~Chapter Sixty One~
Shop 'til You Drop Part I
You ask me why I change the color of my hair.
You ask me why I need thirty two pairs of shoes to wear.
You seem to ask me why I gotta a lot of things.
You ask me why I gotta play so hard to get.
You ask me, "Do I play it cool just to make you sweat?"
You want some kind of explanation I can give…
That's what girls do:
They keep you guessing the whole day through,
Play your emotions, push all your buttons, it's true.
Why should I change?
~That's What Girls Do, by No Secrets
Disclaimer: Me No Own; You No Sue.
"The Morinozuka Clan has a summer cottage down beside the beach," Takashi grunted his short explanation which, while said quietly and calmly, still made the hairs on my arms stand straight for some reason. We climbed into the limousine and made for the Morinozuka Villa.
Confused, I blinked at him and attempted to read between the lines. We were nearly to the villa when I slowly said, "I'm confused. You usually stick like glue to your cousin, but Mitsukuni-kun is going to visit with Kotoko-chan, so…"
"Exactly," Takashi huskily whispered, lifting his hand and mine to kiss the back of it. He slowly pulled the two of us up a set of dark stairs, through the hallway, and into a warm room with only one a single bed in the middle of it.
A shiver crawled down my spine as my eyes moved from the bed, to his hand, and then to his face. Stormy gray eyes were gleaming with affection, and something else, something much more primal. I shivered at the look in his eyes and whispered, "Oh…"
"First, however…" Takashi murmured while rifling through the dresser drawer and carefully placing two towels beside us. My lover stared down at me and then, slowly, Takashi leaned down, his lips nearing mine. "We need to warm you up."
"How do you suggest warming up?" I breathlessly asked while watching his lips getting closer and closer, nearly brushing mine. Hot breath washed against my open mouth and merged with my own.
"A hot shower," Takashi murmured into my mouth, his lips touching mine, "and then bed."
"…together?"
"Together."
Sammy's P.O.V.
Sniffling, I parked the shiny black motorcycle in the smaller parking spots designed for bikes and other smaller modes of transportation. I turned the key, shut the idling engine off, and removed the helmet that I had been wearing for safety reasons. My yellow hair, which had been pulled back in an intricate braid by Ellen, popped out from under the visor and began to frizz at the sides. A small hand shoved it behind both ears, and another hand tied the helmet to the motorcycle, by the side bags.
Slipping off my warm motorcycle, I stumbled through the busy parking lot and into the Mall. I was instantly attacked by the sight of hundreds of different people browsing the stores, the loud sounds of them talking and laughing with each other, and the smell of hotdogs and nachos and other tasty foods from the Food Court. I grimaced because the light was much too bright, the sounds hurt my ears, and the smells made me want to vomit. Migraines sucked…
Dammit! Where R U?
We are next to the bookstore, Sammy-chan. Do you see us?
My phone beeped, and I checked the two incoming text messages. One was sent by Kiki, and the other by Kotoko. Both girls had asked if I wanted to come out and spend time with them. While I was not feeling good enough to deal with the Host Club, I did feel well enough to try talking to Kiki and Kotoko. Besides, I hadn't spent much time with them in the last month. Each of us was studying for midterms and had been spending all extra time with the boys.
It had been one month since Summer Vacation. It had also been eight months since Takashi and I had been dating, three months since I had been engaged to him, and another month since I slept with him for the first time. We had managed to sneak off again last weekend to see a new movie together.
After joining their parents for dinner last month to discuss their relationship, Mitsukuni and Kotoko had been given permission to marry. They had been engaged for two weeks. Kiki had finally bullied – uh, asked – Kyoya to be her boyfriend. His reaction was completely hilarious. It apparently made Kyoya mad that the older girl beat him to the punch, but the rest of us were ecstatic and biting back giggles at the thought of Kiki, fondly nicknamed Vanellope Von Schweetz, dating the Shadow King.
My brothers, Hikaru and Kaoru, were still dating each other. Our parents did not mind it and let them be. Caleb had started stalking a very confused Nekozawa, who did not seem to know how to handle the sudden attention from the redheaded foreigner. My childhood friend had already asked him out, but Neko had yet to give him an answer. After their date, Tamaki and Haruhi had, predictably, continued dancing around each other like graceless ballerinas.
Idiots, I thought with fond amusement. Tama-chan is hopelessly in love with her, and Haruhi-chan really loves him, too, but the two are so completely clueless! Sheesh! Were Takashi-kun and I that bad? I squinted in thought, laughed, and then brushed it off. …Nah!
