Even though I had been lying motionless on the plane for six hours, after clearing immigration and taking a car into the city to check into the hotel, I still felt exhausted. View B and I each had a rolling suitcase and a small shoulder bag for wallets and passports.
When we finally arrived at the hotel and checked into our room, View Be immediately threw herself on the bed, collapsing face down as if her body was about to collapse.
"After all that sleep, you're still yawning, huh?"
I said, even though I know traveling was always tiring. My little sister turned her head to look at me and mumbled.
"It's exhausting."
"This room is so small."
I said, looking around at the tiny space that was the size of a cramped box but priced like a luxury room in Pattaya or Phuket, Thailand.
"But it's nice, just two steps and we're next to each other. Convenient."
"The bed is small too," I said, looking at the queen-sized bed, then at View B, a little embarrassed about the fact that we would have to share it. But I tried to hide my discomfort from her.
"Just a little movement and you can feel it."
"View doesn't turn over in bed when I sleeps. It's great, we all sleep snugly. They say ghosts in Japan are pretty scary."
"Since when are we afraid of ghosts?"
"Should we be afraid?"
View B roll her eyes mischievously, making me look at her fondly. Just as I am about to start unpacking, my phone ring. Lee is calling, and of course View B notice too. She immediately make a sarcastic comment, clearly irritates.
"He knows exactly when to call. It's already past 11 PM here. No consideration."
"But it's only 9 PM in Thailand. Why do you dislike him so much?"
I answer the call and speak to Lee in a friendly tone:
"You calls as soon as I got to the hotel."
[Yes, I timed it well. How are you? Tired?]
"A little. The flight was quite long."
[I call to check if you arrives safely at the hotel. But are you seriously not going to tell me where you're staying?]
"No, I won't. You can follow me here."
[Oh, how mean. I guess I'll have to call you then.]
"You can't do much more than that. Anyway, I'm going to hang up now. I need to unpack and take a shower before bed."
[Okay. Dream about me.]
"Good night."
[If I dream well, it means I dreamed about you.]
Lee's increasing flirting make me realize that he is becoming more comfortable with our relationship. Although I kept things casual and didn't get physical like other couples, he accepted what I offered without complaint. Maybe it was because I kept my distance, was a little strict, and he didn't overdo it.
Or maybe because I didn't liked him as much as other people like their partners, so I didn't care about how he felt. If he wasn't satisfied, he could just walk out of my life, it was that simple.
That's the advantage of not caring. But for those who do care... I look at View B, silently unpacking her clothes. I had hung up the phone in a hurry because she clearly didn't like my conversation with Lee.
