The next two days passed by in a blur. Syaoran had no further incidents that angered him more than Eriol backing into his car. Syaoran was still pretty mad about that. He knocked on her door at quarter to seven. He always was early for a date, because whether he was on time or not the girl would still be running around trying to figure out what to wear; at least he could be there speeding along the process. He usually was annoyed by this certain display of girliness, but he felt that it would be amusing seeing Sakura get dressed up for him.

She opened the door. She had been watching some TV while waiting for him to come. "Oh your early I suppose we can go now. Is this ok for what you had planned?" She asked this sincerely because she tried to avoid embarrassment at all costs. She was wearing a short cocktail dress and her usual splash of make up. She didn't want to get very glamorous because this was like a forced date. She considered the date to be forced because he had asked nicely and she had trouble saying no. She couldn't figure out why he hadn't said anything yet. He seemed to be staring at her strangely.

He was taking all of her in. She was wearing a shorter dress that showed off her legs and curves to perfection. Had they been seeing each other for a while he would have gone inside and not come out until he was satisfied in the morning. "Yes. what you are wearing is fine."

They exited the building and walked onto the street. "I thought we could walk through the park on the way to dinner." He hoped she wouldn't object; any of his other dates would have.

She smiled and he nearly stopped to stare at her. She was giving him the warmest smile he had ever seen. They had passed benches along the way before he got some courage and asked, "Would it be ok if I held your hand?"

She nodded and he took her hand into his and interlaced their fingers. She felt warm and safe. When she looked at him she felt her breath catch. He was so handsome and even though he was a bit bratty he could be sweet if he wanted to be. She was still impressed he hadn't killed Eriol yet. The man had cowered in his office for the last two days. They walked in silence happily; not because they didn't have anything to talk about but because they were content with each others company.

They arrived at rather fancy Italian place and Sakura almost felt underdressed. She just wanted to laugh at the finely dressed ladies and their frippery. Syaoran leaned over and whispered, "You look beautiful do not view yourself as anything less."

She smiled at him as he pulled out a chair for her. She knew not to believe what men told her they were just words. She swore she saw a flash go off. She looked annoyed and he shrugged silently saying that this was the price he paid when going out in public.

The waiter brought them the menus for them to glance over. Syaoran shooed the waiter away for a few minutes giving them time to order. He quickly picked his meal and set his menu aside. He stared at her as she concentrated so hard she looked like she would burst. He walked around to her side of the table. He leaned down to help her.

He whispered in her ear the selections on the page. Feeling the hot breath against her ear caused her to shiver. He leaned over and pointed some things out he liked. She could feel his heat radiated off him and wished she could lean back and let it swallow her. His tone was softer having noticed her reaction to his close proximity.

She pointed out what she wanted so he could tell the waiter when the man returned. He nodded and went back to his seat. He looked across at her. He felt funny like he could look at her forever. He smiled genuinely at her as the waiter arrived. He gave the man their order and relaxed. The waiter came back with a bottle of wine and two glasses. She sipped it carefully, hoping he didn't notice she was nervous.

"So how is the lovely world of accounting going?"

"Oh it's great I finished filing this week and got those reports for you. I hope next week I will be able to look for errors in this year's ledgers."

"Do you expect to find any?"

"It has nothing to do with Asumo's character, but his method is highly unorganized and I wouldn't be surprised if he misplaced funds."

"Let me know right away how much we are off. Jesus he started at least 20 years ago how are you going to get all through that?"

"With your permission I was hoping I could get some others to help once I know what I am looking for."

"That seems reasonable, how long do you think it will take?"

"Let's say I have everyone in the department looking I would say about a month."

"A month you are going to go through every transaction ever recorded in a month?"

"I was going to try really hard to get through it quickly. I think I figured out his pattern."

"Well if it takes longer let me know but I just want you to make sure you will be able to do monthly accountings."

"Thank you Mr. Li."

"Please I don't want us to be formal, call me Syaoran."