"What about this book, Kiki-chan? Haruhi-chan might like it," Kotoko thoughtfully mused to herself while sifting through the large collection of romantic novels. She paused, reading the first and last chapters of Sexy Samurai. I snorted.
"No way," Kiki laughed, surfacing from another aisle to the left. "Haru-chan is way too shy and oblivious to get anything out of that book!" The Canadian girl pointed to the title and smirked, leaning against the shelves. "It sounds like something Sammy-chan would read, though!"
My face scrunched in amusement at their conversation, but I walked into the bookstore and left them alone for now, instead glancing around at all of the books. As usual, I wandered into the fantasy section, the teen section, and the manga section. I immediately grabbed Bitterblue, by Kristin Cashore, and the latest book by Sarah Dessen. Newest copies of One Piece, Diabolik Lovers, and Kuroko No Basuke, too. Caleb and Haruhi would probably borrow the last one.
"Quite right," Kotoko chirped, before holding another book higher and sweetly pointing to it, all smiles and little sparkles – like Mitsukuni. "What about this one? This looks like a plot that would appeal to you!" Her delicate hands were clasped around the last book in the Twilight Saga.
"Very funny, Kotoko-chan," Kiki snarled with both hands outstretched to bat the offensive book away. "Kyo-kun is nothing like Edward!" A calloused hand lifted, gesturing to the summary. "He's the Shadow King, and not a vampire boy!"
Amused, Kotoko offered the book to her again, letting the younger girl read the description. She grimaced after reading the summary. "That book sucks," Kiki protested while frantically shoving it back onto the shelves, as if it might contaminate her, "and literally, too!"
"No," Kotoko sniffed daintily and tossed her long black hair behind her shoulders, "You suck. Sammy-chan said the books are good enough, but the movies leave something to be desired." She trailed off before picking another book up. "Oh! How about this one…?"
As Kiki and Kotoko debated which books to get Haruhi, I swiftly picked out several for the more scholarly Hosts. Our friends had always been interested in different things, but while I would've been anxious about it before, I was actually comfortable with buying them presents because I had known them for over a year now. So I grabbed the boxed set of Mortal Instruments for Kyoya, two mystery books for Haruhi, and three books about the history and the legends of Japan for Takashi. I eventually paid for the books and then walked back to the romance section.
"…You could always get her the latest copies of Kuroko No Basuke," I suggested, which caused both of the girls to jump nearly sky high. "She loves that manga. Caleb and I read it, too, and I usually buy them for her, but I wanted to get her something different this time."
"Jesus, Sammy-chan," Kiki muttered sourly after hitting her head against the bookshelf. One hand reached to rub at the spot and the other lifted to accusingly point at me. "You're not allowed to hang out with Mori-senpai and Honey-senpai – ever again!"
"You are getting to be too quiet!" Kotoko agreed, with both her hands fisted against her chest to clutch at her racing heart. The Heiress calmed down with another deep breath. "May I borrow your copy to find it?" I let her hold it, to which the girl smiled gently. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome, Ko-chan," I cheerfully responded while coughing lightly into my arm and starting the first chapter of Bitterblue. I glanced at Kiki, who frowned – first at my coughing, and then the books before her. A smile pulled at my mouth. "You wanna suggestion, too?"
The Canadian dismissively waved her hand at my offer of assistance. "Nah, I think I'm going to get her this book about law that I found back there. It's pretty boring shit, but it seems to be something that law nerd would read!" She joked while straining to pick the large book up.
Smiling, I followed the two girls to the register and waited for them to finishing paying for their books. Kotoko had returned to me my manga copy and bought another for Haruhi, who would probably be overjoyed at getting four books from her friends. Oddly enough, Kotoko had also bought herself the first Twilight book, which I found funny. Kiki, who hated books, had only bought the law book for Haruhi.
We left the little bookstore while laughing about the different book choices the three of us made. In the next couple of minutes, Kiki teased Kotoko for reading the vampire book, I argued with her about it being pretty decent, and then the Canadian teased that I should not read the Yaoi. Forgoing her strict upbringing and sticking her tongue out, Kotoko retorted that the loud and perverted girl should not watch Yaoi. Kiki only smirked deviously at us. Scheiẞe…
"May I stop inside here?" Kotoko asked, interrupting the stare down between Kiki and myself while pointing to another store to the left. Kiki and I both looked in that direction, reading the cute sign that proclaimed the store to be called Sweet Cheeks.
"Hell yeah," Kiki exclaimed, rubbing her hands in glee and running into the new sweets store, while I grinned excitedly at them and followed the two girls into Sweet Cheeks.
