#HeartboundWP

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Day 42.2 | N/E

WHY DID SHE agree to this? Nadia tells herself that it's to make progress on her friendship with Eli. That's what she wants it to be. Still, her knee that healed over the undas break wants to go back to limping when she sees him leaning on the wall at the far corner of the lobby, eyes trained outside, completely unaware of his environment—including the unhealthy amount of staring she just did because the shorts where he's pocketing both his hands in are . . . shorts talaga.

That is one pair of very short shorts. Or maybe he's just too tall and he got the wrong size. Either way, the amount of thighs he's showing is—should be—none of her business, nor should it distract her.

She clears her throat to get his attention when she's only a few steps away from closing their distance. He quickly picks up the sound of her shoes, standing upright and offering her a gentle smile when their eyes meet. "Hi, Nadi. Good morning."

Her throat is scratchy. Blinking quickly won't help, but she does it, anyway. It's a struggle to get anything out when something else calls her attention. Now that he's closer, her peripherals quickly register and study how much skin he's showing.

It has concluded that the soft, black fabric of his shorts measures barely two of her handspans from his hips. And she came up with that how?

She chucks it to her good eye with four years of training at approximating measurements, instead of knowing through experience exactly how many touches it takes for her hand to travel from his hips down to his knees.

Her cheeks burn. It's not even 7 in the morning, yet! Maduming influence talaga 'tong si Eli!

"Hi," she croaks, quickly looking away.

"What's wrong?" he asks like he can read her mind, and she hates (not really) him for it.

"Nothing."

"Your knee?"

"Okay na."

She thought he was done with the questions. She was about to lead the way out because it's not doing her good to be stuck in this small corner with him, when he asks again, "Are you sure there's nothing wrong?"

With her knee? Wala. "Yup. Not hurting anywhere na nga." But with her head? Malapit nang magkaroon ng something wrong if they don't get out of here. "Can we go? Saan ba tayo?"

He spins his keys twice on his fingers, nodding. She doesn't like that it seems that he's still eyeing her like he has some quest he has to fulfill. "Just ten minutes or so away from here."

It's unfortunate, but she knows that he knows her. Maybe he's genuinely just worried about her non-existing injury, but there remains a possibility na he'll successfully read what's going on inside her head at hindi niya alam ang gagawin kung sakali. Mapapatakbo talaga siya. Palayo nga lang sa kaniya.

"E di let's go na. Akala ko ba ayaw mong maabutan ng init?"

His eyebrows furrow, but he mutters okay. He quietly follows her outside, but when she slows down so their paces match dahil hindi niya alam kung saan naka-park ang sasakyan nito, he goes back to asking. "Susungitan mo ba ako while we're running?"

She narrows her eyes at him. "Depends."

He lifts a corner of his lips, leaning down a little to her side like he's challenging her answer. "If I treat you to breakfast, hindi na?"

"Heh." Irap count for the day: one. "Maaga pa but gising na mind ko. 'Wag mo 'kong lusutan."

He chuckles lightly, standing upright and giving her more distance to breathe. "I tried. Later ulit."

She slows down her steps. What's with Eli asking her to share a meal with him? It seems harmless, but his declaration na he'll keep on trying every time she rejects him leads her to just keep on saying no. She believes him when he told her that all of their previous meetings are coincidental, pero dito, she can't help but overthink kung may binabalak ba itong kung ano dahil iyon ang nase-sense niya every time he's asking.

Or maybe he just wants a meal—no agenda, no strings attached, no anything. And whatever it is she sees in his eyes when he invites her has nothing to do with this goal she thinks he has, but a mere reflection of her own worries. Na maybe saying yes is not as harmless for her as she assumes. Na maybe, even if his intentions are pure, it won't matter because her heart is big and easily captured.

Kaya, no, she won't get breakfast with him, even if he tries again later—no matter how respectful he does it, no matter what smile he tries to charm her with, and no matter how much skin he's showing when he asks.

She doesn't like eating on her own, but she also wants to keep this friendship. And the best way to do that is to avoid getting to the point where she'll come calling for him every time she's alone at the table, and be heartbroken when he doesn't answer.

* * * 

THEY ARRIVE AT the park a little over ten minutes later. Nadia removes her seatbelt and fixes her hair when Eli secures a parking spot, and she tries not to get sidetracked when he unzips his jacket and reaches out on the space between them to place it on the backseat. Is that really necessary? Para saan pa iyong jacket kung huhubarin lang din naman pala?

