INFATUATION

“That’d be $4.50.”

Jessica’s eyes are on the name tag for a brief few seconds. Tiffany. She looks down to her wallet before Tiffany mistakes her stare for something else. She pulls out a five-dollar bill and gives it to Tiffany.

“Keep the change.” Jessica says with a smile. She wants to linger a little longer but her friends are leaving soon. And Jessica thinks Tiffany is really pretty.

Tiffany smiles amusingly. “Are you sure?” Jessica’s eyes widen in confusion. The five-dollar bill turns out to be a fifty. Once she realises the mistake, she gives out a short nervous laughter. Tiffany leans her weight against the counter and continues to smile.

Jessica doesn’t understand why she’s nervous. But she is. Tiffany’s carefreeness nature is attractive. The way she moves around the room, the simple questions like “Do you like the food?” and how she gives an air of easiness around her. And Tiffany is really, really pretty.

Jessica doesn’t know her. Hell, it’s only been an hour or less.

She gives her the right five-dollar bill.  “Thank you.” Jessica says. She leaves the café feeling a little regretful. She can’t help but despise her friends a little for that.

--

“We should go back to that place. The one with the delicious sandwiches.” Jessica suggests subtly to her friends. Yuri is sprawled across the bed, going through Instagram while Yoona paints her toenails with black nail-polish.

None of them respond.

“Guys. Hello?” Jessica says in an annoyed tone.

“What?” Yuri turns over and lies on her back with her elbows prop up on her sides. “Something about the sandwiches?”

“Yes.”

“Wasn’t it a little pricey?” Yoona joins in the conversation, still painting.

“Yeah but they were good sandwiches. Right?”

Yuri makes a hungry noise. “They were.” Jessica is relieved by the agreement. “Why not?”

“How about the other places? We could explore new ones.” Yoona crushes Jessica’s agenda slightly with the suggestion.

Would she really go as far as to change her friends’ mind just to see the chef again? Jessica questions herself. Yes, she would.

“We have to go back there.” Jessica says in the hopes that they won’t question her motives. It doesn’t usually work out.

Yuri quirks an eyebrow at her. “It’s that girl, isn’t it? The waitress?”

“I don’t think she’s just a waitress.”

“This IS about her!” Yuri points out like she just solved the greatest mystery. Jessica rolls her eyes at her but smiles nevertheless. “Wait, how does she look like?”

“Was she the one who came to our table? Not the first server. The second one.” Yoona is suddenly interested in the conversation. She is finished with her nails and is careful with them as to not get them ruined. 

“Yeah.” Jessica answers dreamily.

“Check the café’s Instagram. Maybe there are pictures of her. And her account.” Yoona says.

“No! No stalking. I can’t do that.” Jessica panics for some reason.

“You don’t have to. We’ll do it.” Yuri tells her teasingly. Yoona joins Yuri on the bed, and they proceed to “investigate” the person Jessica has a TINY crush on. Jessica shakes her head at them. Perhaps, she’s annoyed because they get to check her out and she can’t because of some moralistic reasons..? 

Jessica tries to shake off her curiosity by going through her social medias while her two snoopy friends are on an online-stalking quest.

“Are you guys done?” She looks up from her phone.

“She’s really pretty.” Yuri comments.

“And she has a cat.” Yoona adds. Like it’s something more.

“So what she has a cat?”

“Don’t you guys love cats?”

“You like cats. Are you gay too?” Jessica gives her friend a ‘are-you-serious’ look.

Yoona waves her off. “Good news is that I don’t see any male significant other on her page. She could not be straight. We should go back to the place.”

“Why is it the default orientation in everyone’s head has to be heteroual?”

“Oh come on, Jessica. Let’s go get ready for the lady of your dreams.” Yuri gets off the bed and pulls Jessica out of her chair.

--

After entering the small café, Jessica quickly realises that Tiffany is not here. She’s disappointed, to say the least. Why does she care? She tells herself that. Trying to make sense over this newfound crush that was formed under an hour. Tiffany is just another girl. Another pretty girl. Jessica has seen so many pretty girls. Why this one she has to be disappointed about?

So stupid.

It’s not worth it, she decides. Yuri makes an “aw” sound. She untangles the scarf around her neck and sets it on the table. They are still going to eat here.

“Do you want me to ask them?”

“No.” Jessica shakes her head quickly. “Don’t do that. Why would you do that?”

“What?”

“It doesn’t really matter. We won’t be in this city long anyway. It’s not like I’d get lucky and sleep with her or anything like that.” Jessica sits in the opposite of Yoona. “Besides, there are other people.”

“Maybe she’s in tomorrow.” Yoona says.

“Guys, it’s really fine. This is really a non-problem. We’re here on a vacation.” Jessica replies like it doesn’t matter anymore. It doesn’t, really. Tiffany is just some another pretty girl. There are other pretty girls in her own city.

Yoona shrugs off. “Yuri, what did you order that day? The one I tried from you? That was really good.”

--

The girls come back to the hotel, relishing the heat inside the room. Yoona is in the bathroom showering and Yuri is rearranging the things inside her suitcase. As Jessica waits for Yoona, she pulls up her phone and goes on Instagram.

She thinks about it.