Within moments, Kotoko had bought three bags of sweets for her shorter fiancé, including lemon drops, chocolate kisses, strawberries dipped in chocolate, chocolate fudge, and something similar to Pocky. Kiki was more selective, buying two bags filled with little fruit chews, chocolate bars, chocolate fudge, and, surprisingly, black licorice. When asked, Kiki grudgingly admitted that her boyfriend liked them. I blinked. Kyoya liked licorice. Who knew?
Black licorice for the black soul of the Shadow King, Chibi Sammy happily piped from her spot on my shoulder. She removed her little halo, breathed at it, and shined the little spot, before donning it again. Cue Innocent Smile.
My own sweets bags had been filled with chocolate bars, fudge, and kisses. I had little fruit chews and several boxes of Pocky, too. Strawberry and chocolate were my personal favorites, and I had also bought the melon flavored kind for the Twins. As I left, I grabbed two big boxes of salted taffy for Takashi. My fiancé did not like sweet things, but in eating with his family each weekend and noting his taste for salty and oriental foods, I had eventually learned that Takashi liked taffy.
We left the store and headed to the next lobby area. A large map was in the center of the white benches, and Kiki, Kotoko, and I stopped to figure out where to head next. Kiki pointed to the electronics store, Kotoko wanted to visit the bath and body shop, and I was interested in both. All three of us went to the electronics store, where Kiki and I bought video games, CDs, and DVDS, and then to Beautiful Bodies. There, Kotoko and I bought bottles of nice smelling perfumes and lotions. Some I bought for Haruhi, Kotoko, Tamaki, Caleb, and the Twins.
Finally, Kiki clamped her hands around Kotoko, me, and the bags, and nearly galloped into…
Victoria's Secret.
"What the Hell, Kiki-chan?!" I hissed at her, furiously pulled at her hand and trying to get her to release my arm. It was sort of hard to do with all of the bags of stuff I had bought. She was successful, therefore, in dragging me – cursing and snarling – into the lingerie store.
A reluctant Kotoko followed sedately behind, her expression shy but curious, big eyes on a new collection of lingerie at the back of the store. The Heiress headed there, ducking her head, and gently touched the silken corset and dress sets farthest from the store entrance. Our Canadian friend noticed her attention to them, bluntly asked her size, and, when Kotoko blushingly responded, bought it for her. Kotoko stared, flabbergasted, at the younger girl.
"You're getting married, Kotoko-chan," Kiki said in exasperation. She paused, seeing the girl blush darkly at the insinuation, and sighed, "Look, I'm not trying to make fun of you. I just wanted to buy something kind of nice for you and Sammy-chan since you're both getting married in the next couple of months. Okay?"
"Oh, Kiki-chan, that is very sweet of you," Kotoko gratefully returned, hugging the girl to her. "You always act so mean and tough, but under all of that brusqueness is a sweet, thoughtful friend. Thank you…" She smiled back at me, eyes watery, and then closed them, laughing happily. "…both of you!"
Smiling at her words, I leaned forward to touch her shoulder in understanding, throat tight from sudden emotion. I also used her distraction to observe her originally too thin form, finding that the taller girl had finally filled out along her chest, hips, and legs. She had started eating again, instead of counting calories, skipping meals, and exercising too much. Kiki looked surprised with her sudden affection but returned it with a pat to her back and relieved smile, her face relaxed – happy even. The Canadian had noticed her additional weight gain, too.
"Sure thing," Kiki laughed, cleared her throat to get rid of the tears building within it, and then to pointed her ringed finger at me. "What about you? Anything catch your eye yet, Sammy-chan?"
"Um, I like that one," I mumbled quietly and blushingly nodded at the blue and pink silk lingerie set. Its top was small enough that I could show off the belly button piercing I had gotten awhile ago, and the bottoms would draw attention to my rear. But I liked it. Takashi would like it, too.
"Good choice!" Kiki exclaimed in approval, already reaching for it and pulling the correct size down. She double checked it with me and then bought that set, too. "Now I have presents for the both of you!"
"You didn't have to buy me anything, Kiki-chan," I protested, to which Kotoko quickly nodded in agreement. We liked them and appreciated the thought, but Kiki had to save more often and for longer to get nicer things because her family wasn't as wealthy as ours.
"You, Sammy-chan, bought that iPod Touch for me," Kiki drawled, pointedly digging in her shopping bags to lift the music player and the fistful of little digital cards, "and Kotoko-chan bought me a couple of $50 iTunes cards. I am set for music! This is the least I could do for you."