She doesn't make the mistake of looking at him, dahil paniguradong aasarin lang siya nito kapag nahuli siya. Inunahan niya na itong lumabas ng sasakyan, and she waits for him under the shade of the big tree near a traffic barricade. He doesn't make her wait long.

"Nadi," tawag nito sa kaniya before he crouches to undo the laces of his shoes and redo it.

It's the only time she allows herself to look at him because his eyes are down and busy on his feet. His black running vest shows off his arms, and gosh, it's a lot of skin, a lot of outlines of hard edges.

"Yes?"

Will this ever stop—iyong ganitong pagtingin sa kaniya? Siguro naman, 'no? When they're finally friends-friends, or at least when she's not one misreading of a non-romantic gesture away from crushing on him full-time, baka she's no longer like this. He probably won't stop being attractive, but at least she won't be this enticed.

She involuntarily takes a step back when his hand jumps to her shoe, redoing how she ribboned her laces. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asks, tapping her foot once when he's done before standing up.

Nadia's quick to focus her gaze on the woman passing by with her dog in a pet stroller, ignoring the way his chest is practically shouting at her to give it a good look.

Maybe this is a bad idea. Next time, magye-yes na lang siya kapag ang activity na inaya siya nito ay gagawin somewhere public, and would require more clothes.

"Yes nga."

"We can skip today if you want."

She finds him eyeing her leg when she shifts her gaze to him. To be fair, he does look concerned.

"My knee is fine," she assures him. "Stop asking na."

"Okay." That slight frown of his tells her he's not convinced. He moves to the space beside her and starts rotating his ankle. She does the same. "I'm sorry I'm nagging," he adds, distracting her from her mental counting. "I'm worried. Seriously."

His tone makes her feel guilty. Kasi saan ba naman nito nakuha na hindi siya okay? Nakita naman nito na she's able to walk properly. She doesn't think that he's faking it—just saying na he's worried so he can keep a conversation, because she knows him enough to say that that's not a move he needs to pull.

What's left is that he's worried because she's acting odd, and baka nga she is. But it has nothing to do with her already healed injury, and everything to do with her oversupply of inappropriate thoughts so early in the morning and the shortage of fabric covering his body.

"I—I'm okay." She doesn't know what excuse to make that can convince him to drop the topic. "It's just—"

"Ano?" Or maybe she should have just left it with a simple declaration na she's fine instead of making excuses, because now Eli has completely stopped with his stretching and is now looking at her like he's ready to lift her off the ground and strap her in the car and get her to the hospital in less than five minutes kapag may sinabi siyang kahit katiting na reklamo. "May discomfort ba? Sa paa, wala?"

"No, no. It's fine—"

"Ano? May masakit kapag ginagalaw?"

"Wala—"

"Baka sa ankles—"

"Hey!" She ends up touching the arm she was fighting so hard not to look at earlier when he sits on his heels to check her leg. Unfortunately, her incessant tapping on his arm isn't making him budge. "Ano ka ba? Stand up! Walang masakit. My legs are fine."

He looks up at her from his position. "What's wrong, then?"

"Wala nga!" How does she even go about this?

He sighs, not taking his eyes off her. "Ano nga?"

"Wala!"

She doesn't stop trying to get him to stand up even when his face turns serious. She's not hurt anywhere! Should she just let him inspect her leg para lang matahimik 'to? "Nadi."

"Nothing nga," she replies, matching the stern tone of his voice.

His eyebrows furrow. "You look like you want to say something. Ano 'yon?"

"Wala!"

He frowns. "Fine. No more warm-ups."

Her jaw drops when he stops sitting on his heels and instead folds his legs at nag-Indian seat sa tapat niya. Big drama queen talaga! "Ano ba—"

"I'll just sit here until you say something," he says.

She huffs. "Ang kulit mo!" she can't help but say. The last time she had to deal with someone who refused to get off the floor was more than a decade ago, at si Deion pa iyon na ayaw umalis sa fresh produce aisle ng supermarket. This man in front of her today is a few years older than her! Now she's suddenly reminded that he's the younger sibling sa kanilang magkapatid.

He shrugs, placing his hands on his knees. "I can sit here the whole day."

"E kasi—!" He arches a brow when she stops herself from spilling what has been bothering her since morning, or since she saw him at the lobby, to be exact. "Ano ba 'to. Nakakainis ka naman."

