JAY JAY POV
I spent the afternoon getting my room settled at Tita Serina's house. Everything was so... clean. So quiet.
I headed downstairs and found Tita Serina in the living room, her eyes fixed on the TV, but the moment I stepped into her line of sight, her face practically lit up with a thousand watts of excitement.
"Jay-Jay! Come here, sit," she said, patting the cushion next to her.
I sat down, and before I could even ask if she wanted some tea, she leaned in with that specific, high-society-matchmaker glint in her eyes.
"Okay, we have to talk about the wedding," Tita declared.
I felt my face heat up instantly. Bloody hell, Jay-Jay. You've been engaged for less than a month and the blueprints are already being drawn. I nodded, trying to maintain my London-bred composure. "What is it?"
"'What is it?' You're going to get married soon, that's what!" Tita laughed, reaching out to squeeze my hand.
"I know that... but when exactly were you thinking?" I asked. My heart did a nervous little stutter. Marriage was one thing, but the date made it real.
"Umm... I was thinking after you guys finish high school," Tita said, her expression turning a bit more serious. "I want a strong and independent daughter-in-law. Not that you aren't both of those things already! But you know... knowing my son..."
She paused, a mischievous, knowing grin spreading across her face.
"Knowing Keifer, the moment you get married to him, I would have a grandson in my hands in nine months," Tita said, laughing at her own prediction.
I felt my face go from a normal pink to a full-blown solar flare. My tongue suddenly felt five sizes too big for my mouth.
"T-Tita!" I stammered, clutching the edge of the sofa.
I could practically hear Keifer's voice in my head—that deep, gravelly register he used during our date when he mentioned the exact same thing. Like mother, like son. They both had this terrifyingly confident way of talking about our future like it was already written in stone.
"I'm serious, Jay!" Tita continued, waving a hand dismissively. "He's so possessive of you. He finally found the only thing in the world he doesn't want to share."
She looked at me, her eyes softening. "But don't worry, sweetheart. I'll make sure the wedding is perfect. You just focus on graduating... and I'll focus on making sure you're the most beautiful bride the Philippines has ever seen."
I smiled
I leaned back against the sofa, twisting the ring on my finger.
"You know, you're graduating in what... five months?" Tita asked, her eyes sparkling as she did the mental math.
"Yeah," I said, a small breath escaping me. Five months. It sounded like an eternity and a split second all at once.
"Okay, look at the timeline!" Tita said, leaning forward and using her hands to map it out in the air. "You'll turn eighteen in May. Then you'll graduate in, what, June? Perfect. That means we will have the wedding in July!"
My heart did a violent, caffeinated skip. July.
"And the rest of the summer break?" Tita continued, giving me a playful, mischievous nudge with her shoulder. "You two will have the whole summer for your honeymoon."
My face didn't just heat up; it went into full-blown nuclear meltdown. I could feel the steam practically coming out of my ears
"You know what, Tita? You're going mad!" I blurted out, clutching a throw pillow to my chest like a shield.
Tita Serina just laughed, the sound bright and unapologetic. "Mad? No, sweetheart, after thirty days in London without you, Keifer is going to be even more eager to follow this schedule than I am."
I groaned, burying my burning face in the pillow. "Gosh, Tita! Can we at least get through the midterms before we start booking hotels in paradise?"
"Hush now," she teased, pulling the pillow away so she could see my embarrassed expression. "You're blushing because you know I'm right. You're already picturing it, aren't you"
I rolled my eyes, though my heart was traitorously thumping a rhythm that said she was 100% correct. "I'm picturing a nap, Tita. A long, dreamless nap where nobody mentions weddings or grandsons."
"Dream all you want, honey," Tita said, standing up and smoothing out her dress. "But I'm starting the guest list tonight. And don't worry—I'll make sure Section E is seated far, far away from the cake."
I watched her walk toward the kitchen, leaning my head back against the sofa.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my hand. It was Sarah.
"What is it now?" I asked, answering with a sigh. With Sarah, it was either a fashion emergency or a crisis of the heart.
"Jay... quick question. Is it bad to have sex with your best friend?" Sarah's voice prompted a sharp intake of breath on my end.
"Ohh," I said, standing up and heading straight for my bedroom for some privacy. "I am so not answering that over the phone. Get your butt over to Tita Serina's house. Now."
"Okay, I'm coming!"
Twenty minutes later, Sarah was in my room, looking like she'd just survived a tornado. I already had the popcorn ready on the bed—because if we were going to discuss life-altering scandals, we were going to do it with snacks.
I didn't waste time. I looked her dead in the eye. "Did you use a condom?"
Sarah looked at the floor and slowly shook her head. No.
I nodded, feeling like the responsible big sister for once. I reached into my bag and pulled out the emergency stash. "Here. Birth control pills," I said, handing them to her. "Take them. Now."
