“hey! it’s the sweetheart,” Odin said, cutting our conversation short, his voice all sunshine and gladness. and when i looked up, i saw that he was right.
taking in her silhouette as it approached made me remember what it felt like to be awestruck, and the feeling only intensified until she was at our table and looking down at me with her sparkling eyes as if i were some poor creature she could pity or hopefully one day adore.
“Hina,” i said, not really knowing why a sudden warmth had started to scorch its way down my prickling neck. “Hina,” i said again, since the one utterance didn’t seem to suffice.
“hello darling,” she purred, and i wasn’t sure if she was talking to me or Odin.
i stood up to greet her, an old-fashioned impulse driving my legs up, and she pressed an imitation kiss to my cheek, holding my bare forearms in her small, manicured hands to keep me still as she did so. i didn’t say anything, just acquiesced, and as i sat back down i watched her do the exact same thing to Odin, beat for beat, as if she were greeting two of many fans queued up to witness her.
she took the seat next to me and opposite him, and then i was semi-trapped between the thick pillowy wall of the booth and her soft forgiving body and i was not the least bit upset by it.
“what a party,” Odin said, as if to initiate some kind of conversation, as opposed to the thick silent staring the three of us had been doing. “Hina, you look great,” he added.
“you really do,” i agreed quietly, and way too fast, nodding fervently to stress the point. “you look like a movie star.”
she smiled at the two of us, and when she smiled, her darkly-lined eyes narrowed into amused slits, and her head dipped forward, and i swallowed thickly and clasped my hands tight in my lap to distract the burgeoning confused tightness in my chest.
“i don’t even know what we’re celebrating, here,” she began, as she gazed out at the crowd of costumed and apparently esteemed guests.
a few of the guests were wearing masquerade masks; most were not. my eyes were continuously drawn to the waiters and waitresses with their smart monochrome uniforms, and the deftness with which they carried comically-large trays of cocktails and finger-food around the winding, ornate room.
i wasn’t sure if i was underdressed or overdressed for the occasion, but sitting next to Hina made me feel as if i were simply just dressed… perhaps too dressed.
i wasn’t thinking when i blurted out, “dressed like that, we should be celebrating you.” or maybe more accurately would be to say that i was thinking, but about things i knew not to say aloud, though it appeared the combination of my tablemates was delivering me further and further away from sensible agency. i twitched in my seat, as if jolted by the sound of my own voice, and the two of them laughed, sharing a conspicuous look in the process. “i mean—i’m sorry—Hina, i didn’t mean to—”
“no,” she giggled, and lightly touched a hand to my shoulder, as if enchanting me on the spot, “you’re right.” and the two of them laughed again. i laughed with them, or at the very least i attempted to, but found my trying-to-fit-in noises came after theirs, was oddly timed, and ended too late.
“i didn’t mean to objectify you,” i clarified, as if it might help my case.
“even better,” she replied, and i made the decision then to keep my voice to myself as much as possible from then on.
“Hina was so excited to see you again,” Odin said, his voice too full of mirth to come across as totally impartial. i smiled warily in a way that felt more like a wince.
“only because he wouldn’t stop talking about you,” Hina countered, sly and unthreatened, amused beyond all else. “well, not only because,” she corrected. “i missed you.”
“you too,” i replied, feeling silly and simultaneously annoyed at myself for feeling silly. “i mean, i missed you too. but i read the recipes on your website often. i’m a big fan. so it doesn’t feel like it’s been as long as it has.”
the apples of her cheeks plumped with the force of her smile. “have you made any of the recipes?” she asked, casually. they both looked at me expectantly, waiting for an answer, but before i could disappoint or delight them, we were interrupted by a waiter magically appearing before our table, carrying an impressive tray of oversized, neon-coloured drinks.
