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FREITAG 21:43
The party was in full swing, music pumped through the speakers, laughter rang out, as the teens chaotically danced to the beat. Kieu My threw her arms up in the air, jumping with Ismail as they screamed the lyrics into the air, collapsing into each other in giggles as they messed up the words. Suddenly, they shoved Kieu My with their shoulder, head gesturing to the exit. Kieu My whipped her head around, eyes falling on her girlfriend making her way through the door. She perked up, smiling back at Ismail who gave her a thumbs up before disappearing in the crowd.
“Fatou!” Kieu My shouted over the music, and hurried to make her way through the swarm of people. She stumbled to the right, knocked off balance by a body. She glares at the boy who bumped into her, brushing her hair out of her face, and continued walking over undeterred. Fatou watched smiling as she leaned up against a wall.
“Hi, Baby.” Kieu My bounced on her feet, stopping in front of her girlfriend.
“Hey.” Fatou leaned in, quickly giving her a kiss.
“You’re late.” Kieu My said with feigned seriousness, her eyes punctuating her point.
“Yeah, sorry. I got lost on my way here.” Fatou sheepishly rubbed at her neck.
“Nonsense, I’m just glad you’re here.”
“Want a drink?” Kieu My brushed off her girlfriend’s apology, and tilted her head towards the coolers.
“Yeah, sure.” They shuffled their way, Kieu My linking their hands together slyly, or maybe not so slyly as Fatou threw her head back laughing before squeezing back. Kieu My blushed slightly, glad for the bad lighting, keeping her grip on the girl as she tugged her through the crowd, her height easily giving her an advantage.
She propped open the cooler and fished around the ice water for Fatou’s favorite drink.
“Here.” She unceremoniously shoved the drink at Fatou, still combing through the bottles for her own.
A gasp caught her attention, and she looked up at her girlfriend in confusion. Fatou was wiping at her face with one hand, water smearing across her cheeks.
“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry Fatou. I didn’t mean to.” Kieu My stopped and began to wipe at her girlfriend’s face with her fingers, accidentally making it worse with her wet hand. Fatou’s eyes narrowed a little, and it took Kieu My a minute to realise she was looking between the cooler and her.
“Fatou… “ She warned, stepping back a bit.
“Fatou, no.” Kieu My is stern, but it’s no use. Fatou broke out in a grin and swiped her hand through the water before flicking it towards her girlfriend.
Kieu My shrieked, her hands darting up to cover her face from the ice cold water.
“No… baby. Please.”
“What? Are you afraid of a little water, Babe?” Fatou giggled but stopped.
“Afraid? No, but you’re starting something you can’t finish.”
“Oh, am I?”
“Yes.” Kieu My beamed, dunking both hands into the water and hitting her girlfriend with it.
“AH!” Fatou jumped back, “Cold, cold, cold.” She shivered, pulling her shirt away from her skin as water ran down it. She looked at Kieu My in disbelief and Kieu My fought to keep a straight face. Before she knew it Fatou was retaliatiating, and they found themselves having a mini water war in the middle of the party.
“Stop! Stop!” Kieu My fought to say between giggles, thoroughly soaked with goose bumps covering her skin, “TRUCE. BABE TRUCE.”
“Truce?” Fatou paused unconvinced, water still cupped in her hand.
“Yes, please. No more.”
“I don’t know, I already have you right where I want you.” She inched closer.
“Really?” Kieu My looked around, thinking of an exit strategy.
A smirk came on her face and she met Fatou directly in her eyes, “I could think of better positions you could have me in.”
Just like she intended, Fatou choked a little, dropping the water from her hands as she looked at Kieu My bewildered. Taking that as her cue, Kieu My stepped closer wrapping her arms around her girlfriend.
“See, a truce isn’t that bad.” She kissed the top of Fatou’s head quite content to ignore the people giving them weird looks.
“Kieu My!” Fatou whispered scandalously, but leaned into her hold, “You’re lucky you didn’t get my hair wet.”
“I’d never do that.” Kieu My mumbled into her hair, which was perfectly dry.
“Oh, lovebirds…”
“Ismail.” Fatou deadpanned, and they broke apart.
“Come on, you have to come play with us.” They tugged on Fatou dragging her towards the door that leads to the roof. Kieu My followed behind grudgingly.
