Please note that I am publishing more than one chapter at a time. The in between chapters are getting a little bit lost due to the order in which the updates are sent. This might be creating confusion and disrupting the flow of events. I don't know how far this momentum will carry me in creating this story but I'm going with it while it lasts. I hope you like the story and continue reading. Thanks!
Sachiko made it through work by a sheer act of will. Thankfully, no one was in today but her. The bakery did not open on Sundays. However, today was the day to fill big orders and prepare for the week.
There was a wedding cake to decorate that was due to be delivered the next day. After coating each of the six round layers with a foundation of white icing, she sat on a stool to pipe on the icing ribbons outlining the edges and flowing from one level to the next like actual material. Several times she almost slid off when she fell asleep. A few times she had to scrape off the icing and reform the ribbon.
The most difficult part of the process was shaping the lilies made of yellow fondant. She made the stamen and carpel, an integral part of each flower, out of green and orange fondant. Dusting the anthers attached to the ends of the stamen with the orange powdered food coloring, brought the realism of the flowers to a higher level. When putting the flowers together, she made sure some of the dust flaked onto the flower like real pollen.
Sachiko completed the cake by noon. She could leave since her work was complete. However, there were leftover flowers and icing. Throwing away her hard work was out of the question. Instead, she decorated the half dozen cupcakes, her 'quality control' batch, baked the day before with the rest of the cake. They would make a nice present for Light. She wanted to thank him for the wonderful evening at the amusement park. And she had eaten his forgotten cupcake for breakfast.
Sachiko was in the middle of cleaning when her phone beeped alerting her she had received a text message.
Light: Did you forget about me? It's not morning anymore.
"Shit," she cursed, ripping her apron off.
Sachiko: Sorry! Want to come over? You can order ramen. I've got dessert.
She took one last glance around before shutting off the lights and locking the door.
Light: See you in twenty minutes.
"Twenty minutes? Oh, no," she gasped. It would take her that long to get home. Time to run.
~~~\\/~~~
Light knocked on the door for a second time. Where the hell could she be? He had taken it for granted that she was at home when he texted her.
Suddenly the door swung open. There she stood looking tired and harried as ever. She seemed out of breath too as if she had been running.
"Hi!" she squeaked.
"Hi," he replied, holding up the bag of food. "Hungry? Since I was passing by I stopped in for carry out."
"Come in," she invited him, stepping out of the way. "Hot green tea?"
"Yes, please," he replied, taking off his shoes.
Sachiko disappeared around the corner, most likely to turn on the electric water kettle, then reappeared almost running into him.
"Sorry," she gushed, sidestepping him to avoid touching him.
Suddenly he found it difficult to believe this was the same woman who had held his hand, leaned on his shoulder, and rode on his back last night. He sighed, hoping all of his hard work had not been all for nothing.
She was back to her bumbling, awkward self. The barriers had gone back up. The Frigid Queen had gone back into the deep freeze. Damn, damn, damn.
She gathered her books spread over the length of the counter setting them on one of the empty bookshelves. Returning to the kitchen, she stood on her tiptoes to reach the cups in the cabinet.
With her back to him, Light was permitted to get an unobstructed view of her body. The white stretch pants she wore looked as if they had been painted onto her long, skinny legs. Her calves flexed under her pants as she bounced on her tiptoes. When she extended her arm, reaching further into the cabinet for a second cup, her loose gray t-shirt lifted enough for him to see the lower half of her taut, round bottom. From what he could see of her body, finally unhindered by oversized clothing, she looked pretty nice. A little underweight but toned.
Seeing her struggling and failing to retrieve the cup, Light walked around the counter to offer his assistance since he was a few inches taller than her. He stood behind her, being careful not to touch her when he grabbed the cup.
"Here," he said, purposely handing her the cup rather than sitting it on the counter.
"Thank you," she murmured, her fingertips brushing his when she took it from him.
Light leaned close to her to see how she would react. She did not try to get away from him nor did she move toward him. She did not appear distressed or thrilled by his closeness.
The scent of something sweet like pure sugar tickled his nose. He inhaled a little deeper to catch more of the interesting aroma. Vanilla mingled with the sweetness making him think of cake.
"Mmmm cupcake," he murmured.
"Yes, muffin," she rejoined, giving him a a sly, almost sexy, smile.
"What?" he asked, sincerely befuddled.
"Hey, you started it," she shot back defensively, lifting her face toward his.
The smell grew stronger as if it were leaking out of her pores. Maybe it was because she warmed at the realization of the proximity of her lips to his. She quickly turned away from him, taking the lid off of the cermic canister holding the tea bags.
Light smiled to himself while she pretended to focus on fixing their tea. The blush across her face and throat continued around the back of her neck, darkening in color as it spread. The Ice Queen had not frozen over after all.
