*You know, every time I make the effort to update these damn stories more often, I find it harder to make time to write them/post them. Damn senior year and it's numerous obstacles. I'll get it right eventually I promise*
The door clicked shut behind me with ease. I slipped off my shoes, eager to hide my fiance's gift somewhere he wouldn't find it. I took the stairs two at a time to my room, knowing my dad was out. My bed, made neatly, obviously hadn't been used in a while. I had, after all, been staying with Takashi for quite a time. I slipped the gift bag behind my bookshelf, which was fairly barren as I'd already begun packing, and left the house quickly. The movers wouldn't be back for a while to help me sort my things out, so I had time to find the bag another spot. This was only temporary.
I returned to Taka-chan's house to find his parents and Ouka lounging around in the living room, Ouka's boyfriend beside her by the couch. Taka's father looked up from the business article he was reading and scanned me up and down.
"Rebekah-chan, I hadn't realized you'd left. I thought you were upstairs with Takashi...?"
"Uh," I stuttered, momentarily forgetting my backup story, "I just ran to get the dogs some food and treats, that's all. I thought they were starting to run low."
Thankfully, we were rather low on dog food. I lifted the bag of Purina and the treats to show him and smiled.
"Ah, I see. Well dinner will be ready at any moment." He smiled at me as I turned to a side pantry to put away the puppy chow. Remembering what he'd said, I made my way upstairs to Takashi's room. It made me somewhat uneasy to think that his father thought we were up there alone... What could he be doing that he'd think that...?
Approaching his closed door, I could hear running water like a shower and a low moaning. Almost in a daze, I slid the door open silently. Peeking around the frame, I couldn't see him in his room, so I entered, knowing he was in the joint bathroom. On the bed there sat a magazine, a very familiar magazine... I recognized the Zodee Japan logo on the front and blushed, suddenly perfectly aware of what he was doing in the bathroom- or at least, what normal guys do with that. To make sure of what I had assumed, I crept toward the cracked door to the bathroom and peered through the slit. Sure enough, there was a silhouette against the shower curtain, bend over slightly, bracing itself against the shower wall with one hand. I nearly lost it trying not to laugh.
As I started to giggle from the sheer silliness of it all, I backed out of the room and shut the door behind me. I waited at the end of the hall, listening for the water to turn off. It took quite a while. I smiled at myself, knowing he would practically die of embarrassment if he'd known I had caught him in the act. I listened silently for the tell tale sound of shutting dresser drawers and footsteps, and hoisted myself up from the floor to meet him in the hallway. As he stepped out of his room with his head down, he glanced up at me and flushed a deeper red than I've seen in years. Attempting to keep myself from smiling while his eyes roamed my body carefully, I told him I'd just gotten home and that his parents said dinner was almost ready.
He nodded, attempting not to appear guilty, and followed me downstairs. As we passed through the living room, Ouka looked up at his still pink face and said, "Taka! There you are! What were you doing up there?" I couldn't help it, a snort escaped me.
Still tinted from his earlier blush, his cheeks made themselves even more red as he replied simply, "Reading."
After dinner, Ouka and I went through the final touches on the wedding plans. I had her help me confirm the color schemes, the bridesmaid dresses, and everything else for the millionth time, even though it was all done and paid for already.
She looked up at me, smiling, and said "I can't wait to get married. It just seems so perfect. I mean, you two were so meant for each other that you knew it before you were even out of high school! I want that kind of love." I listened carefully to her and think deeply about what I say before I respond.
"Well, I understand that completely. I do. But honestly, I always told myself that what Takashi and I did was wrong. I still think that. I think that we should have waited much longer before getting engaged, and I think that we should have taken the time to finish college first. I think we rushed in." I watched her face fall a little bit, trying to process my meaning. "However," I continued, "I don't regret a thing. I love him with my entire being. Everything I do, I do as much as I can to benefit him, and that will never change. If he left me for anyone else, I would probably be incapacitated. If he left me at all, actually. I've become half a person. Everything I do is partly me, but mostly him now."
She grinned at me and started bouncing around the way teenage girls often do, squealing and blushing. "That was the cuTEST THING EVER." She jumped up and hugged me across the table. I patted her back, trying to breath, and saw him leaning against the doorway, just smiling. I grinned at him over her shoulder and gave him a face, letting him know I meant every word.
And three weeks later, I would prove it.