“Ismail, I don’t want to play-”
“Everyone’s playing, you have too.” They cut Fatou off. Sure enough, out on the roof is both the cashqueens and the instas sitting around in a circle drinking and eating snacks.
“If this is spin the bottle, Fatou’s not playing.” Kieu My crossed her arms unimpressed.
“Oh, I’m not playing?” Fatou quirked an eyebrow at her.
She blushed again, but tried to act cool and unbothered, “You want to?”
“Well…,” Kieu My began to preemptively glare at her, “Maybe later, just you and me?”
A startled giggle emerged from Kieu My and she nodded quickly, warming up to the idea of a private game of spin the bottle.
“Alrighttt, that’s enough flirting from you guys…” Ismail shoved them to sit opposite to each other in the circle.
“Okay,” They sat down with a huff, “Now that everyone’s here, let’s play!”
“What are we playing again?” Zoe asked, her back resting up against Finn.
“Spin the bottle!” Ismail exclaimed loudly, earning quite a few disgusted looks.
“No, absolutely not.” Kieu My hissed and moved to get up.
“Nah, I’m just messing with you. We’re playing Truth or Truth.”
“Isn’t that kinda boring?” Nora questioned as she knocked back her soda.
“No, this is bound to bring up some drama.”
“That’s the party spirit.” Ava joked, somewhat already done with the game.
“Exactly, okay I’ll go first, of course.” Ignoring the lack of enthusiasm, Ismail pushed forwards, glancing around the circle for their first victim.
“Let’s see…Fatou?”
Fatou just groaned and looked up at the night sky.
“Yeah?” She shrugged and accepted her fate.
“What’s your favorite thing about Kieu My?” They asked with a sly smile, wiggling their eyebrows at Kieu My, who rolled her eyes in response.
“Easy, her laugh.” Fatou answered immediately like it was a no brainer. Kieu My melted a little, smiling to herself.
“I should have specified that you couldn’t give boring answers...” Ismail mumbled to themself. Fatou made a face at them before rolling her eyes and looking away.
“My turn…” Fatou looked around the circle more happily, “Ava.”
“Yes, Chibi?”
“Would you rather turn into a lizard once a month for a night, or have to bring a lizard everywhere you go?”
“You’ve been spending too much time at work, Chibi.” Fatou laughed, but agreed. She had been having alot more shifts lately than she had originally intended.
“I guess, turn into a lizard once a month for a night. I don’t think I could be known as the crazy lizard lady.”
“There’s nothing wrong with lizards!” Fatou defended vehemently. She would stand for no reptile slander tonight.
“Yeah, but imagine me at 60 years old with a lizard on my shoulder! That’d be so weird.”
“It’s not any less weird as a teenager either.” Mailin pointed out.
“Exactly, what would you even choose?”
Fatou looked sheepish, “well, turning into a lizard.”
Of course everyone started laughing at her hypocrisy.
“But! Not because I think carrying a lizard around would be weird, but because I think being a lizard would be cool.” She defended herself.
“Fatou,” Kieu My caught her attention, “Please don’t start carrying around a lizard. A turtle was good enough.”
“Hey, that wasn’t my fault. That was their fault!” Fatou huffed, and pointed at Ismail.
“This is not how I thought this game was gonna go.” Ismail was quite dejected. The juicy drama they had hoped for was yet to arrive.
“Anyways, it’s my turn. Zoe?”
“Yeah,” Zoe perked up from where she and Finn were whispering to each other.
“What’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve done?”
“Ayy, nooo.”
“I know the answer to that.” Finn’s smile vanished as Zoe shoved his shoulder, and he raised his hands in defeat.
“No, you don’t because nothing embarrassing ever happens to me.” Zoe insisted.
“That’s not true.” Kieu My snorted, earning herself a glare from the blonde.
“I guess, if I had to say… maybe that time I texted Kiki instead of Finn by accident.” Zoe answered, shuddering as she remembered the awkward text she got back as well as a link to an article describing safe internet texting rules.
“That’s not the truth.” Kieu My interjected, who quite vividly had another story to tell.
“Whatever, it’s my turn to ask someone,” Zoe smirked at her vindictively, “Kieu My.”
“Shit.” Kieu My whispered to herself as instant regret waved over her.
