Chapter 25

Kurama pulled up in front if Kai's building a few minutes early, expecting to use the spare time to go over his plans for the night. He was surprised to find her sitting in the parking lot. Exiting his car he made his way to her in quick strides, sensing the distress that was emanating from her.

"What's wrong?" was the first question that occurred to him.

Kai raised her head to look at him, a weak smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"You're early." She stood up

Taking a step closer he caressed her bare arm. "What's wrong?" he asked again, watching closely for her reaction.

"It's nothing, really. Just a little fight with my mom, forget about it." This time her wide smile was believable.

"Are you sure?" his hand was still moving slowly up and down her arm, making her shudder slightly.

"Positive."

Kurama nodded, his hand moving to the small of her back as he led her to his car."You look beautiful." he whispered to her before opening the passenger door for her.

They drove in awkward silence for a while, neither of them knowing what to say, only soft music from the radio playing in the background.

Kurama glanced at Kai out of the corner of his eye, she was humming softly and staring out of the window, her hands folded in her lap. She looked stunning in her dress, the fabric softly clung to her body and flattered the creamy tone of her skin. He looked back to the road before he got any more distracted and caused an accident.

"So…" Kai began, turning her head to look at him with a serious expression on her face before she burst out laughing. "This is awkward. I haven't been on a date in a while…What are we supposed to talk about?"

Kurama laughed along with her. "It's been some time since I've been on a first date too. I guess we should talk about ourselves?"

Reaching out gently, Kai held a lock of his hair between her fingers, stroking it lightly. Kurama had to choke back a purr.

"Is this you natural hair color?" she asked, combing through his hair.

A soft tingling ran down his spine, was she testing him?

"Yes." He breathed out, thanking god he could already see the restaurant up ahead.

"Wow." Kai said after stepping out of the car, staring at the restaurant.

As they approached the front door, Kurama's hand held hers, he hadn't let go since offering it to help her out of the car. Her hand was small, warm and soft in his, he didn't want to let go, though he had to in order to open the door for her, his other hand quickly found it's place on the small of her back instead.

"Thank you." Kai whispered and allowed herself to be led inside. She was in a dream like state, was he real? Had she really stumbled upon this mythological creature called – a gentleman?

"I didn't know what you like so I figured Italian would be a safe choice." He smiled as he led her towards the hostess' stand.

"I love Italian food." Kai smiled brightly.

"Hello, a table for two please, the name is Minamino." He smiled politely at the snotty looking hostess, who quickly shot an up and down look at him. He was dressed in black slacks that were just a little tight and a black button-down shirt that made Kai really appreciate how broad and strong his shoulders were. She stopped seeing his beauty as feminine a while ago. Strong, almost royal features were hiding beneath the long hair and the impeccable manners.

The hostess' look turned sour when she glanced at Kai, who stood quietly beside this gorgeous man. What was a little girl like her doing with him? After making a noticeable effort to control her facial expression, she looked over the list of bookings for the night.

"Of course Minamino-san," she led them to a table in a far corner of the restaurant. "Would your little sister like the children's menu?" she asked with such sweetness in her voice that would have made Kai gag if she weren't so busy wishing the floor would collapse and devour this horrible woman.

Kurama cleared his throat and placed his hand over Kai's on the table, stroking it with his thumb, clearly in the hostess' line of vision. "No thank you, but I think my date would like a glass of wine, would Merlot be fine?" he directed the question to Kai, who was staring at him somewhat shocked. He didn't even spare a glance at the hostess, instead he smiled affectionately at Kai.

"Yes." Kai choked out, almost grinning. Really, where did this being come from?

The hostess 'humph'ed and walked away, leaving them to look at their menus.

"Don't think I did that just to spite her. I'm very happy that you accepted my invitation and I plan on making you realize it." He said.

Blushing, Kai pulled her hand away from his, grabbing the napkin and fidgeting with it. Finally looking up she met his questioning gaze. "It's not fair, you're too good at making me nervous." She said with a sigh.

