Disclaimer: I do not own Slam Dunk nor any of the characters, this is purely fiction, so please do not sue me.

Unexpected

Chapter 8

"..." Talking

'...' Thinking

Opening the door slowly, Catherine peeked into the house. Ayako's right, he does need someone to take care of him. Walking in carefully, she closed the door behind her. Looking down, she sees numerous numbers of shoes carelessly thrown around. Then, looking ahead she sees the half-cleaned living room and family room. Putting down her bag, she walked into the house. Looking up the staircase she sees nothing. The entire house is quiet.

Ghostly quiet.

He's probably still asleep.

Looking into the kitchen, it's surprisingly clean, but then again, he rarely eats at home, so it should be fairly clean. Then, turning her body she went upstairs and looked around the place. Her ears picked up a low buzzing sound that painted a frown over her face.

Moving her body within the sound's direction, she was stopped by a closed door. Putting her left hand on the door and her right hand on the doorknob, she slowly twisted and pushed the door open.

She's not surprised.

He doesn't seem like the type to lock his bedroom door.

Walking in, she saw him sprawled out on the bed with a remote control beside him on the bed. Turning her body, she noticed a television still on going. This must be the buzzing sound.

The channel is specially ordered as it plays basketball all day long. Catherine's eyebrows rose up unconsciously. Ayako's right, there's only basketball and sleep in his world. Turning off the TV, the room's silent again. Walking to him quietly, she leaned down and looked at his sleeping face.

This is the first time she's been this close to him, but yet again his eyes are not on her.

"When will you open your eyes and look at me?" Catherine whispered.

Then with a sigh, she stood up and grabbed the blanket that only covered his legs. Pulling it up, she settled it over his body and tucked it in gently. She took the remote control away from beside his head and placed it on his night stand instead. She walked away from the bed and looked around the room while taking off her jacket.

Now, where should she start cleaning?

Girls' House

Christina walked into their house with her eye lids half closed. It's a good thing that she knows this house like the back of her hand, so she can avoid hard surfaces. Trying to stifle a yawn and taking off her shoes at the same time, she hopped a bit and let both of her feet down. Blinking her eyes rapidly, she forced herself to stay awake for this short trip up the stairs to her room. Placing one foot on the bottom step, and an arm on the railing, a voice stopped her.

"Yo, Chris, you're back?"

The only person in the house that'd call her that is Samera. Christina turned her body to see Samera looking at her.

"Yeah." Christina said carelessly. All she wants right now is sleep.

"Um... Chris, this is Liloa." Samera turned her body a bit and let Christina see behind her.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Liloa Katranity." A girl stood up and bowed towards her.

Christina looked at her and remembered the one other time meeting her. She then turned towards Samera and raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. Samera looked back at Christina and smiled. "Liloa needs a job, and..."

"I'll pick up her up at 8 tomorrow." Christina said curtly and walked up the stairs. Good thing that her room is the first one up the stairs. Closing the door behind her, she turned to her right to enter the bathroom first. Facing the mirror, she took off her jacket and shirt; red spots appeared in front of her almost immediately.

Running her finger over one, she felt nothing. However, what did she feel last night? Tilting up her neck slightly, she found more present. Then she dropped her hand and finger-combed her hair. It doesn't matter now, the only thing she wants to do is sleep.

Downstairs

"Wow, she's so easy to talk to." Liloa commented as she sat down again. "And you even prepared me for begging and crying."

"You're lucky that she needs sleep!" Samera declared and rolled her eyes. "You should thank her sleeping habits!"

"Huh? Sleeping habits?" Liloa titled her head.

"Forget it." Samera shook her head, knowing that she'll never understand nor believe it. "Anyways, if you do get in, watch out for Sendoh, he's..."

"So hot!" Liloa exclaimed happily and clapped her hands together.

"What?" Samera yelled out. She should have known something was wrong when Liloa asked for this seemingly innocent job offer. "Liloa, no! You can't!"

"Why not? He has a girlfriend?"

"More like trillions of girlfriends. Liloa, he changes girlfriends like that!" Samera snapped her fingers.

"It's okay; we can start slowly and progress to marriage." Liloa then sighed happily with a dreamy look in her eyes. "And besides, he's so nice to his co-workers. Remember that time when he picked up Christina?"

Samera made a sound to agree with her, Sendoh is nice. Then her eyes looked upwards at the ceiling. But... Christina's different. True, they're co-workers, but they're also friends... and maybe even more. How can Liloa compare to her?

Later

"What am I supposed to do?" Samera heaved another sigh as she placed a chair onto the boat.

"Let her be, she'll know how Sendoh is within no time." Kiyota replied while loading another box onto the boat and dusted his hands off. "And besides, isn't Sendoh going out with Christina?"

"We think so, but... neither of them said anything specific or official." Samera tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Trust me, they are! He called Rukawa today and blabbed on forever, and then Rukawa hanged up on him. However, Sendoh called again and again, in the end Rukawa had to take the battery out of his cell phone." Kiyota recalled today with a roll of his eyes.

"Then that's going to be even worse for Liloa!" Samera stomped her foot and looked away.

"Why are you so concerned about them? Worry about us instead. Now get onto the boat." Kiyota ordered and held out a hand for her to balance herself.

"I don't need your help!" Samera said angrily and proceeded to step in.