“When did you start liking Fatou?”
“Zoe.” Kieu My whispered conspiratorially, glancing around at the circle.
“Karma’s a bitch.” Zoe taunted her, smugly raising her drink at her.
“Why is this embarrassing? We’re dating.” Fatou asked innocently, unclear as to why her girlfriend of 8 months was being so shy.
“Yeah, we actually don’t know this.” Nora straightened up from where she was slouching into Josh.
“That’s true, we know Fatou’s point of view, but Kieu My always seemed so…” Mailin started, trailing off.
“Ice queen.” The cashqueen’s joked in unison.
“Guys…” Fatou stopped them as Kieu My’s cheeks tinged red.
“Hah, ice queen?” Zoe laughed, “This girl couldn’t be chill around Fatou even if she tried. And she definitely did.”
“Zoeeeeee.” Kieu My hid behind her hands, peeking out at Fatou who was just looking at her endearingly.
“Maybe you should begin when it all started.” Ismail nudged Kieu My, trying to encourage her to answer.
“Weren’t we playing a game, not discussing my relationship?”
“Nah, this is more fun.” Ismail said, easily enjoying the discomfort of their friend.
“I wouldn’t mind knowing the answer.” Fatou said shyly and caught Kieu My’s eye. And that was that, all it took was Fatou asking her to continue, and she did. She could hardly refuse such a simple request from her girlfriend.
“Alright, this is happening.” Kieu My brushed her bangs in front of her face already trying to preserve her dignity however much of a lost cause she knew it to be.
“So, I guess I always thought you were pretty… and really cool.” Kieu My was slow and careful about her words, acutely aware of having the attention of the whole group. It was true in the least, Fatou’s always been comfortable in her own style and that was something Kieu My appreciated.
“Hmm.” Fatou leaned towards her, very interested in her answer.
“I liked that you seemed very sure of yourself. I didn’t realise how sweet and kind you were til maybe last fall?”
“I didn’t really know how I felt though, and I didn’t really know you then.” She continued, uncertain of what to say, hoping that was satisfying enough of an answer.
“But she wanted to. You were her bi-awakening.” Ismail called her out with no hesitation.
“Ismail!” Kieu My whipped her head towards them feeling betrayed.
“It’s true! You realised you liked girls and then you started following her on instagram. A coincidence? I think not.” Ismail smiled at Fatou, who just laughed goodheartendly at the news.
“Ah, I remember when you followed Fatou on instagram.” Nora said, reaching her hand into a chip bag.
“What? Why?” Kieu My asked. She wondered how Nora even knew when she followed Fatou on instagram? Had it really been that weird to follow Fatou randomly that she mentioned it to her friends? That was even more embarrassing than admitting she had a crush on Fatou.
“Well, yeah cause she had a big crush on you, and it was exciting. I was a kieutou shipper since Zoe’s birthday when I first noticed.” She spoke through her mouthful of chips, not realising she just sent Kieu My for a loop. That time frame was not adding up at all.
“You had a crush on me during Zoe's birthday?” Kieu My was genuinely confused, that was way before she had thought she’d even caught the girl’s attention.
With a light blush on her face, Fatou patiently answered, “Yes? Again, we are dating.”
“But Zoe’s birthday? I thought…”
“You thought what?” Ava questioned a tad roughly.
“I thought Fatou liked me after the Moulin Rouge dance?” Kieu My looked down at the ground not eager to talk about it.
“I don’t know why people keep bringing that up!” Fatou crossed her arms annoyed, “I was looking respectfully!”
“Life would have been nicer if Fatou only liked you for your dancing abilities. The poor girl was hanging on your every word since the beginning. It was…displeasing.” Ava finished her thought. Even though she and Kieu My were cool with each other, it didn’t erase the fact that Ava was not happy that Fatou kept getting hurt by her in the beginning. A girl’s gotta protect her friends.
“Oh.” The word came out soft, a little disbelieving at the amount of time Fatou had seemed to care for her.
“You actually thought Fatou only liked you because you’re pretty?”
“Well, I-” Kieu My was caught off guard, she knew Fatou loved her now but she always wondered how it all started. Now, it was kind of making her look conceited, and honestly, a little dumb.
“Fatou is way too pure-hearted for that.” Mailin cut her off, dismissively waving her hand in the air, receiving agreement from the rest of the group.
