"Woah, the sunset never looked so beautiful." He sighed.
I nodded in agreement, watching the sun set slowly. It was a beautiful sight. But what's more beautiful was standing right beside me. He held my hand, looked me in the eye and smiled. The setting sun fell on his face and he looked so beautiful that my heart skipped a beat. I wanted time to stop that moment. But it was a fleeting moment, gone within a few seconds. I swore to keep that moment alive vividly. The sound of the waves crashing against the rocks sounded like light thunders. The wind was too strong. It was definitely going to rain.
I took a deep breath in. The smell of the sea would forever remind me of him and his warm hand. And the strange weather with dark clouds and yet with setting sun would always remain precious.
"Kwan?" He called.
"Hmm?"
"Do you believe in fate and destiny?"
I turned to look at him but he was staring ahead at the sea. "Yes." I answered.
He smiled, still staring ahead. "I believe we were fated to meet but aren't you curious about our destiny?"
My heart felt tight. "Our destiny is us, Kao."
He looked at me and smiled. "We are gonna make this work, right?"
I couldn't take it anymore. I pulled him into a hug. I didn't care if there were others staring at us. In that moment, it was just us. Just me and him. And nothing else mattered.
We spent the rest of the evening walking around the beach, talking about stuffs and teasing each other around. It was getting colder as the wind was strong. The beach was almost empty except a family of four preparing some fire works excitedly. It was dark already but the lights from the restaurants and stalls gave us enough light to see each other.
"Hey kids, you wanna join us?" The young mother of the two children called us.
I looked at Kao who smiled and nodded. I smiled back.
We joined the family's firework show. The little kids were delighted to get two more partners with them. Kao looked so happy bursting crackers with the kids. I could tell he adored kids a lot. And kids were also naturally drawn to like him. I stood at the corner with a sunburst in my hand, watching this beautiful man play around like six year old. The feeling that I was experiencing watching him, was it the feeling of being in love? I couldn't keep my eyes off him. I felt like my heart could burst out at any moment. It was a mix of emotions but living in the moment was all that was needed.
"Hey? Can you help me carry this over there?" The father smiled at me.
"Oh sure." I threw the sunburst on the side and helped him set the fireworks. We set it up and called the others to join the show.
"You wanna do it?" The father asked, handing me the lit sunburst to set off the fireworks.
"Okay." I took it and keeping my distance, lit the string attached to the firework.
I ran back to the others and stood beside Kao. The firework set off swiftly and burst loudly in the sky, shimmering like glitters all around.
"Woah...it's so beautiful." Kao said, watching the firework burst one after another in the sky. I nodded and sighed. Such a beautiful moment.
"Dad! It's so beautiful. I am so happy!" The younger kid jumped excitedly.
Taking the chance of everyone staring at the sky, I moved closer to Kao and held his hand. He looked at me and smiled, squeezing my hand gently. We looked back at the sky shimmering with glitters.
The family packed up their stuff after the fireworks were over and left, wishing us goodbye. It was the moment where me and him were finally alone in the beach. The sky was dark with no moon and stars. There was lightning and light thunders across the sky. The waves were still loud as ever.
"You know what?" He asked.
"What?"
"I loved it today. I met you and had all this great time with you. I just hope I don't wake up from this dream."
"Aiy, this isn't a dream. We have three more days to spent together." I said.
He smiled and reached to hug me, placing his head on my chest. I wrapped my arms around him.
"Your heart is racing." He stated.
I chuckled. "It's because you are hugging me."
He leaned his head back and looked up at me. "Why are you so hopelessly tall?"
I shrugged with a smile.
A strong gust of wind blew, flipping his hairs back. My heart skipped a beat. At that rate, I could get a mini heart attack because of the frequent skip of beats. I reached to touch his face, caressing his cheeks. With my heart racing, I leaned down. He froze and closed his eyes. He saw it coming. I had been imagining our first kiss since forever. I wanted it to be special.
I pecked on his lips softly and looked at him. He opened his eyes and looked at me in confusion. I smiled at his nervous expression and slowly pressed my lips against his. He clutched onto my jacket tightly as I kissed him. He was completely still. And I could tell he was inexperienced because he was a little sloppy. I chuckled and pulled him closer by wrapping my arms around his waist. I closed my eyes, getting lost into the feeling of his soft lips moving against mine. After a moment, he got a hold of it and wrapped his arms around my neck, deepening the kiss. I smiled as his tongue found access to my mouth and I welcomed him with the same intensity.
The sky roared loudly and soon tiny droplets of water fell on my skin. It gave more boost to the sensation. It felt romantic, to be kissing under the rain. The rain was just a light drizzle. I pulled away from him and kissed his forehead.
He met my eyes with a shy smile.
"I think we should go before the rain turns heavy." I said, running my fingers through his hair to prevent them from sticking to his forehead.
He nodded and hugged me again. I shook my head with a smile and cradled his head in my hand like a baby's. He shuddered lightly in my arms.
We ran back to the car. But we managed to get wet as the rain got heavier and the car was parked pretty far.
"Hey, I think you should change. You have your clothes here." I said as I started the engine and turned the heater up.