She put a foot into the boat angrily and without waiting a second more, she wanted to put the second one in. The boat waved under her foot and she yelped and proceeded to fall backwards. She closed her eyes tightly, hoping that she won't crack her head open. Though, that fall didn't come at all.

"Oh yeah, don't need help, huh?" Kiyota grabbed her waist and steadied her quickly so she won't kill her head.

"Oh whatever!" Samera snapped, but accepted his help anyways.

"Yeah, yeah, of course." Kiyota rolled his eyes and watched her sit down. Seriously, she's so stubborn!

Basketball Agency

"Wow, this is such a nice building!" Liloa walked down the hallway in awe. This is awesome, not only does she work alongside a hot boss, but the building is a sight as well. Liloa then glanced at Christina, whom is leading the way, she's also very sweet and helpful. This is going to be the best job of her life... if she gets hired.

Christina stopped in front of a door and knocked twice before opening the door. Liloa's heart jumped up to her throat. This is it! She then reminded herself again that she doesn't mind being his one in a million girlfriends.

"President, this is Miss Katranity." Christina said in a formal tone.

Sendoh looked up at his present girlfriend and smiled. She has told him very firmly that she doesn't want anyone at work to know. Without a choice, he agreed. And now, look at her, such a good actress.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Liloa Katranity." She bowed deeply, hiding a blush.

"You want to work as my secretary?"

Liloa looked up at him and her blush deepened. She never thought that he'd be this straight forward. "Yes... if you allow it."

Sendoh propped his chin up with his hand and looked at her. He doesn't need a new secretary, everything is running smoothly. However, if she's here, then that means Christina's workload will be less, so she'd have more time to spend with him. This new secretary really is a good idea. So, a smile lit up his face as he looked at the new girl. "Sure, just tell Christina to give you some of her work load."

Liloa clapped her hands together and bowed again. "Thank you so much!"

"Though, I need to warn you that we have an unbelievable amount of work being processed every day. And since you're new..."

"Don't worry boss, I'll learn everything I need to know in a week!" She said confidently.

Sendoh blinked and blinked, and then his famous 45 degree smile appeared. "I'm not worried, I'm sure a beautiful lady like you is very smart as well."

Liloa thought that her heart had stopped beating at that moment, she got a compliment from him! Sendoh then waved his hands around casually, meaning to dismiss her. Though, Liloa seems to be in a daze to notice this. Without a choice, he turned to Christina for help.

"Liloa, I'll show you your desk." Christina opened the door for her and waited.

Sendoh's eyes widened and he blinked incredously. What is this? She didn't understand his look? He means for Liloa to leave and for her to stay. When the door closed, he sighed heavily and dropped his head on the table tiredly.

Afternoon

"You don't need a ride?" Christina asked as she sees Liloa walking towards the door.

"It's not that! I can't ask you for a ride every single day, so I'm going to hunt for suitable buses now." Liloa said with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Christina looked after her, watching as the door swung open and then close behind her. She torn her eyes away from the door and looked back towards Sendoh's closed door. Without waiting a minute longer, she pushed herself out of her seat and went to his door.

She didn't knock this time.

"Finally! I thought you forgot all about little old me in here." Sendoh whined half-heartedly and batted his eyelashes at her.

Christina looked at him calmly and closed the door behind her; no one should see this pitiful expression on their boss's face. Sendoh's exterior is nothing like that of a boss that's in charge of so many's wages and careers. She blinked and looked down at the ground, a dying question on her tongue. She's silent and deep in thought, thus when a pair of leather shoes entered her view, she drew in a breath of surprise and looked up.

"What's wrong with you?" Sendoh asked with concern, she has never been like this before.

Christina looked up at him and then looked away. "Akira, how long will your interest in me last?"

"What?" Confusion filled his voice.

"Your usual interest in a girlfriend lasts a month. Seeing I was your friend to start with..."

"You were never my friend." Christina turned back to him surprised. "I never looked at you as a friend. From the day you came for the interview to yesterday, every single day, I've been thinking of ways to have you go out with me. You were either too dense to figure it out, or you were really smart to dodge every thing. Then I started telling you I love you every single day, and you took that as a joke, and then..." Sendoh blabbed on and on.

"How long?" She cut in coldly and looked into his eyes.

Sendoh went quiet and looked back at her with a smile, slowly, he lost his smile. His expression changed and held a serious look in it. "I love you. And that is forever." She is still just looking up at him, not saying anything. Finally, Sendoh sighed heavily. "Why don't you trust me a little?" His voice sounded tiredly and pleading.

Christina felt as if something hit her hard, like a bullet to her brain, like a punch to her stomach. Her expression softened immediately and she looked away again. "Sorry." She murmured her apology and dropped her stance.

Sendoh smiled and shrugged good-naturedly. Then his hand reached out and brought her face back towards him again. He leaned down, wanting to at least enjoy some flesh time with her. She frowned slightly and pushed his hand away, stealing a glance towards the closed door. Sendoh pulled her hand down and gripped onto her chin, turning her back again. "No one's here anymore."

Then his lips imprinted themselves onto hers, and then all reason was lost. Christina let herself drown into his passionate kiss and his warm embrace, though her mind has never been as clear as now.

Nothing in this world is forever, especially not that emotion called love.

TBC...

Thanks for reading, please R&R.