“I don’t think she would ever hook up with anyone just for looks.” Nora contributed. Fatou’s face scrunched up in confusion.
“Why would I do that?” Her response earned the laughter of her friends.
“Anyways, back to Kieu My.” Ismail prompted her to continue.
“Right… I started asking Zoe about you.” Kieu My shook her head to clear her thoughts. Her brain felt like it discovered something revolutionary, which honestly checks out when Fatou is involved.
“Yeah, and I was dying to tell her that Fatou liked her but I didn’t. Aren’t you guys proud of me?” Zoe looked over at Finn for praise.
“You knew Fatou liked me? Since when?” The poor girl felt so confused, and Fatou was starting to look embarrassed.
“Oh.” Nora looked sad, causing Fatou to reach over and squeeze her hand, giving her a soft smile and shake of her head.
“Remember that night Nora drank alot? She may have said something to me in front of Fatou, causing a little bit of drama.” Zoe winced a little quickly coming to the conclusion that maybe that was something she shouldn’t have brought up.
“Wait, you’ve known this whole time? And you didn’t tell me?” Kieu My didn’t know how to feel about that, and she wondered briefly how that was the one secret that Zoe managed to keep safe, yet hers were leaked many times before.
“I didn’t mean to say anything to her, it made Fatou freak out since you know how much of a gossip Zoe is.” Nora was quick to defend her sister. Kieu My understood right away, that it was more of a family secret than a friend secret. Either way, she couldn’t judge, Zoe was the second person to know of her feelings for Fatou, Ismail being the one she trusted to keep quiet about it.
“Of course, Zoe is the worst at keeping secrets.” Kieu My joked trying to raise everyone’s spirits again before she continued, “Oh, I guess there was also that night that I stopped Fatou on her skateboard after leaving the flat. I didn’t really think at all, I just called her name as soon as I saw her. Honestly, I surprised myself with that one.”
“Urgh, and I was acting like a fool.” Fatou whined, “I told you to have fun walking home. Who says that?”
“I thought it was cute, but to be honest I was too busy freaking out to actually think about that.”
“You were freaking out?” Saying that Kieu My was sometimes hard to read at the beginning of their relationship was an understatement but Fatou always strived to try her best and give her the benefit of the doubt. That night she had hoped that it meant Kieu My was interested, and she felt as though the vibes were right, but honestly she had no way to be certain.
“I was trying to be chill, but I realised I had no idea how to talk to you, and then I fell off your skateboard and you touched my arm and I didn’t know what to say and so I just left.” Kieu My let out in one breath.
“Awww, and we thought Fatou was the one who was head over heels.” Mailin teased her, inwardly glad that Fatou was truly right about the girl.
“You don’t even know the half of it, once Kieu My admitted to liking her Fatou was all she talked about.” Ismail ethusatically embarrassed her, reminiscing fondly on all the messages they received in the middle of night about the girl.
Kieu My quickly changed the subject from her long history of simping over Fatou, “Oh! And then there was the night that Zoe ditched me and we watched that horror movie. That’s when I realised that it wasn’t just a silly crush, and that I really liked spending time with you.” Kieu My shyly looked over at Fatou who was very pleased with this conversation.
“We were hardcore flirting then, right?”
“Definitely, I even asked who you would date from the friend group and you said you didn’t date friends!”
“What was I supposed to answer with?! There’s just the cashqueens, and then you and Zoe! I wasn’t about to say your name and make things mega awkward.”
“Huh,” Kieu My looked out into the distance, “Maybe that wasn’t the best way to ask if you liked me.”
“You think?” Fatou laughed fondly, perfectly content with how that night went regardless, it had led her to this moment anyways.
“You know the real question? When did you swipe right on Fatou?” Mailin pried for more information. They really did keep quiet about the details of their relationship and this was an opportunity she couldn't pass up.
“Oh, um before that time we were hanging out at the flat with the fries and milkshake. I-uh opened the door for Fatou and I nearly had a heart attack because she hadn’t swiped right yet and I wasn’t prepared to see her.”
“I remember that. I was still just trying to not be obvious about my crush on you. I hadn’t even seen your profile yet.”
“That’s hilarious, you had to sit next to her thinking she didn’t swipe right on you?” Ismail laughed at her, making Kieu My feel a little offended.
