Elevator Rides With The Devil

Chapter Six

The first thing Hikari realized as she jolted out of bed was that she woke up in a strange place. She glanced around the dark pink-red room quickly before finding the half-naked blonde laying next to her, his muscled back facing her. Her eyes widened as she looked down quickly at her own body and let out a breath of relief she didn't know she was holding when she found out that she was fully dressed.

The second thing she realized was that her head was pounding. She closed her eyes tightly as she tried to remember what happened. She remembered drinking last night and though she was never one to hold her liquor, she didn't think she drank all that much either. She rubbed the temples of her head gently, trying to ease the pain when she came across a bump. What the…? Throwing the comforter to the side, she quickly ran to the bathroom and stared at her reflection. There, to the right of her forehead, was a small bump from where she must've hit her head. The explained the pain. Except she didn't remember hitting her head.

Think Kari, think. What happened last night? She mentally scolded herself as she racked her brain for answers. She remembered having dinner with Takeru and family… Takeru escorting his mother out… putting the dishes in the dishwasher… the brief conversation they had about his mother and work… and then the kiss. Why didn't she remember anything after that? She stared at her reflection again, as though trying to find the answers written on her face. If Miyako were here, she'd say that the kiss was so mind-blowingly awesome that it was the only thing you could think of, Kari thought to herself, a small smile spreading on her face. It was quickly replaced with a frown. This is not the time to be thinking such things, she scolded.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, hoping that any idea, thought, memory—anything—would come back to her. But her mind refused to cooperate. She let out a long sigh, turned on the faucet and splashed her face with the warm water a couple of times. She almost shrieked when she heard the soft knock on the door. With stronger force than necessary, she pulled the door open quickly and stared into the blue-eyed deity.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, his tone still laced with sleep.

"What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

She felt the urge to hit him, slap him, grab him by his shirt collar and shake him until answers came pouring out. And she might've just done that if it weren't for the fact that he still wasn't wearing a shirt. "What do you think I mean!" she let out angrily, throwing her arms into the air. "I'm in your apartment. I was in your bed! I have a bump on my head! And I can't remember anything!"

"Nothing at all?"

"Nothing after that… that… " Kiss. But she couldn't bring herself to say the dreaded word. He seemed to understand though as he offered a nod.

"Well… you passed out."

"Passed out?"

"Yeah…" He scratched the back of his neck lightly. "Completely freaked me out for a moment there… I think you… might've run out of the oxygen." A soft pink hue coated his cheeks and diverted his eyes away from hers. Kari might've noted how adorable it was that this god-like human was blushing away like a little boy had she not been so shocked. Her brain couldn't decide whether to scream or laugh or say something so she kept opening and closing her mouth for a few seconds, somewhat resembling a fish. "Hey, look, it's no big deal…"

"No big deal!" she snapped as she finally regained control of her body again. "Oh god…" she covered her face with her hands and slid down the wall slowly. He watched her for a few seconds, unsure if he should say something or sit down next to her. "And I didn't wake up until now?"

"No, no, you came to a couple of minutes later… After you hit your head on the counter on your way down, I grabbed some peas from the freezer and put them to your head so you wouldn't swell—so much for that huh?—and I guess the cold did the trick. You were still a little wobbly and kept insisting that you needed to go home—"

"So why didn't you take me?" she cut him off, doe eyes staring at him.

"I was worried…" He offered a small smile. "I wasn't sure if you were really okay… so I just put you on the bed so you could get some rest… You started to talk though… and before I knew it, you just feel asleep… and… yeah that's pretty much the whole story. No big deal, right?"

She laughed at the irony. Of course it was no big deal for him. After all, he wasn't the one with a fiancé, he wasn't getting married at the end of the month, his stomach wasn't twisting around and making him sick… why would it be a big deal for him? "What did I say?"

"Huh?"

"You said I started talking… what did I say?"

"Oh, well… lots of things. You talked a lot about Tai… and some childhood memories… like the little picture book you had to create in first grade about what you thought you'd be like twenty years from then… you said you were going to be the world's most famous photographer and you'd open up a small gallery someday and you'd have events and parties there every month… you described your perfect wedding and your perfect family that you'd have one day… and there was something about Miko… I'm not sure who that was…"

"He was my cat."

"Oh… that makes a lot more sense now. Thanks for clearing that up."

Kari felt sick. Not only had she kissed a man who was not her fiancé to the point that she ran out of oxygen, but she had also revealed some childhood memories that only parents share when you get a new boyfriend. She wanted to go back to yesterday, before she ever went up to this apartment and knock some sense into herself. Didn't she know how troublesome this whole situation would turn out to be? She must've had some idea.

