Scream Me a Dream

Saturday October 30, 2010
8:00am

“Are you sure you have to go?” Aida pouted as they sat in the cab on the way to Ville’s parents’ house.

Soya chuckled softly kissing the top of her sister’s head. “It’s too late now to change your mind.”

Aida sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Fine.”

“Don’t be like that.” Soya laughed, nudging her sister. “You knew we were leaving for a while now, and we’ll be back in a week Aida,”

“And you love my parents.” Ville added with his own smile. Aida had been pouting since they woke her up an hour ago. She was still in her ‘Tinkerbell’ pajamas, having boycotted getting dressed. Her logic had been that if she didn’t get dressed, they couldn’t drop her off. How wrong she’d been. She’d also boycotted shoes, so Ville had to carry her to the cab so her toes wouldn’t freeze on the walk to the car.

“I know.” Aida sighed. “You’re still going to call every day?”

“Every day.” Soya nodded as the cab came to a stop in front of the house. Ville got out with, Soya following him, before he leaned down to pick a shoeless Aida up, telling the cab to wait. Soya pulled out Aida’s suitcase from the trunk before following Ville to the door. Instead of knocking, he walked in, setting Aida down on the ground.

“Mama?” He called.

Anita came out from the kitchen wiping her hands before smiling at them, frowning when she noticed Aida. “You didn’t even dress her; the poor girl doesn’t have any shoes on!”

Soya was about to explain when Aida cut her off. “I told them to put shoes on me.”

Ville shook his head, shutting the door behind him. “Don’t listen to her; she refused to put on clothes and shoes.”

“Well, I have breakfast ready for you, go on and eat.” Anita said, Aida rushing to the kitchen.

“We can’t,” Soya said apologetically, “We’re running a bit late this morning, our flight leaves in an hour.”

“Well, you at least have time to give me a hug.” Anita said, causing Soya to laugh and hug the older woman. Aida came out of the kitchen, biting into a piece of toast as she watched.

“Are you leaving now?” Aida asked.

Ville nodded. “We are. Are you going to hug us before we leave?”

“I guess.” Aida muttered coming over and letting Ville pull her into a hug. He kissed the top of her head, before pushing her over to Soya.

Soya crouched down, hugging her sister tight. “We’ll call you when we settle into the hotel, all right?” she pulled back cupping her sister’s cheeks. “And we’ll come back bearing gifts.”

“Promise?”

“I don’t think Ville would let me come back without something for you.” Soya said with a soft laugh. “Be good, all right?”

“I will.” Aida said hugging Soya again. Soya ran her hand up and down her little sister’s back before pulling away slowly and kissing her cheek. “We’ll be back soon; you’re going to have so much fun you’ll forget we’re even gone.”

Aida rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t make me feel better, but ok.”

Soya laughed, as she stood. Anita cuddled the little girl closer to her, knowing that she would probably attach herself to either Soya or Ville if given the chance. “Go on then; I’ll take care of this one, you both have fun.” Anita said shooing them out.

Once they were in the cab, Soya looked back and gave a small wave to Aida who was waving back, before turning to Ville. “Okay, I am ready for this vacation to begin.”

Ville laughed, pulling her closer and kissing the top of her head. “Good to know.”

“You’ve been very quiet about where we’re going to stay.” Soya pointed out.

“I have.” Ville agreed with a grin.

“Why?” Soya asked, not being able to help the grin she gave him back.

“Because the less people that know where we are staying, the less likely a knock from our friends will come at the door.”

Soya blinked. “But I’m staying with you…right?”

Ville laughed. “Yes, you’re staying with me, but you’re also in constant contact with Rosalind and she’s one of the people I do not want knowing where we are.”

Soya rolled her eyes, resting her chin on Ville’s shoulder. “She’ll find out eventually.”

“And eventually will be once we’re leaving for Barcelona.” Ville teased, kissing her forehead. “Just, don’t tell her, all right? I’d like to sleep in tomorrow, and not wake up at the ass crack of dawn because she’s pounding on our door.”

