Flight Home

"Uhmm," Stellar trailed off. Her eyes blinked when she saw Holden's obsidian orbs dilate for a fraction of a second.

Why wasn't he retracting his hand? Why was his gaze boring a hole in her?

Was he thinking the same thing as she? Was he thinking of kissing her? Because at that forbidden moment in time, Stellar wondered what it would feel like if she just as much as stole a peck on his lips. But she shouldn't do that.

She didn't want to confuse him with a kiss and initiate him to the sins of the human flesh. Holden was too pure for her, and she didn't want to taint him.

Or maybe… she was overthinking again? Erasing the thought in her head, she reminded herself to work on her thought process ASAP. No more overthinking, Stellar.

Snapping her out from her reverie was Holden. "You have beautiful eyebrows," he spoke, breaking their minute-long gazing contest between them.

"Oh, yeah?" Stellar's finger flew to her face, tracing the thick bush of brows on top of her eyes.

Why would he think her eyebrows were beautiful? Looking at his set of brows, Stellar mused to herself that his own set of straight brows wasn't bad at all but complemented his features.

Suddenly, a wild thought popped in her head like a mushroom on the forest bed.

Holden? Was he… gay?

Was that the reason why he entered the seminary to avoid scrutiny for his choice of gender?

Was that the reason why he was comfortable with her? But they were in a new generation and members of the third sex were welcomed and accepted in the society.

"Brother Holden!" Stellar cried. She lunged at him, her chest colliding with his as she wrapped him in a hug. "You know you can tell me everything, right?" She patted his back twice. "I swear I won't judge you for your preference."

"I'm not gay, Star," Holden chuckled. Stellar could feel his chest rumble from how tightly she hugged him.

Peeling from their embrace, Stellar cocked her head to the side. "Oh? You're not?" She saw Holden shake his head, and it made her sigh in relief.

"I thought you were. I was worried I would be carrying the burden of keeping your secret. Haha! Oh, what was I thinking?!" Stellar covered her face with her hands.

Something was seriously wrong with her. Why did she love jumping to conclusions? First, she was salivating over him, now she thought he was gay. Going back to their earlier conversations, Stellar remembered that Holden confessed to having a girl in his heart.

Here she went again. She should stop dissecting everything she saw. Swiping her hands over her face and grinning at Holden, she said, "Forget about what I just said. Sometimes, my mouth talks before I could tell it to stop."

Instead of reprimanding her, Holden just shuffled his hand on top of Stellar's head. He then asked her where she wanted to visit next month, changing the topic and diverting Stellar's attention.

Throughout the night, the two conversed and plotted their itinerary. They agreed that every first weekend of the month, they would fly out for a trip around Southeast Asian countries.

It was nearing midnight, and Stellar just got out of the toilet after changing to a more comfortable clothing. Surprise painted her face upon seeing Red standing guard by the door. But the smell of food diverted her attention. Her eyes burst with stars at the sight of a steaming bowl of wonton soup and a plethora of dim sums sitting prettily inside round baskets.

Immediately, Stellar's eyes zeroed in on her favorite—the Lo Bak Go. Made from a shredded turnip, dried shrimp, and Chinese sausage, the pan-fried cake forever left a mark in Stellar's heart after eating tasting it for the first time during a past trip to Hong Kong when she was younger.

Perhaps it was also one of the reasons why she loved the dish because it reminded her of that time when her family was still complete.

"Woooow. I thought we would be skipping dim sum on this trip, and it looks straight from the steamer!" Stellar mused, her eyes twinkled as she accepted the chopsticks from Holden. He pulled out the lone chair in the studio and gestured for her to sit on it.

"Go. Eat before it gets cold."

"Thank you!" Stellar nodded her head. Her eyes traveled to Red. "Join us, Twinkle," she teased, but he just bowed his head.

Har Gow or steamed shrimp dumplings

Rice Flour Rolls with minced pork BBQ

Siu Mai or steamed pork dumplings with shrimp

The pair inhaled every piece of dumpling on the table and were quiet the entire time while they were eating. The only sound that could be heard inside the room were moans of delight as an explosion of umami invaded their taste buds, satiating their dim sum cravings.

"When did you buy this?" Stellar asked after swallowing a bite of wonton.

