Through the Window

Chapter 6 - Can't Sleep

A couple days later, Bea was back and Jho joined her on their morning run. She didn't tell Bea, but she kept up her running while she was away. She decided she liked the way it made her feel. She felt more energized and she wanted to work on her endurance so she wouldn't have to keep slowing Bea down, no matter how much the other girl tells her it's okay.

"So kumusta ang beach?"

"Beautiful. Warm. Hindi naman ako nagtagal do'n, but I enjoyed it. It was nice to see Jamie again."

"I'm gonna have to meet this girl."

"Interestingly enough, she says the same about you."

Jho felt a pang of excitement. "So nakwento mo 'ko sa kanya?"

"Don't let it go to your head, Jho. Pero oo, I may have mentioned you."

"Anong sinabi mo sa kanya about sa'kin?"

"Sabi ko may makulit akong kapitbahay na nagpupumilit sumamang mag jog sa'kin kahit na it slows me down."

"Aray ha."

"I may have also told her that you're really pretty and kind of cool."

"Tapos nagrequest s'ya ng photo ko para makita itsura ko?"

"Yes. That's why I asked for the picture."

"Anong sabi n'ya?" Jho knew she was playing with fire. She was very obviously fishing, but she didn't care. Jamie was someone obviously important to Bea, so it was important that she made a good impression with her.

"Sabi n'ya okay lang naman."

"Okay lang? Dapat mas ginandahan ko yung sinend kong picture."

Bea grinned at her. "Okay, so she didn't say that. But I refuse to tell you her exact response. Something tells me you're just looking for compliments. I refuse to give you what you want."

Jho was feeling playful and frighteningly bold. "Nakakatawa, hindi mo naman ako tinanggihan sa request ko nung isang araw."

She couldn't believe she said it. They so rarely ever discussed what they did in their bedrooms. It was sort of an unspoken rule, but Jho was on a high from all this flirting, so she took a chance. And instead of waiting for a response, she took off running ahead of Bea, determined to beat her home.

The race was close and Jho could feel her legs start to give out, but she kept on going, refusing to slow down until she reached her driveway. She made it first by a split second and thoroughly enjoyed the stunned look on Bea's face. They stood there, hands on their knees, trying to catch their breath.

"Unreal." Bea was clearly in denial.

"No. Not unreal. That actually happened." Jho really liked gloating.

Bea shook her head. "You had a head start."

"YOU have years of training. Really, I expected more from you."

If it weren't for the smile she was trying to fight, Bea would have appeared to be fuming. Jho watched as the taller girl took a few steps closer to her. She was finally able to regulate her breathing while Jho was still panting pretty heavily.

"Jhoana."

"Yeah?"

She watched as Bea shuffled her feet and looked to the ground. It was downright adorable.

Bea cleared her throat. "I've really been enjoying our runs."

"Ako rin."

She cleared her throat again. "And I'd like to maybe see if you'd be available to hang out with me again in a non-exercise capacity."