Soya laughed, but gave a nod. “Fine I won’t tell her.”

“Good.” Ville said though he wondered how long it would take Rosalind to break Soya, and how long it would take Soya to give in. Giving a quiet, but amused sigh, he knew the peace wouldn’t last until morning.

Once at the airport, Ville paid the driver while Soya grabbed their one piece of luggage out of the trunk. He’d been surprised, to say the least, when he’d walked into his bedroom the night before to see Soya packing both of their clothing into one blue suitcase, when he’d been ready to just stuff everything into his own. She’d told him it was stupid to pack two separate bags and hassle with them when they were only going to be gone for a week. With logic like that, he hadn’t been able to argue and had handed her his clothes.

What had shocked him, was that he had proposed to the woman he loved without a nerve in his body and as calm as could be, but the fact that she had packed both their items in one suitcase scared the ever living shit out of him for about a minute, at least before he realized how stupid the fear had been, especially after seeing his underwear mixed in with Soya’s lace boy shorts that she was so fond of.

“Are you just going to stare at me, or help me with the suitcase?” Soya teased, causing Ville to blink and grab the handle of the suitcase as she shouldered her grey messenger bag and handed him his black backpack, both having packed their own carry-on bags.

He drank her in as she made sure she had everything in her bag; tight grey yoga pants encased her long legs, a white Minnie Mouse shirt that she’d gotten from her trip to Disneyland that summer, a simple white hoodie and grey converse. She’d dressed comfortably, as that was her rule when she traveled, and she’d even extended it to him only to receive a raised eyebrow in answer, as if he had never traveled a day in his life.

Even with her hair pulled back into a messy bun and wisps of dark brown hair blowing into her face, she looked amazing.

“Ready?” he asked his voice a bit hoarse.

“Yes, just making sure I had my passport.” She said, adjusting her messenger bag before taking his free hand in hers and walking towards the entrance. They had their bag tagged and checked before walking to the terminal and setting their bags down. Soya sat as Ville stayed standing, causing her to look up at him. “What?” she asked.

“Did you want anything to eat? I’ll go grab something before we have to board.”

Soya shook her head. “I’m fine, I could use some coffee though, but I’ll go with you.”

“It’s fine.” Ville said, making sure he had his wallet before kissing the top of her head and going off to get Soya and himself some coffee. She shook her head, digging through her bag and pulling out the book she’d chosen for the flight, as she never got on a plane without at least two in her carry on.

She had just gotten comfortable in the plastic chair she sat on, starting in on her book, when Ville came back with two cups of coffee and handed her one as he took a seat next to her.

“What did you bring?” he asked, tilting the book closer to him. “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.”

“I’ve never had the chance to read it, though I’ve seen the movie about a million times.” Soya said, taking a sip of her coffee and leaning against him.

“The movie?” Ville frowned.

“Mmm, with Aida.”

“The Disney version?” Ville laughed. “Soya…” Ville shook his head. “Nevermind.”

“What?” Soya asked tilting her head up to look at him.

“The book,” he said, tapping a finger on the cover. “Very different from the movie, especially the Disney version.”

“Well don’t ruin it!” Soya laughed, stuffing the book back in her bag. “Now will you tell me where we’re staying?”

“No,” he laughed, “It’s a surprise.”

“I don’t like surprises.”

“You liked the last one.” He quipped, picking up her hand and tracing her engagement ring with his thumb.

“I loved the last one.” She corrected, looking at their hands with a smile. They sat like that, Ville playing with her ring while Soya watched with a small amazed smile, until their flight was called. They showed their tickets and went to their seats, Soya surprised when she saw the first class tickets, having not seen them before.

“Don’t you fly first class?” he asked teasingly as they settled down.

“Do you?” she asked with a laugh.

“Sometimes.” Ville shrugged.

Soya nodded. “Same with us, but usually it’s when we’ve been on a bus for three months and Josef starts complaining to Ben, he’ll upgrade our tickets just to get Josef to stop calling him; although his conditions are that it has to be a more than ten hour flight to be upgraded, so it’s only when we come to Europe.”