Slowly, she got back up again and headed for the door. Takeru held her arm gently. "Are you… okay?" he asked as she quietly put her shoes on.

"No… no I'm not… I made a big, big mistake coming here last night… I'm sorry about that. It was a bad idea. I knew that before entering." She let out a soft sigh before exiting the apartment. Takeru watched her retreating figure silently for a moment.

"Do you really think you'll be happy with him?"

She stopped walking and turned around to face him. "Excuse me?"

"I think you're making a big mistake."

She narrowed her eyes. "Just who do you think you are?" she replied icily. "My life has absolutely nothing to do with you. And you know what? Yes, I will be happy with him. We're going to be the happiest couple to ever exist!" She hadn't meant to sound so cold but seeing him there in the doorway with a sarcastic smirk on his face just snapped her last nerve.

"Is that why you kissed me?"

"You kissed me you jerk!"

"And you could've pushed me away. But you didn't. You kissed me right back."

She could feel the anger boiling in her veins. She wanted to throw something at him and wipe that smirk off his face. And had there been anything around her at the moment, she might've done just that. Instead she turned on her heel and walked to the stairs, pushing the door harder than needed. How dare he!

Walking the three floors to her apartment seemed to go on forever and with each step, the guilt increased tenfold. Her mind raced back to the kiss. Why had she done that? She knew it was wrong. She knew it was a bad idea, yet she still let herself be drawn in. Oh god I'm horrible… how could I let that happen? How could I hurt Davis like that? She thought to herself. And he knew better! He knew I was getting married! That was an intense kiss though… damn it! No! no no no no no! It was nothing! She bit down on her lip as tears sprung to her eyes. Whether they were from anger or guilt, she couldn't tell.

Davis was laying back on the couch when she walked in, a bowl of cereal in one hand, the remote in the other. "Hey! Where were you? I was starting to get lonely here," he teased but when he saw her face, the smile fell from his face and he immediately got up, walking over to her. "Kari? What's wrong?"

Seeing the concern in his amber eyes only made her feel worse. She shook her head. "It's nothing…" She choked out. "It's just… the wedding… it's so soon…" She mentally cringed, she was never a good liar. Davis looked at her, and for a split second she thought he saw through her act too.

"Is that all? God Kari, I thought someone hurt you or something," he replied, pulling her into a hug. No, just pulled into a breath taking kiss. Literally, she added in her mind. "Don't worry about the wedding. Most everything is ready. The caterers have the menus, the photographers are booked, the restaurant is perfect…" He grinned. "We've got it all figured out. All we need is for you to be there."

She smiled faintly. "You're right… it's just… it's been stressful, you know?"

"I know, Kari, I know. Who ever thought that there would be so much to do, right?" She nodded and planted a small kiss on his cheek. "Why don't you get some rest? It'll be good for your nerves."

"Okay, yeah, that sounds nice."

He smiled. "Want me to make you something to eat?"

"No thanks, I'm not very hungry," Kari replied as she walked over to the bedroom. Closing the door, she sat down on the bed. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Kari stood up and walked over to the mirror. "Enough is enough, Hikari," she told her reflection sternly. "You are getting married in a month. You are marrying a great guy. And you will be happy. No matter what it takes, you'll find bliss that you've never known before and you will live in that bliss for the rest of your life."

Looking back on the bed, she knew she wasn't going to get any sleep so she grabbed her books and worked on making lesson plans for her class.

Kari couldn't sleep that night. Every time she closed her eyes, a certain blue-eyed neighbor kept tainting her dreams, replaying the last conversation they had over and over and over. Sighing, she rolled over on her side and stared at the clock, the neon red numbers reading 4:57 back at her. Great. I managed to get a grand total of forty minutes of sleep, Kari thought to herself. Knowing she wasn't going to get anymore sleep, she carefully got up so as not to wake Davis who was lightly snoring on the other side of the bed. She made her way to the bathroom, where she changed into a thick pair of sweats, a long sleeved v-neck shirt and a hoodie. Afterwards, she tied her hair up in a ponytail, filled a water bottle and grabbed her keys.

She jogged all the way down to the beach, where she paused for a short moment to regain her breath. It was still early and she felt like she was walking around in a deserted town. The shops were all closed, everyone was still asleep in their houses and it was so silent that she could hear her own heart beat in her ribcage. It felt good to job again. She used to do it all the time when she was in college but now she barely had time.

After about an hour of jogging, Kari still didn't feel like going home yet. It was still early, Davis wouldn't be up for another hour and she had nothing to do in the meantime. Instead, she made her way down to the park. She sat down on the swings, swaying softly. Closing her eyes, she breathed in the chilly air quietly when she heard the unmistakable sound of a ball being dribbled. Curious, she got up and walked over the court. It was still early and she wanted to know who was playing basketball at this time.

