When Love Finds You

Chapter 15

"I can't believe I'm letting you talk me into this," Leona said, dipping her paint roller in the pan.

"Hey, I have not talked you into anything," Olga said as she painted carefully around the trim. "Binigyan kita ng suggestion, pwede ka namang humindi."

"I did," Leona said, as she covered the wall in a shade of seashell pink. It looked almost white, but beside the white dove painted wall, you could see the soft pink tones. "Gusto ko sana ng soft mint color, pero sabi mo it was too nineteen-fifties malt shop."

"Pwede naman mint colored yung boxes," she countered.

A few days after Leona told Olga about wanting to go for it and open a bakery, they called around and tried to find out what they needed to do to make everything possible.

Leona insisted that she wanted the shop to be on that street because it was the busiest section during the day and the old hardware store was the perfect spot for it. She had told the brunette she couldn't envision it any other place, so Olga made the call and purchased the building.

"Oh, what fun," Leona teased, like she was so excited as she slapped a coat of paint on the wall.

"Listen, I picked up the paint you told me to if you don't like it, why did you tell me the colors?" She looked up at her with a questioning eyebrow.

"Because of that," she pointed across the room at the brunette.

"Ano na naman nagawa ko?"

"Yung mukha mo," Leona turned towards her. "You make this face when you want something na hindi ko mahindi-an and I don't know why. It's not fair and naiinis ako," she huffed and turned back around to cover the wall.

"Sorry ha," the brunette stressed, playfully. "Na may mukha akong hindi mahindi-an ng kahit na sino man. Hindi ko naman kasalanan na maganda ako and may mukha akong kaaya-ayang tingnan."

"Wow, just wow!" She scoffed as she sat the paint roller down. "Hindi ka pa self-centered sa lagay na yan ha," she laughed and stepped back to look at the wall.

"No, I just know a real goddess when I see one."

"Ah, so ibig mong sabihin you love to stare in the mirror?"

"Not just the mirror," Olga muttered, looking over at the woman who was wiping the paint off of her face.

Several weeks. That's how long she had been fighting feelings for her best friend. Since the night at the theater, she had been trying to turn the feelings off inside of her, but they only keep getting stronger and stronger.

She didn't know how she was going to keep up this façade, but she knew she needed to get over these feelings for her quick.

Olga had found herself at the bar many times in the last several weeks staring at Leona behind the counter instead of the other women dancing around. That's when she finally admitted to herself she had it bad for a straight girl.

She promised herself she wouldn't press it. The brunette couldn't imagine not having Leona in her life at all, so for the sake of not scaring her off, she would stay best friends with her even if it killed her.

Stepping back from the wall, Olga looked to see if she needed to go around the trim a second time before starting another. "Not so bad, huh?" Leona said, stepping closer to her and laying her arm around the brunette's shoulder.

"Ah, no," Olga said as she inhaled the woman's scent. It was mixed in with a heavy trench of paint fumes, but she could still smell the beachy floral scent, with a hint of vanilla. She could never get away from that fragrance. Leona's aroma had taken over the whole apartment and it was quickly becoming the brunette's favorite thing.