Chapter Text
Yvonne and I were first partnered in Visual Studies to draw portraits of each other.
It should be simple—except it was with her, Yvonne Dizon. Maldita, maarte, mukhang spoiled brat.
She was the type of student to use up all her absences for the most pointless reasons. Inattentive. Complacent.
At alam ko rin I was everything she loathed in a partner. Disciplined, strict, and kind of a goody-two-shoes.
It just wouldn’t work.
But somehow, we managed to agree, no arguments, to finish the plate at my condo. Saturday, 1 p.m. sharp. Apparently, her place was “a mess.”
And now she was here. Seated across from me on the sofa.
“What’s funny?” I asked.
“Nothing.” Yvonne kept giggling.
“I hope you’re taking this activity seriously. We're graded as one.”
“I am, sungit. Do you wanna see what I’m working with?” Yvonne said, a glint in her eyes.
She flipped her paper to show me her work.
And true enough, she had drawn me in sharp, clean lines, realistic, but my features were exaggerated almost like a caricature of my usual seriousness.
The shadows under my eyes and along my cheekbones were deeper, my jaw looked firmer, my brows drawn tighter.
It wasn’t flattering. But somehow, beneath all that exaggeration, she’d captured me. She had captured perfectly how much I didn’t want to be here with her. Aloof and distant.
It was impressive but I rolled my eyes at it.
“How about me? Can I see?”
I paused to look at my work. It was unintentionally softer how I drew her now that I'm looking at it.
Where Yvonne’s drawing of me was all sharp and heavy, mine somehow captured the energy she carried around her, the mischief and playfulness that seemed to radiate kapag hindi siya nagmamaldita.
Not that I had intended it. Absolutely not.
“Ano na? Patingin.”
She took the paper from my hands. Yvonne studied it for a moment, her breath catching in her throat like she hadn’t expected what she saw.
“Wow, you focused on my eyes, Emz. You used a lot of warm tones. Is this how you see me?” Yvonne teased. “Kunwari lang pala that you hate me?”
Her tone dropped, teasing.
“I don’t-I don’t hate you.” My tone rose in denial.
“Ano lang? You think I don’t notice? Mga buntong hininga mo. You think hindi ko alam na you tried changing partners.”
“You have an attitude problem.”
“Yeah well, why did you draw me like this? Like I’m so… beautiful?”
Yvonne was looking at me in a way I hadn't seen before. A newfound softness, longing.
Hindi ko rin alam paanong ganito na kami kalapit sa isa’t isa, but I saw her gaze drop to my lips and it made me feel something.
We just happened to move closer and closer.
Her eyes were half-lidded, cheeks slightly rosy, and her lips.. her lips were so tempting, plump and glistening. She looked unreal up close and her scent invaded all my senses.
“Are you gonna kiss me or what?” Yvonne murmured.
“Ano?” I said, distracted.
I heard her groan then she kissed me.
I kissed her back.
I felt her tongue trace my lower lip for entrance. We both moaned at the contact.
My hands found her waist and she moved to sit on my lap, straddling me, never breaking our kiss.
“So kailan mo pa ako crush?” Yvonne teased, out of breath, smiling mischievously against my lips.
“Shut up.”
I kissed her harder and more surely this time, letting the heat between us take over.
“Touch me. Hmm…” She whispered.
My hands slid smoothly over her bare legs, hiking up her skirt then over her tank top, stopping just under her breast before I pulled back, heart pounding.
“I can't- We can't.” I said, trying to catch my breath.
“Ha?” She tried to chase my lips but I cupped her cheeks.
“Let's finish the task.” I said as I looked up at her.
I brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. She was frowning, still staring at my lips, looking like a complete spoiled brat who was denied of something.
And I’d rather die than admit it excited me knowing just how much she wanted this.
“What? Are you kidding me? Do you think I'm still in the mood for that?”
“Dali na.”
Yvonne slid off my lap and collapsed onto the other side of the sofa, arms crossed.
“Anong sinisimangot mo? Are you that needy of me?”
“Kapal. Huwag mo nga ako kakausapin.” She muttered. “Don't tell anyone about this." She warned.
“Yeah. This will never happen again.” I said, trying to sound firm.