She nodded and they talked more about things that could be improved at work. He was really interested in her thoughts. Not many people would approach him with suggestions. Actually most people wouldn't approach him at all. She was like a little improvement tree. He had never had such stimulating conversation. Most women talked about fashion or hair. She was intelligent and he wouldn't lie and say he didn't like it. Technically they had only talked about work but he knew he liked her intelligence. He thought he like the brainless women he had dated but she had an undeniable combination; brains and beauty, what a turn on.

"Tell me something no one would guess about you."

"Well I suppose I never told anyone that I wanted to learn how to ballroom dance." She looked embarrassed, believing he would think this was a silly idea. He stared at her for the moment.

"You know there is a company formal coming up you should probably learn before then."

"Oh I don't know. I could always sit out the complicated dances."

"Miss Kinomoto where is all that determination I know so well?"

"If I am calling you Syaoran you should call me Sakura."

"You didn't answer my question."

"I don't intend to." He did not like being brushed off like that. He took a deep breath and sat silently waiting for the food to arrive. He could not afford to be angry and screw up this date. Sakura realized she had just been rude and was trying to fill in the silence.

"So do you have any siblings?"

"I have 4 sisters. I would rather not talk about them, because I can feel my irritation rising just thinking about them."

"Why is that?" She did not take the hint.

"Between my mother and them, their life goal is to see me married and I want to do things my way; not have some flighty girl forced unto me."

"Oh well I have one brother his name is Touya and his life goal is to keep men away from me; currently he is in Hiroshima so he won't be able to strangle you." She laughed after she said it. He looked a little alarmed but didn't say anything.

Their meal arrived and Sakura tried her best to eat lady like but after waiting so long for dinner she was famished. Syaoran was looking at her and smiling.

"I'm glad you are not afraid to eat in front of me."

She just laughed and continued. "There is nothing like good food" she said and sighed in contentment when finished. He agreed with her. The waiter brought the check and Syaoran quickly put his credit card on the tray and the waiter took it away. The card was returned and he signed for the dinner and they left the restaurant.

He held her hand again as they walked along through the park. She was deep in thought so he left her alone.

"Syaoran?" she blurted out.

He lifted an eyebrow and turned to look at her. "Yes?"

"Why are you …um…? I mean why do you want to spend time with me?" She knew she sounded like a complete lunatic. She remembered all the things Junji had said to her. He had told her numerous times that no one else desired her other than him. He had also told her that men talked to her because she was so dumb looking that they knew she would sleep with them. He had made her feel like crap for 10 horrible months before Tomoyo had finally gotten her out of his grasp. No one says these things unless they knew. He was a man after all.

He stopped and turned completely to face her. "What do you ask this Sakura." She couldn't know about his deal with his mother could she?

"It was a pretty straight forward question I just want to know where I stand, we are friends right?"

He looked aghast. "Friends, Sakura? Yes I am your friend but I like you a lot and I thought it was obvious that I wanted to date you."

"Oh." That was the only thing she said for the rest of the walk home. He stopped at her door; hoping to receive a kiss.

"You wouldn't want to grant me a wish would you?"

She looked at him like he was crazy. She waited for him to continue. "I wish more than anything you would let me kiss you." He said it so sincerely that she was confused.

"I'm sorry Syaoran…uh? Maybe some other time?" She opened her door and went inside without as much as a goodnight. He stared at her door. This was definitely a first. He had never been denied anything from a woman. He had made progress which was good. He did however have an idea of how to get her to want to see him more regularly.

Sakura leaned back against her door. Her hand was over her face. She looked into a pair of violet colored eyes. "Ahhhhh...Tomoyo!"

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Author's Notes

Ok so it's not really a cliff hanger, but I tried to put in the suggestion I was given. I put some foreshadowing into this piece can you find it? I think Syaoran's little mission is being forgotten. He doesn't even think about his mother anymore. He genuinely likes her but she has a problem that will revealed sometime in the future… REVIEW!!!!!