I woke up from the sound of pots and pans clashing.

Someone just cursed when it did, nagulat din siguro siya.

Wait..

That's Winter..

I propped my arm and was greeted by the sunlight coming from the glass wall of the apartment.

I checked the time -- 9 am.

Bakit ang aga niyang nagising?

My bones cracked when I stretched out.

These past weeks have been tiring and yet, when I gave my body the proper rest it deserves, parang ayaw pa ata.

Ang sakit ng likod ko. I slept for more than 8 hours, ayaw ba ng katawan ko ng tulog?

After mom's birthday, bumyahe na kami agad ni Winter going here in Baguio. We borrowed Ate Irene's car para less hassle sa travel. Pinahiram naman niya pero may pabaon siyang --

'Panahon na para bumili ka ng sasakyan mo.'

Anong gagawin ko sa sasakyan?

I don't need the car right now kasi nasa tapat lang ng bahay ko yung cafe. Plus, ang mahal ng gas and maintenance. And I live in a city wherein wherever I go, there's heavy traffic.

Dagdag gastusin na, dagdag sasakyan pa sa Maynila. Hindi talaga practical for me.

The drive going here was okay.

Weekday so wala rin masyadong bumyahe.

Good thing pinilit ko si Winter to let me drive nung paakyat na kami sa Kennon Road. Kasi nung nakita na niya yung Lion's head, hindi na naalis ang mata niya sa paligid. Kaya rin naman ako nakipagpalit para makapag-sightseeing siya while we're on our way to our lodging. 

Panay ang sabi niya na marami ng nagbago but she was beaming like a kid. Na-miss niya talaga ang Baguio.

Tawang tawa ako nung nakita niya yung SM.

'Ay, matibay. Andyan pa rin siya.'

Partnered with her mataray look.

Naging diskusyon pa namin how we both think plano ng SM punuin ng malls ang Pilipinas.

Sure, it's good for the economy and it generates jobs but personally, I'd rather have parks and proper sidewalk.

Yung para sa tao lang.

Yung hindi madadaanan ng mga motor.

Kapagod kaya makipagpatintero sa mga yun.

Winter was moving around the kitchen pagsilip ko sa kanya sa baba. Natataranta pa yata siya kakahanap ng mga gamit.

We're allowed to cook here.

Initially, sa hotel sana kami magcheck-in but Winter wanted to stay someplace else. Pwede raw ba any lodging basta hindi hotel kasi hindi naman sila nagho-hotel ng family niya kapag nasa Baguio sila. They always rent a house tuwing mag-overnight sila.

Okay lang naman sa akin kasi di ako pihikan sa tutulugan.

Kinilig pa ako when she mentioned baka raw may airbnb naman kasi sa wakas, magagamit ko yung newly picked up hobby ko.

Magtingin ng units or bahay sa airbnb.

Wala lang, ang ganda kasi ng interior nila eh.

As soon as I got out of the bathroom, I heard Winter play a song.

 

 

"With no makeup on and your eyelash hanging

I would still love you"

 

 

I went down quietly so l could watch her sing and dance to the song, swaying her body to the beat. Her back was facing me habang nakatayo lang ako sa paanan ng stairs.

Thank God graduate na siya sa bathroom concert niya and she's comfortable enough to sing when I'm around.

 

 

"If you came home late and you kept me waiting

I would still trust you"

 

 

How to describe her voice? Malamig eh, kapangalan din niya. Funny.

But it gives you warmth like summer.

Di ko alam bakit niya tinatago lang sa bathroom when she could serenade thousands of people with a voice like hers and they would line up for her.

Is it weird that I want the whole world to hear her sing pero gusto ko i-gatekeep kasi baka humaba ang pila?

Naboang na 'ko.

 

"If the richer man was looking at you

Would you stay cold as a statue?"

 

"Yes."

Napatalon siya sa gulat at agad din humarap sa akin.

"Kakakape mo yan, babe." I mused.

May hinanap siya agad sa kitchen counter.

Sandok?

She smiled.

 

"Would my love still be good for you?"

 

Napailing ako.

Why is she so extra?

Ginamit niya yung sandok as her mic and danced her way towards me. And by dance I mean, the 90s sway sway ng katawan while snapping and swinging her hand along with it.