“Well I’ve upgraded us.” He told her.

Soya looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “So I’m guessing we’re not staying at a Motel 6 when we get to Berlin.”

Ville snorted. “Far from it, I’ve also arranged a hotel for Spain.”

Soya frowned. “Ville, you didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to.” Ville shrugged as he buckled his seatbelt, eyeing Soya’s lap absently to make sure she was buckled as well.

“No, I just mean Rosalind…”

Ville cut her off before she could finish. “We are not staying with Rosalind, as much as I love the irritating Spaniard; I just wanted us to have our own place to be, Soya.”

Soya bit her lip, contemplating finishing what she’d been saying before shaking her head and leaning forward to kiss him. “All right.”

The rest of the two hour flight had been uneventful, Soya had pulled her book back out as Ville had done the same, though he had also pulled out his iPod, offering her one of the earpieces. They’d spent their time reading from their books and listening to Ville’s playlist, until the seatbelt sign came back on, announcing they were landing.

They stood by the luggage carousel, waiting for their bag as Soya turned her phone back on, only to be surprised when it rang in her hand.

“It’s like she knows exactly when I’m in the area so she can continue to annoy me.” Ville muttered, knowing exactly who was on the other end and keeping his eye on the luggage, looking for their blue suitcase.

Soya rolled her eyes as she answered her phone. “Yes, Rosalind?”

“You’re in Berlin right?”

“We literally landed two minutes ago.” Soya laughed, “We’re just waiting for our bag.”

“Great! We need to go shopping for tonight!”

Soya blinked. “Let me get to my hotel first Rosalind, shower, change, rest a bit, before going out.”

“But that’s going to take forever!” Rosalind groaned. “At least tell me where you’re staying so I can meet you there.”

Soya laughed. “If I knew where I was staying, I still wouldn’t be allowed to tell you.”

“What!?”

“Ville’s sworn me to secrecy.” Soya laughed as she watched him pull their luggage off the carousel, and followed him out of the airport towards the line of waiting cabs outside. “I’m not allowed to tell anyone where we’re staying, though I really don’t know myself.”

“And why not!?” Rosalind asked, though her voice was low, Ville had still managed to hear her.

“Because she’s nosy as fuck and won’t allow me a day alone with you.”

“Well that’s because he’s so fun to annoy!” Rosalind laughed. “Fine, don’t tell me, I’ll figure it out on my own.” Rosalind teased. “And, I’ll be generous and give you two hours to rest and get ready before you’re to meet me for lunch.”

Soya laughed, ducking into the cab, while Ville quietly told the driver where to go. “Fine, two hours, then text me to know where we’ll meet. Are you with Jyrki?”

“Mmm, I am. He’s in the shower, made the mistake of leaving me alone with my phon. Really, he should know better.”

“I really should remind him to take the battery out of your phone before leaving the room.”

“Ten years, you’d think it would just be habit.” Rosalind laughed. “All right then, monada, I’ll call you in a couple of hours and tell you where we’ll meet for lunch.”

Soya didn’t have a chance to respond, before the line went dead on her. Stuffing her phone back in her bag she turned to Ville who was watching her amused.

“Do you see why I didn’t tell you where we’re staying?” Ville asked. “You have no control over what you say to her.”

“I do too!! Did you not hear me tell her that even if I knew I wouldn’t tell her?”

“You said that because you don’t know!” Ville laughed, “Had you known you would have told her!”

“You don’t know that!”

“I do!” Ville argued.

“Well I didn’t tell her, now did I?”

“Because you don’t know!” Ville groaned.

“Well, are you going to tell me now?”

“He doesn’t have to, you’re here.” The driver said his voice thick with accent. Soya turned to look out the window, only to look back at Ville in surprise.

“Really?!” she asked.

“You act as if you’ve never stayed in a nice hotel before.” He teased, opening the door behind her and motioning her out as he paid the driver and asked for the trunk to be opened.

