When Love’s In Fashion

They join everyone else in taking inappropriate selfies and Atalia choked while pretending to deep throat the waffle.

“Come on, you can take it. Work that gag reflex girl, you know it’s your last chance,” Sascha laughed and the camera in her hand slipped, almost crashing to the ground before Sascha dove to save it.

Atalia hummed non-committally and shuffled off to check out a bubble tea place, leaving Sascha standing there and wondering if she was just shaded.

“Hey!” she cried a minute too late, pulling her lips into a pout and stamping her right foot for good measure. She bumped Atalia’s hip with her own and sniped back huffily, “What? My vag not good enough for you?”

“You’re cute,” Atalia laughed and swept Sascha’s bangs aside to brush her lips against Sascha’s forehead, an unspoken apology.

Sascha let out a tiny contented murmur and they both knew Atalia was forgiven.

They landed in Hong Kong at noon and Sascha was far too sleepy for anything that required her to move. They decide to skip Disneyland and Disney Sea and just spend the day lounging around in the hotel room watching b-flick movies on the TV.

Sascha took everything she said about Shi Lin market in Taiwan back. The night market was crowded but nothing compared to their destination for dinner, Mongkok, where their senses were bombarded with so much stimuli Sascha had to cling to Atalia to find her ground and not be swept away by the moving crowd. Atalia was very pleased at this new development.

Atalia nudged Sascha in the side and cocked her head to draw Sascha’s attention. The street was lined with photographers offering to capture instant memories in film, promising great shots for a low price.

To their left, a young couple wearing matching baseball jackets lay on the ground with their chins propped up, smiling at each other. The photographer crouched on one knee and with a few shouted directions that Sascha and Atalia couldn’t understand, the flash went off, and the photo was instantly printed on the spot. Even from so far away, Sascha could see that the photo came out well, and the happy couple walked away with bright smiles.

They were actually so adorable Sascha felt her jaw hurt.

She turned to Atalia to complain about the sheer amount of cute and found Atalia grinning at her expectantly.

“No,” Sascha said, so horrified she let go of Atalia’s hand.

“Why not?” Atalia widened her eyes and blinked rapidly in an attempt at being cute. It was really not appealing but Sascha had to stamp down the little curl of adoration anyway.

“Closer,” the photographer directed in hesitant English, gesturing for them to cut out the awkward posing.

Sascha peeked up at Atalia just when she heard the click of the shutter and that turned out to be Atalia’s favorite shot- Sascha staring up at Atalia like Atalia was her anchor while Atalia’s smile was so soft and indulgent.

Secretly, Sascha liked the last two shots the most. In a fit of playful impulse, Atalia had lifted Sascha off her feet and the first shot showed Sascha’s arms wrapped around Atalia’s neck, head thrown back in gleeful joy. In the second, Sascha improvised by planting a playful kiss on Atalia’s nose and Atalia’s eyes were scrunched shut mid-laugh.

They may have drawn a fairly large crowd of curious onlookers, but as they went through the photographs again later in the hotel room, Sascha thought it was all worth it.

*****

“Isn’t this fun?” Atalia yelled. Her voice sounded distant, even if they were strapped together, Sascha against Atalia’s chest.

Yeah, Sascha wanted to reply, but her answer was swallowed up by a scream as they went hurtling down the Macau tower together.

Atalia covered Sascha’s screams with kisses so fleeting it felt like the wind whipping up their hair. It was entirely unromantic because Sascha could acutely sense the rapidly approaching ground and the safety harness was digging painfully into her thigh, but if Sascha ignored the fight with vertigo, kissing Atalia always did feel a little like falling off a cliff, all racing heartbeats and breathless gasps.

The bungee jump attendant smiled knowingly at them when they’d safely planted both feet on the ground and Atalia cheerfully said, “I hope that was caught on camera!”
Vietnam proved to be a welcome retreat after days of rushing through crowds and concrete jungles.

They wanted to head to Halong Bay but the date they were arriving in Vietnam happened to coincide with the 14th day of the lunar month, so they ended up in Hoi An instead.

Sascha bought her first hanbok in a tiny tailor shop for a fraction of the price in Korea, a graduation present for herself and a symbol of her new life. It took only one day for the traditional Korean outfit to be ready for the first fitting and it fit Sascha like a glove, the workmanship outstanding for the price. Sascha couldn’t thank the seamstress enough and she beamed, pleased with Sascha’s attempts at broken Vietnamese.

“Well?” Sascha stepped out from the fitting room in her newly bought clothes and asked, giving a small twirl for Atalia.

Atalia didn’t answer but merely stared, drinking in the sight of Sascha until Sascha felt oddly self-conscious. “Is it… too small?”

“You look amazing.” When Atalia finally spoke, Sascha felt her stomach swoop with desire. Atalia’s voice was but a throaty whisper, low and dark with promise.

It only took two steps into their chalet before Atalia had Sascha pushed against the wall in a rough and searing kiss, mouthing hungrily down the side of Sascha’s neck and across her collarbones.

They christen the outfit in a very different way, and with all the memories clinging to the dress, Sascha definitely wouldn’t be able to return it anytime soon.

At night, after they had tired themselves out and ordered dinner in bed, they took a stroll in town and finally saw the hype of the lantern town for themselves.

It was a breath taking experience sipping on beer among hundreds of lanterns and their soft reflections in the calm river. Sascha’s life had been one fu*k fest after another ever since she’d left her crime lord family to seek her fortune on her own. Staying one step ahead of her father, keeping up with school and trying to keep her real identity under wraps meant that she barely had time to just take a breath and relax. This holiday with Atalia was exactly the break she didn’t know she needed.

For kicks, Atalia ordered a cocktail with a shot of iced Vietnamese coffee despite Sascha’s protests and let Sascha take the honor of first sip.

“This tastes like poison,” Sascha blanched, pushing the glass away from her.

“Baby,” Atalia said fondly, tapping Sascha’s nose and laughing when Sascha tried to bite her finger. She brought the glass up for a sip and immediately started coughing, the strong alcohol and bitter coffee taking her by surprise.

Atalia was generous enough to let Sascha bask in the satisfaction of the unspoken ‘I told you so’.

They spent another two nights relaxing in Hoi An and Danang before they flew to their last destination, Koh Samui, Thailand.

The island was thronging with too many tourists but it didn’t stop Koh Samui from being absolutely beautiful. They splurged on a villa with a stretch of private beach and it was there that they took their dinner, simple sandwiches on a picnic mat taken from their room.

Sascha had seen many sunsets by beach but none as beautiful as this one; and she watched the dip of the horizon quietly, too enthralled to look away. She didn’t even notice that Atalia had disappeared until she felt the mat move.

Atalia offered her, her hand and smiled, “I have something to show you.”