Except for chatter and clangs from the kitchen and sounds of eating utensils, the café was silent. Shigeru looked from the taciturn, slightly trembling man opposite her to the one holding his head at the only other table in the dining area.
"You really weren't kidding about not being able to speak to women when you're sober," she commented before cutting off another small piece of cheesecake from one of the five plates in front of her.
Yuzan nodded his head, not meeting her eyes.
"Well, I will admit that this is damned good cheesecake, but the conversation part is definitely lacking." She swallowed and pointed her fork at Yuzan. "You were more fun when you were drunk, you know that?" She shook her head, short hair flying. "I know that you must interact with women while working for your blasted father's campaign and business, so what's the problem now?"
"Master Yuzan can usually behave adequately in a business situation. The ladies on the payroll quickly learn that if they flirt with him, he disappears," Ando called over.
"Really?" She turned around, leaning an arm on the back of the chair.
"Yes, miss. I believe that is how he has unjustly earned the reputation of a 'love 'em and leave 'em'playboy. The press merely overlooks that he doesn't 'love them' before he 'leaves them.'"
Shigeru leaned forward. "Look, I've always despised insincerity; as a result, I'm too straightforward to flirt. So how do you account for the silent treatment? Have I done anything to you?"
"N-no." Yuzan toyed with his fork and a slice of cheesecake. "The problem is on my end. You—uh—appear to be the type that appeals to me, and that makes me so nervous that my brain—and tongue—won't function."
"Just keep trying, Master Yuzan," Ando encouraged him. "Remember, once you got used to Miss Mizutani, you were able to talk easily to her."
Shigeru raised an eyebrow. "Mizutani?"
Yuzan shot her a shy grin. "The bride from yesterday. My new sister-in-law."
"Oh?" She smiled and crossed her arms on the table. "Well, then, let's just keep talking. So, what about me appeals to you and makes you nervous?"
"Well, you're…soft…and pretty...and you smell good," he managed, eyes averted.
"How old are you?" She fought a laugh as she shot a mock glare at him. "Well, you yourself are kind of cute—almost beautiful actually, but I'm friends with guys just as good looking and I manage to keep from attacking them. That is, except for one, but we were engaged at the time…"
"See there, Master Yuzan, she's no threat. She likes sweets and she's not bad to look at," Ando put in helpfully.
"Such an overflow of compliments will surely made my head swell," Shigeru commented drily. "I can see that he has no problems talking to women," jerking a thumb in Ando's direction, "although he is not particularly suave about it. Should I be concerned?"
"Don't worry about Ando," Yuzan spoke. "You're too old for him. He likes high school girls." He pulled another plate towards him and began to pay attention to it.
"So King Pervert hires other pervs. What is wrong with your family?"
She looked up, startled, at the burst of laughter across the table. "Now I remember why I liked you at the reception. You're outrageous, you pull no punches, and you come up with creative descriptions of my father," Yuzan said.
"Well, in my position I'm not that familiar with humility and generally do what I like, so you're fairly accurate." She dropped her eyes. "By the way, I don't often receive comments like 'soft' and pretty'. Thanks."
"Tell me," he asked between bites, "did you really jump off Monte Brento in a wingsuit?"
"Oh, did that story reach Japan? I almost hit the target, too. Activities where you have to give your all relieve stress for me. But breaking my arm waveski surfing last year put the brakes on what my mother calls my 'tomboy activities'." She gave a lengthy sigh.
"I prefer to get away to a quiet place, far from the phones and reporters to relieve stress, not almost kill myself," Yuzan offered.
"I'd probably think myself into a depression if I tried that," she countered, lifting her tea cup. "To each their own."
"If Young Master would just keep his own to himself," Ando moaned. "Recalling that mountain trip that you tricked me into… I prefer civilization, complete with lots of young ladies…high schoolers…sailor uniforms...short skirts..."
"Shut up!" Shigeru and Yuzan said simultaneously.
Shigeru noticed that Yuzan had pulled one more plate of cheesecake over and was helping himself to a bite. "Here, try this caramel one," she suggested. Now it was her turn to watch him down the treats.
She looked around in sudden realization. "Say, isn't it a little early for a café to be open?"
Ando cleared his throat. "Beg pardon, Miss, but the young master had me call ahead and give them warning. We are also the only customers until we leave, so by all means dissect his brain to your hearts' content."
"Ha!" she said. "Say, Yu-chan, how's the one with raspberries?"
"Not bad," he managed around a mouthful, "but I prefer blueberries myself. You can have the rest of it."
"Don't mind if I do."
After a half hour and several replenishments of the table, Shigeru commented, "I must say, you do have excellent taste and endurance in desserts. Not many people can keep up with my appetite. They tend to turn green and have to lie down like that one," gesturing to Ando, "while I'm just getting started."
"Really?" Yuzan exclaimed. "Ando does that, plus he's a champion complainer. The only other person who could keep up with me was a middle schooler; oh wait, he's in high school now."
Ando groaned from his prone position on the tatami floor. "The stomach of an adolescent boy is much less delicate than that of a grown man. And I pray for the day that yours develops such delicacy. Miss, do you realize how many years I have been living in a sugar-filled hell? Pastries, cakes, mousses, milly-whatevers…"
"Mille crepe, you philistine," Yuzan remonstrated before turning to Shigeru. "It was a tropical treasure trove with smooth cream and fresh fruits, blended together into an unforgettable melody, and that idiot was eating it layer by layer!"
A rhythmic thumping sound which had first registered as background noise now was almost deafening. Ando sat up from the pillow that had been graciously provided by the café hostess. "What is that?"
Shigeru stood and looked out the window. "Damn. My security guards have found me. I wonder where they stashed the GPS beacon this time."
"So…you employ security guards…" Yuzan began.
"…and regularly escape from them?" continued Ando.
"They have their uses but can truly be constraining," Shigeru muttered as she upended her small bag. "Aha!" She plucked a half-centimeter adhesive gem off her pocketbook. "They're getting sneakier!" As she restuffed her purse, she glanced at Yuzan. "I've got to go. Do you need to be anywhere soon? I can offer you a lift and Ando can rest and return on his own time."
"Ah, no, thank you," Yuzan replied. "I think we'll check into the inn just down the way and catch up on sleep. There shouldn't be regular office hours, as I'm sure the old bastard didn't rise at the crack of dawn today anyway."
"And I wonder whose bed he'll be in whenever he awakens," groused Ando.
"Yeah, well." Shigeru hesitated at the door then pulled out her cell phone. "Hey, can I call you?"
"Um, uh, sure?"
"Look, we've both got our own stresses at work and I've promised mother to stay away from extreme sports for awhile. Why don't we try to find some middle ground and unwind together while enjoying our favorite pastime—eating?"
"Eating…should be fine," he replied hesitantly.
"We can share our favorite munchies without torturing friends and employees." She gestured at Ando. "Anyone who can wax poetic over a mille crepe is all right in my book."
"Okay." They aimed their phones to transfer data.
"Great!" She gave a thumbs up as several black-suited men approached the café. "I'll give you a call. Just don't let your horndog father hear about it or he'll expect a political donation!"
"Young Master Yuzan," Ando said as the helicopter flew out of sight, "you shouldn't let that one get away."