“I have!” Soya said as she helped Ville by grabbing their smaller bags as he lugged out their suitcase, snapping the trunk closed and allowing the cab to drive off. “Just…I’ve always had to share rooms every time I’m at a hotel; however nice it is, I’m always with the company…or when I was younger, my parents.”

“Well you’re still sharing a room, and maybe even a bed.” He teased, gesturing her towards the doors to the lobby of the Grand Hyatt Berlin. Soya followed Ville to the front desk, letting him talk to the receptionist as she wrapped her arms around his waist, settling her forehead against his shoulder blades, absorbing his warmth.

“Sweetheart, while you’re back there, mind getting my wallet.” He teased, turning to look at her.

Soya laughed softly, her fingers reaching into his back pocket to take out the wallet, causing him to jump slightly as she handed it to him with a her own teasing grin. He pulled his credit card out of his wallet, handing it to the receptionist, allowing her to swipe the card before she gave it back to him. He slipped the card back inside, only for Soya to reach out for it.

“Want me to put it back?”

Ville laughed as he slipped his wallet into his front pocket. “No, I think I have it covered.”

The receptionist smiled at both of them, handing them two card keys before telling them their room number and asking if they needed help with their luggage. They declined the help and walked towards the elevator, which opened immediately after Ville pushed the button. Ville pushed their floor number before leaning back against the mirrored elevator walls.

“We have to meet Jyrki and Rosalind in a couple of hours for lunch.” Soya said, leaning against his side.

“We don’t have to.”

“Oh, how naïve you are.” She said reaching up to pinch his cheek, causing him to mock glare at her. “If we don’t show up to whatever restaurant Rosalind picked out, then she will call every hotel in Berlin, until she finds us, and then your whole hiding where we’re staying thing that you’re doing will be completely pointless.”

Ville groaned, his head hitting the back of the elevator, just as it opened in front of them. They gathered their bags as Ville gestured her to the right of the hall, inserting the key card and letting her into their room.

“You just went all out, didn’t you?” Soya breathed as she walked into the suite, setting their bags on the white couch that made up the small living room, looking around.

The living room had a long couch set against the wall, a love seat next to it, and a dark wooden coffee table between them, a round dining table sat just in front of the French doors that led to the balcony. Biting her lip and following Ville into the bedroom, she looked around, noticing the crisp puffy white down comforter, the four pillows lined against the headboard and the window that allowed for the beautiful view of Berlin.

“I tend to go all out with you.” He whispered, kissing the side of her neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Soya turned in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning up to kiss him. “This is quite amazing.”

Ville chuckled. “Then I should warn you, Barcelona gets better.”

Soya laughed, nipping his bottom lip lightly before pushing away from him. “Go on, go shower, I’m going to hang up my dress for tonight.”

“What are you wearing tonight?” Ville asked. “I distinctly remember something about leather.”

Soya rolled her eyes. “If Rosalind has her way, I will. I have my own dress, something black, short, sleeveless.”

Ville groaned. “I’ll go get in that shower now.”

Soya laughed as he pulled away from her, went to the bathroom attached to their room and closed the sliding door. Soya pulled their suitcase on to the top of the bed, unzipping it before pulling out the dress she had laying on top, hanging it up in the closet before digging through the suitcase to find a pair of jeans she could change into, only to frown when she felt something under her fingers.

She pulled out the buttery material and chuckled softly when she realized it was a pair of leather pants that she did not own nor packed. Sighing, she folded the pants, laying them back in the suitcase. Ville really had his heart set on her wearing leather, which meant she may just have to give in and let Rosalind dress her up.

Half an hour later, Soya was sitting in the small living room, flipping through the channels of the flat screen TV as Ville came out rubbing a towel over his head. “Your turn.” He told her with a small smile.

Soya nodded, setting the remote down before getting up. “How much do you want me to wear leather tonight?” she asked as she slipped past him into the bedroom.

Ville laughed. “Kultaseni, that is all up to you and how comfortable you are with wearing it. Though if Rosalind is able to convince you to wear it, I wouldn’t object.” He smirked. “Why?”