Mukhang wala naman itong pakialam sa sinabi niya, kahit pa ilang ulit ang gawin niya. "Nakakainis ka."

He just shrugs, again. So guwapo but so stubborn. "What did I do?"

"Wala naman kasi akong sasabihin!"

She doesn't know what is in her face that gives away that her lie. "I can really sit here the whole day, Nadi."

She clicks her tongue. "Iiwan kita there."

He folds his arms over his chest. "Fine by me."

Her jaw slacks open. Seriously?

Something tells her na even if she leaves and runs a lap, she'll find him here in his exact spot when she's done. Her things are in his car, too, and he won't be giving her his keys nor getting up to unlock the vehicle until she convinces him na she's fine and they don't need to talk about it.

Would it help their situation if she just came clean? She has heard guys—iyong mga friends niya, some of them friends niya pa rin hanggang ngayon—tell her that she's pretty, combined with more adjectives in the same lane. It didn't strain her relationship with them naman, at least not with those who wasn't weird about it, and not with those who didn't ask her out and ended up failing within the first two dates.

She can tell her childhood friend Jakey na he's good-looking. And if Louis hadn't expressed any romantic interest in her and if it wouldn't lead him on, she could have told him the same. She can tell Migs na he's pogi. She can tell Z. Will being honest to Eli about how she finds him guwapo be really such a big deal?

Baka naman hindi? It's not like she plans to be completely honest about it, anyway. He doesn't need to know the details of how much she finds him attractive. It's enough na he knows that she does. Big deal lang naman siguro kung gagawin niyang big deal.

But she knows it only sounds easy in her head. This is Eli she's talking about, after all. And he's . . . ugh. "E kasi naman."

"Kasi what?"

This time, she says what's in her head without holding back. "Aasarin mo naman ako if I say it."

His eyebrows furrow. Naguluhan na siguro because, obviously, wala namang kaasar-asar if she has an injury—e kasi nga she doesn't! Ito lang ang ayaw makinig. "I won't."

She studies his face, and she catches him in a lie almost immediately upon seeing the slightest twitching of his lips. See! "Tumatawa ka na nga!"

His forehead knits more tightly together. "What? Hindi a."

"It's in your eyes o!" She folds her arms across her chest. Maybe she should really just leave him here. She left her phone in her bag in his car, but she has a 500-peso bill on her small waist bag and that can get her somewhere. Magpahatid na lang siya kina Levy at doon humiram ng pamasahe kung kapos. "Tumatawa ka na, wala pa nga."

"Hindi!" he cries out in defense. He breaks eye contact when he palms his forehead and sighs. "Hindi kita aasarin, promise."

"Tatawanan mo naman ako."

"I also won't laugh. Promise." He uncrosses his legs, and folds them so he can rest his elbows on his knees, hiking up to his thigh his scanty shorts that were already struggling to cover him up when he was merely standing. If he doesn't look like he's legitimately confused, she would have thought that he got into this pose just to taunt her because he knows what's in her head. At this point hindi na kasi iyon shorts—shortest na.

"Ano ba 'yon?" he asks again after she falls silent. Nadia looks around. May ilang napapatingin sa kanila, probably wondering and already making up stories in their head about the reason why they look like this.

She brings her gaze back down on Eli, who's patiently waiting for her response. She wonders kung hindi ito makakatulog kung hindi niya talaga sasagutin ang question. And then she remembers na he has a series of exams in a few days, and he'll probably spend the rest of his weekends studying, so he needs to sleep. She's already feeling a tad bit guilty dahil hindi mapakali itong kasama niya who was worrying for nothing dahil hindi nga siya injured, palalalain niya pa.

"You won't laugh," she reiterates. He merely nods, parang pagod na kahit parehas silang wala pang naitatakbo. "And you won't make asar."

He nods. "Okay."

"Say it."

He sighs. "I won't laugh, and I won't make asar." He just gives her a tight-lipped smile when she frowns at his attempt to mimic her voice. "I promise. So, spill."

He doesn't rush her when she decides to stay quiet and continue studying his face. Nadia fills her lungs with as much air as she can before coming up with something more . . . vague. Something honest, but not too much. She figures that he'll detect it if she lies, and they'll go back to square one so she should just get this done.

