How Boylets Come To Be (part 2)

She had also developed an online friendship with this ‘intellectual’ chatter, Andre. They promised to meet up to play billiards. This happened on the second week, Monday night. But because he wasn’t very good at billiards, his cousin (‘pro yang pinsan ko na yan’) tagged along. She didn’t know the cousin, so she brought a girlfriend along. So there they were, her girlfriend and Andre were talking while watching them play. The cousin turned out to be good, but easily distracted. All she had to do was step up the teasing, laughter, and light-headedness she felt. Was it the beer? She didn’t know and didn’t really care. She was having fun. And winning. It was 3-2. And the cousin, named Nino, looked smitten with her.

The decision to have dinner wasn’t hard to come to. Once at Dencio’s, they met Andre’s other friend, James. James was a natural flirt, and seemed to want to practice on her. But she was having too much fun teasing Nino. Besides, of the two, Nino was the more genuine one. He had an air of gallantry that made it hard to stop teasing him.

But who was to drop by during dinner but King. She remembered last week. She had fun with King, but she was having more fun with Nino. Before the end of dinner, King found out that they had played billiards and wanted to play with them. He said ‘para naman ma-impress kita’. She laughed. She had had a full day and was tired. It was almost 10 pm, but she said yes, anyway. Nino said yes, too, and James, also said he would try his hand at it. So off they went to play.
It turned out that King, James, and Nino were ALL trying to impress her. It looked hilarious. Nino was doing it low-key. James was all-out flirting while her eyes were on him (he wasn’t any good at billiards), and King was being too competitive.

By the end of the night, they dropped her off at home. King won, but Nino was on her mind.

Right as she was about to sleep, they texted her. All four of them. Separately. Geez. She replied to Andre, thanking him for the night. She told King and James that it was nice to see them. And she was about to reply to Nino, when her phone rang. It was….Nino.

They ended up talking for an hour and set a date for Thursday (Tuesday was ‘doing stuff for her new job’ day, and Wednesday was ‘Girlfriends’ Night’).

Tuesday night, she had a blind date. Jun was nice, but very boring.

Thursday came around and they were together from lunch at the mall, until 10 pm, when he made sure she got home safe and sound. They talked about all sorts of things, while he accompanied her to do her errands. They talked about life in general, about how funny the Monday face-off was, stuff about him, her, and just laughed a lot. Time flew. King, Andre, and James sent her text messages, along with the other ‘new boys’ in her life, but she didn’t answer any one of them. She was having too much fun.

Friday was her last day of Freedom, and she invited him to come out with her and her girlfriends. They danced the night away, and Nino showed her his moves. He also told her he thought he was falling for her.

She laughed and danced.

Nino was a good guy and a good catch. But she just wasn’t ready.
He made her forget HIM. But she was just starting to enjoy The Single Life.
He was interesting for a week, but right now, she wanted a lifetime of pleasure.

After all, ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,’ right?

After that, she disappeared from his life. She changed her cellphone number, and moved out of her house to her own apartment. Her break was over. Real life was once again in front of her.

She found out, months later, that he fell in love with her. And that he got depressed for a month after that week. She was his 'new love that never was'. He was her 'boylet once upon a time'.

There was nothing she could do. She was playing. He was caught in the crossfire.