AUTHOR NOTE
I am Mai is back !
Kick-starting August with another chapter after so long!
I wonder if there are still readers who follow this story?
Anyways, happy reading!
With the passing of the New Year, it wouldn't be long before the grownups returned and the children would have to go back to their ordinary lives. For Huey, Riley, Jazmine and Cindy, that meant starting a new semester at school, while Mai and Taro returned to their respective duties back at Moonrea.
On this Friday particular afternoon, Huey had loosened the reins on Riley, allowing him to do whatever on the condition that he wouldn't destroy the house in any way or form. Riley had taken this opportunity to take Cindy, Jazmine and Taro out for the afternoon saying they'd be back 'late', which meant that they would most likely do whatever for the afternoon and go clubbing after late into the night.
As for our favourite couple, they were chilling in Huey's room. Huey sat on his bed with his back against the headboard reading a book, with Mai lying down on the same bed with her legs propped up on both sides of Huey's left leg that had been stretched out on the bed. She was reading an article from the tablet that sat in her hands. The two had been quiet like this for some time, just relaxing in each other's silent company.
"When will your grandfather be back?" Mai asked.
"Tomorrow," Huey answered, not taking his eyes of his book.
"And you'll start school again next week Monday?"
"Yes"
"I see," replied Mai. She put the device down and rubbed her eyes; staring at the screen for a long time had done a number to her eyes. Mai put headphones into her ears and tapped on her screen. Closing her eyes, she put her arms on her stomach humming a tune from a song Jazmine recommended. The girl was determined to educate Mai on music culture. So deeply distracted by the music, Mai didn't notice Huey watch her as he set down his book. It always felt like a new experience for him whenever he saw her do simple things that were common to people of their age do.
Huey moved Mai's leg to the side and crawled over her, but as luck would have it, Mai's instincts kicked in. With her hand already in a fist and her knee moving up for a sure hit which Huey blocked with his palm. That was Mai, warrior heiress and treasured jewel of her clan and the people of Moonrea. Opening her eyes and removing the ear buds from her ears, Mai asked in Japanese, "What are you doing?"
(A/N All Japanese conversations will be in italics)
"Getting closer to you," he answered.
"Why?"
"Is there a reason why I shouldn't?"
Mai pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow in response. Huey in turn, smirked and leaned into Mai, closing the distance with a kiss. Returning his action in kind, Mai ran her hands slowly up the canvas of Huey's chest, round his neck and tangling them into his hair, drawing him closer to her. With every kiss they shared, the passion between them slowly but surely climbed, like a spark of fire turning into a roaring flame. Huey propped up Mai's leg as he drew closer to her, careful not to crush her with his weight by leaning on his fore arms. With wet muscles exploring each other's mouths, there was no denial that their fervent kisses just went a step higher by the second. There was no fight for dominance; it was just two people simply taking joy in the art of kissing.
The need for air forced them to pull away from each other, but their attraction brought them back together again. Mai's fingers slipped from Huey's neck and trailed over his shoulders, sliding down his chest once more and down to his sides. As for Huey, he used his left hand to rub Mai's sides before sliding up to soft mass on her upper torso and giving it a light squeeze, earning him a gasp. Mai broke the kiss and gazed into Huey's dazed eyes.
"We should stop," she whispered, "before we get ahead of ourselves"
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," Mai answers softly.
A moment of silence passes as neither takes the action to move away.
"How about we spar?" Mai asked, leaning up while using her elbows as support.
"Alright," agreed Huey.
They separated from each other then, with Huey leaning back to lean on his knees as Mai slipped off of the bed. When she was out of Huey's sight and in the hallway, Mai leaned on the wall and clutched the left part of her chest. She could feel her heart thudding loudly against her hand. It occurred to her that she was slowly losing control whenever she was with Huey like this. She would have liked to blame it entirely on her raging hormones that suddenly wanted out, but a part of her had to admit that she wanted it too. Mai wanted to experience more of the physical side to their relationship.
Running her hand through her hair, Mai headed for the guest room in order to change into something more spar worthy. A little physical exercise was probably what she needed to calm her down and get her thoughts in order.
As it turned out the spar was just what Mai needed. Physical exercise always had a way of allowing Mai to forget her mental troubles and brought a sense of balance to her. She could tell that Huey knew something was up with her but was thankful that he didn't question her much. Mai wasn't ready for any deep conversations. Of course it didn't help that things just turned awkward between the two.
When the others came back from their outing, the evening was pretty much spent normally. Well, normal in the sense that Riley and Cindy were up being their loud outspoken selves with Jazmine and Taro were watching a sitcom on the TV while Huey and Mai read their respective books in separate ends of the room. This kept going on until Riley got their attention,
"Listen up," Riley shouted, "The grown-ups will be here tomorrow and that means tonight is the last night we get the house to ourselves"
"I'm pretty sure we can have nights like these even after this," Jazmine interrupted.
