Lost in Japan

Never be alone

Camila woke up from bed and quickly put Shawn's shirt to cover herself, sensually removing her hair from it. To appreciate the view a little better, Shawn elevated himself on the puffy white pillow comfortably and put his arms up behind his head. The side look and little smirk appearing on his face were just a natural reaction to the hotness his Latina girlfriend exuded, from her curvy backside to her silky profuse black hair that fell right on it.

"You hot babe!"

She turned her head and blew him a kiss in the most "caliente" way possible. He swooned. He loved it when she brought out her inner Señorita; because it was a kind of reenactment of the video he wished he could live in, his all-time favorite musical video he had ever shot, the video that sealed his long-awaited reunion with her and the concretization of his dream. Even in their teenage years, he loved listening to her speaking Spanish and would find any excuses from officially appointing her his Spanish teacher in exchange of guitar lessons she allegedly needed, to randomly ask for the good pronunciation of specific words "Te quiero", "Amor", "Mùsica".

She grabbed her suitcase and retrieved a little squared box from it.

"So, this is a little present for you and at the same time like a whole concept, I loved the idea of it. It's a bit corny though, please don't blame me for it!", adding that last request with a baby grin she knew he couldn't resist.

"Babe, I would never, I love corny, I can be the corniest man on earth if you want me too", he half joked, leaning towards her offering his exaggerated pouty lips to welcome a peck.

She opened the box and took out what looked like two little identical electronic devices, under Shawn's more than intrigued gaze.

"When you said corny I expected something more like heart-shaped chocolates but I'm fine with these undefined objects too you know", he teased, taking out a curl of hair still stuck inside her shirt, stroking her neck at the same time.

"OK let me explain. Funny you got me a ring because these are actually bracelets...but not your average bracelets. More like electronic bracelets. Seriously babe, I am having a hard time coping with distance..."

He didn't even let her continue that he grabbed her and kissed her forehead.

"Me too babe", he sighed, his voice betraying his guilty feeling. He was the one busy on a worldwide tour, in a way pushing his a little more available girlfriend to meet him anywhere during that time. "Right now it's pretty crazy".

"I know babe, so these are a way for us to remain connected at all time. They're called Bond Touch bracelets, it vibrates and lights up when you touch it, no matter where we are on the planet. I just loved the concept and thought it was perfect for us given the circumstances you know!"

Before the bracelets, they made it a habit to give each other handwritten notes or to leave them anywhere for the other to randomly find them, brightening up their day in the blink of an eye at the same time, especially when they were apart. From the bedside, to a pocket, to the toilet bag, these perfect little personal attentions planted in strategic locations were more tangible demonstrations of affection where texts or other virtual messages sometimes failed.

From the casual "my sweet sweet love", "my Stitch", to the more elaborated "all I do the whole day through is dream of you" or "when you fall asleep tonight just remember that we lay under the same stars", those little white crisp papers with handwritten black ink notes were the perfect medium to convey all their tiny feelings, pet names or random thoughts popping up in their head. Writing them down almost instantly, they would sometimes find their way in their Notes and be later harmoniously incorporated in the lyrics of their songs.

Those little notes had been a life saver that one time, when at the other end of the planet, in Korea, despite being surrounded by his crew, who he considered like family and cherished, Shawn felt like he was struck by a sudden intolerable feeling of loneliness. The touristic agitation of the Bongeunsa temple they visited in Seoul, and the presence of his mates only increased the feeling of disconnection, as if now he was part of an alternate dimension and he didn't belong in the world around him anymore. The distance to his motherland, family, and lover certainly amplified this weird feeling of otherness, alternative manifestation of an uncontrollable anxiety. And to reconnect with the real world, to allow a very core type of emotion emerge again and act like an adrenaline shot making him feel alive, retransplanting him in the present moment, he put a hand in the right pocket of his short and took off Camila's little note she had given him right before leaving for Asia. "I love you and I miss you even more than I love you".

His long fingers grabbing the two little connected bracelets, he smiled, looking at them with an enthusiastic curiosity.

"I love it! You're a genius, you're my little genius", holding her tight while sliding the bracelet on his wrist then on hers. "It's actually so cool, we can even create our own Morse code..."

"Yes, and I already thought of it; three touches...three touches ...for I love you."