Soya shook her head, though she wore a teasing little grin as she did so. “I found some leather pants in the suitcase, and as I don’t own leather pants…”

Ville shrugged. “I made you a promise, if you wore leather so would I.”

“That you did.” She nodded, gathering her underwear before going into the bathroom and sliding the door closed behind her.

Ville shook his head, changing into a pair of jeans and grey t-shirt before settling on the couch and starting to flip through the channels as Soya had done, though his mind drifted, wondering if Soya would surprise him with her dress that night.

Just as he was settling in and knew Soya’s shower was done as the water had stopped running, his phone vibrated in his pocket where he’d stuffed it. Rolling his eyes when he saw Jyrki’s name flash on his screen, announcing a new text message from his friend.

Your reprieve is over; Rose and I are starving waiting for you guys, Jolesch in half an hour.

Sighing, just as Soya came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her, he tapped out his response.

“You have about twenty minutes to get dressed and ready, since we have to meet Rosalind and Jyrki in half an hour.”

“I thought we had an hour left?” Soya said, pulling her jeans on underneath her towel.

“We did, and then they pushed it up.”

“Wonderful friends we have.” Soya muttered, unwrapping the towel, giving Ville a look at the light blue lace bra she wore before pulling on the Minnie Mouse shirt she’d had on earlier. He couldn’t help the smirk as he thought about Soya’s underwear choices. His woman loved her lace and silk, made her feel girly, she’d told him before, and he had to thank whatever deity that was above for Soya’s love of all things lace and silk.

“I’ll just go dry my hair, and then we’ll go.” Soya said rubbing the towel over the tips of her long hair before turning and going to the bathroom. Ville stood following her as she ran a comb through the tangles.

“Do you ever think of cutting it?” he asked, knowing that her hair had grown out even more since they’d reconnected back in May.

“Mmmm, sometimes.” She said, knowing what he was talking about. “We’ve had this conversation.” She pointed out. “Do you want me to get it cut?”

“No,” he laughed. “I love it long; I just know you hassle with it a lot.”

Soya shrugged. “It’s a lot of maintenance, sure, but I like my hair the way it is.”

“When was the last time you cut it?” he asked reaching out and running his fingers through the locks.

“Never.” Soya said with a shrug as she brushed her hair back and plugged in the hair dryer.

“You’ve never cut your hair?” he asked in surprise.

Soya shook her head, “I’ve had it trimmed, the most I’ve ever had cut was three or four inches, and that was to even everything out as it had started to grow at different lengths.”

He watched as she turned the hair dryer on, tilting her head to the side letting her hair dangle as she ran the hot air over it, combing it all the while, calming the usual waves that ran through her hair before repeating the motions on the other side.

Though he could tell her hair was still slightly damp, she turned the hair dryer off, placing it on the sink before pulling her hair back and starting to braid it, knowing she only braided it either before bed or when she wanted to keep her hair out of her face.

“So, why haven’t you ever cut it?”

Soya eyed him as she wrapped a band over the end of the braid. “Why the sudden interest in my hair?” she teased.

Ville shook his head. “I’m just wondering, I remember how offended you were when you found out Aida’s hair had been cut.”

Soya rolled her eyes. “I’ve never wanted my hair short, and neither did Aida, well,” Soya gave a quite laugh. “Aida wanted her hair like mine so she let it grow out, I’ve just…I don’t know.” Soya sighed, leaning her hip against the sink. “When I was little, my dad used to say I looked like my grandmother with my hair long, and he was very close to my grandmother, so…I guess I just took it to heart, refused to get it cut.”

He looked at the braid that ended just at the low of her back knowing that when her hair was loose it brushed the curve of her bottom. He had a feeling that the reason she refused to cut it now was because like the rings that kept her attached to a grandmother she never knew, her hair was the last thing that kept her linked to a father she was barely getting to know. “Like I said, I like it long.”

Soya scrunched her nose at him, before walking over and kissing the bottom of his chin. “I know. Ready?”