She didn't argue. She took the pills and swallowed them with a gulp of water I'd left on the nightstand. After a beat of silence, she looked at me, her curiosity finally outweighing her own panic.
"So... Keifer and you?" Sarah asked, her voice dropping. "Did you guys... do it?"
I felt a faint blush creep up my neck, but after everything we'd been through, there was no point in lying to Sarah.
"Three times," I said, as casually as if I were telling her I'd had three pieces of toast for breakfast.
Sarah's eyes practically popped out of her head. She stared at me like I'd just admitted to being a secret agent.
"What?" I asked, defensively grabbing a handful of popcorn. "Is there a problem?"
"Nothing!" Sarah squeaked, waving her hands. "It's just... three times? Jay-Jay, you went from 'I hate him' to 'let's populate the earth' pretty fast!"
"Shut up!" I hissed, hurling a popcorn kernel at her. "It wasn't like that. Things happened. And besides," I added, twisting the engagement ring on my finger, "we're engaged. And it's Keifer. Once that guy starts, he doesn't exactly have a stop button."
"Clearly," Sarah muttered, finally reaching for the popcorn.
We sat in silence for a long moment, the only sound being the crunching of kernels and the distant hum of Tita Serina's TV downstairs. My brain was working overtime, trying to catalogue every single interaction Sarah had had with the boys over the last few weeks.
"So about the best friend thing," I started, leaning back against my headboard.
"So... is it bad? To have sex?" she asked, looking at me with those wide, seeking eyes.
I laid back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. "It's not bad to have sex, Sarah. It's a part of life. Especially when you're... you know, in love. It's just about the consequences and being ready." I paused, a sudden, horrifying thought striking me like a physical blow. Jare. They've been friends since we were kids.
"Wait... is it with Jare? Did you have sex with my twin brother?!" I asked, my voice hitting a high-pitched note of pure panic.
"Ewww! No! Jay, gross!" Sarah gagged, looking genuinely revolted. "Mia would literally skin me alive and then feed me to sharks. I value my life, thank you very much."
I let out a massive breath of relief, my heart rate finally slowing down. "Okay, good. Thank God. My twin-telepathy isn't that broken then."
I sat up slightly, propping myself on my elbows. "So who is it? If it's not Jare, and you said it's a best friend... who?"
Sarah hesitated, her face turning a shade of red that actually rivaled the strawberry glaze on the donuts Keifer had bought me. She looked at her lap, whispering so softly I almost missed it.
"Dave," she said.
I sat up so fast I think I actually gave myself whiplash. The popcorn bowl on my lap flew into the air, scattering white kernels all over my bedspread like a salty explosion.
"DAVE?!" I yelled again, the sound echoing off the walls of the guest room.
My brain didn't just hit a critical failure; it was currently experiencing a full-system meltdown. I stared at Sarah like she had just told me she'd joined a cult.
"Dave? Our best friend since we were kids? The one I swore you said you hated?! The one you spend half your life screaming at?!" I stood up, pacing the small space of the rug. "Sarah, you guys have a higher decibel count in your arguments than a rock concert!"
"It wasn't like that!" Sarah squeaked, grabbing a pillow and burying her face in it as if that would shield her from my judgment. "He was talking to some girl last night, okay? And I don't know—I just got mad. Like, see-red kind of mad. So I snapped at him, and then he got all worked up because I was talking to Kiko from Section A earlier that day."
I stopped pacing, my jaw dropping. "Kiko? The one with the dimples?"
"Yes! And Dave starts yelling that I'm being 'distracted,' and I'm yelling that he's a hypocrite, and then suddenly the room felt really small. He just... he kissed me, Jay. To shut me up, I think. But I didn't stop him! I kissed him back! And then... well..." She gestured wildly to the empty air. "The next thing I know, I'm on the bed naked with him!"
I collapsed back onto the mattress, my head spinning.
"So you went from a shouting match about Section A to a birthday suit marathon?" I asked, rubbing my temples. "Gosh, Sarah. You really have no middle ground, do you?"
"Don't judge me!" she groaned, peeking out from behind the pillow. "The 'kilig' was real, Jay! He was so... intense. Not 'Dave-the-Study-Buddy' at all. He was more like 'Dave-the-I'm-Going-To-Own-You.'"
I winced, a flash of Keifer's face in the music room crossing my mind. I know that feeling all too well.
"I'm not judging," I sighed, reaching over to pat her arm. "In this crazy world we're all just one bad argument away from accidentally falling in love. But Dave? Seriously... Jare is going to have a heart attack when he finds out his two best friends are... you know."
"He can't find out!" Sarah grabbed my hand, her eyes wide with terror. "Not yet! My brain is still trying to process the fact that Dave's back doesn't look like the back of a 'bro' anymore!"
"I'll keep your secret," I promised, popping a piece of popcorn into my mouth. "But wow"
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