But this works, too.

I'll be her fan.

 

 

"Would you be there in the mornin'

Mornin', mornin', mornin'?

Would you stay here from the sunset to the sunrise?

When I open up both eyes

Be there in the mornin', mornin', mornin'"

 

 

Oh.

I like this song.

"Di ko na kakantahin next verse kasi di maganda so -" she offered her hand. "dance with me na lang?"

Yup, my extra.

Our smile grew wider when I took her hand and instead, twirled her before wrapping my arms around her shoulders. She s hers around my waist.

She swayed our bodies while she hums the song to my ears, her warm fluffy cheek close to mine.

I wish we can stay like this for a long time.

The two of us wearing comfy clothes, just dancing and not minding the world, the four walls keeping us away from baggage I never thought I'd have.

Do I regret getting mad and being unreasonable to her when she has always been by my side?

Yes, one hundred percent.

Gusto kong i-umpog yung sarili ko sa pader. How could I even think for a second she'd hurt me?

"Karina?" Ipit niyang tawag.

"Y-yeah?"

I loosen my hold on her, humigpit na pala ang pagkakayakap ko sa kanya.

She pulled her head back and held my face. "Are you okay?"

I rested my forehead to hers, closing my eyes and nodding to answer her worry.

"Hey.."

"Hmm?"

"Focus on us. Just us, okay?"

Napatingin ako sa kanya.

How can this girl say the right thing to calm me down? Like she knows what goes on in my head without even trying.

"We're good, alright?"

"Okay.."

I looked over her shoulders, the forgotten breakfast she was supposed to prepare for us.

There was a bowl and a tray of eggs on top of the kitchen counter, may trail din ng powder. It was quite a mess.

"Luto na tayo?" Aya ko.

"5 minutes, ma'am. Nilalambing ko pa po girlfriend ko."

I frowned. "5 minutes lambing time lang?"

"Kain muna bago lambing, ma'am."

I poked her side, she jolted.

Tumungo na ako sa kitchen.

We stopped over at a small grocery store last night to buy toilet necessities and some food.

We bought food for breakfast para hindi kami gutom aalis ng bahay. Light breakfast para di uminit ang ulo namin sa gutom habang naghahanap ng makakainan.

We also bought some chips kasi we planned na magmovie marathon sana kagabi kaso borlogs na kami pagkabalik.

Seryoso, 9pm pa lang tulog na kami.

"Winter," I called, I hovered my eyes to the mess. "Bakit ang dami ng batter mo?"

She followed suit standing beside me, her hand on her nape.

"Yeah.. about that.." ngumiwi siya.

Tumingin lang ako sa kanya, waiting for her answer.

"Yung tantsa ko sa pagluto good for 4 or more people.."

I don't know if I should cry or laugh or do both.. parang for 6 people yung batter na ginawa niya!

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate her efforts for me. I find it cute lang na parang it's wired to her system na isama sa bilang yung mga kaibigan namin kahit dalawa lang kami ngayon.

Isipin ko na lang ready na siya for family cooking no?

I asked kung kumpleto na ba yung batter niya or may need pang idagdag, wala naman na daw. Lulutuin na lang. 

"Ako na magluluto, okay?" I said pagkakuha ng butter sa fridge.

She frowned. "But.."

"I miss cooking breakfast for you. Keep me company?"

She agreed.

Kinuha niya ang phone na nakapatong sa countertop and leaned her back against it.

I was pouring the first batch sa pan when she suddenly laughed.

"Have you read their messages sa group chat?" She asked.

Ang daming messages ng mga tao when I checked my phone earlier. Ang groggy ko to read all of them kaya di ko muna binuksan. Meron galing sa group chat, kay Ate Irene, and kay Daddy. Tinanong lang kung kamusta ang byahe namin pa-Baguio.

Apparently, the gang bombarded us sa gc. Puros tanong ng anong ginawa namin sa first night, umikot na raw ba kami, saan kami nagdinner.

"Say hi!"

The camera was on me when I glanced at her.

Nag-buffer pa yung utak ko.

"Winter!" I covered my face immediately when I realized she was recording a video. "May muta pa ko!"

I stepped back para makaiwas pero no use kasi sinusundan lang niya yung movements ko.