“It was slightly uncomfortable but Fatou was just being herself and there was no difference in her behaviour so I didn’t know what to think of it.”
“You know Kieu My was a mess when you guys were fighting.” Ismail winced as Kieu My shoved him upset at the amount of stuff getting revealed tonight.
“Oh.” Ava said, looking down at the ground.
“What?” Kieu My asked, a little curious of what Ava thought of when they were fighting, and also a little scared. She was a small reason why they were fighting, her lack of presence at the bar that one night being a source of tension.
“No, it's just. We weren't being good friends to Fatou at the time.” It rang a small bell, Kieu My remembered the post friendship-makeup pics uploaded to Fatou’s instagram.
“Right, you guys were fighting at the time?”
“More like we were blaming Fatou for alot of things out of her control, and I talked about her behind her back.” Nora answered. Kieu My was shocked, she hadn’t realized they had all been fighting at the time.
“Nora…” Fatou stopped her, uneasy about the turn of the conversation.
“No, it’s true Fatou, especially after everything you’ve done for me, the least I could have done was talk to you about what was going on.” Nora’s tone was apologetic and sincere.
“It’s fine, I would have done the same.” Fatou tried to shrug it off without as little attention as possible.
“No, but you literally didn’t. When I messed the merch up you defended me, smiled at me, and checked up on me multiple times.”
“But it’s different.”
“It’s not. Not at all. Just like how it wasn’t my fault, it wasn’t yours either.” Nora was clear,“Come here.” Nora tackled Fatou into a hug.
“Group hug!” Ismail called prompting the cashqueens to perk up.
“Guys, we’re sitting down, this isn’t a good ide-” Fatou’s cut off by multiple bodies hitting her.
“Okay, okay, don’t squish my girlfriend. Appreciate her from a distance.” Kieu My tried to break them away, taking their spot when they backed off. She hummed, burrowing into her girlfriend and ignored Ismail starting the game back up without them.
“Hi, there.” Fatou whispered, stroking her hair.
“You really were having a hard time back then, weren’t you?” Kieu My mumbled into her neck.
“Yeah, but it’s okay. It’s better now.”
“You, uh, you had something going on too though? Didn’t you?” Kieu My froze at the unexpected question.
“Yeah, it’s kinda a long story, something involving my parent’s store and…well racism.”
“Ah, maybe another night you can tell me about it?” It was an offer not a request. That understanding was something Kieu My was thankful and a little heartbroken about. Compared to the other people she used to hook up with, Fatou knew exactly what she was talking about.
“Yeah, another night.” That was also something Kieu My was also happy about, there would be countless nights that they would share together in the future.
“Do you, maybe want to…” Kieu My trailed off, her finger idly tracing patterns onto the girl’s exposed collarbone.
“Leave the party and go cuddle properly?” Fatou offered.
“Yeah, exactly that.”
“Mine or yours?”
“Mine is good. Closer.”
“You know they are going to make fun of us as soon as we get up.”
“Hmm, that seems to be likely.” Kieu My peered around at the group of teens. The night was still young but she was glad to go. Friends were important and so was having fun but sometimes she just wanted to be alone with Fatou.
“Wanna make a run for it?” Fatou proposed lightheartedly.
“On three?”
“Yeah.”
“One…two…three.”
They pushed themselves up, giggling as they sped away from their friends.
“Hey! Where are you going? The night is still young!” Ismail called after them as the girls stumbled.
“We’re leaving, don’t wait up!” Kieu My yelled over her shoulder.
“Bye, girls!” Fatou waved goodbye to her friends. Ava laughed at her, waving back glad to see her friend so happy after everything she struggled with. However, Ismail, on the other hand, was less than impressed.
“Fucking horny teenagers these days!” They shouted back.
Fatou gave them the middle finger, not stopping their pace at all as they fled through the roof’s door.
“Oh, wait, wait.” Kieu My skidded to a halt, her breath coming out in huffs.
“What?”
“My Jacket, I left my jacket somewhere. One second stay here, yeah?”
“Sure.” Fatou nodded at her girlfriend.
Kieu My rushed off in search of her beloved brown jacket, leaving Fatou standing alone. The night hadn’t gone as she expected, but it was definitely better.