"There are cupcakes in the refrigerator if you want one," she offered, self-consciously rubbing the back of her neck.
Could she feel him staring at her? If so, good. He wanted to make her feel uncomfortable, unsettled. At least she would be responding to his attention. Perhaps even in a positive way.
Last night she had moments of being enticing and coquettish. The way just flirted with him about the pet names was adorable. Her occasional bouts of bashfulness were totally cute too.
Oh, my god...what the hell is happening to me?, he ruminated, opening the refrigerator door.
"Dessert before lunch, huh?" he pondered aloud.
"Why not?" she countered, pouring the water into their cups. "It's not like it will ruin your appetite or something. Not after what I saw last night."
"You're one to talk after the ten pounds of junk food you scarfed down. I've never seen a woman eat like you do."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Depends on what you look like in ten years."
"Hmmm," she hummed thoughtfully, placing their cups on the counter.
He expected her to start an argument over that comment, but she refrained.
A half dozen cupcakes in a plastic bakery container sat in the middle of the top shelf. He grabbed the container and sat it on the counter to pop the lid so he could get a good look at them. He wasn't a big fan of confections but these looked amazing. Miniature white cakes with a covering of white icing resembling a ribbon swirled around the topped. A masterfully sculpted yellow lily decorated each cupcake. The artistry in sugar extended to including such details as the tiny little anthers, pistils, and stamens on a real lily.
Light carefully picked up a cake, peeling away the mint green paper from around the bottom. Instead of receiving a moutful of cloying, nausea inducing sweetness, he experienced a pleasant sugary delicacy that virtually melted in his mouth - cake and all.
"Wow," he mumbled around another moutful. Once he chewed and swallowed, he asked, "These are fantastic. Where did you get these?"
"I made them," she answered.
"You what?" He stopped in mid-chew. He stared at the cupcake as if it had transformed into a poisonous snake. Then he glanced at her. Pointing at her, asking, "You?" Then he pointed at the half eaten cupcake. "...made this?"
"Yeah. Is it that shocking that I'm actually talented at something?"
"No. I just never imagined...wow." For once in his life he found himself speechless. Besides, there was a cupcake to finish eating.
"You can't have another one until after lunch," she teased him, taking the bowls of ramen out of the bag. "What do you want to do today? Study?"
"How about that walk on the beach?"
~~~\\/~~~
Sachiko fell asleep on the bus ride to the beach. The cat nap gave her the boost in energy she needed to be able to fully enjoy her visit to one of her favorite places on earth. She took off her shoes at the edge of the boardwalk, pulling her pants up to her knees. Without waiting for Light, she jumped off into the sand running toward the water.
The sea breeze whipped her hair in all directions. The water rushed across the beach, sucking at her toes. Closing her eyes, she outstretched her arms reveling in the sound of the roaring waves. She adored that sound.
She had always been able to find her peace here, finding her sanity in an insane world. Pretending the waves rolled into shore to remove her troubles, taking them out to the vast blue sea to be drowned, to never bother her again.
Sachiko screamed when Light grabbed her around the waist and swung her around, playfully threatening to throw her out into the water. This time his attempt at impishness did not seem contrived, therefore, coming off as bizarre behavior. She was still laughing like a madwoman when he sat her down on her feet in front of him. Her laughter gradually died away when he took both of her hands in his, gazing down at her earnestly.
"What?" she chuckled, growing a bit self-conscious under his close scrutiny.
His eyes moved over her face as if he were searching for something, some imperfection, some reason to reject her and never talk to her again. Her anxiety increased, making her want to run because she felt vulnerable. His hands tightened around hers when she tried to pull away.
"What is it?" she asked, her voice wavering due to her rising unease.
"Sachiko, don't run from me," he murmured, his voice low and pleading.
"I wasn't - "
"Don't lie. I can see the panic in your eyes. Don't run." He repeated, placing his palm against her cheek.
Sachiko closed her eyes. Her whole body shaking. "Light, please..."
"I won't hurt you." He slid his other arm around her waist, pulling her into his body.
Sachiko wanted to believe him. Her arms, hanging free at her sides, strived to automatically lift and wrap around his neck. Resisting the temptation to return the embrace, she stubbornly kept her arms at her sides. She could not trust him yet. She had allowed in too far already.
Not another step. No! Not one!, she screamed in her head. Despite her vehement internal protests from that little voice she could not identify, she felt her arms going around him, cinching around his waist to press her body harder into his.
That's far enough, the voice warned, defeat echoing through the words. No further or you'll regret it.
Too late. She already did. The water swirled around her feet. Her safe haven no longer felt safe. The water sucked away the sand from under her feet, giving her the sensation that she was being pulled into something dangerous. A mysterious gravitational field was dragging her into a vortex from which she would not escape. But weren't black holes a void in space not even light can escape?