Hong Kong: Airbnb

"I don't mind sharing the bed?" Stellar angled her head. Her statement came out more like a question rather than a fact.

She eyed Holden who was silent the entire time, checking all the faucets in the apartment to make sure it was working. When he was done with his inspection, he tugged his ears.

Something about his calm demeanor and reassuring smile told Stellar that she was the only person in the room who was fussing over their sleeping arrangements.

A thought crossed Stellar's mind. She didn't want to put much meaning in his nonchalance, but why did it feel as if he was looking forward to them sharing a bed?

What the F?

How could she think that the pure and holy Holden would harbor such thoughts!

Jumping on the bed to shake off her random musing, Stellar then rolled to the side closest to the window. "I'll take this spot," she announced. "I have a bad habit of rolling off the bed. I hope you don't mind."

To her surprise, Holden's body landed on the bed with a bounce. She giggled at the sudden wave she felt in her tummy.

"Ok. Let's make sure you won't roll over," Holden reassured her. He lifted his head and let it rest on his forearm.

Seconds trickled like sands inside an hourglass, and a comfortable silence lingered in the air until a soft snore tickled Holden's ears. Side eyeing Stellar, a smile crossed his face upon seeing her mouth slightly open.

Pulling his arm under his head, he then twisted in his spot. He tried to close Stellar's ajar mouth, but she was quick to grasp his wrist.

"Aww!" he winced in pain when Stellar bit his finger.

As if she knew what just happened, Stellar's eyes flew open. "Oh nooooooo! What have I done? I'm sorry." She immediately checked Holden's finger and the color on her face drained upon seeing her teeth left a deep bite mark on his skin.

Stellar's body shot up from the bed in a sitting position. In her haste, she forgot that she was holding Holden's wrist hostage. The sudden movement coupled with her adrenaline rush gave Stellar enough power to yank Holden as well.

A blush crept from Stellar's neck, painting her cheeks rosy when Holden's breath fanned on the curved of her neck. He was sitting behind her after she clumsily yanked him off the bed.

Stellar wanted the mattress to swallow her body. She didn't know which was more embarrassing: her biting Holden's finger or the possibility that Holden would see her blushing with their proximity?

Or maybe both?

Her eyes darted sideways. Sharing bed space with Holden was a bad idea. Maybe she just needed to endure Cooper and Irina's midnight hanky-panky to save herself from her inappropriate thoughts and reactions towards Holden's proximity.

"You can let go of my hand, Star."

"Oh. Oh. Here you go." Stellar dropped Holden's finger like a hot potato. She wanted to avoid looking at him because she was a hundred percent sure her face was as red as a tomato, so she hopped her way off of the bed and zoomed to her luggage. "I'll use the bathroom first. We don't want Cooper waiting for us," she said whilst zipping her luggage open.

Still avoiding to look at Holden's face, Stellar kept her head bowed and focused on picking out her New Year's eve outfit.

Her ears wiggled when it picked up a faint sound. It was Holden saying 'okay'. Whatever he said next, Stellar didn't register because her heart was pounding crazily in her chest, she could hear it in her ears.

Later that evening, Stellar and Holden arrived in Victoria Harbour where their limousine drove them.

"Woah," Stellar mused at the sight of several 'junk' boat floating in the water. A symbol of Hong Kong's tourism, the wooden boat with red sails akin to a dragon's wings was a sight to behold.

Their eyes scanned each boat docked and soon found themselves walking towards the end of the dock where a guy dressed in a two-piece suit was standing.

Holden handed the guy the invitation Cooper had given them earlier, and the guy gestured for them to board the boat.

Before crossing the gangway, Holden stepped aside. He peeled his suit jacket off, wrapping it on Stellar's waist.

Although Holden found her ensemble of a red moto jacket, velvet plaid tank top, short leather skirt, and knee-high boots cute, the odds of Tom's peeping on her were highly likely.

"Thank you. I didn't know it was a boat party," Stellar explained.

Holden just smiled at her and brushed the loose hair that got stuck on the corner of her lips. He tucked it behind her ear before his hand pressed at the small of her back.

Walking ahead of Holden, Stellar crossed the gangway and was welcomed by Cooper inside the boat. Throughout the night, Stellar and Holden found themselves a quiet spot away from the loud chatter.

