Lemon Whiskey 054 - Olivia's POV
The house is dark when I let myself in. One of the perks, I guess, of being a longtime friend, was having your own spare key. Reece's mom gave it to me eons ago and I always called or texted beforehand every time I was going to use it. Tita said it was fine if I didn't, but y'know, common courtesy.
The light coming from the common bathroom to the left side of the house guided me as I made my way upstairs to Reece's room.
I took a couple of deep breaths to steady the beating in my chest, and ran my fingers through my hair. Gently, I pushed open the door.
Reece's room hasn't changed much since the first time I've seen it. When we were younger, the white walls were covered with magazine clippings of outfit ideas, images of lip glosses and eyeshadow palettes, postcards of farm animals, and on one side of it, she had drawn a variety of flowers using crayons (then later, traced and solidified with paint).
Now, the clippings had been replaced with newer ones, there were even more postcards depicting farm life, the large wall painting was peeling at the sides, and a cork board was added on the wall on the opposite side of the bed.
On school days, it was littered with post-it notes, sometimes reviewers written on colored paper or index cards, but always, it had pictures of Reece, Reece with her mom and dad, and Reece and I. There was one of us in our uniforms (different ones because we went to different schools), Reece and I mounted on Eula, her favorite out of all the horses we had, and Reece and I at the beach when we managed to arrange an outing that one summer at the start of high school. My parents had insisted on coming along, but they stayed inside the hotel room during our entire stay, working as usual. I was grateful they didn't try to get along with Reece's parents.
I grin at the memory. The beach picture was of us by the seashore with Reece splashing water in my direction, and me with a big, genuine smile on my face.
It was one of the few times I smiled that whole year. Having graduated valedictorian in grade school, my mom was even more adamant I keep up my ranking and "hit the ground running" my first year in high school. My tutors were all replaced with people with various business degrees, and on top of that, I had a massive list of extracurricular activities that left no time for leisure, or even just thinking for myself.
Reece had been the only person, aside from Manang Letty, to check up on me. Me, and not my grades. Me, and not how well I was doing in swimming, taekwondo, or whatever fucking sport I was supposed to be busy with.
I let out a bitter smile. You'd think that was the worst of it, but no. Now that I'm only two years away from going to college, the pressure is even heavier.
Shaking my head, I focused on Reece who was now asleep and lightly snoring. I walk closer to her. She was lying on her side and using her left arm as a pillow. A DVD player had a show on but I didn't recognize it, and at the foot of the bed, there was an empty shot glass and a half-finished bottle of soju.
The sight of it makes me frown. Reece didn't really drink. Why now?
To lessen the clutter, I turned the DVD player off and sat it down on top of her dresser. I did the same with the bottle of soju and the shot glass.
The bed dips when I sit down and run my fingers through the hair covering her eyes. Her eyelashes are long and thin and they frame her eyes perfectly. I turned my gaze towards her cheeks–reddish pink–probably from the alcohol, then to her lips that were glistening with her usual lip balm. The scent of it reminded me of the time she kissed my cheek and I couldn't do anything but stare at her.
I should leave soon. I leaned down and quickly pressed a kiss on her forehead. I said I would give her a good night kiss and I'm making do with the promise.
But before I can pull away, Reece whimpers and opens her eyes.
"Reece," I whisper to her. "I'm here. Sorry for waking you up."
She moans in response and her eyes fall open and close. Still half-asleep, she manages to say my name. "Oli..."
"What is it?"
She answers but it's muffled by her arm. I lean closer to her. "Ano yun?"
"Kiss..."
I swallow thickly. She wants another kiss.
With her eyes still closed, she shifts so that she's lying on her back. The right strap of her top falls down. I blink rapidly, trying not to pay attention to it.
I swallow again. For the second time, I lean down and tilt her chin upwards. I give her a kiss on the side of her lips.
She whimpers again. I recoil at the sound.
"Oli..." She whispers and I feel her fingers holding on to the hem of my blazer. Her eyes were closed but her mouth was parted and there was an arch to her back. My gaze zeroes back to the strap that had fallen off her shoulder.
My heart was beating rapidly. Does she mean...does she want...does she mean she wants me to...
But I can't. I can't do that.
"Reece," I whisper back to her. "You should sleep."
She moans in protest, arching her back even more. I swallow when the other strap falls down this time. I stood up quickly to find a blanket. Once I had it, I spread it over her body so that only her head was popping out.
She was frowning now. I heave a sigh and cup her face with my right hand. I give her kisses on both of her cheeks and on her forehead.
Just when I think she'd fallen asleep, she shifts around once more and mutters in a hoarse voice, "Bakit gusto mo 'kong i-kiss..." The question freezes my thinking. I inspect her face for signs that she'd woken up, but her eyes don't flutter open and she doesn't move.
I let several moments pass. I noticed that her right hand was dangling off the bed so I took it in mine and held onto it.
I breathe once, deeply, before answering as quietly as I could muster. "Because I like you."
I wait for her to answer but she doesn't. Soon, the light snoring began again. Is she asleep now?
I smile to myself. Turning over her palm, I bring it to my mouth. I pressed several kisses on it, like how I imagined I would do to her lips.
I don't remember how long I stayed after that, but eventually I was able to stand up and leave the room after making sure she was properly tucked in bed and the temperature in her room was comfortable.
On the way home, while taking a bath, and moments before falling asleep, I run the scenario in my head. I imagine what it feels like to kiss her.
It will have to do.