“Fatou!” A voice caught her attention. She looked over to spot Yara walking over with a smile on her face.
“Yara, hey.” She leaned over for a hug.
“You look so good. Where is everyone?” Yara pulled back.
“Thanks, you do too. Um, everyone’s on the roof. The doors are just over there.” Fatou gestured towards the entrance.
“Thanks. Hey, so I wanted to ask you something… and I know it’s kinda awkward-”
“Wanted to ask her what?” Kieu My appeared clutching her jacket in her hands, face unreadably cold.
“Oh, Kieu My.” Yara greeted her with a hug, albeit a bit hesitant.
“What, surprised to see me?” Kieu My walked over to Fatou, placing her arm over her shoulder.
Yara shook her head. “No, no. Not at all.”
“Kieu My.” Fatou said endearingly, raising an eyebrow at her obvious jealousy. Kieu My rolled her eyes, huffing a little but staying quiet when Fatou leaned into her hold.
“Right, so… I was wondering… I know you’re friends with Mailin?” Yara breezed over the awkward silence.
“Mailin?” Fatou questioned.
“Yeah, do you think you could…” Yara trailed off, avoiding eye contact.
“Oh my god, you have a crush on Mailin.” Kieu My interrupted much more gleefully now. Yara flushed a little red, but reluctantly nodded.
“Aw, we will totally help you right, Babe?” Kieu My shook Fatou slightly.
“Yeah, for sure. If you want I could organize a hangout. Us, you and Mailin?”
“And then we could happen to sneak off inconspicuously and leave you guys alone.” Kieu My was just delighted that Yara was not interested in Fatou, she didn’t really care who it was if she was being honest.
“Just like you are doing now?” Yara teases them about their clear intention of leaving early.
“Yes, but with even more stealth. We promise.”
“Okay, well thanks. I appreciate it.”
“No problem, it’d be fun. You should go say hi to her now, she’s with everyone else on the roof.”
“Right, I’ll go do that. See you guys later.” Yara waved, disappearing into the party with the intention of finding the girl.
“Who would have thought that Yara liked Mailin?” Kieu My asked as she led her girlfriend outside.
“They are both pretty and nice.” Fatou shrugged, stranger things have happened.
“Hey, now.” Kieu My warned her.
“Worried?” Fatou smiled at her girlfriend. A defiant “No” was the petulant response she got back.
“Good, you shouldn’t be. But this jealous attitude you got going on, it's kinda hot.”
“Urgh, it’s embarrassing. I know I just described how unchill I’ve been for you since day one, but it’s too much.” She whined as they finally reached the street.
“Nah, I know you're not serious.” They walked together down the road, the crisp of the night air cooling their noses pink.
“I’m a little serious, if I see a girl coming onto you it’s onsight.” The girl dramatically raised her fists in mock defense, swinging blindly into the air.
“Alright, Miss. Dork.” Reigning her girlfriend in, Fatou linked their arms together.
“Oh, you’re calling me the dork?” Kieu My looked at her teasingly.
“You’ve always been a dork, you are just good at concealing it. But you don’t have me fooled.” Fatou playfully pointed a finger at her, “I see right through you Miss.Vu.”
“I’ve never had you fooled.” Kieu My rolled her eyes, thoroughly delighted.
“Nope, we’re just two dorks together.”
“Together.” Kieu My echoed sweetly.
“Oh, hey, want to try something?” Fatou started to dig into her pockets brandishing a small plastic package with an excited grin.
“Oh, nooo Chibilove. Not again!” She pulled away, but her exasperated answer was enough to egg Fatou on.
“Come on, you might like it!”
“Where do you even get these things?”
“I got this tonight actually. It was like the twilight zone, I took a wrong turn coming to the party and ended up on this street I’ve never seen before. I saw a weird shop so I went in.” She struggled to rip open the package, eventually passing it over to Kieu My to open.
“Of course you did. What does this even say?” The packaging was decidedly not in German.
“I don’t know!” Fatou said cheerfully, “The lady said it’s from Japan, and it’s supposed to be good.”
“So we don’t know what this is?” Kieu My looked at the candy with skepticism.
“Nope, are you ready?”
“As ready as I ever am for your mystery snacks.”
