Dark Kingdom 53

The rain had finally stopped. The last clouds were just about to dissolve.

"We'll have to move the ice cream. I have an appointment soon.", Mamoru said, looking at his phone. She still hadn't gotten over the fact that he seriously still had a clamshell phone.

"What kind of one?" , Usagi asked interested.

"Not interesting for you.", came the short answer.

She pouted at him: "Well, thank you very much."

Mamoru rolled his eyes. He turned away, but she could still see it.

"I saw that exactly!" ,she said because of that. "Mamoru, I'm your girlfriend. At least that's what I thought. Isn't it my place to learn a little about you? You even met my parents."

"I can't help with that. Mine are dead."

His voice was incredibly cold. He'd mentioned it before, but didn't seem to care.

A little compassion wouldn't kill him.

"It's been a long time, so you don't need to mourn about it." , he added as he walked quickly down the temple stairs.

Usagi had to struggle to keep up. And not to stumble and measure every single stone step with her bottom. She had already experienced firsthand that you could lose your balance quickly here.

"Is that a mask?" , she asked finally, breathlessly.

"What?", Mamoru stopped suddenly.

"This cold rejection.", she raised her hands in explanation and waved them around him. "You seem to put up with everything somehow. I hardly see you smile."

At least not in her presence.

"Are you trying to analyze me again?" His eyes slit. It wasn't a question, it sounded more like a threat. The last time she'd started a conversation like this, she found herself on a street in the middle of the night.

"No, but ...", Usagi tried very meticulously to find the right words. "I know next to nothing about you. And what I know ..."

"Scares you." , Mamoru interrupted her.

But Usagi just shook her head.

"No, it frustrates me." , she openly admitted. "I don't even know if you feel the same for me as I feel for you."

"How do you feel?" , he asked her. His voice revealed nothing about his emotional state.

Usagi swallowed. She felt the heat rise in her face.

"I .." she started stuttering. "Well, I like you. Very much."

"Alright."

"Alright? That's all?"

She was confused. Even a little offended. Hi? She was just revealing her emotional life to him here and he just thought that was okay?

"What do you want to hear? That I like you too?"

He shrugged his shoulders as if none of this was his business. "I think I've proven enough times that I'm not just interested in getting you to bed."

Usagi sighed in exasperation: "Why are you coming back with it now?"

"Because it is part of it."

"Then just do it."

She raised her arms reproachfully.

"But that's not that easy with you.", Mamoru twisted the corner of his mouth into something like a smile, which only caused Usagi to frown.

After a few seconds, Mamoru sighed and ran his hand through his black hair.

"I'll call you a taxi.", he said, fished his phone out of his pocket.

Usagi thought about it, paused and finally said: "Is that why you sometimes feel so dismissive?"

Mamoru tapped his cell phone, only gave her a quick glance.

"You don't want me to get close to you because then you want to sleep with me.", she concluded with a raised index finger.

"Well combined, Sherlock."

Even now he made fun of her.

"What if I want it?" , she asked provocatively.

Mamoru just laughed bitterly: "You don't want that."

"Why?" , asked Usagi, amazed. It wasn't that they'd never gotten closer. "Are you afraid, I don't like it? Or you wouldn't be good? What's the problem? I want it, you want it. Just let it be."

"It's enough!"

Mamoru scowled at her, but Usagi didn't let that intimidate her, just continued: "Then just explain it to me. If I know the reason, I can certainly understand and respect it." Maybe.

"I'm not nice, it's easy.", Mamoru finally answered, visibly annoyed.

Usagi stared at him in amazement.

She cocked her head and admitted, "I really don't understand that now. Maybe I'm really too stupid for that."

Mamoru took a deep breath, even closed his eyes briefly to calm his stressed nerves again. Had she gone too far this time after all?

"I wouldn't be considerate of you, okay?" , he replied in a cold voice.

"I'm usually not interested in what a woman feels about it. I just take what I need. And do it hard and very persistently. Neat. All right?"

That sat.

At first, Usagi didn't even know what to say.

Was he trying to scare her away once and for all with this speech?

He wasn't interested in what a woman feels? But all the moments when they were close. Was he selfish then? Or even bad?

He had never made her do anything. On the contrary. Often enough, okay, always, he'd ended their get-together prematurely.

"You excuse me, I don't have time for such conversations anymore.", Mamoru tore her from her thoughts. "Here you have money for a taxi. I'll get in touch with you."

After he had put the bills into her hand, once again way too many, he didn't even wait for an answer, but simply let her stand again.

So he wanted to get in touch.

"How? Without a phone number?", she muttered in frustration.