"Wow…what a boring summer day."
Maiko sighed as she dipped the nail brush into the color, swirling it around. She lay on her stomach on top of your bed, painting her nails a luscious shade of blue. "I'm so bored…" she complained. Her eyes rose up and met yours'. "Be a doll, (Name), and turn on the TV, will you? Maybe there'll be something interesting on."
You pressed the button on the remote and turned your TV set on. The screen came to life. It was set on some news channel. You lazily surfed the channels one by one, barely paying attention.
"Oh, look at that!" She giggled as she watched some silly commercial for a new TV show.
"I've seen that episode. It's really stupid." You stretched your arms up over your head, closing your eyes in content as the warm, burning feeling reaching deep into your core. Your tiny T-shirt, the one with the picture of a rose on it, rode up to reveal a strip of your tanned belly. Sighing, you flopped down into your beanbag chair.
Holding her hand out, Maiko admired her newly painted nails. "These look sexy, maybe I should give myself a pedicure," she commented out loud. "Do you want me to paint yours', too?"
You shook your head. Just recently they'd been done at a salon and you didn't want to ruin the shine. "It's all right." She shrugged and sat up to do her toe nails.
The two of you girls were hanging out in your spacey room. There wasn't much to do—you'd talked and she'd listened, and vice versa. Maiko had wanted to do her nails with your polish, so you said sure and let her. Your family was out at some afternoon party that you hadn't wanted to go to.
You reached for the book that sat on your desk. "What, you're planning to actually read during summer vacation?" Maiko cried, mock horrified.
"I have to. It's for summer reading."
"Oh." The girl rolled her eyes. "I hate reading. It's so…blah."
You smiled. That was something you had remembered quite well about Maiko. She liked to spend her time with make-up, clubs, parties, shopping, and boys. Not really your idea of fun. You enjoyed writing, reading (gasp!), painting, and cooking pastries. It was actually fun, that last one. You and Maiko were almost complete opposites—she was outgoing, relaxed and bold, you were more reserved, witty, and shy—but that was the reason why the two of you were such good friends.
Opening to the page you had marked your stop last, you began to read. Soon you found yourself lost in the make-believe world of fiction, where anything could happen. The characters and dialogue swirled around you. It was wonderful. You loved reading. You could escape to a whole different place…
There was a knock on the front door downstairs. You could hear it from your room, over the low murmur of the TV. Maiko shot you a look. You stood up, having been pulled from the quiet literature planet, and said, "I'll get it."
"Okay." Maiko looked happy that she didn't have to get up and ruin her pedicure.
You made your way downstairs and then planted yourself in front of the door. "…sometimes I wish we had windows that allowed us to see who it is outside," you muttered to yourself. Then you pulled open the door.
"Uh, yo." Doumyoji was standing there. He was dressed in a blue T-shirt and baggy shorts. A red metal box was in one hand and slung over his shoulder were two fishing poles. Low atop his curly hair was a floppy fishing hat.
"Yo," you echoed, giving him a small smile. "What brings you here to my house?"
"W-Well…" he stammered, his face suddenly turning bright red. He looked past you, away from your gaze, and into your house, an excuse not to look at you. "I t-thought that if you weren't d-doing anything, you and I c-could…"
"Who's at the door?" a voice sang out from the top of the stairs. A second later Maiko's face popped out from the hallway. She was grinning widely. "Oh! Doumyoji-san! Hello!"
"Hi." He nodded curtly at your friend.
She floated down the steps, not even the least bit embarrassed about her outfit, which consisted of the skimpiest bikini top and teeny-tiny shorts. "What are you doing here?"
"That's what I asked him."
Doumyoji gave a shrug. "I just wanted to ask (Name) something."
Maiko crossed her arms. She wiggled her toes, which had been painted a fresh cherry red. "Well? Ask away!"
He stared at her, refusing to say anything. You glanced over your shoulder at your friend. "Um, Maiko?" You gave her a pointed look.