It was Kurama's turn now to blush- rather uncharacteristically. He coughed slightly, not sure how to tell her that whatever influence she thought he had over her , no matter how much he loved hearing that, the influence she had on him was much greater.

The awkward silence made Kai feel self conscious, and she leaned back I her chair, distancing herself from him unconsciously. Clearing her throat she focused her gaze on the table cloth, playing nervously with her hands. Was she being to honest?

"Excuse me, I need to use the ladies' room." She said, getting up and walking away quickly, not giving Kurama a chance to respond.

Kurama followed her with his gaze as she walked away. How does that girl, whose age was barely a second of his life manage to leave him speechless time after time? He was over a thousand years old, and here he was, nervous like a school boy on his first date.

Kai wad drying her hands with a paper towel, taking deep breaths to clam herself down. Tatsuya always hated how straight shooting she tended to be, but even though Shuuichi was the complete opposite of him- did she expect too much? He was a man after all, no matter how outstanding he was. Her mother always told her, jokingly of course, but in every joke there is a pinch of truth, that men don't deal well with her personality.

She fixed her hair in the mirror and nodded to herself. She was determined to make this date work, even if she would have to bite her tongue back and think twice before uttering a single word.

When she returned to the table she found a bottle of wine sitting there and Shuuichi looking over the menu in a thoughtful manner, biting slightly on his lower lip.

Sitting down she picked up her menu and glanced over it absentmindedly, she was so anxious that she didn't feel any hunger. Her eyes skimmed over the text but she didn't take any of it in.

"So Shizuru told me you work as a florist?" she asked casually.

"Yes. I've been planning on starting up my own landscaping business, the shop gives me a chance to build my reputation and make the right connections."

"That's smart. Did you go to business school?"

"No, but I've worked at my step-father's company after I graduated high school." He put away the menu, reached for the bottle and poured wine into her glass.

"Are you ready to order?" the waiter that approached them was a tall and lanky, nervous looking teenager.

Kurama gestured towards Kai, signaling that she should be the first to order.

"I'll have the sea-food Fettuccini." Kai smiled at the boy who was clearly on his first day of work, desperate to impress his boss and the clientele.

"And I'll have the Agnello Scottadita please."

The waiter nodded and grabbed Kai's menu. As he reached for Kurama's menu on the opposite side of the table his trembling hand collided with Kai's wine glass, knocking it over. The three watched in silent shock as the red liquid spread all over the white table cloth and dripped off the table straight onto Kai's lap.

"Shit." She said, jumping out of her seat, staring at the huge stain on her dress in horror.

"I'm so sorry!" the waiter exclaimed, grabbing her napkin and pulling the table cloth along with it, sending all the plates to the floor.

"Please forgive me!" he shouted with tears in his eyes, bowing to them deeply.

Kurama hurried over to Kai's side, gently pulling her away from the broken glass shards around her. "Are you alright?" he looked over her body to try and detect any damage.

"I'm fine." She muttered, still looking down at her dress. "Fuck, Shizuru's going to rip my head off."

"Let me help you!" the waiter approached them in shaky steps.

"No." Kurama said sharply. "We're leaving." Grabbing Kai's hand he led her away from the scene, ignoring the hostess who tried to talk them out of leaving the restaurant, frankly, he didn't even notice her when she approached them to see what all the commotion was about.

Kai followed him, trying to think of what she was going to tell Shizuru when she returns the dress, disappointed by how the date she was dreaming so much of was turning out to be and generally feeling down. Half way through the parking lot she tripped and fell, grazing her knee and almost pulling Kurama down with her.

"God damn it!" she growled, ripping the sandal with the broken heel that was the cause of the tumble, off her foot.

"Are you hurt?" Kurama hurried to crouch down next to his pouting date, who now sat on the asphalt with her legs stretched out before her, viciously glaring at the shoe in her hand.

Finally, Kai raised her head to meet Kurama's eyes and with a defeated tone said "I think that this was, hands down, the worst date I've ever been on." Thinking over her words for a second she added with an apologetic smile "No offence."