“Yeah.” He nodded, letting her out of the bathroom as she rummaged through her suitcase to get a turquoise purse, putting her wallet and cell phone inside before motioning him out of the room and following him out. Ville made sure he had the card key before letting their door close behind them, making their way out to the lobby and grabbing a cab, heading towards the restaurant Jyrki had told them to go to.

“Five minutes.” Rosalind teased as she hugged Soya and stuck her tongue out at Ville once they reached the table that Rosalind and Jyrki had been sitting at. “You’re late by five minutes.”

“We were given thirty minute notice.” Soya said with a roll of her eyes, hugging Jyrki who had stood, and sitting across from Rosalind as Ville took his own place next to her.

“Well, had we given you the two hours, we would have starved to death.” Rosalind teased. “Now tell me where you’re staying.”

“No.” Ville said before Soya could answer. “We’re not telling either of you where we’re staying.”

“How did I get lumped into this?” Jyrki asked, with a raised eyebrow.

“You’ve been known to interrupt us too.” Ville accused.

Soya laughed. “Just humor him Rose.”

Rosalind rolled her eyes, “Fine, I have my own ways of finding out.”

Jyrki rolled his eyes. “This of course usually involves me paying a police officer not to haul her ass to jail.”

“Rein her in Jyrki.” Ville muttered, causing Jyrki to snort in amusement.

“Oh, if only I had that power Ville, the world would be a better place.” He told him with a grin, only to wince when Rosalind smacked his arm.

“Not nice.” She said, before kissing him softly. “You’ll make it up to me later.”

Jyrki laughed. “Sure, sweetheart.”

The rest of lunch went smoothly, catching up with each other, mostly catching up with Rosalind as she had missed most of their gatherings and wanted the gossip. Both Soya and Ville shared stories about Aida, like when she took the HIM sweater to school, which had made Rosalind roar with laughter while Ville swore it was her fault for even producing the sweater in the first place. Soya told them about Jussi’s odd behavior in the café when she’d been talking to Isolde, only for Ville to add in what he and Soya had stumbled upon in his front yard with Jussi and Isolde, which had made Rosalind ‘hmmm’ in interest and Jyrki to raise an eyebrow.

“Looks like Jussi has found a new interest.” Jyrki grinned, taking the last sip of the soda he’d ordered.

“This Isolde, she cute?” Rosalind asked.

Soya nodded, “Adorable, she grew up with Josef. She’s a sweetheart; I can see why Josef adores her they’re two peas in a pod.”

Rosalind nodded slowly. “Well if you like her, then I approve, still wouldn’t mind meeting the woman that’s caught Jussi’s eye. Now, are we ready?”

“I think so.” Soya nodded.

“Wait, ready for what?” Ville asked looking at Soya.

“Rosalind and I are going shopping.” Soya said looking over at him as she settled her purse on her lap and dug through it, only for Rosalind to grab Soya’s left hand out of the bag and pull it towards her.

“This is new.” Rosalind stated, looking at the ring.

Soya blinked, “Um…yes it is.”

Rosalind narrowed her eyes before letting Soya’s hand go, “If I didn’t know any better I’d say that was an engagement ring.”

Jyrki looked over at his girlfriend with a raised eyebrow, before looking between Soya and Ville; Soya was staring at Rosalind while Ville had tensed. Something was up, he thought.

“It’s not.” Soya said slowly, her eyes darting over to Ville before looking at Rosalind. “It’s just another heirloom from my grandmother. Did you want to go?”

Rosalind nodded, grabbing her own bag. “Yeah, I’ll meet you outside, I have to run to the bathroom really quick.” She said, the ring forgotten as she leaned forward to kiss her boyfriend. “I’ll see you later.”

“Sure.” Jyrki nodded, as she slid out of her chair, watching as Ville relaxed and Soya chewed on her lip, before smiling lightly at him. “You guys aren’t…”

“No.” Ville said, giving him a small smile. “No, we’re not.”