My stomach warmed with happiness, and I glanced at Kotoko to find her smiling brightly down at Kiki, too. Being friends with the Host Club usually involved fun events and silly antics, but I loved it because I could play around with them while being myself. Hanging out with Kiki and Kotoko, and Haruhi, was more peaceful. We could talk about anything and everything, and for the first time, I was grateful to have girl friends. It was great to have such caring friends. We were all really disappointed that Haruhi could not get here to shop until much later, but it was still great fun to walk around with just the three of us.
As usual, though, Kiki had to ruin the moment with her mouth…
Kinda like me!
:D
"Hey, Sammy-chan," Kiki asked slyly, glancing from her painted fingernails – alternating blue and yellow – to my eyes. She smirked mischievously. "Have you and Mori-Senpai done the horizontal limbo yet?"
"Kiki-chan!" Kotoko scolded in a soft hiss, hands to her (slightly larger) hips in a motherly fashion. "You cannot simply ask her that sort of question and –"
"Yes," I blurted not three seconds later, finding it impossible to keep it a secret after being asked outright, and their expressions shifted to shock. Haruhi was my only confidant, and I had told her the day after Takashi and I made love. I was wary about telling Kotoko and Kiki, though; Kotoko would probably scold because it had been before marriage, and Kiki –
"HOLY SHIT! YOU ACTUALLY SLEPT WITH MORI-SENPAI?!" Kiki shrieked, mouth dropping wide open and her violet irises becoming the size of small teacup saucers. She was completely blown away.
Noticing the shop clerk and the other shoppers staring, Kotoko blushed red and instantly hushed the loud girl. "Be quiet, Kiki-chan! Most nobles will not shop here, but it would be bad for her and Takashi-kun if anybody from our circles hear that sort of thing about them!"
"Why?" Kiki asked her, confused with the request, but instantly quieted down. The Canadian girl furrowed her brow in thought and glanced from Kotoko, to me, and then back to Kotoko. Question marks floated above her head.
"They are not married yet, Kiki-chan, and it would look bad for them, especially if Sammy-chan became pregnant," Kotoko patiently explained, before blinking in shock and hurriedly looking to me in speculation. "You…are not pregnant, are you?"
"NO!" I gasped and blushed at the accusatory stares of the two taller girls, both of whom stared at my stomach. "You…! Ugh, I just have a small cold! I already bought cold medicine before getting to the bookstore, too!"
"Are you certain?" Kotoko asked, without sounding too positive about it herself. She poked at my stomach with gentle fingers, making little poke sounds, to which I sweatdropped and facepalmed.
"Yes, Kotoko-chan, I am," I grumbled at the two of them and, at their expressions of continued doubt, I furiously explained, "I just started two days ago! Why the Hell else would I have bought all of that chocolate?!"
"Oh," Kotoko and Kiki simultaneously chirped while smiling brightly at me. "Good to know!"
Kill me now…
Embarrassed, I told Kotoko and Kiki, the latter of whom still wanted to look for something for herself (and, by extension, Kyoya), that I would be right back. I waved their attempts to follow me away and mentioned that I had noticed the toy store to be close by; I wanted to look for little things to entertain the more childish Hosts. Walking in, I browsed through the loud and colorful aisles. After thinking about it, I grabbed two sets of Spy Gear for the Twins, a yellow hoodie for Mitsukuni, since it had cute little bunny ears, and two little remote control vehicles for Tamaki. The Frenchman still loved toys. Tamaki probably did not have many as a child, what with his mother being that sick. I frowned. Poor Tama-chan…
As I left the store, I searched for Kiki and Kotoko. I eventually noticed them seated at the white benches, sharing a pretzel and three cookies. One seemed to be for me. A smile touched curling pink lips, and I smiled at the thoughtfulness of the two girls. I started walking towards them, left hand lifted in greeting to catch their attention. Two teenagers stepped in front of me. I stopped, although reluctantly, and waited for them to move on. They were so much slower than snails, and not the speedy little snails from Turbo, either!
Someone, undoubtedly Kiki, raised her voice to scream over the crowd in English and happily bellowed, "OVER HERE, SAM-I-AM! We bought you a cookie! Or would it have just been better to buy you some green eggs and ham?"
"SHUT UP, SCHWEETS!" I yelled back at her, smiling widely at her and waving from behind the two teenage boys walking in front of me. They jumped at the sudden yell and glared at me. One suddenly focused, however, and nudged his friend in the elbow, smirking stupidly.