He did promise na he's not going to laugh or use it against her. She'll just have to hold onto his word for now. And if he breaks the promise now, he's in this position that makes it convenient for her to kick him down on the ground. So baka iyon na lang ang gawin niya, sabay takbo.

"Your . . ." The embarrassment sets early, coming in before she can even get her point across. It strangles her in a lousy attempt at self-preservation and at stopping her from saying another word. "Your . . . shorts."

The crease in his forehead reappears. He looks down on what he's wearing. "Huh?"

"Are really ano." Her right hand grabs the fingers on her left, squeezing them one by one like they're going to help. She wishes it could help, but her cheeks are already burning. "Are really short."

When Eli turns his head back to look at her, he does so in slow motion. He looks utterly dumbfounded, blinking at her slowly as he stands up, and now the fabric of his shorts is back to covering about two of her handspans from his hips down.

Nadia sighs and looks up at him. Maybe she broke him because he's no longer blinking; he's just staring. "That's it."

***

WHAT DID SHE just say?

Oh, wow.

Wow.

He needs to sit.

Elias slowly folds himself back into his original position, down in the bricked sidewalk. He quickly transfers his eyes to his shoes when Nadi's searching eyes catch his.

An accusatory finger lands hard on his shoulder. "You promised you wouldn't laugh!" Hindi naman siya natatawa. Talaga. But now that she has mentioned it, he has to put a hand over the lower half of his face just in case he can't help it. "And di mo 'ko aasarin!"

He knows what he promised, and he doesn't want to break it but his chest cavity feels like it's going to blow up on its own if he doesn't let a few chuckles out. He doesn't want to laugh, really, so he just puts his hands together and presses them against his mouth, like he's praying. Maybe he is. It took a lot of convincing for Nadi to tell him what's on her mind, so he really can't laugh. At least, not in front of her.

"Elias!" she yells, stomping a foot. "Naman!"

Fighting off a laugh, he chokes. He takes a deep breath and looks up at her. God, her cheeks are in this beautiful shade of red. "I am trying so hard, okay?"

"Let's go na!" Her fist is now knocking on his shoulder, and he knows he should stand and get this done already kung ayaw niyang ito na ang last time na pumayag na lumabas sila, but it's so difficult.

Nadi stomps a foot again when he buries his whole face in his palm. "Ano ba!"

He's quick to pick up on the slightest change in her tone. Well, shit, now she's one unfulfilled command from being actually annoyed. "Wait." He rushes to stand, ignoring how his legs are starting to feel weak because a part of him inside his head is already losing breath from laughing.

"Nakakainis ka naman e!" She tilts her body away from him, folds her arms across her chest, pushes her shoulder up a little to her ears, and frowns in a way that her lower lip is jutting out, and he thinks she's adorable.

And that he also wants to grab her face with his palms and just smother kisses all over her red cheeks so she will stop pouting. He knows he can't do all that. But instead of mentally crying over it like he usually does, he ends up smiling because this view is really nice, nonetheless.

The back of her hand slaps him on the arm when she turns to look at him again, eyes widening this time. "I said no laughing!"

He can't bring down the corners of his lips into a straight line even if he wants to. "Nakangiti lang. Does that count?"

"Yes!"

This time, he fails to hold back his chuckles, earning him a glare from Nadi. "Sorry," he mumbles, pressing his lips together to forcefully stop himself from laughing. He doesn't even know what exactly it is he's laughing about, what he's supposed to feel with what she just told him.

Should he be, what, flattered? Is that an appropriate reaction, or is that too much?

Kikiligin ba siya? Bakit hindi, di ba? What she said earlier means that she's . . . checking him out. Or maybe not. Is it okay to make that assumption? Narcissistic ba? He doesn't know what to do with this new information aside from grinning from ear to ear!

It's not like he has devised some sort of masterplan to get her back, not for the long game and most certainly not for this morning. Kagabi pa nga siya kinakabahan over this. Although, if he were to actually be clever and come up with some devious scheme, it's not beyond him to include tricks such as shorts . . . that 'are really ano, are really short.'

He almost bursts into a round of chuckles, remembering how she sounded like when said those words.

Elias goes back to rotating his ankle, diverting his attention to his foot and trying not to further break his earlier promise that he won't laugh. Nadi doesn't have this talent of pretending that nothing's bothering her, so he was worried earlier that there was something wrong with her leg and she just didn't want to talk about it knowing that he was going to rightfully bug her.