Jyrki nodded slowly. “All right, because it’s one thing not to tell Rosalind, you know how she gets, but to not share this news with friends…” he trailed off looking between them.

“We’re not.” Soya repeated.

“All right.” Jyrki said letting it go.

Soya shook her head before standing from her chair and leaning down to kiss the top of Ville’s head. “I’ll call you later?”

Ville nodded, tilting his head up to look at her. “Yeah, I think Jyrki and I are just going to walk around, look at some sights.”

“What are you going to go see?” Soya asked wrapping her arms loosely around Ville’s neck as they both looked at Jyrki.

“Checkpoint Charlie.” Jyrki grinned before popping a piece of ice into his mouth.

Soya frowned. “What?”

Ville blinked at her. “Octo-pussy.”

Soya blinked at him. “Is that another one of those porn movies you have stashed away?”

Jyrki choked on the piece of ice he’d been chewing, swallowing his laughter, though Ville didn’t have any luck hiding it.

“No.” Ville laughed, bring her down to kiss her soundly. “God I love you. No, James Bond love.”

Soya blinked. “James Bond.” She said slowly before shaking her head. “I’m just going to nod, give you a kiss goodbye and sum this up as a ‘boy thing’”

“Sort of.” Jyrki laughed. “It’s a historical army checkpoint.” He told her. “But the Berlin Wall Museum is also nearby and I’ve been meaning to check it out, but never had the chance.”

“What does James Bond have anything to do with it then?”

“It’s in the movie Octo-Pussy.” Ville said. “The James Bond movie…it’s a boy thing, kultaseni. You go have fun shopping, keep those pretty lips shut about where we’re staying and I’ll see you later.”

“Keep patronizing me and I’ll show Rosalind our room.” Soya warned with a grin before kissing his one last time. “Have fun with your Octo-Pussy check point I guess.”

Ville blinked as he watched Soya walk away, meeting up with Rosalind who was already outside, before turning to his friend. “I know it was in the wrong context but it is a real turn on to hear the word ‘pussy’ leave my girlfriends mouth.”

Jyrki snorted. “It’s probably the equivalent for me when Rosalind says ‘please’.”

Ville blinked. “I officially know way too much about your sex life.”

Jyrki laughed. “Please, I haven’t told you about…”

“That wasn’t an invitation to tell me more.” Ville laughed. “So please don’t.” he paused before looking at Jyrki. “It’s just when Rosalind says it right.”

“You’re pretty, Ville, but not my type.” Jyrki said, dropping his sunglasses over his eyes as he smirked at his friend. “Let’s go.”

XxxxxxX

“So, have you given anymore thought to what we talked about?” Rosalind asked as she flicked through the dresses that hung in front of her, nothing catching her interest, before looking back at her friend.

“I promised Ville I wouldn’t tell you Rosalind, and I don’t break my promises.”

Rosalind rolled her eyes. “Monada no offense, but I really don’t care where you and Ville are staying, as long as the boy made sure it’s nice, it is nice right?”

“Very.” Soya laughed. “And if you don’t care then why did you ask?”

“Again, because it is so fun to annoy Ville.” Rosalind grinned only to have her friend glare at her. “But I’ll try and calm down on annoying him if it’ll make you happy.”

“Thank you. And what were you talking about before?”

“The tattoo.” Rosalind reminded her, “Our last conversation.”

“Oh.” Soya said quietly, the conversation coming back to her. It had been the day they’d spent together shopping with their boyfriends, the day Ville had told her in the shower that he’d wanted to get her tattooed on the free space on his left set of ribs. She’d felt horrible for making him put it on hold for her and had talked to Rosalind about it, hoping she’d be able to sort out her feelings about the issue.

Rosalind had listened as she’d voiced her worries, only to shut them all down with a few words.

“It’s his body Soya, if he wants to get you tattooed on him, then for god sake let him get tattooed.”

“But-”

“No buts.”Rosalind said waving her hand in dismissal “For one, you guys aren’t breaking up, I haven’t seen it, so it’s not happening.”

“Rosalind.” Soya sighed.