They were hanging out with Cooper and his friends earlier, but when Stellar felt the entire conversation was draining her out, she had to excuse herself and soon Holden found her sitting in a corner after a few minutes.

"You know, you don't have to babysit me, right?" Stellar trailed off, jumpstarting their conversation. "You can catch up some more with Cooper. I don't mind being alone."

"That's the longest conversation we had for years. Longer than that, I'm afraid, we would end up at each other's throat."

"Wha-what? No waaay."

"Mmm."

Stellar wanted to probe some more, but she felt as if it was out of line to do so unless Holden would open up himself. To her luck, she heard Holden let out a sigh before speaking.

"I think he hates the pressure of bearing the weight of our family business. Growing up, we always did things together until I decided to enter the seminary. He came into terms with it, but me leaving him alone felt like a betrayal and it left a scar, I'm afraid."

Stellar nodded her head. That made sense. She felt the same back then when her mom forced her to enroll in a degree she wasn't keen on taking.

Since Aki wanted to be a priest and Cassy, well, Aster has other plans for her like marrying a Spencer. So… Stellar was the only child left to continue the Cross legacy.

Her tongue was itching to say more, like to share her story with Holden so he would understand why Cooper strayed from him, but by the looks of him, she guessed that Holden already understood what his twin felt. They shared the same womb, after all.

Stellar's eyes suddenly darted to Hong Kong's skyline. The towering buildings slowly lit up like an iron and steel Christmas tree. "That's beautiful," she mused.

"Yes, it is," Holden agreed.

Turning her head to face Holden, she saw him looking at her. Her eyes narrowed into slits. "Are we looking at the same thing?"

"At each other? Right now?"

"Nooo. At the same thing?"

Holden smiled. "I was looking at something beautiful."

Stellar bowed her head and bit her lips. The devil on her shoulder told her that Holden was flirting with her, but the angel on her other shoulder countered that Holden was really looking at something beautiful, whatever that was.

Breaking their bubble was the sound of footsteps coming closer to their direction. Lifting up her chin, surprise painted Stellar's face.

"Yanyan!" Stellar ejected from her seat.

"Stellar!"

"Oh my goooosh! What a small world!" Yanyan, Stellar's college buddy, a film major, welcomed Stellar in a hug.

"Yes! What brought you here?"

"Work. Obviously." Yanyan rolled her eyes. "My boss is a workaholic, so he dragged me here on a holiday. Sucks but, the view makes it worth it."

"Ouch. Oh, hey, this Holden. Holden, this is Yanyan, my college buddy."

"Holden Knight? Cooper Knight's brother? Wooow. What an honor to meet you. I heard him say he's with his twin. I was actually looking for a spitting image, but you're… different except for the eyes." Yanyan's eyes twinkled. She slowly shook Holden's hand and thought about never letting it go. "I thought you were a myth," she mused.

"What on Earth are you saying?" Stellar wondered. Her eyes darting back and forth between Yanyan and Holden. She tugged Holden's sleeve, looking for answers.

"What? Holden was never seen in photos because this man right here is a very private man. Oh, sorry. I'm naturally talkative. I hope I'm not annoying you." Yanyan covered her mouth when her lack of tact reared its ugly head.

"It's okay." Holden smiled. "It's an honor to meet a friend of Stellar's."

Yanyan's eyes turned hazy. "It's hard to be her friend. She's very low maintenance, we rarely talk. Sometimes I wonder if we're really friends."

Stellar playfully slapped Yanyan's belly, and the two shared laughter. "Of course. Why wouldn't we be friends after how many times you took me home whenever I get drunk?" The two ladies shared a hug at the memory.

"So don't drink anything tonight. I don't want to see you falling off the boat," Yanyan teased. She then fished her phone and asked if she could take their photo together.

Raising the lens up in the air, Yanyan smiled at the image she took. She then excused herself when her boss's name flashed on the screen, telling her that he was looking for his wandering assistant.

Back in the Spencer mansion, Beau was sitting near the fireplace, fiddling with his social media account. His fingers were swiping up when his eyes caught the photo Yanyan just uploaded.

In it was Stellar sandwiched between Yanyan and Holden, her head comfortably leaning on Holden's shoulder.

The caption read: Look who I bumped in HK? Stellar and her boyfriend Holden Knight! [toast emoji] [heart eyes emoji] [dancing girls emoji]