"Kung meron, tinanggal ko na para sayo." Tinapat niya ulit sakin ang phone nang yumuko ako at tumayo ulit ng diretso. "Wag kang malikot, Karina!"

She turned her back at me and switched to front camera. "Ayan, para fair." She waved to it, lumingon siya sakin. "Sumama ka na dito, please. Mukha akong ewan." Natatawa niyang sabi.

I fixed my hair before throwing my arms around her shoulders.

Kumaway lang ako sa camera.

"Papa-cute lang tayo dito?" She asked.

"Ikaw 'tong nag-video eh."

"Hi, welcome to our vlog! A-aray!" She yelped in pain when I pinched her side.

I won't be surprised if one day she'd ask me to do a vlog. Lagi ko siyang nahuhuling nanonood ng kung anu-ano sa youtube -- travel vlog, food vlog, ukay vlog? Kahit reaction videos pinapatos niya!

Inikot niya ang katawan namin para makuhanan din yung stove sa likod.

We both gasped.

Yung pancakes!

Sunog na sila pag-flip ko!

"Witness pano sunugin ni Karina ang breakfast namin." I heard her say behind me.

Humarap ulit ako sa kanya, her back was still facing me. Pero kita ko ang mukha niya sa screen ng camera. She wore a gummy smile, amused sa pag-panic ko.

"Dahil diyan, sayo yung sunog."

Her shoulders deflated. Tinigil na rin niya ang pag-record bago humarap sakin, pouting.

Hirap naman kalaban nito kapag ngumuso na.

"Sige, one for you and one for you na lang," biro ko pa.

Bigla niyang tinuro yung pan na nasa likod ko, "Papantayin mo ba pagkaluto kasi umuusok na siya."

!

Tarantang bumalik ako sa stove.

Pantay na nga, sunog na rin pagsalin ko sa plato!

"Mamaya na yan, Winter!" I exclaimed, natatawa na lang din sa amin. "Walang matitira sa pagkain natin!"

Nag-add muna ako ng butter before pouring a new batch hoping hindi masusunog yung ngayon. Ang kulit kasi ng kasama ko!

"Gising na silang lahat." She muttered beside me, her eyes fixated on her phone.

"Kahit taga-baba?"

"Ahuh."

"That's new. Anong sabi?"

"And I quote, good morning, lovebirds. That's from Chaeryeong. Ang thoughtful niyo, sinama niyo pa talaga kami sa harutan niyo. That's from Yuna."

I smiled to myself.

They don't complain naman talaga whenever Winter and I tries to be sweet to each other kapag kasama namin sila. Well, hindi rin naman kasi kami ma-PDA sa harap nila. And I like how we are, especially Winter. Ang cold ng persona niya but she can be sweet.. sometimes. Sige, malambing siya in her own way na lang.

"At dahil gising na kayo.." Winter trailed off.

She was dumbfounded pagtingin ko sa kanya. "What happened?"

"They kicked us out from the group chat. They kicked you out tapos ako.."

Natawa ako. "Bakit daw?"

"Para daw di nila tayo maistorbo. Wait, nagmessage si Chaeryeong.. nakita mo ba yung speaker?" She read.

"Naiwan niya sayo yung speaker?"

"On purpose daw." Sagot niya.

Thank God di sunog yung ngayon pagsalin ko sa serving plate.

She was typing when I glimpsed at her habang nagsasalin ako ng bago sa pan.

"What the f -"

Her eyebrows knitted.

"Oh my god, babe. Listen to this."

 

 

Ah, what'cha doing?

Really?

You know I'm coming over right?

(Now, baby, tell me what you wanna do with me)

 

 

Chaeryeong??

Bakit pang-romansa??

I sported the same look as Winter when I turned to the speaker na nakapatong sa counter katabi ng bowl.

"Did she just.."

"Eto raw ka-partner ng speaker." She chimed in. "Bedroom playlist!"

 

 

It's seven o'clock on the dot

I'm in my drop top, cruisin' the streets, oh yeah

I gotta real pretty, pretty little thang that's waiting for me

 

"Nagchip-in daw silang lahat ng kanta. Mga bastos! Guess what they named the playlist."

"What?" I asked.

"Door hanger."

"In relation ba 'to sa nangyari nung isang gabi?"