She watched as the ball flew smoothly from the pair of hands straight to the basket, making a soft swoosh sound as it went through the net. Oh god, of course it's him, she thought in horror as she realized that the person was no other than Takeru. She tried to walk away before he saw her but her movement caught his eye and he turned toward her.

"Good morning," he called out, bouncing the ball in one hand.

Sighing in aggravation at her foiled plan, she turned back around. "Morning…" she replied softly. He didn't say anything else for a while, his eyes focused on the orange ball in his hands and the basket for which he was aiming at. Kari watched him quietly, not sure what to say. The silence felt awkward and she thought it would be too weird if she just walked away now, especially after he knew she was there and all. She took a breath before she said the first thing that came to her mind, "Sorry."

"For what?" he asked as the ball passed through the net again.

"Yesterday. For the way I treated you."

"So you're not sorry for kissing me?"

"I said I was sorry for the way I treated you, nothing more."

"Alright, whatever you say." She sat down on the ground as she watched him play against imaginary opponents. The more she watched him, the more aware she was of how graceful he looked. It was as though he was doing a complicated dance routine. She knew next to nothing about basketball but his posture and the way he positioned his hands on the ball looked a lot more refined than those guys Davis watched on tv. Even the way he lightly jumped before making a shot was captivating. It made it seem like he was as light as a feather. "Do you want to play?" he asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

"Do you want to play?" he repeated, spinning the basketball around on his index finger.

"No, I'm okay. I don't know how to play anyway."

"I can teach you."

"Look, I don't like holding grudges and I don't like being mean to people, but that doesn't mean that I'm not mad about kissing you last night," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Forget last night. I get it, okay? It was a big mistake, as you put it. This is just a friendly game." Kari stared at him. She was starting to get cold and some exercise wouldn't hurt her. On the other hand, she still felt like she shouldn't be around him. But the way he looked at her, she couldn't help but accept his invitation.

"Fine. But it's going to be a bad game," she said as she got up and walked into the court.

"Don't worry about it." He tossed her the ball and she awkwardly caught it, unsure of what to do with it. Her confused expression made him laugh. "Look, there's nothing to it really. The point is to get the ball into the hoop as many times as you can. Try to make a shot." Kari aimed the ball at the basket and tried to shoot it in like the way she saw him do a dozen times before. She winced as she saw the ball completely miss the basket, which only added to Takeru's laughter.

"Hey! You can't laugh. I told you I sucked at this."

"You weren't kidding," he said with a smile. Fetching the ball, he tossed it over to her again. "Okay, first of all, you're holding the ball wrong…" He came up behind her, fixing the position of her hands on the ball. She could feel his warmth as he stood behind her and his breath on her ear as he explained what to do. He held his hands over hers on the ball as he raised her arms slightly. "Now, you want to bend your knees a little, and when you're ready to shoot, you do a small jump and toss the ball…" She bent her knees slightly, tossed the ball with him and watched as the ball sailed through the net. "Good! See? Now try it on your own. "

He stepped away to get the ball again, tossing it over to her. Kari bit her lip. It was so much easier when he was standing behind her. But nevertheless, she tried to remember everything he told her and tossed the ball again. It missed the basket, but not as much as her first attempt. "You make it look too easy," she whined, pouting her lips slightly.

"It is easy," he replied with a small chuckle. "Just takes some practice." They repeated the process several times, then he showed her some other tricks and strategies, offering her tips every now and then. After a while, Kari finally called quits. She felt tired and everything he told her was starting to blend in.

"Wow, I still didn't manage to get one single basket in," she breathed as she took a big gulp of water from her bottle. "I'd need years of practice."

"Nah, a few days, tops," he replied, holding the ball under his arm. "Maybe a couple of months before you get near my level, though."

"Ha! Months! You must've been doing this for years!"

"Well, yeah. I was on the basketball team in high school and college. Now I'm only able to play in the mornings. It's good way to get rid of stress and energize yourself." He walked over to his bag and extracted a small towel from it. "Need it?"

"No thanks, I'm not that bad," she stated. He was practically soaked in sweat and his golden hair was plastered to his face, some falling into his eyes. He wiped his face with the towel. "So you do this every morning?"

"I try, but it doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes I play with my friends in the evenings." He shrugged. "Just depends on how I feel, I guess." She nodded slightly. "Going home yet?" he asked as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

"Yeah, I should be getting back. Lots of things to do, people to call."

"Haha, you must lead a very busy life."