As it turns out, she's being honest na she's not hurt, which is good. The real reason why she seems uncomfortable is better, actually.

At least for him.

For her? Hindi niya alam. Her cheeks are still burning red, and he feels incredibly selfish for not being able to stop himself from smiling at her expense but he just can't stop. "Are you policing what I wear?"

"No!" Nadi answers almost immediately. "I just . . . noticed. And sabi mo di ka mang-aasar, ha?"

Elias shakes his head in defense. "Hindi naman talaga. That was a question," palusot niya. She rolls her eyes, then proceeds to hold onto the barricade beside them and swing her left leg.

Hindi pa rin mabura ang ngiti niya. He also can't stop looking at her, but that's nothing new. "Nadi."

She keeps her eyes focused somewhere else, somewhere around his right foot while he lifts his left knee to his chest to loosen up his muscles.

"Hm?"

He shouldn't. He really shouldn't, pero hindi niya matiis. The little stupid humans running his head are telling him to see if he can make those cheeks even redder than they are now. "My eyes are up here."

It works. The color even rushes up to her forehead. "What—?" She looks up at him, horrified, and he tries to maintain a vacant look on his face because it's more effective in getting a reaction from her. "Oh my god! I'm not—I'm not even looking—"

He almost feels bad. He knows she's not looking; he made that up. "Mag-warm up ka nga nang ayos para di sumakit tuhod mo. Don't just watch me."

She stops swinging her leg, landing her foot on the ground with a loud thump. "I was not watching!" God, she's adorable. "Maybe I just—Maybe I just looked—!"

"How the tables have turned, 'no?"

"Ewan ko sa 'yo!" She takes her hand off the barricade and slaps his arm again with the back of her hand. "I'm going!" Her eyes are glaring with annoyance as he walks past him with a huff.

And then, she's off and running. Elias calls out to her but she understandably ignores him. Kayang-kaya naman niya itong abutan but he decides against it. He figures that she'll just try to get away from him and can end up actually injuring herself, e maigi na nga na gumaling na ang tuhod nito.

He stops his warm-up even when he's not done with his usual sets. Nagdesisyon na lang siyang maglakad, in a pace enough to follow Nadi with his eyes at the farthest possible distance. He comes to a halt when she picks up her pace and turns into a corner, vanishing from his view.

For a moment, he's just standing there and looking at the corner where Nadi disappeared. And then his head gives him a replay of what happened earlier, making him laugh out of nowhere. Kaya tumabi siya gilid, gets his earbuds from his pocket and puts them on, so when some stranger sees him laughing, maghihinala lang na may kausap siya sa phone imbes na pag-isipan siya ng kung ano.

He takes a deep breath and goes back to walking when he's done laughing to himself. When he was alone for about three days because his roommates were both with their families during the short undas break, he was tempted to message her and ask what has been keeping her busy.

He decided against it, worrying that it would be too much, that it would annoy her. He told himself that he should let her have uninterrupted time with her family, and that she won't vanish even if they don't talk regularly. Na he won't die kung hindi niya ito makita at least once within seven days, even if that's hard to believe.

Besides, para saan pa at friends na sila sa Facebook? He has spent his short break catching up with his academic load and mastering the art of scrolling through hundreds of photos without accidentally clicking the like button.

He can wait. And how this morning went so far is enough proof for him that temperance is rewarding. It's slow, and at this point, he's still unsure of how it's going to end. But the end matters a little less to him now, and what's more important is that something's happening.

What's happening may not be a tight, cozy hug, but it's still having her in the passenger seat early on a weekend morning. It may not be a kiss on the cheek, but it's still being allowed near her and seeing her blush up close. And those are enough proof for him that temperance works.

* * *

ELIAS DOESN'T BRING it up anymore when they're done with their activity for this morning. Nadi pretended that he was a stranger when he caught up to her, so he decided to shut his mouth since he was still afraid to get on her last nerve. Kinausap lang siya nito when she's tired and said she wanted to go home.

He stands guard at a 15-meter distance from his car while she's changing her shirt inside. The windows are tinted, and he's not planning to look unless she wants him to, pero inutusan siyang lumayo because baka he would 'make silip.' So, ayun.

Elias heads back to his vehicle and gets into the driver's seat after Nadi rolls her window down. He looks at her when she closes back her window and her seatbelt snaps close after putting it on. There's still a small crease on her forehead, and albeit slightly, the corners of her lips are tilted downwards.

