she felt her stomach flip as salim raised his head off the table, leaning back in his chair to listen. quickly, flora shook her head. she couldn’t bear to look at him, to think they wouldn’t see each other again, & her desperation felt obvious.

she felt embarrassed & like she might cry all at once. her voice was thick in the attempt to keep her emotions in check, & she busied herself by brushing flyaway hair behind her ear.

flora: sorry. what am I thinking? y--

salim: I can’t believe it. you’ve beaten me again, miss singh.

flora saw the smile that broke out over his face & her brows knitted together in question. he chuckled & shook his head.

salim: always the one to make the first move, remember?

her face flushed, but she smiled back. 

his face changed expression, from sadness to surprise, as if flora’s question was the first time he thought of it. salim suddenly groaned & laid his head on top of his arms, voice muffled as he spoke into the table.

salim: I don’t know, flo. I don’t know what to do about anything right now.

they sat in silence, the radio playing over the speakers of the cafe the only noise between them. flora knew her question was silly. they weren’t even a real ‘couple.’ she shouldn’t be asking something so frivolous, but his reply still stung.

flora: w-what!?

she couldn’t stop her outburst, a hand reaching up to her face to silence herself, but salim looked away as if ashamed. he leaned forward, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath.

salim: my mother... she’s vacationing in selvadorada. my sister just had a baby. I-I would be with my father for the time being, until my novels turn over some revenue to get my own place again. this is such a fucking mess..

flora was stunned, then felt like she didn’t believe him, like it was some sort of joke. as he looked to her for a reaction, she was afraid she didn’t have one other than a vague panic written on her face as she realized this was serious.

flora entered the cafe just a few minutes after three p.m. it was virtually empty, & she honestly didn’t blame anyone for not wanting to come out. it was another day of suffocating heat, your sandals practically pealing off the asphalt outside if you dared to step onto the road. when she spotted salim seated, arms crossed petulantly, she only grew concerned. what on earth could make someone as easy-going as salim upset? she approached him as neutrally as possible, sitting beside him with an equally neutral expression.

flora: so. how has your day been?

he reacted so slowly, she was worried he didn’t even hear her. salim settled a blank expression on her, flora feeling a prickle of anxiety.

the last few months flew by. flora had gotten into the entertainment career, her dream of performing finally coming true. she was on her way to bigger & better things, plus salim has been nothing but a support to her. however, they were both shy, not really ‘official’ either, but that hardly bother flora. she was happier than she has been in quite a while!

the end days of summer were trickling in. flo was busy tidying her apartment, left in disarray after her thermostat broke down two days ago. it took the landlord a few days to fix it, given everybody in the building had about the same problem from san myshuno’s habit of rolling blackouts.

her phone suddenly buzzed & she happily plopped onto her bed to chat once she read the name flashing across the screen, accompanied by heart emojis.

flora: salim! hey baby :))

salim: flo, hey. are you busy right now?

she hesitated, noticing how his voice sounded strained & the lack of his normal cutesy nickname for her.

flora: no, I just finished cleaning up now that the A/C is back on--

salim: great. I’m getting on the spice line in a minute. meet me at the cafe across from your apartment?

flora: o-okay... is everything.. alright?

he was the one to pause now, the silence dragging on for a moment. flora could hear the chatter of monorail riders, plus the loud speaker announcing the inbound trains in the background. the lump in her throat jumped once salim replied.

as she saw salim’s ears turn red, flora began to back-peddle, stuttering a half apology as she pulled away from him. quickly, salim caught her hands & laughed.

salim: I can’t believe you asked me first! you beat me to the punch, ms. singh.

once flora realized he was happy, & waiting for her next move, she felt the tightness in her stomach turn to butterflies. she cautiously stepped closer to him, flashes of the disaster that was her first kiss coming back to her.

flora: has it really been that long??

she didn’t have much time to linger on it. salim met her half way, though flora had to stand on her toes to reach him. 

the quieter atmosphere of outside seemed to put both salim & flora at ease, the two walking alongside one another to the middle of the spice district. once they made it to the picnic tables, flora steeled herself & took salim’s hand within her own.

he turned to her, an almost surprised expression on his face. as he saw her brows knitted with concentration, salim couldn’t help but smile.

salim: what’s that face for, huh?

flora: I-I... I’ve been wanting to ask this for a while, so, please listen.

salim nodded & waited for flora to continue, the woman biting her lips as she searched for the right words. flora knew she should keep it short & simple.

she then took a deep breath & squeezed salim’s hand gently. she hoped her palms weren’t too sweaty...

the two met later around 7:30. flora & salim sat close on the couch of the  karaoke bar, shoulder to shoulder just to hear one another speak. 

salim: I’m sure you’ve heard of san myshuno’s love for karaoke by now. everyone does it.

flora: everyone? even you??

salim paused then shook his head with an embarrassed smile. flora noticed his one-sided dimple & tried not to swoon.

salim: hardly. I’d melt your ears!

they laughed & continued to chat as the singing of both good & bad echoed out from the karaoke booths. leaning in close after a few cups of liquid courage, flora finally felt like she could really talk to salim.

flora: calm down. I don’t think you’re the worst. in fact, I still think you’re pretty great, & kind of a cutie when you’re all flustered like this. why don’t we get some drinks & catch up?

salim: r-really? that sounds great.

flora: okay?! uh, sure?? tooootally fine! haven’t been worried about you or anything at all :))

salim: ahh, don’t lie to me like that. I can see right through you. 

flora: mm, fine. I’ll admit I was a little hurt you haven’t called recently... well, at all, really. I-I was really liking hanging out with you.

salim: it’s my fault. I’ve been a huge idiot to not call you back or drop you a text. I just got so wrapped up in my work & I would remember to contact you at the worst times-- ugh, that’s such a lame excuse, but it’s true. I’m a lazy-ass.

flora couldn’t help but smile. he was sweet to apologize, & not to mention, she missed his cute, dorky face. she didn’t want him to feel guilty though; she should have known he was busy. with her hands on her hips, she shook her head.

flora: you’re definitely not an ass. I just figured you maybe got tired of me, since I’m pretty boring...

as flora stepped out into the hall, she froze in the doorway. there he stood, looking nervous yet annoyingly cute. salim gave a half smile before beginning.

salim: uh, hey.

flora’s mind went blank. she already practiced so many times in the shower what she would say to him if she saw him again, but of course, all that flew out of her head as she uselessly gaped at him.