Thinks about her.

it. She searches the café’s Instagram on her phone. Surely enough, there’s a tagged link of Tiffany on one of the photos. She taps on the ‘tag’. Tiffany’s profile is still public, thankfully.

Is this how stalkers come to be? How technology enables a new wave of privacy invasion?

Whatever. It’s not that serious. Jessica reasons with herself. She scrolls through her photos. Tiffany is really pretty. Jessica knows that.

Wow, Tiffany is really pretty.

Her cat is really cute.

She looks really cute.

She looks a little too comfortable with that girl.

Does she like girls? I hope she likes girls.

Urgh, she’s ing beautiful.

Jessica sighs at a picture of Tiffany just in her towel. Tiffany looked like she just got off the shower, put on some moisturiser, and decided to take a picture of her-au-naturel-self. The collarbones, the soft-looking skin, the.. everything else.

Wow. Jessica. Stop.

“What are you looking at?” Yuri asks as she zips up her luggage.

“Something on Instagram.”

“Going through the chef’s Instagram, aren’t you?”

“Yes. And shut up.”

“Why do you care so much about her?”

Jessica sighs in annoyance this time. She takes several seconds to collect herself and remember that day. “I felt like she was looking at our table. At me. Didn’t you think so?” Jessica knows she wasn’t dreaming that afternoon. She isn’t projecting or anything. But she feels like she’s taking this infatuation a little too far.

Yuri ponders for a bit. “I did get some sort of vibe or tension when she came at our table.” By this time, Yoona is finished. In the midst of drying her hair, she listens to the conversation. “What do you think, Yoona?”

“I wasn’t really looking. Though Jessica, you were being kind of weird that day. That, I notice.” Yuri laughs. Jessica feels embarrassed. “You do this thing when you like someone, you don’t look at them.”

“Yeah! So true!” Yuri gets all hyped up.

“I do not!” Jessica wants to sound like she’s offended, but she’s really not. “Okay, well, yeah.”

The subject of the conversation quickly shifts to other topics like wanting to get a souvenir for their friends and so on.

--

The girls are at this quaint little shop. The café they went to is in the area too. Jessica isn’t interested in the stuff that are for sale. The girls look like they’re going to be here for a while. She makes a plan: She’ll go to the café to get a coffee on the go and sees if she’s there. She lets them know she’s going to be back soon.

She walks up the little step and enters the warm café. Right away, she knows she’s not there. This must be a sign for her to forget it, Jessica tells herself. She gets the pricey- coffee and still, no Tiffany.

Whatever.

Funnily enough, the one who’s serving her still remembers her from yesterday. Unfortunately, she’s not the one Jessica is hoping for. She bids her a thank you and goes back into the cold.

Jessica pauses outside of the café and cups the coffee for warmth. She might as well enjoy the coffee. Then she hears someone from behind.

“Hey, do you have a lighter on you?”

Jessica turns around, and it’s her. It’s Tiffany. Tiffany is asking her for a lighter. Jessica doesn’t say anything. She takes one out of her pocket and gives it to her. She watches her light up the cigarette.

“Cigarette break?” Jessica starts, making small conversation.

“Do you want one?”

“Sure.”

Tiffany gives her a stick and lights it for her. Their faces are close to each other. Jessica is pretty sure the heat she’s feeling is not solely coming from the cigarette.

“I think I’ve seen you before. You’re that girl. There’s three of you, right?”

“Yeap.”

“Do you like the food here?”

“Yes. I like how there’s a vegetarian option.”

“You’re a vegetarian?”

“Yeah.”

The conversation kind of stalls for a few seconds. Jessica doesn’t really know how to continue. Tiffany looks relaxed though. Tiffany looks at Jessica like she’s regarding her. Reading her.

“You’re not from around here right?”

“Nope. We’re here on a vacation.”

“Sorry, didn’t meant to pry. I overheard the conversation my colleagues had a few hours ago and I think they were talking about you girls.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. I mean we don’t really get a lot of tourists. We know our regulars here. There are tourists. But they’re not as memorable as you.”

Jessica pauses for a good second. Did Tiffany flirt with her? It goes over her head. 

“Oh! The money incident.”

“That, too.”

Tiffany is definitely flirting. She throws away her cigarette. Jessica is already done with hers. She guesses this is the end of the encounter.

“It’s nice meeting you.”

“You too.”

Jessica stupidly gives out her hand. Tiffany looks at it like she’s surprised but she takes it. They shake hands. Jessica feels the softness and doesn’t really want to let go. Tiffany turns to go but stops. She faces Jessica again.

“I forgot to ask. What’s your name?”

“Jessica.”

“Mine’s Tiffany. So…” Jessica notices the hesitancy in Tiffany’s demeanour. She notices the small light bite lip Tiffany does. “I get off in a couple of hours. I know a good restaurant and a place to hang about. How long will you be here for? Maybe I can show you around more.”

Jessica only has a couple days left. But right then and there, she decides she’ll prolong this vacation.

“A couple of weeks.” She answers. “And I’d like that. A lot.”

“You can bring your friends.”

“Yeah. But I think they planned to go somewhere tonight.” They really do have plans. “I’m not joining them though.” When did she decide this? 0.2 seconds ago.

“Great. I’ll see you.”

“See you too.”