Kieu My was far too used to being subjected to whatever snack her girlfriend managed to get her hands on. Any hesitance she expressed was met with an eagerness that she couldn’t find herself able to deny. Besides, it’s not like they were all bad, except the dog food one. She couldn’t believe Fatou was able to convince her to try that. She had 100 percent regretted it, but she didn’t regret Fatou making it up to her. They each took a piece of the candy, it was red and strangely gushy. Fatou immediately put it in her mouth, chewing away. Her eyebrows came together immediately, her face puckering and her chewing stopped.
“Oh, god. Is it gross?” Apprehension filled Kieu My.
“No, no… it’s just sour, try it.” Fatou tried to encourage her.
“I don’t believe you,” Nevertheless, Kieu My popped one in her mouth.
“Ohhh, it’s good!” Her eyes widened and she grabbed another piece, pleasantly surprised with it.
“It’s all yours then.” Fatou waved it towards her, not at all interested in it anymore.
“Not a fan of sour stuff?” Kieu My hummed happily.
“No,” Fatou shook her head with a disgusted look.
“Hmm, so you don’t want to kiss me anymore then?” Kieu My looked ahead, appearing aloof as she ate another piece.
“What? No, I want to kiss you.” Fatou stopped walking, staring after her girlfriend, uncertain of how that miscommunication happened.
“Nope, you don’t have to lie, no kisses for you. Too much sour candy. I understand.” Kieu My ignored her protests as she walked forward.
“No, no I-.” The start of a smile appearing on her girlfriend stopped Fatou’s backpedaling, “Oh, you’re gonna get it.”
Kieu My squealed running forward, her girlfriend giving chase after her. Fatou managed to stop her, her hands grasping her girlfriend’s face, steadying her enough to start peppering kisses all over her face.
“Fatou!” Kieu My laughed freely in delight.
“This is what you get as punishment,” Fatou continued on her tippy toes, “all the kisses.”
“What if I want all the kisses?” Her eyes were bright with mirth.
“You’re supposed to want them.” Fatou said as though it was obvious, stopping to look at her fondly.
Kieu My reached up, her hand overlaying Fatou’s on her face, thumbs stroking the back.
“I love you.” She said simply.
Fatou broke out into a grin.
“I love you too.”
“Come on then, love.” Kieu My pulled away giving her a wink, “We got a cuddle competition scheduled.”
“I wouldn’t want to be late for that.”
“Nope, cause you know what the punishment would be?” Kieu My said gravely.
“What?” Fatou happily indulged her girlfriend.
“More cuddling.” Kieu My spoke with mock horror in her voice.
“Hmm. Neverending cuddling?” Fatou contemplated.
“Yes.”
A second later Kieu My stopped, noticing Fatou was no longer following. She looked back to find her girlfriend a few steps behind her. She beckoned her closer with an outreached hand but Fatou refused, shaking her head.
“What is it?”
“Maybe I want to be late.” Fatou said quietly, looking up at Kieu My with a soft expression.
It clicked after a minute, and Kieu My rolled her eyes affectionately, “Get over here, Fatou.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Her girlfriend scampered after her.
“You’re so silly, you know that.” She kissed her cheek causing Fatou to turn her head for a quick peck.
“It seemed like sound logic to me.” Fatou linked their hands together as they strolled down the street getting closer to Kieu My’s.
“You better not use that logic in the future. I want you as on time as you can be.”
“You’ll just have to promise me neverending cuddles more often.”
“If I must.” Kieu My relented immediately, pleased her girlfriend was as equally smitten with her.
“You must.” Fatou said contently, looking up at all the stars.
The rest of the night was quiet, peaceful in a way Kieu My had craved for since as long as she could remember. The calming beat of Fatou’s heart, and quiet whispers against her skin made it easy for her to melt into her embrace. Nothing in the world was ever perfect, Kieu My knew that as a fact. But these moments between the two of them, where they cuddled beneath the blankets for as long as they could before Fatou’s body heat made them shrug the comforter off the bed to just the sheet, where the morning after had Kieu My blindly searching for the disregarded blanket as the morning cold came snipping in through the window, where she was free to slip her freezing hands under Fatou’s back and press her nose to her neck with only a slight hiss from her girlfriend but otherwise acceptance, it was in these moments, where Kieu My found herself the closest she’d ever been to the word. Perfect.