KEEPING IT WARM.

Shadowed Feelings

"Are you sure you don't want to take a shower first?" Jeanne asked, holding her towel and preparing to shower.

Jel eyed her. "Yes, I'll just get some clothes from my car." They wanted to let her finish her shower first because they were planning to match her outfit, or at least match the color.

Once they saw Jeanne wearing a blue dress that complemented her curvaceous body, they hurried to their car and retrieved a shade of blue button-up shirt and gray pants from the trunk to match Jeanne's heels before they took their own showers.

"Aalis na po kami," paalam niya sa nanay nito nang mauna s'yang lumabas ng kwarto dahil nag-aasikaso pa ito para sa makeup. Jeanne had applied some makeup to them, but nothing too extravagant.

"Oh, pareho ata kayo ng suot," Joan commented after noticing their matching outfits. She must have seen Jeanne's outfit already. They were lucky Niamh wasn't here anymore; she would have had plenty to say about their matching outfits, which Jeanne was still unaware of.

Ngumiti lamang siya sabay tango. "I matched hers, Tita."

Joan smiled back. "Kumain kaya muna kayo bago umalis? Paglulutuan ko kayo." They were three hours early for their 9 AM classes, and the journey would take only 1 to 1.5 hours since they had their car. They had decided to leave earlier than usual because they had planned to take Jeanne somewhere before heading to the campus.

"'Wag na po siguro. Balak ko rin po kasi s'yang idaan somewhere para kumain," they admitted while scratching their head. Even though they'd love to have breakfast at Joan's, they really wanted to take Jeanne out somewhere.

"Ah, okay. Mag-iingat kayo." Bago pa siya makasagot ay tinawag na siya ng dalaga kaya nagpunta siya sa kwarto nito at nakita itong tinitingnan ang sarili sa salamin.

"Get here," Jeanne urged them to stand beside her in front of the mirror.

They didn't need to be told twice and immediately joined the woman, looking a bit confused and worried as Jeanne observed their matching outfits.

"Our outfits are matchy-matchy," Jeanne commented after a minute with an unreadable expression.

They looked at her face to see if she was smiling, but she wasn't, so they stammered, "Oh, y-yeah."

Once more, Jeanne signaled for them to retrieve her phone from the vanity without saying a word, and they did so. In return, Jeanne took their right hand and placed it around her waist before posing and opening her camera.

"Pose," bulong nito bago inilapit ang sarili sa kan'ya. And so they did, leaning down to give the top of the woman's head a kiss to hide their face in the photo.

"One more time," Jeanne said. This time, instead of kissing her head, they leaned to the side and kissed her on the cheek.

Jeanne finally exited the camera app and started looking at their two pictures. She was about to move away from the mirror, probably already satisfied with the pictures, but Jel didn't want to let her go; their grip on her waist tightened.

Iningat nito ang ulo at tiningnan siya nang nakataas ang isang kilay. "One more," they quietly muttered, envisioning an ideal pose. A smile slowly spread across the woman's face before nodding and opening her camera, facing the mirror once again.

But this time, instead of kissing Jeanne's head or her cheek, Jel's other hand gently lifted her chin, raised her face, and gave her a kiss on the lips. It was a simple kiss without their lips moving. They knew they had taken her by surprise because the woman didn't react at first, but they eventually heard the shutter sound from her phone.

They smiled, their lips still touching Jeanne's, knowing that the picture would turn out wonderfully and that the woman didn't object to their daring move.