questions.
I checked his profile and found out that he’s cute and single. I replied to his message and gave him my mobile number.
After a few minutes, my phone rang. It was him. He introduced himself as Angel.
We conversed, introduced each other thoroughly, sharing intimate stuff with each other. He told me that he lives in Tagaytay, and that he only goes to Manila once a month to visit his relatives.
At around four in the morning, in the middle of our flirting, he jokingly asked me if I’m willing to go to Tagaytay that morning to meet him and spend the day with him.
I didn’t answer.
***
On the morning of Tuesday, I received a messaged from Angel: “So, have you finally decided if you will go to Tagaytay and meet me?”.
Out of nowhere, I replied to his message immediately, “Yes, I’m already preparing.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to go to Tagaytay that morning, but part of me really wanted to see him. It felt like I needed to prove something to myself.
I called Anton, and asked for directions. He was astounded when I told him that I was going to Tagaytay just to meet a guy.
After two hours of preparing and packing my stuff, I went to the bus station.
I spent almost four hours in the bus; the traffic in Cavite was really bad.
When I finally arrived in Tagaytay, I went to Starbucks, our meeting place, and messaged Angel.
While I was waiting for him, it made me think: Are we unconsciously starting to feel bored with our usual routine of meeting and dating new guys, to the point that we will do something new like go outside the metro just to meet a new guy and hope that it will be for the best?
Minutes after with my half finished Peppermint Tea, he arrived.
He greeted me with a smile. He was very manly. He invited me in his car.
We conversed for a couple of minutes, He asked how my trip was, and how long I was planning to stay in Tagaytay. I didn’t answer his question and just smiled.
He lives in one of the subdivisions in Tagaytay. It’s a family house; his parents and siblings live in the United States.
We settled down for a couple of minutes, talked about our interests and teased each other with naughty smiles.
Around seven o’clock in the evening, Angel asked if I wanted to go out and have dinner; I said yes.
While we were in the restaurant, I slowly felt and remembered the feeling of being free (again) and going back to step one (again) when it comes to dating.
Angel and I stayed in the restaurant for two hours, discussing personal things and exchanging emotional secrets.
After we finished dinner, we rode his motorcycle and went to this small grocery store to buy some liquor and snacks.
It was an unforgettable experience – riding a motorcycle in the middle of the night with a complete stranger in an unfamiliar place. It was really exciting.
We stayed up until four o’clock in the morning, talking to each other.
And for a brief moment, it made me think: Am I really willing to do the whole Manila-Tagaytay type of dating and/or possible relationship with this guy?
I was completely aware that the moment we shared the whole day, was too short to decide on deeper and more serious things, but deep inside, coming from a traumatic experience months earlier, it made me question a lot things.
***
I stayed in his place until the next day. At exactly eight in the morning, I was awake.
I took a shower, and packed my things. Angel tried to convince me to stay in Tagaytay for one more day, but I turned down his offer.
And at the bus station, just before we parted ways, he hugged and gave me a kiss.
I saw a tear drop on his cheek.
We were supposed to meet again the following week, but I cancelled. I realized that what we had was awesome, but I guess we didn’t share the same wavelength.
Angel was a wake-up call; the flirting and the adventure we shared was a slap back to reality.