He looked at me. "I am fine. I will change once we get back. I am not that wet."
I bit my lips, contemplating. "What if you get sick?"
He laughed. "Let's go before we both get sick."
I nodded worriedly and hit the road.
I drove slowly and carefully since the rain was heavy and it would take us another one and half an hour to reach the hotel.
"Oh god, my battery died. I wanted to play some songs." He said, trying to turn his phone on.
I took my phone from my pocket and handed it to him. "The password is my birthday."
He looked a little stunned at my action and blinked several times before unlocking my phone. He chuckled.
"What?" I asked.
"Just expected of you. A picture of cat." He laughed at my home screen.
I stared ahead at the road, embarrassed. "Why? The black cat looks so bold and such a badass."
"Yeah. Yeah. Hmm...what songs should we listen to? Oh my!" He exclaimed.
"What?"
"Kwan! You seriously did this."
"What?"
"A playlist as Mr. K's"
I nodded with a smile. "Um. I did it. It has all the songs you ever recommended to me."
"I feel so bad. I didn't make any playlist of your songs."
"No problem. Come on, play something now. It's such a nice romantic weather. Play something roman-" I could barely finish my sentence and "into you" by Ariana Grande started playing. I shook my head. Was it romantic for him? That was exotic!
"See how naughty you are. You dedicated this song to me. 'A little less conversation and a little more touch my body' huh?" I teased him.
"Aiy, I didn't dedicate this song to you. I just recommended it to you." He said, embarrassed.
"Same thing for me. If you recommend me a song that means you are dedicating it to me and the lyric is something you wanna say." I liked teasing him.
He narrowed his eyes at me and I threw him a smile. Then he went to change the song to "love me harder" by Ariana Grande and The weekend.
I crooked a smile. "See. See. Now I get what you are trying to do."
"What?" He looked at me with his innocent doe eyes.
"Hmm seems like you are trying to turn me on huh?" I laughed as his face turned red with embarrassment and he paused the song.
"I...I didn't have intention like that." He stammered nervously.
"'love me harder', 'take the pleasure with the pain', 'make you feel like the first time'" I said some of the lyrics out loud. "You are telling me this." I squared my shoulder and glanced at him.
He was staring at me in disbelief with his red face. "You! I didn't even know the lyrics of the song!"
I laughed. "Kidding boy, kidding."
He shook his head and scrolled through the list of songs.
"Play 'let's fall in love for the night' by Finneas." I said.
He nodded and after a moment the song started to play. I nodded my head with the beats.
"So you want to fall in love for the night and forget about it in the morning? Hm...how nice. Haha." He said sarcastically.
I shook my head. "No. No You missed the point. 'Play me a song that you like, you can bet I'll know every line'. That's what I wanted to say." I shrugged. "I memorized all the lyrics of you favorite songs." I grinned at him.
He stared at me. "Seriously?"
I shook my head. "No, I was kidding. My memorizing power is bad. I can only remember a few lines of few songs."
He narrowed his eyes, murmuring something.
I laughed. I liked teasing him and also the atmosphere between us had lighten and had become more comfortable.
We spent the rest of the time talking about songs.
Back in the hotel room, he started unpacking his things. I watched him intently. He was sort of tiny, barely took space when he moved. He did everything in tiny. But even though he did everything in tiny, he was a little clumsy. I couldn't stop smiling while he rummaged through his bag, searching for his toiletries.
"I am gonna take a shower first. You can order dinner." I said, grabbing my clothes.
He nodded and looked at me.
"What?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. Be a little fast. I will go after you."
I stood outside of the bathroom door. "Well, we can take a shower together if you don't mind." I winked at him flirtatiously.
He stared at me with wide eyes, completely speechless. I laughed and headed in the bathroom.
I took a quick shower and dressed up completely in my sweatpants and white T-shirt before coming out of the bathroom, drying my hair with a towel. He was seated on the bed with his clothes on his lap, watching me nervously. I smiled and walked to him.
"What? Did I dazzle you?" I laughed.
His cheeks flushed and he avoided my gaze. "Uh...I ordered dinner. I will go take a shower now." He got up and hurriedly rushed to the bathroom. I laughed after him and sat on the bed.
I sat comfortably on the bed, leaning on the pillow and taking the blanket over me and watched the rain beat against the large window. Maybe it was the fatigue from the day before, I started to feel sleepy. My eyes were burning lightly and my eyelids turned heavy.
"Kwan?"
I turned to look at him peeping his head out from the bathroom door.
"Um...does the hair dryer not work? It's not turning on."
I got out of bed and walked to him. "The main switch is here." I entered and tuned the switch on that was attached with the light board. He looked at me in amazement.
"Oh...Okay." He smiled and turned the dryer on and started drying his hair.
For a moment I watched him but then reached out to take the dryer from his hand. He seemed a little confused as I started drying his hair. We smiled at each other through the mirror. After it was done, I placed the dryer on the sink counter and wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my chin on his head.
"You have the age to grow taller you know." He said.
I laughed. "Why? Does my height bother you so much?"
