Chapter Forty-two

A surprise

A couple of weeks later, the three girls went to their boyfriends' apartment early to spend the whole Saturday with them. Syaoran had told Sakura that he had a surprise for her, but hadn't wanted to give her any clues as to what it was.

They got on the lift and Chiharu pressed the button for the tenth floor. As they stepped out, the front door was already open.

Tomoyo went through first, running over to hug Eriol who was still in his pyjamas, and Takashi came over to greet the other two girls.

"I'm afraid you're going to leave us today, Sakura," he said, pouting.

Her eyes widened.

"Why do you say that?" she asked in confusion.

Syaoran came out of his room and advanced towards her to kiss her. As always, the scent of his cologne made Sakura sigh. She liked that smell too much.

"Because you and I have plans," he murmured, smirking.

He took one of her hands and walked with her towards the door.

"Will you be back for dinner?" Takashi asked.

Syaoran gripped the doorknob and glanced sideways at him.

"I have no idea. I'll let you know if we can make it," he replied before leaving and closing the door behind him.

Sakura started to ask him what they were going to do, but he just smiled and looked at her, raising his eyebrows with a mischievous glint in his eyes. They walked down the street for about five minutes until Syaoran stopped.

"You see... My mother managed to sell my motorbike. I asked her to do it when I moved here," he said, not letting go of her hand.

"I didn't know that. And you say we have no secrets," she protested, a little annoyed.

"I wanted it to be a surprise. I bought this with the money from the motorbike and a little more that my father gave me," Syaoran replied, pointing to the car that was parked by the pavement.

Sakura was speechless.

"Since when do you have a driving licence?"

"I got it before we graduated from high school. I didn't tell you to keep this as a surprise."

She glanced down at the car. It was grey and medium-sized.

"But it must have been expensive, right?"

"Not really, it's second-hand. Now we can go to Tomoeda whenever we want without having to endure all the hours on the bus."

Sakura smiled and put her arms around him.

"That's great, Syaoran!" she shouted excitedly.

"Yeah. Besides, now I can teach you how to drive."

Her face paled.

"No... not me. It scares me."

Syaoran rolled his eyes and took a few steps to the driver's door.

"It's no big deal, I know you'll be a good driver... but now get in, let's go for a ride."

The smile returned to her face and she nodded, opening the passenger door. They both got in and Syaoran drove off, merging into the city traffic. She turned on the radio and put on some pop music.

"Where are we going?"

His lips curved into a mysterious smile and he raised his eyebrows again.

"Another surprise? But I want to know," she grunted, folding her arms and snorting.

He let out a laugh at seeing her like that and continued on his way out of the city centre. Sakura joined in his laughter and settled into the seat, watching the skyscrapers of Tokyo.

An hour later they were near the outskirts. Syaoran took a detour and, after a few minutes, parked. They both got out of the car and started walking down the pavement, holding hands.

They passed a gigantic park, full of cherry trees that were not in bloom at the time. Sakura stopped walking at the sight of them. She loved those trees since she was a little girl. Syaoran snaked an arm around her waist.

"We'll come here later, but we can't stay now," he murmured in her ear, forcing her to keep walking.

"Why?"

"Because we have a table reserved."

"Where?"

Syaoran ruffled her hair with one hand and she snorted.

"Don't ask so many questions. It's a place you've wanted to go for a long time."

Sakura growled under her breath, combing her hair with her fingers while he looked at her with mocking eyes. They arrived at the door of a restaurant and her heart skipped a beat as she saw that it was a Thai place she had told Syaoran so much about. She had been wanting to try that kind of food for years, and she had read that it was the best in town.

She turned her head to Syaoran, her insides trembling because he remembered.

He smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Shall we go in?"

"But... this place is a little expensive," she murmured with concern.

"A day is a day. Besides, today's on me," he said, grabbing one of her arms and leading her to the door.

They entered and, after saying his name, one of the waiters told them that they had to take the lift to the top floor. As they went up, they came to a large room that had no walls. All that surrounded them were glass windows from which they could see the skyscrapers of the city not far away.

They sat down at a table and a waitress placed a couple of menus on the tablecloth. Sakura felt a lump in her throat when she saw the prices and looked sideways at Syaoran. He rolled his eyes, sighing.

"I told you I'm paying today. This is a gift, so stop worrying about the money."

"But why? It's still a few weeks before Christmas."

He leaned both elbows on the table and looked her in the eye.

"Do I need a reason to give you a present?"

Sakura smiled and shook her head, looking down at the menu again. They ordered the food and when it arrived she closed her eyes, enjoying the smell.

"It smells great," Syaoran said, smiling at her enthusiasm.

"My mouth is watering," she replied, holding out her chopsticks.

