Hello, Goodbye, and Everything In Between

Chapter 6 - Turning Page

The flight was going smoothly. They're on the last leg of their flight, just hours remaining before they finally land in Tampa.

"Feel free to lean on me if inaantok ka pa" Cassie offers. She had her neck pillow on and was ready for Aika to put her head on it. That was their position during the other flights they had earlier.

"I'm good na. Ikaw baka inaantok ka rin? Palit tayo. Akin na pillow mo" Aika offers back, but Cassie declines. 

They've already slept for hours earlier. Using the armrest to block the view, Aika interlocks their hands together.

"Are you feeling queasy?" They don't publicly hold hands for fear of exposing themselves and their relationship, but the gesture didn't surprise Cassie anymore. 

Aika took every chance she had for physical contact. Cassie was only worried about Aika because of her long history with smaller planes.

"Hindi naman. I'm used to this. I just want to enjoy the moment. It's not every day we get to travel together." In their three, almost four years, they can only count the number of times they flew out together alone.

After landing, they both took a cab and headed for their hotel. Both their accommodation was sponsored but, unfortunately, airport pickup wasn't included. 

To make things more disappointing for them, they had individual rooms. 

Neither could complain because, honestly, what else can you say when most expense for your trip is already paid for by generous benefactors?

"Do you want to stay with me for the night?" Cassie offers as soon as they reach their floor.

One of the things Aika learned as a frequent traveler is never to be afraid to ask little requests from your hotel's front desk. 

She initially hated the idea since she didn't like special treatments, but she quickly realized that asking for what's possible and what's not without offending anyone is totally acceptable. 

So, once they arrived, she had requested if it was possible to get adjoining rooms. Luck was on their side this time, the receptionist said it was no trouble.

"Of course, I wasn't planning on sleeping anywhere else, but beside you, for the rest of our trip," she tells her girlfriend as a matter of fact. The smile she got in return made her happy.

They get their things in order before freshening up. With the long sleep they had on the plane plus their jet lag, neither of them was ready to call it a night just yet.

"You want to grab something sa baba? I think I saw a store nearby bili tayo chips and coke," Aika offers.

"I thought hindi ka na nagmi-midnight snacks?" Cassie chuckles as she responds. 

Aika, ever disciplined, tried to avoid eating late at night. She would occasionally let herself have a cookie or two, but as much as possible, she didn't allow herself to indulge past dinner time.

"Pero ikaw, I know you like to snack on something bago matulog. Tara na!" Aika simply says before intertwining their hands and dragging her girlfriend out the door. 

From the initial plan of just getting soda and chips, they ended up grabbing more food than necessary. Cassie's eyes lightened up the moment she saw the candies and chocolate section.

"Love, we don't need that many sweets" as Cassie adds more gummies to the already growing pile on their basket, Aika patiently returns some of the items back to the shelf.