He clicks his tongue to distract him from the urge to laugh or tease her about what happened earlier na obviously ay nasa utak pa nito. The crease on her forehead deepens when she catches him looking. "What?"

Elias glances at the backseat where his things are. Seeing her small, light pink backpack beside his duffle bag makes him smile a little. "I need to change, too."

He bites his tongue when he sees the color on her cheeks turning a little more vibrant. Would it really be that bad to assume that he still affects her, and to be happy about that assumption? Of course, he knows that she has always been a little coy, pero masama bang mag-assume?

"I'll labas," she mutters under her breath, her fingers rushing to undo her seatbelt.

"'Wag na," agap niya. Maaraw na sa labas. He reaches for his duffle bag and grabs the first shirt he gets his hand on. "I will labas," he says. She gives him a frown—the one that comes with a nose scrunch that makes him want to cross the distance between them and drop a quick peck on her lips—for imitating her tone.

Elias gets out of the car and walks to the front. He debates with himself for a minute kung doon siya magbibihis, or he'll circle the car at doon sa likod. He ends up choosing to turn his back on the front of his car and take his shirt off there.

Bakit pa sa likod? So Nadi won't see?

But he wants her to see.

Did she watch?

Mentally, he can see the scandalized look on his friends' faces if they could read what's going on inside his head. Fine. It's juvenile, even for him. He's an attention-seeker, pero so what? Minsan lang e. Bawal ba

Nadi has both her hands on her seatbelt and her eyes glued on her shoes when he gets back in the driver's seat. He doesn't know if her cheeks are redder now or if he's imagining it because that's what he wants to see. He puts his things in the backseat before keying the ignition.

Elias just settles with wondering because he doesn't want to risk annoying her to the point that she'll step out of the car. Not when her things are at an arm-length away from her. Mahirap na. Imbes na mapatagal-tagal niyang kasama ito dahil pinayagan siyang ihatid ito pauwi, mapuputol nang wala sa oras.

He pulls out of the parking slot and drives her back at a speed slow enough to stretch this moment for as long as he could, but decent enough not to alert her na sinasadya niyang bagalan. It earned him an additional five minutes with her, but he wanted more, so he parks as far as possible from her tower.

Mukha namang hindi napapansin ni Nadi ang pinaggagagawa niya, until he gets out of the car, too and walks by her side. "I can walk alone to the lobby from here, you know? And I'll be just fine."

Elias shrugs, grabbing her small backpack that she's holding by its loop. "Consider this as part of my cooldown."

Even from his peripherals, he can see her rolling her eyes. "Sus."

That makes him chuckle. Well, she's still not sending him away, so he stays. He glances at her legs, discreetly observing the way her steps are landing. "Okay lang knees mo?"

She nods. "Yup." And then, she looks at him with a small smile on her face that almost sends him stumbling on the floor. "Good luck with your exam sa Tuesday."

"Thank you."

"You have another one next Monday."

It's hard to fight the urge to tease her about knowing his schedule. "Unfortunately."

"Are we going to do this ulit next weekend?"

Wala na. Sa utak niya gumulong-gulong na siya sa daan, and by the time he hits that nearby post he has already fainted.

Elias really wants to. After all, what better way to cap his week than seeing her first thing on a Saturday morning? But Miss Luz has his appointments scheduled twice a month, and that's just as important. "I have a session on Saturday."

"It's okay," she replies almost immediately, and it's hard not to notice how it seems like she regrets asking. "We don't have to—"

"How about Sunday?" he asks, cutting her off. He's almost certain that she'll spend these last few minutes he has with her worrying and apologizing for that harmless question that he didn't mind answering. He knows that telling her that she can ask, that they can talk about it, that he wants to talk about it with her if she wants to won't be enough to make her comfortable and put her at ease. So, it's better for him to lead the conversation instead of allowing her to ramble on about something that would probably stress her out even when he's out of her sight.

Elias glances at Nadi when she doesn't answer. That stray piece of her hair on the left side of her face is inviting him to tuck it behind her ear. He offers her a smile when she looks at him and momentarily meets his eyes. "And then a movie after?" he adds.

That takes her attention away from worrying. Her eyebrows furrow. "Saan naman nanggaling yung movie?"

Ayan. She's no longer thinking about it. That's better. "I'll keep trying."

She huffs. "It's a big no."