"None taken." Kurama nodded smiling and sat down on the concrete across from Kai. "I never knew so many things could go wrong in such a short time." He added, pulling his knees to his chest, watching Kai fishing a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of her purse after tossing the shoe away violently.

"You don't mind right?" Kai asked and lit the cigarette after getting a nod from him. "In any case, it's not as if I could make myself look any worse in your eyes right now." Kai laughed nervously as Kurama shook his head, chuckling. "What?" she asked, cocking her head to one side.

"Don't worry, if I was bothered by smoking, cursing and violent tendencies I wouldn't have been friends with, well, my friends."

"Yeah, I still don't get that..."

"Force of habit I guess?" he joked, standing up and offering her his hand.

Kai laughed as she stomped out her cigarette with her left foot- the one that still had a shoe on. "Take me home?" she asked, taking his extended hand and using it to pull herself up from the floor. Still leaning on his arm she took off the other shoe and threw it into the bushes where it flopped to join its pair.

They pulled up in front of Kai's building and sat in a comfortable silence for a while.

"I'll walk you up." Kurama said when Kai made a move to open the passenger side door.

"Are you sure?" Kai asked, looking outside the window to make sure Aine's car wasn't there.

"Let me make sure that at least one thing goes right on this evening."

Kai nodded, getting out of the car, feeling calmer now that she knew Aine has already left her house and the evening won't end in homicide.

Standing in front of her apartment door the two stared at each other, hesitating.

"Well…Thanks? I guess…" Kai said, not sure what to do next.

"Thank you for going out with me. I'm sorry this night turns out to be such a disaster."

Kai smiled and gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek before opening the door. "Don't worry about it, good night." She said as she walked in.

"Good night." Kurama said softly, staring at the dark surface of the door Kai had disappeared behind.

Kai let out a sigh she was holding in since they enter the car on their way back. There was absolutely no way he'd ask her out again, she thought. She should feel lucky that they at least ended their night in a friendly fashion, that way seeing him in the future won't be as awkward.

Throwing her purse on the floor, she stared at her reflection in the hallway mirror. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be.

A knock on the door pulled Kai back out of her thoughts. Was it him? Did she forget something in his car?

When she opened the door she didn't see the face she was used to, instead, Shuuichi looked unusually nervous.

Before she could ask him what was the matter, he took her hand and pulled her out to the hallway. Kai stood in silence, puzzled by his actions as he was searching for the right words.

"You make me nervous. I'm shy around you and I'm scared of doing something that will make you hate me, before I get the chance to know you like I want to. I can't be myself when I'm with you…but I can't think about anything else." E finally said, looking her in the eyes with such intensity, her knees began to shake. "Will you give me another chance to try and impress you?" he asked, pulling her closer to his body.

They were so close their chests touched. Kai was speechless, something burned in the pit of her stomach and she felt dizzy from being so close to him. She swallowed the small lump in her throat and brought herself even closer to him until she could feel his breath on her lips. He had her in the palm of his hand, such a smooth talker. "Yeah." She nodded.

Kurama closed the distance between them, his lips crashing against hers, taking in her taste and drinking it as though he'd spent years in the desert. He gently bit on her bottom lip, making her part her lips and grant him entrance. His tongue battled with hers for dominance as he tried to memorize her taste and the feeling of her body pressed against his before he had to tear himself away.

Kai groaned softly at the loss of contact, but pulled away.

"Good night." Kurama whispered before planting another soft kiss on her lips and walked away, a mischievous smile on his face.

"Yeah..." Kai murmured, watching his back in a daze as he walked away. "Good night."

The big date chapter, god I was so nervous about writing this one! I have to thank my gorgeos friend Ma'ayan (btw, I'm sorry for today, please dont hate me *patheticsadkissupface*) who is willing to be the first to read every chapter and is kind enough to balance me out as an editor.

Hope you guys liked it!

x's&o's