"Twinkle did."

"Wooow. There's a dim sum place still open at this time?"

Holden just smiled at Stellar and clanked his can of beer on her seltzer water. By the door, Red maintained an impassive face.

Even when dim sum was a way of life in Hong Kong, there was no way a stall would be open at such an ungodly hour unless a certain brat pulled some strings, so a Michelin-star dim sum chef would prepare dishes that people would normally line-up for hours in the streets.

At two in the morning, Stellar and Holden hailed a taxi to drive them to the airport, leaving Red to fend for himself.

Since it was a last-minute trip, they booked a red-eye flight that would depart at night and would arrive in the morning.

After three hours of waiting, their flight number was finally announced, and the gate to their plane was open for boarding.

Reaching their seats, Holden gave Stellar a soft squeeze on the shoulder. "I'm just a seat behind. Let me know if you need anything."

Stellar smile wryly at Holden. She didn't want to tell him that she was freaking out. To be honest, she abhorred flying, that whenever she needed to be on a plane, she was always with a company.

Since it was a last-minute flight, the only available seats for them were separate, and now Holden had to sit behind her, depriving her of any sense of a security blanket during the flight.

"Hello. Can you excuse me? I'm on the window seat."

Stellar peered up and saw a voluptuous woman standing in the aisle. She stood right away and let the lady in on her seat.

While the plane hit the runway to take off, Stellar subconsciously reached out for the hand beside her.

Once the plane was floating in the air, and the seatbelt sign was turned off by the pilot, Stellar felt a hand tap her shoulder. Looking behind her, she saw Holden. She smiled and told him she was fine.

As she was about to unclasp her seatbelt, she noticed that she was still clutching tightly on her seatmate's hand. She dropped it like a hot potato and her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

"Oh no, I'm sorry. Are your fingers okay? I'm sorry."

"Hey. It's okay. Is it your first time flying?" the lady asked.

"Thank you," Stellar sheepishly expressed her gratitude. She then added, "More likely not a fan of take-offs." "Sorry. Sorry… I'm stellar, by the way. And you are?"

"Kimberly."

"Sorry, Kimberly."

An understanding smile curved Kimberly's lips. She cupped Stellar's hand and expressed, "You already said sorry once. You don't have to keep saying sorry for being you."

Stellar bowed her head, her eyes trained on her feet. She didn't know what or how to respond to Kimberly's words. She was used to saying sorry every time she did something her mother disliked, and the habit stuck on her.

Her consciousness to other's reactions and her overthinking pushed Stellar to always say sorry as if just her mere breathing was a mistake. Peering up, Stellar flashed Kimberly a smile. "Thank you. You don't know how much your advice means to me right now. I'll keep to heart."

That very moment, two women connected and instantly became flight friends. Throughout their short trip, the ladies exchanged stories.

According to Kimberly, she was a real estate agent coming home after spending the holidays with her British boyfriend based in Hong Kong.

After finding out Kimberly's profession, a thought crossed Stellar's mind. She then exchanged calling cards with Kimberly, just in case it would come in handy in the future.

By the time the plane landed, the sun was already peeking on the horizon, illuminating the once asleep city.

Stellar and Holden then took a cab towards the airport parking where Holden left his car for their trip.

Along the way, they passed by a drive-thru for their breakfast, grabbing sausage, egg, and cheese muffin paired with a cup of coffee.

After an hour, they reached their destination—Kosmos. Strategically located in the shopping district, the century-old jewelry company stood proudly in the heart of high-end malls. It belonged to Stellar's maternal side—the Xing Family.

The car drove up the winding slope to the parking garage, stopping by the seventh floor, where the entrance to the management offices was.

"Thanks for the ride, Holden." Stellar shifted in her seat and unbuckled her seatbelt. She then turned to Holden and held out her pinky. "See you next month?" She beamed when Holden hooked his pinky with Stellar's and bobbed his head. "I promise to book two separate rooms this time."

Waiting until Stellar got safely inside the building, Holden then drove away but slowed down upon noticing a familiar figure brooding in a dark corner of the parking lot. He rolled down his windows, and the corner of his lips tugged up in a smirk, and arrogance oozed from his skin.

"You're creepy as always, Beau," Holden taunted before speeding away from the raging inferno.