"Mukha. Na-trauma ata yung dalawa."

 

 

I pull up

Anticipating good love

Don't keep me waiting

I got plans to put my hands in places

I never seen girl you know what I mean

 

 

I shook my head in disbelief.

This is kind of funny but such a weird way to show your support to your friend's love life. Sinong makakaisip magcurate ng bedroom playlist para sa kaibigan?

Pero curious lang..

Does it work?

I've never tried it before and parang di ko naman kailangan ng ganun just to be in the mood. Especially when I'm kissing Wint -

Okay, I gotta stop.

 

 

Let me take you to a place nice and quiet

There ain't no one there to interrupt

Ain't gotta rush

I just want to take it nice and slow

 

It's not helping na malamig ngayon and I'm listening to Nice and Slow while we're in the kitchen -- KITCHEN.

Mahiya naman ako sa pancakes!

Ang aga-aga para alalahanin how Winter kissed me the other night. How smooth her skin was when my hands roamed on her back. The way she went down to my neck..

ANO BA, KARINA.

I shake off the dirty thoughts.

Winter was too engrossed scrolling through the playlist nang sumulyap ako sa kanya.

"Juskooo. May Your Body is a Wonderland pa dito!"

She was laughing as she was checking the songs included in the playlist. May nabasa pa akong 'ual healing' nung sumulyap ako.

Our friends are something else, gotta give them that.

 

I wanna do something freaky to you baby

I don't think they heard me

I, I wanna do something freaky to you baby

So call out my name

 

"Does it help?" I asked.

"Help what?"

I flipped the last batch of pancakes. "You know.. elevate the mood." I emphasized para ma-gets niya ano pinaparating ko.

She lifted her gaze off of her phone from my peripheral. Not sure if she's surprised I asked or if I was serious sa tanong ko based on the reaction I got. Para siyang na-mind.

Okay, pagtripan ko lang.

"Feed my curious mind, Winter. Does it?"

She blinked. ".. no.."

Oh, she knows.

Should I continue pressing on?

I turned off the stove before facing her. "So, you tried it before?"

"Hinuhuli mo ba ko.."

Ang hirap magpigil ng tawa!

Ang dami na sigurong tumatakbo sa utak niya. Wait, no, scratch that. Nagmalfunction na siguro siya kakaisip ng isasagot sa akin.

I really don't mind she's been with someone else before me.

"Matanda na tayo, Winter. Ano na?" I crossed my arms to my chest.

".. yeah.. pero hindi naman ako makapag-focus sa kanta.." she shyly answered.

Namumula na siya.

This is too funny.

Wait, bakit siya namumula? Anong iniisip niya?? Ako ba 'to o yung experience???

Joke lang.

"Bakit ka kasi sa kanta magfo-focus?" I furrowed my eyebrows to add sa acting ko.

"I mean.. alam mo naman na limited ang multi-tasking skill ko. So.. di ko masabayan yung kanta.."

She looked so awkward now.

Why are you so cute, Winter?

"Kailangan sabay sa beat?" I asked sacastically, too engaged sa topic namin.

".. no.. ewan.. di ko alam. Bakit ba ito pinag-uusapan natin??"

Di ko na napigilan, natawa na ako.

I grabbed the plate full of pancakes before patting her cheek. "Let's eat."

Iniwan ko siyang nakatayo lang sa kitchen. Tinawanan ko lang siya nang sinamaan niya ako ng tingin.

Mental note, kalikutin yung playlist.

She played a different song, sana hindi galing sa Door Hanger. Anong klaseng pagkakaibigan ba meron kami?

Okay, hindi na romansa tune.

Thank god.

She sat across me pagkalagay niya ng plate and utensils. Nilagyan ko yung plate niya ng isang piraso before serving myself one. Kumuha siya ng mugs namin.

Wait lang..

We exchanged looks.

How can we forget?

Napabuntong hininga na lang kami.

Nakalimutan namin ang honey syrup and coffee.

We must be really tired last night, sabaw na sa lahat ng ganap nung weekend.

It's tempting to sleep all throughout our stay here, ang lambot pa nung kama. Pero ayoko sana, gusto ko din talaga ilibot si Winter.

Buti na lang she asked kung ano itinerary na