“Congrats?” Lia exclaimed, which was probably the most flabbergasted she’d ever said that word. “Paanong congrats? We’re just friends, and I’m only here for what, a month and a half na lang, oh god.”
“Youcanjust like him, Li. Doesn’t have to be a wedding at the end.”
“You just called us domestic.”
“And shockingly, it doesn’t change how you feel, does it?” Frankie asked, wise to the world as always. “I know I said for you not to lose your head over KPop boys, but you seem happy. This is a good thing. Just let yourself enjoy it, right?”
“I’m trying to,” she admitted, so softly she wondered if her sister had heard her. She flipped her camera away from selfie mode in the guise of showing Frankie which products were on the shelf. “And I am just trying to stay in the moment. It’s just…” Visions of that warm little condo flooded her mind, andshe pushed them aside again. “I can feel it getting away from me sometimes. What if I like it too much, or I force a situation where we take it somewhere we’re not ready for?”
“It takes two to tango,” Frankie reminded her. “If you’re worried, you can talk to him, see where it leads. But it does mean you know how youfeelabout it, so you know how to discuss how to proceed, or not.” God, she didn’t know what she felt. Sheknewthat the ‘not’ was currently unappealing to Lia. Even if it did feel inevitable.
“But he said?—”
“This isn’t about him, yet. This is about you. Without thinking about what he will think, what he wants, what he doesn’t want…what doyouwant? Then you can talk to him about what he wants and make a mutual decision. That’s what we call ‘communicating.’”
Lia echoed her sister in a mocking tone, mostly because she didn’t know what to say to that. God, what did she want out of this? Sex and a memory? A fight for a future?
“Also, no matter what happens, your visa expires in a month. You’re not exactly out of options here.”
She was right, of course. And it wasn’t like what Lia had with Cal was going to be anything more than a vacation fling, city edition. The band would finish the album, Lia and Teddy would go home, and Cal and Lia would part as friends at best, parasocial strangers at worst. Life would move on, and eventually, even she would forget that, even for a short time, she had been adored by Cal Ahn.
Maybe that was why he chose to tell her about the album. At least that would last longer than whatever this was. Anything more than this was out of Lia’s control.
“You’re right,” she told her sister. “I have options.”
“And here I thought that I was your one and only,” a voice beside her said, and she was sure the entire first floor of thedamn Olive Young stopped for a second to decide whether her scream was a good or a bad thing. Judging from the way her sister was telling her to calm the fuck down, what the fuck just happened, it was probably a bad thing. “Um, I am the only one, right?”
“Yes!” Lia exclaimed, feeling her cheeks grow hot at Cal’s nervous face. “Who else would I?—“
“I don’t know. You had a bias wrecker, maybe?—”
“Are you jealous?”
“Yes.”
“Kaloka ka.”
“Yes, thatismy name.”
“I was right.” Frankie giggled from her side of the line. Oh god. Her Ate never giggled. “Thisisa date.”
“Ate!” Lia exclaimed, quickly turning the camera back to selfie mode. But what it managed to do was give her Ate a perfectly clear view of Ahn Cal holding an iced Americano (what was the slang word for it? A-a?) and waving at the camera.
“Annyeong haseyo, Ahn Yongjin imnida!” he said enthusiastically, and really, it was worth it seeing Frankie’s jaw drop.
“Oh my god, mas gwapo sa personal,” Frankie gasped, her eyes wide as if Cal couldn’t see her. He certainly couldn’t hear her, because Lia was smart enough to wear wireless earphones when she was video-calling in public. Because it was Cal, wearing a bucket hat and not sweating in the Olive Young, smiling in a way that made his cheeks look like little pieces of bread and Lia’s heart melt.
Cal leaned close to Lia so he was eye level to her phone, bending a little so their heads were equal in height. While it was effective, it also made it so that Cal was practically resting his head on Lia’s shoulder, and she could feel him. The solid warmth of his existence, the comforting look of him. She could smellhis perfume, and while she had no idea what it was, it made her want to lean in closer, press her nose against his neck. She wondered what perfume he was wearing, and could she get it for herself?
“Lia!” Frankie’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
“Ate, this is Cal.”
“Her bias,” Cal announced.
“Teddy’s client,” Lia glared at him. “He’s hosting us for the trip, and really shouldn’t be sneaking up on people all the time.” Lia quickly explained, shaking her head to stop her meditations on Cal’s perfume (gah) and focusing on the task at hand.
“Hi po, Ate. Are you virtually shopping?”