“i ordered these for us earlier,” Odin explained, somewhat sheepish, helping the waiter place each drink down onto the smooth laminate table. “don’t worry if you can’t finish them.”
a glass chalice filled with blue liquid was stamped directly in front of me. i gaped. “i don’t know if i can afford anything here—”
“yes we can,” Hina interrupted, waving a limp wrist in the air as if to dissipate the cloud of anxiety that had settled around me. “drink up. and if i see your wallet at any point tonight, i’ll be very upset.” she could not have sounded more serious.
i paused for a moment, watching her ever-fascinating mouth, before conceding. “i’d languish to upset you,” i murmured, before taking a sip of the vibrant drink from the novelty swirly-straw. the liquid tasted electric and thrummed as it pooled in my stomach. i scanned the room for a moment, then spotted Mars. “should we invite him over?”
Mars was a diagonal line of lean muscle as he stood casually against the bar, smiling openly at a woman opposite him. as if feeling our collective gaze, Mars looked over at our table and smiled, waving an arm and dragging the woman with across the room and to our table.
the booth was only built for about four people, but we were able to squeeze the two of them in. kind of. Mars sat next to Odin, while his date squeezed in next to Hina, pushing me further into the corner cushions.
up close, i recognised the woman Mars was with—it was the flight attendant i had spoken to earlier.
“small world,” i mumbled through a smile, watching as her eyes lit up in recognition, and she went all rosy and cheerful again, like she had been on the plane. “hi, Cleo.”
“look at us! like we’re on a triple date,” she said, to which the others agreed, before i could point out that i was here on my own.
“Odin,” Mars said, acknowledging him with a nod, before turning to Hina, “my god, you’re radiant.”
“like a movie star,” Cleo supplied helpfully. i smiled at the remark, briefly making eye contact with Odin, who was also smiling behind his drink, which he had half-finished already.
“and Ada, you are beautiful, as always,” Mars continued, and with the pious tone of his voice, i was utterly compelled to believe him. “i think that dress is one of my best so far.”
“agreed. the dress is a marvel,” Hina said, reaching across the table to place her hands over Mars’ with a sincerity that made my eyes flit away automatically, as if i had accidentally witnessed something too intimate. “a perfect fit. the design makes it seem like she’s been savaged.” it sounded complimentary enough. Hina sighed then, a long and luxurious sound, permeated with insinuation. “i’m perhaps a bit jealous.”
“if you need to be savaged, Hina, just ask, sweetheart,” Odin cooed, leaning back into his seat with a self-satisfied casualness, laughing along with the rest of the table. i continued to gulp down my neon-blue drink, suddenly inundated with thoughts of what it might be like to be savaged.
i was proud of myself for not voicing any of those thoughts aloud, though Odin’s little knowing smirk made me wonder if my face gave it all away regardless.
Hina shook her head in mock-disapproval, the movement causing her soft curled hair to brush back and forth over her bare shoulders. “you don’t ask to be savaged,” she said, coquettishly, “that’s mostly the point.” she licked her vibrant lips and seemed to consider her own words for a moment. “hmm. anyway, we should order some food. i’m ravenous.”
“not hungry,” Odin said, his shoulders rising and falling with the nonchalance of a person trying not to make a scene.
“you must be,” i said, incredulous, “we’ve not had a chance to eat all day.”
Odin just shrugged again. i furrowed my eyebrows, and watched as Hina did the same.
“let’s just get something to share for the table for now,” Cleo offered, in the type of honeyed, smooth voice that had a practiced bomb-diffusing quality to it, a customer-service essential. while she had one hand in the air to attract the attention of any wayward waiter, she added, excitedly, “you guys better be coming to the afterparty!”
“sure,” i agreed, softly. if only for the chance to be savaged, i thought, recapturing my twirly straw between my lips and noting the way the pink from Odin’s now-decimated beverage had gone straight to his cheeks, and neck, and hands, and mouth.
“wouldn’t have to ask me twice,” Odin breathed, and though it seemed like he was answering Cleo, his intense, decadent eyes stayed trained on me.