She got the message and she laughed, slapping herself lightly on her forehead. "Oh! Duh! Sorry, I didn't know Doumyoji-san just wanted to talk to you." Maiko giggled. She pranced towards the kitchen, singing, "I'll leave you two alone~" Then she was gone.
You shook your head. "Sorry," you said, feeling the need to apologize for Maiko.
Doumyoji chuckled. "She's…curious," he finally managed, probably trying to find a better word for "nosy" but not wanting to sound rude.
"So, you were saying?" you probed.
"Oh, uh, right." He cleared his throat and looked straight at you when he said, "Do you want to come fishing w-with me?"
"Huh?" That took you by surprise. Doumyoji, the guy who hadn't said more than a sentence to you the whole three weeks you had known him, was asking you to go fishing with him? Then you said, "Wait. You mean, as a date?"
His face reddened. "I wouldn't call it that…"
A smile spread across your face. "Sure! I'd love to! I haven't gone fishing in a while, anyway." The last time you had gone was two years back, and from what you recalled, fishing was a time of patience, self-control and timing…and fun.
"Really?" He seemed surprised by your answer, like he had been expected a no. Then he grinned. "Cool."
"Do you want me to get a snack and stuff? Like soda? And sandwiches?"
"No, I already have it packed and ready to go." For a rich boy, he was surprisingly organized and put-together.
"Okay, just give me a second to change."
"What you have on is fine." His eyes flicked down to the length of your body, then flashed back up to your face.
"Then let me take care of Maiko," you said. You went to turn around and go into the kitchen to tell her, but the said girl was smiling brightly at you, her eyes sparkling.
"Oh, don't worry about poor lil' me, (Name)," she said cheerfully. "I'm totally fine with you ditching me for Doumyoji-san! You two have fun now! Just forget about me, all right? Enjoy yourselves! I'll tell (your mother's name) when she gets home!" She waved.
You laughed. "Oh, gosh, Maiko, what'll I do with you?" Then you grabbed your sunglasses and went to Doumyoji. "Okay, I'm ready, then."
"Great," Doumyoji said. "Let's go."
"…so this is what fishing is like."
Doumyoji was lying on his back, propping himself up lazily on one elbow. His fishing pole was leaning against a nearby rock. He'd gotten tired of holding it half an hour ago. Said it bored him to look at the lake without feeling a fish bite.
You were finishing off a chocolate wrapped in gold paper. It had caramel inside, all gooey and warm, and it tasted so good. You called it rich chocolate—it had been from one of the top brands and very rarely you had the time to swallow chocolate. You popped the last bit into your mouth.
The male yawned. He curled his arm underneath his head and rested back. "Fishing is so boring," he commented. "I don't understand how people enjoy this."
Laughter rippled from your throat and soon you threw your head back, chortling. "I can't believe it! You come and ask me to go fishing with you when you don't even know how to fish!" The whole time you had shown the older boy how to string a pole and sit patiently for fish. You'd caught a small minnow, but one look at the animal and you'd decided to let it go, ignoring Doumyoji's loud protests. The minnow was just a baby. Besides, it wouldn't do you good sitting in your stomach, it was so tiny.
He gave you a look. "So? I don't have to know how to fish."
"Yes, you do, otherwise you won't catch anything!"
"Well, that has nothing to do with the fact that fishing is so boring!" Doumyoji yawned again, his eyes closing. "This will be the last time I ever go fishing again."
"Fishing is all about the waiting," you said, lecturing him. "You have to be patient and wait for the fish to come up. Sometimes they don't want to bite. Because they're not hungry. But sometimes, you get a fish every few seconds. This way, fishing is so much more interesting! You never know what will happen! And besides, it's a time where you can just be peaceful."
Doumyoji was quiet. He was looking up at you through half-lidded eyes. Then he said, "Why do you know so much about fishing?"
"My dad used to take me all the time. But when he got busy, he stopped." You thought about it, licking chocolate smudges off the tips of your fingers. "I really missed fishing. I like the quiet time it brings."