He sighed. "No, I like it."
I kissed his head. He smelled nice. He smelled like me.
"You are kinda clingy, aren't you?" He chuckled, clutching on my hands.
"Maybe I am."
"You said you hate it when somebody touches you. Even when you sleep, you said you can't fall asleep if someone is next to you."
I smiled and leaned to whisper in his ear. "You are an exceptional." I said and kissed the back of his ear. I could tell he stopped breathing as he watched me with wide eyes through the mirror. I chuckled and released him from my grip. He turned to face me and opened his mouth to say something but the doorbell rang.
"Oh, I will get it." he said and rushed out to get the door.
"Woah...I don't understand why you like rice porridge so much." I said, taking a mouthful of my rice.
He smiled. "I just love porridge. Also I didn't know what you would like so I ordered the non-veg set."
"No problem. It's better. I didn't have any cravings for anything in particular." I took another mouthful of rice and some side dishes and went over to grab the telephone on the bedside table. I dialed the reception and ordered pomegranate wine for myself.
"You like to drink a lot, don't you?" He asked once I came back to him.
I grinned and nodded. "Yes."
He exhaled loudly. "You are so young and yet you are developing these habits."
I scowled. "I am nineteen and you are just twenty two. Why are you talking like some old man?"
He laughed.
"You should try some today. It's just me here anyway." I grinned.
"Here." I poured two glasses of the pomegranate wine and handed one to him. He looked at the red wine in curiosity.
"Cheers?" I asked.
He nodded and we clinked our glasses. I took a sip while he hesitated. I urged him to go on and as he took a sip, he grimaced.
"Ew, I should have known from the smell that the taste wouldn't be any better." He said, still grimacing.
I smiled and took another sip.
He placed his glass down. "I won't drink." He said and continued to look at me until I finished my drink.
"You..." He trailed off.
"Huh?"
"You are one really good looking guy."
I grinned. "I know."
He sighed.
I moved closer to him and pecked his lips. "Then aren't you glad I am yours?"
His face changed colors visibly, turning scarlet and he looked away from me. I smiled and leaned away. I quickly finished his drink too and went to brush my teeth, afraid he would mind the wine's smell.
When I came back, he had turned the T.v on and was settled comfortably under the blanket. He looked at me and gestured me to go to him. I slipped under the blanket with him excitedly. We lied down comfortably with my arm under him as he rested his head on my chest. Some marvel movie was going on in low volume in the background. I couldn't concentrate well because of him. I was extremely tired and yet distracted. And the comfort and warmth was just pulling me to fall asleep.
"The smell of the body wash is so fresh. I haven't smelled anything like that before." He started a conversation.
"Yeah, I like it too." I said. I could barely concentrate on the screen. My eyes felt heavy.
"I should see the brand and get one too."
I reached out to play with his hair with the arm that was under him. "It's not a brand. It's custom made."
"Huh?" He turned to look at me slightly. "That is not provided by the hotel?"
I shook my head. "It's mine."
He took a moment to response. "So this is what you smell like. I always wondered what you smell like." He giggled playfully.
I dug my nose in his hair and inhaled deeply. "Hm, for now you smell like me."
He chuckled. "And I love it."
"I will ask them to make one and send it to you if you like it so much."
"Sure. I would love it. It would always smell around like you."
I smiled and kissed his head. He reached to hold my hand and look at my fingers.
"You really have beautiful fingers." He started to say something more but my mind traveled back to reminisce the whole day and it got stuck to our kiss.
"Hey?" I called.
"Yeah?"
"It was your first kiss, right?" I asked.
"Yes."
I scoffed softly. "You were pretty good even if it was your first."
He remained silent and I knew he was scarlet again. I leaned my cheek on his head and closed my eyes. I was exhausted. I didn't want to fall asleep so early. I wanted to spend the night talking with him, watching him and just listening to him. But my eyelids were turning heavier.
"Kwan?"
"Hm?"
"Let's go watch a movie together tomorrow."
"Sure."
He chuckled. "Are you sleepy?"
"No."
"I can clearly tell you are sleep talking." He leaned away and turned to look at me. I opened my eyes and looked at him.
"Sleep for now. You must have been exhausted." He said, concerned.
I shook my head. "No. I am not sleepy."
"Aiy, stop being a baby and just go to sleep." He said, turning the T.v off. He moved to set the pillows right and forced me to lie down comfortably, away from him. I didn't want to be away from him, not even an inch. I moved closer to him and hugged his tiny body and dug my face in his neck. He felt so fragile.
He exhaled loudly. "Come on, you won't be able to sleep well if you sleep like this."
"I don't mind if it's you."
"Says the guy who has sleeping issue."
I chuckled sleepily. I always had trouble sleeping if there was another person on the same bed as me. But for some reason, I was prepared for him. I wanted to cuddle with him and sleep that way with him. In fact, I wanted to do more with him but it was just our first night. I didn't want to rush things.
"Sleep well." He said and kissed my head.
"Goodnight." I said, kissing his neck.
I didn't even have to concentrate to fall asleep. As soon as I closed my eyes, I fell into the darkness.