That makes him chuckle. Grabe. Big no talaga? Hindi puwedeng normal-sized lang? "Really?"

The shaded area of the walkway ends, and the sun hits her face. His eyes quickly travel the path where her moles are, starting from the three that form a triangle on her forehead, to the one tucked on the curve of her lower lip. He's done looking when she lifts her eyes to him when she answers, "I'll do it alone na lang muna."

He nods slowly. "That's alright. Just don't get yourself hurt." Temperance works. There's no reason not to do it again. "Can I try again next week?"

Nadi narrows her eyes at him. "Bahala ka."

His lips curve into a small smile. That's not a yes, but at least that's not a hard no.

Elias continues making his steps as small as possible. Mabuti na nga lang at muhang napagod si Nadi kaya mabagal itong maglakad. They're about a minute or two away from the entrance when he notices that she's eyeing a boy walking in their direction, holding an ice cream in one hand and the hand of the person he's with in the other.

"Ice cream tayo?" he asks. The store is just almost beside the entrance, and it will buy him more time with her if she says yes.

She pouts, shaking her head no kahit na habol-tingin siya roon sa bata. "Matutunaw."

His forehead creases. "Kakainin ko na before I leave."

Elias wonders where her small frown came from, and how he can undo it. "No."

He can take a no, but . . . why not? He's sure it's the ice cream Nadi was looking at and not the kid. He scrambles his head for answers, hurriedly turning over every stone in his head because they are a few steps away from ending this lovely morning.

"Do you want ice cream?" Elias asks after she takes one step on the stairs heading to the entrance. She stops, so he guesses that he's on the right track. "I can get you ice cream. Ikaw lang."

Iba iyon sa offer niya kanina. What he was proposing earlier was that they get ice cream together. He's sure that she wants ice cream, and since there are only two variables in his proposal, it's pretty easy to weed out what she doesn't want. She's not allowing him to take her out to breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and apparently pati snacks bawal, but he's okay with it.

Temperance.

"Okay," she replies in a small voice, quickly turning her back against him and heading to the store first.

He sighs. He hopes that she agrees because of reasons other than being guilty of saying no.

Elias gets Nadi her ice pop. Hindi na siya kumuha ng kaniya. He takes it out of the wrapper before handing it to her, then tosses the plastic in the bin before sitting beside her on the metal bench placed near the door of the store.

He looks up at the clear sky. He doesn't want to go home, yet, but he can't invite himself to her place. Not when she's not even allowing him to get ice cream with him.

"It's a nice day, 'no?" he asks, turning his head to look at her.

What he means to say is that it's a nice morning. And that she made this morning nice, so there's nothing that can happen for the rest of his day that would turn it the opposite way.

She nods. "Yup," she agrees.

And it's enough that she agrees.

Elias sits there quietly, just enjoying the comfortable silence knowing that the lifespan of that ice pop is no more than ten minutes. Napalingon siya kay Nadi nang tawagin siya nito.

He has to shift his eyes back to the sky because her lips are not stained cherry red from what she's eating. It's distracting and he's pretty sure she would notice him staring at her lips while she's talking.

"You laughed," she says. As if on command, he laughs. Nawala na nga iyon sa isip niya, binalik naman nito. "Kanina. Tinawanan mo 'ko."

"I'm sorry," natatawa niyang sabi. "Next time, I'll switch to running trousers."

"Akala mo naman I'll look pa next time?"

He looks at her and arches a brow. "You're sure na you won't?"

Always so satisfying to watch warm color fill up her cheeks. Hindi niya mapigilang tumawa kahit na padabog na tumayo si Nadi para itapon ang tissues at pinagkainan niya. He's still laughing when he follows behind her dahil nagmamadali nitong kinuha ang backpack niya at nagdere-deretso papasok.

Elias abruptly stops in his tracks when she suddenly turns to face him. Iritable pa rin sa kaniya dahil kunot pa ang noo. "Bye."

He tries to fight off a smile but fails. "See you next time."

Irap ang pabaon sa kaniya ni Nadi bago ito umalis. He watches her retreating back, then tries to catch her eyes again when she gets into the lift pero sinimangutan lang siya nito.

After, Elias heads out and goes back to the store. He gets a strawberry ice pop from the freezer, the same one he got Nadi earlier.

He sits on his side of the bench, making space as if Nadi's still there, before tearing the plastic.