"Well you know how it is with weddings. Endless things to do." Though her tone was light, he could detect the seriousness underneath it. He didn't reply, rather put his hands in his pockets and walked to the building. When he got up to the entrance, he held the door open for her and followed her to the elevator.

"So, for all intents and purposes, last night didn't happen?" he asked, azure eyes meeting her brown ones.

She looked back at him for a while before answering, "Yes, that's right." He nodded once, finally breaking their eye contact as he leaned back against the wall.

"It's a shame."

"Really? I don't think so. It was just an impulse. Nothing more."

"I don't think that's all it was." He took the two steps toward her, trapping her in the corner of the car. He put one hand on her lower back while cupping the side of her face with the other. "Want to know why?" His face was centimeters away from her own and she could feel his breath on her lips. "Because I could sense your desire."

She closed her eyes to block him out of view but it didn't do much to help. She still felt his hand softly caressing her cheek. Despite the fact that he smelled like sweat, she could still detect the faint scent of his soap. She knew he was still watching her and she felt her heart starting to pound in her chest. She realized that she was scared.

One part of her reminded her that she belonged to another man, while another—and a rather large part—was wondering if he was right. Did she really desire him? Yes, he was handsome and charming and an amazing kisser, but that couldn't all that equate to lust? But what if it wasn't?

She heard the ding of the elevator, probably stopping at her floor but she felt like it was miles away. Seeing her practically whimper, Takeru dropped his hands, stepping away from her. "You're wrong," she answered at last, hoping her voice sounded tougher than she felt right now. Opening her eyes, she quickly scrambled out of the elevator before her body could betray her.

His words rang clearly through her head just before the door closed: "I'm not giving up on you yet, Kari." She felt a chill run down her spine and was surprised to learn that her hands were shaking. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down before walking up to her door.

"You really think it's just nerves?" Kari heard Davis ask from the kitchen, just before she opened the door. "It just seems like so much more than that, you know?"

"I think you're making a big deal out of nothing, Davis," came Miyako's answer.

"Maybe… but you should have seen her face… it didn't seem like she was worried… she looked downright sad."

"Oh relax, she's going to be a whole range of emotions during these last few weeks. Marriage is a big deal and she's treating it as such."

Kari made no sound as she stood by the door, her hand frozen on the keys in the lock, as she tried to listen to their conversation. They were obviously talking about the way she came in yesterday morning and Kari silently prayed that Miyako would convince Davis that it really was nerves. God, he'd be devastated if he knew the real reason. When the conversation seemed to end, she finally opened the door and stepped inside, a smile plastered on her face.

"Good morning!" she greeted cheerily. Davis was making an omelet and he looked up when she came over.

"Hey," he answered. "Where were you this morning?"

"Went for a jog," she replied, putting down her half empty water bottle.

"Oh." He smiled. "Did it help?"

"I did. God that smells amazing."

"It'll be done in a minute," he replied, grabbing some plates.

Kari felt Miyako staring at her back, probably trying to read her, and she refused to meet her eyes. She knew Miyako would see through her instantly and she would wait until Davis was away before facing her friend. "I'm gonna go wash up a bit," she said, walking over the bathroom. She washed her hands quickly and rinsed her face a couple of times, not even wanting to know what she looked like at the moment. When she came back, Davis had already put down plates of omelet for the three of them and was nearly halfway finished with his portion. "Are you gonna be late tonight?"

"I hope not," Davis answered with a sigh. "But I'll call you if I am." Kari nodded, taking her place at the table. Davis finished the rest of his food a short moment later, dropped his plate in the sink and kissed Kari's cheek. "I'll be back before you know it," he added with a smile.

"Have a good day, love," Kari answered as she watched him walk out.

"So," Miyako started the moment she heard the lock, "Want to tell me what that was about?" Kari ignored the question, pretending to be fascinated in the contents of her plate.

"I don't know," Kari replied with a sigh.

"You don't honestly think I'm going to buy that, do you?"

Kari shook her head and finally looked up. "No, you won't."

"So tell me what's wrong."

Kari leaned her head on her hand. Miyako's gaze was more intense than she could handle and she lowered her eyes to the table before she was able to respond. "Miya… I think I'm making a big mistake."

A/N: I'm baaaaaack! First of all, I'd like to say how sorry I am for not updating this sooner! (Wow nearly a year has passed!) There were just so many things with school and family and work and everything else that I felt like I was so overwhelmed… But I did make this a longer chapter to make up for the long absence! At first I was going to split this up into two chapters but then decided against it. Among everything else, I also had a huge writer's block, so that's why this chapter may seem than the others. Sorry about that. This was like the fourth or so version that I wrote and I have to say that it's better than the previous ones (atleast, in my opinion). Anyway! Please review! (And I promise the next chapter won't take me this long to write!)