“And even if you did, I don’t think the tattoo would be a painful reminder for him. At least not the negative aspect like the ‘J’, I think for him you would be more of a reminder of what he had. Soya this isn’t as catastrophic as you’re making it seem.”

“I know that but-”

“I understand your fear, monada, trust me, I understand it, but I mean, really it’s an honor, he cares for you so deeply that he wants the reminder on his body. I mean…didn’t you do that.”

Soya blinked as she rubbed the base of her neck where the name resided. “Impi means the world to me, sure.”

“Don’t act dumb, Soya.” Rosalind said with a roll of her eyes, “It’s not a pretty look for you.”

“Rose.”

“Sweetheart, you getting that huge ass tattoo with the Heartagrams was your own way of remembering Ville, don’t tell me you got it just because you’re a fan of their music,”

“I never said I did.” Soya muttered, seeing Rosalind’s point, just not wanting to admit it.

“You got it because you care deeply for Ville, even when you weren’t together, and want to…honor him in a way.”

Soya sighed; she hated it when Rosalind made sense.

“I’m not pushing your fears aside, and neither is Ville from what you’ve told me, but you can’t push his feelings about this aside either, Soya; he wants to do this. He doesn’t want your permission on this, he wants your blessing, and I say you give it to him. Just…think about it, all right?”

“Fine.” Soya sighed.

“So?” Rosalind asked, pulling a black dress from the rack, looking at it, then at Soya, then back to the dress before shaking her head and putting it back.

“Yes.” Soya said nodding as her thumb twirled the ring on her finger.

“And?”

Soya shrugged. “I’m going to tell him to get it.”

“Really?” Rosalind asked with a grin.

Soya nodded, smiling herself. “It’s his body, and if he wants to get it, he should; I don’t plan on letting the man go anytime soon, so I figure, what’s the harm?”

Rosalind laughed. “Of course. When are you going to tell him?”

Soya shrugged. “Probably on his birthday next month. I’ve been thinking of doing something myself, but I wanted to talk to him about it first.”

“Oh! What?” Rosalind asked, excitement felling her eyes.

Soya laughed, “I don’t really want to say anything, and I want to talk to Ville first see what he thinks before I start sharing.”

“Fine, but once you tell him, I want to know.” Rosalind warned, before walking off to the other side of the store, obviously ending the conversation now that she had the information she wanted. Soya shook her head as she looked through the rack absently.

She knew that when Ville had told her about his plans for a new tattoo he hadn’t been asking for her permission. Frankly, Soya didn’t want him asking for her permission to get new ink on his skin, she loved his tattoos and wouldn’t mind any new additions he decided to add, but she knew that Ville wouldn’t even bring up the new tattoo if he didn’t think she would like it.

Truth was, she loved the idea, it made her feel giddy and very high-school girlish as the idea that he would want her on his body, and not just anywhere, but right in front where everyone could see. Biting her lip as she pulled out another dress, she made the final decision to tell him on his birthday to get the tattoo.

Rosalind squeal from across the store brought Soya out of her musings as she started to wonder if she should even arrange it for him, but had a feeling Ville was very particular about his tattoo artists.

“Soya, I found the perfect dress for you!” Rosalind said, rushing back to her and putting the dress Soya had in her hands back on the rack.

“I already have a dress for tonight though.”

“You told me on the walk here Ville brought his leather pants.”

“He did.” Soya said slowly.

“And how much would you like to see him in those pants?” Soya bit her lip, causing Rosalind to laugh. “Don’t answer that, I can see it in your face that you want that very much, so…” Rosalind thrust a black leather dress in Soya’s hand and pushed her into the dressing room. “Try that on, and tell me it’s not worth wearing to see Ville in those pants!”

Soya brought the dress up to her body and smiled, even looking at the dress she knew she would end up buying it and wearing that night. “Text Ville and tell him I expect him in those pants tonight.”

At Rosalind’s giddy squeal Soya started undressing to try on the dress she’d already decided to buy. Rosalind knew her far too well.