"You talk like you're such an expert on fishing."
"It's something I enjoy." The sun was shining brightly today and it was hitting you square in the face. You pulled your sunglasses over your eyes.
"I think it's stupid," he commented arrogantly. But he didn't sound like he really meant it. You turned your head sideways to look at him.
Light danced across his features. He had a perfect nose and high cheekbones, and his eyes were dark and alluring. His hair was still funny, a curly-top you would say, but you thought it suited him well. He didn't remind you of an aristocrat, and when you'd first met him, you'd thought he was a spoiled rich kid, but two hours under the tree's shade and sun gave you time to realize that Doumyoji was actually an average-day male.
You could fall in love with Doumyoji. He was cute. Every time you snuck a glance at him, he somehow knew. He would turn his head and the two of you would stare at each other before you would look away, abashed.
Doumyoji didn't say anything and you thought maybe he had fallen asleep. You were feeling sleepy yourself. The soft grass underneath your thighs was comfy. You would give anything to set down your fishing pole and curl up under the sun's rays like a content kitten. It would be so nice…
You lay down on the grass with a soft sigh. Mmm, it felt amazing. Your back ached from sitting over a pole and now you relaxed. Turning over onto your side for a more comfortable position, you yawned sleepily and then found yourself face-to-face with Doumyoji.
He was a few inches away from you. He was gazing at you, an expression you couldn't read written over his face. For a moment, the two of you just stared at each other. Then his gaze slipped down and settled onto your lips.
Oh, God…does he want to kiss me?
"You have some chocolate on your mouth," he said, his voice soft. "Here…I'll get it for you…"
You thought he was going to reach out and rub it. However, there was a gleam in his eyes and he murmured, "Rich chocolate always tastes wonderful after you've sat in the sun."
You realized he would get it off using his tongue.
He came closer and closer, his eyes centered on your lips. You couldn't imagine yourself kissing him. And yet you wanted to kiss him.
There was a strange desire in your to feel his lips on top of yours'.
But before your lips could meet his, his fishing pole began to wriggle.
"Oh!" He sat up quickly. "I think I caught something!" He grabbed for his pole.
"Start reeling it in," you instructed, slowly sitting up. Absently, you rubbed the chocolate from your mouth. So he hadn't made that up, just as an excuse to lip-lock with you. Your shirt had ridden up to expose your tummy and you pulled it back down, annoyed with yourself. You could've kissed him! You would've kissed Doumyoji if a damn fish hadn't decided to bite! Why now, after the two hours they had spent out here?
He was doing as you told him, frantically reeling in the fish. When the end of the line was revealed, slowly coming out of the water, the both of you were surprised to find a huge trout dangling from the end.
"Whoa!" Doumyoji began to laugh. "I actually caught something! That's so cool!"
"Now you like fishing." But you were smiling too, despite the blush on your face. "Here. Do you want to keep it or let it go?"
"Man, this is big. I've never caught a fish before!" He was talking to himself happily, satisfied that he had finally caught a fish. The trout was flexing its body and flopping in the air, trying to get away, to get back in the water. It was in a struggle against the air, desperate to be in water, and it was losing.
Then Doumyoji reached out and unhooked the fish. Holding it in his hands, he lowered it to the lake and set it free. You watched the shining trout swim away.
The action surprised you. "You let it go?" You looked at Doumyoji.
He nodded. "What does it look like?" he replied. "Yeah. I don't really like trout, anyway." But he was blushing slightly and he knew it, so he pulled his floppy hat low over his forehead.
You couldn't help but smile. "Doumyoji-san, that's really…sweet."
His eyes met yours'. "…you don't have to call me 'Doumyoji-san'. I wouldn't care if you just addressed me with my name."
"A-Alright, then." You shoved the '-san' from your mind. "That was very sweet of you, Doumyoji. If I knew you better, I might've fallen in love with you."
"O-Over a simple thing l-like that?" He meant it as a retort, but now his face was flaming red, as red as a fire engine.
You laughed. "Uh-hum."