"That aint the point, Jaz," Cindy spoke.
"That is not the point," Riley repeated, "For today it's the last day we have freedom; freedom from our oppressors, freedom from chores, orders and nagging. Therefore my fellow comrades, I'm here to tell you that we should make the best of this night. We should…"
"If you say anything about having a party your ass dies tonight," Huey declared, not lifting his eyes from his book. Riley shut his trap, stuffed his hands into his pockets and signalled Cindy to leave the room.
Jazmine P. O. V
With Riley and Cindy gone, the atmosphere was unusually and somewhat unpleasantly quiet despite the background noise of the television. Or at least that's how Jazmine felt. She could tell that something was off between Huey and Mai since they were not talking to each other. Not that they spoke a lot, but the duo were more quiet by their own standards. Jazmine could tell that much with Huey considering he was glaring at his book for a while now. Mai on the other hand, while looking plenty bothered, at least seemed to be invested in the book she was reading.
"Are you alright?" Taro asked, breaking Jazmine out of her thoughts.
"Yeah. Just" Jazmine smiled nervously, "Excuse me for a second"
Getting up, Jazmine went over to Mai and tapped her on her shoulder.
"Hey, Mai. Got a minute?" Jazmine asked. Mai gave a nod and Jazmine led them to her shared room with Cindy upstairs. Once they were inside, Jazmine sat Mai down on the bed and followed suit.
"Is there a problem with you and Huey?" Jazmine asked.
"Not really," Mai answered, avoiding Jazmine's eyes.
"Are you sure?" Jazmine asked, "I mean, I know we've spent some time together these past few days, and there's still more I have to know about you. But I know Huey when he's upset and I ALSO know when people in a relationship are being awkward around each other"
"Whatever is going on between Huey and I, is between us," said Mai bluntly, "I would appreciate it if you didn't pry so much"
"I totally get that," Jazmine said, raising her hands, "I'm just saying though, this is your last night to spend time with Huey like this. By tomorrow the grown ups will be back and we have to start school soon and all. My advice is that you shouldn't let the awkwardness mess up this night"
"Are you saying that I'm not good at being in a relationship?"
"NO!" Jazmine exclaimed, "That is not what I'm trying to say at all. Its just I can tell that you are more newer to the whole relationship game. Even though you really have this confident and sure and cold aura, I can tell that much that you and Huey were in the honey-moon stage before whatever happened today. I just... I just thought I could help you..and maybe get closer to you. And I also really care about Huey"
Mai gave Jazmine a pointed look.
"As a friend!" Jazmine spoke up, "Just as a friend"
"Right," Mai answered in a dead-pan voice.
"Hey, everyone has a past crush," Jazmine stated, "Some not as pretty as others"
Mai relaxed her shoulders and sighed, "Its okay. I won't hold it against you or anything"
Jazmine watched Mai fall back onto the bed and stare up at the ceiling. Not knowing what more to say, Jazmine took out her phone and music started to consume the silence as she went through her social media. After a few songs, Jazmine hear Mai shift a bit before saying,
"How does one deal with the physical part of a relationship?"
"What ?" Jazmine asked, confused, partly because she's not sure she heard Mai well.
"I...," Mai paused, thinking of the words to express what she wants to say, "How do you deal with relationships that get too physical to the point where you loose every part of rationality and control?"
"Is this your first relationship, Mai?"
"Yes," Mai answered.
Jazmine did a double-take. Mai was just like a new-baby in the world of dating which was a subtle surprise to her.
"Oh," replied Jazmine, "Well, that's just part of the relationship I guess. Relationships are not something you have to think hard about all the time. Sometimes you just let yourself enjoy the intimacy that comes with it so you learn about yourself and your partner. I guess dealing with it means maybe its too much and you have to stop yourself from doing something you hadn't planned for.
"But you know what, you shouldn't force yourself to understand through physical intimacy to be or stay close to your partner. Just roll with the punches but don't get too carried away. Does that make sense?"
Mai blinked and sat up, answering, "I'm not sure it did entirely"
"Take things slow if that's what you feel about a relationship. Also talk to your partner if you have any insecurities that might affect the flow of your relationship," stated Jazmine.
"Huh," Mai hummed, "I'll consider that. Thank you for the insight"
.
.
.
Later on, when the Jazmine and Mai returned to the living-room where the others were, Jazmine gave herself a little smile seeing Mai sit by Huey's side and whispered something to him. Seeing Huey put his arm around Mai and settle with her to read his joint book gave Jazmine a satisfied grin as she turned her attention to the TV screen.