Annoyed with at the two Slowpokes, I turned to the left and made to slip by them. Before I could walk around the pair, however, the two teenage boys stepped in my way and both grinned charmingly, tossing their arms over my shoulders. I reluctantly stopped and stared blankly at them. My lips twitched in amusement. One of the teenagers had dressed to look like Ash Ketchum from Pokémon, and the other looked kinda like Hiro from Big Hero 6. Pfft…
"Hey, Gorgeous, I like your ass," Ash said while smirking down at me. He had spoken in crisp Japanese. Apparently, Mister Ketchum thought I would not understand since Kiki and I had yelled at each other in English. Neither of them had noticed (the clearly Japanese) Kotoko.
"Forget her ass," Hiro blurted less eloquently than his friend while rudely pointing to my chest. He stepped forward to look at it. "I like her breasts! Look at the size of 'em! Japanese girls don't have those kinds of jugs!"
"Thanks," I responded dryly in Japanese while pointedly crossing both arms over my chest and stepping back another step from Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. "My fiancé really likes them, too."
"W-W-What?" Ash and Hiro sputtered at me. They clearly did not know how to take this news, as most teenagers did not get engaged at eighteen while also preparing to get married to each other at nineteen.
"My fiancé," I prompted again while lifting up my ring finger to indicate the shiny engagement ring, "likes my ass and breasts. He is also damn good at Judo and Kendo. So if you're looking for somebody to kick your asses, then please, keep it up."
Suddenly, Kiki, who had shoved her through the crowd, pushed Hiro aside. She said, "She and her fiancé are rich, too. My boyfriend is rich and likes to blackmail people." The Canadian pointed to the willowy girl standing at her side and added, "Our other friend is rich and her fiancé, who is also rich, is a skilled martial artist, too!"
"Wow, Kiki-chan! Why are you so obsessed with the bling today? Why bother pointing it out to these losers that they're all rich, for that matter?" I whispered quietly to Kiki. She shrugged her lean shoulders, smirking at me.
"She is a gold digger," Kotoko blandly responded while smiling sweetly at the now glowering Canadian. Eyes narrowed, Kiki stuck her tongue out at the older girl and shot her the finger, clearly indicating her thoughts about that particular insult.
"Your Mom is a gold digger," Kiki retorted, hip cocked, fist to her hip, and small black eyebrow lifted in the classic Whatcha-Gonna-Do-About-It way. Crazy Schweetz clearly meant business with that posture, too.
"She is indeed," Kotoko replied without a care. She loved her Mom, but the rude cow would not give her the time of day. Her Mom had been the one to constantly pick at her and, unknowingly, drive her eager-to-please daughter to obsessing about her weight. We – Kiki, Haruhi, and I – all hated her with a passion.
Humming, I mumbled the lyrics to Material Girl, by Madonna.
"You are so stupid," Kiki snorted at me.
"Your face is stupid," I retorted.
We burst into giggles.
Sighing, Kotoko ignored the two of us, as we were acting stupid, and turned to the two teenage boys. They had been staring at us, eyes moving back and forth like tennis balls, to follow the little conversation. "Gentlemen, I suggest leaving before our men come and find the two of you."
His friend, Hiro, looked ready to beat feet at that little warning, but Ash stayed put to reach out for my arm. He pulled until I stumbled into him and then taunted, "Where are your supposed boyfriend and fiancés then, huh?"
"Here," Takashi darkly growled from above me, reaching down to remove the unwanted hands from mine. Ash stumbled back to stare up at Takashi who, at six feet and four inches, dwarfed his five feet and ten inches. I smiled widely at his sudden appearance.
Speak of the handsome Devil…
***Author's Note***
Hey~! Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews, which I will respond to by Sunday. I promise! ;) I am sorry about the wait, too, but I finally edited and finished another story, Sacrifice, that I started right after Picking Up the Pieces almost five years ago. (Just whoa!) It was only about the length of this one! Anyway, I also started story, called Fairytales, for the Hobbit, if anyone is interested. :)
Here is Part I of II (Possibly III) for the Shop 'til You Drop Arc! I have most of the next chapter finished and will have it up next weekend because I have nothing planned (for once) this Saturday. It might also be up sooner! Upcoming chapter will have lots of cuteness, a cute gift for Sammy, and friends/family bonding. Hope you enjoy it!
P.S. Lemon following the last chapter has been, as promised, uploaded to Key to My Heart. Please check it out and review. :)
It would be awesome to reach 1,000 reviews by the end of Picking Up the Pieces, so...
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!
Update = 860ish Reviews