Syaoran arched an eyebrow.

"Does your mouth water because of me, too?" he asked in a whisper.

Sakura's chopsticks trembled and all the food fell back onto her plate. She glared at Syaoran, blushing, and saw that he had a crooked smile on his face.

"You know it does, but don't say those things to me in public," she demanded, looking around nervously.

"No one was listening."

Sakura pursed her lips.

"Okay, I'll be good until we get out of here," he promised, holding out a hand with a raised pinky finger.

Sakura smiled and mimicked him, intertwining both pinkies.

"You made a promise, Syaoran. Behave," she demanded, looking back down at her plate.

"Of course, my lady," he replied, clicking his tongue.

They both laughed and tasted each other's food before leaving their plates completely empty. After that, they shared a cup of coconut ice cream and got back into the lift with very full bellies.

"I knew I was going to love Thai food."

"I was surprised, to be honest. I didn't expect it to be so good," Syaoran admitted as they exited the four-storey restaurant.

"Can we go to the park now?" she asked with sparkling eyes.

He gave her a crooked smile, draping an arm around her shoulders.

"Okay, let's go."

They walked around the huge park for a little over an hour, enjoying the lake and all the animals that lived there. Syaoran watched her out of the corner of his eye, unable to stop smiling. She was so happy she looked like a little girl.

When their feet ached, they both climbed up to a small hill that was filled with cherry trees. Syaoran sat down, leaning his back against the trunk of one of the trees, and Sakura placed herself between his legs. She pressed her back against his chest and blinked several times, taking in everything around her.

"I think it's the most beautiful park I've ever seen," she admitted, smiling as she noticed his arms around her waist.

"There are a few in Moscow that are amazing. Someday you'll come with me to see them."

They stood in silence for a moment, listening to the soft rustling of the leaves as the wind moved them.

"So you liked the surprises, then? Are you happy?"

"Yes, thank you very much," Sakura replied, turning her head to kiss his cheek.

"Sakura, I... I wish I could have done this differently."

She frowned and glanced at Syaoran, quizzical.

"Done what? But this day's been great."

"That's not what I meant. I would have liked to do this in two or three years, in the spring, when the trees were in bloom and everything was prettier."

Her heartbeat stopped beating. Syaoran looked into her eyes and sighed.

"But I can't think of a better place than here, surrounded by Sakuras," he added, referring to the Japanese name for cherry trees.

He took something out of his pocket and set it on her lap. It was a small, square box. He opened it before pulling his hands away, wrapping his arms around her from behind. Sakura saw that inside was a ring that had several small white stones in it.

Her breath hitched and her hands shook as she held the box, not knowing what to say.

"It belongs to you. I told you the conversation with your parents was serious, though my plan was to ask you first. Will you marry me?" he said in her ear, hugging her tighter.

Sakura glanced sideways at Syaoran again, surprised to see that he was blushing slightly. Surely her cheeks were burning too.

"I... I... of course I will," she agreed, turning her body so she could hug him.

Syaoran reciprocated her embrace, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"You're going to be my fiancée for years to come," he whispered, chuckling.

Sakura giggled as well. Pulling away from him, she looked back down at the ring and took it out of the box.

"It was my grandmother's. My mother kept it for me, for when I found my future wife," Syaoran explained, taking it from her hands and placing it on her ring finger.

She felt tears welling up in her eyes and threw herself on Syaoran, sobbing into his chest.

"Hey, why are you crying? Don't you like it?" he asked, frowning in confusion.

Sakura punched him in the stomach gently.

"Don't be silly," she said, trying to control her tears.

"Then what's wrong with you?"

"I'm really happy, Syaoran. I never imagined I'd be so lucky."

He smiled and hugged her again.

"When my mother told me we were moving to Japan, I was very angry with her... But now I'm very grateful because I got to meet you."

Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck, sighing.

"Stop saying things like that or I won't be able to stop crying," she muttered, her voice cracking.

Syaoran lifted her chin with his fingers and kissed her.

"I love you, Sakura."

She pulled away a few inches, wiping away her tears with the back of one hand.

"And I love you more. I still wonder what you do with me, you're too good for me."

He held her face with both hands, shaking his head.

"You and I are perfect for each other. Never believe anything else."

She smiled and kissed him again. They stood there, hugging and talking until the sun began to set.

"It's going to get cold, we should go," Syaoran suggested.

Sakura snorted in annoyance and let him go, sitting up on the ground. They both stood up and walked to where they had left the car. They got in and before they started, Syaoran stared at Sakura thoughtfully.

"Are we going home now?" she asked.

He rubbed his chin with one hand and a mischievous smile spread across his face.

"Not yet. I just thought of something better."