A Love for Meilin
Chapter 7: A Dinner
Meilin and Masato soon reached Syaoran's apartment. She quickly gathered the food and supplies she would need to make the dinner. He just stood back and watched. This girl…she has some kind of hold on me I think. She's so pretty, and that apron looks good on her too… He blushed.
"I'm sure you really don't need help, being the pro that you are, but I really wouldn't mind helping a little," he offered.
"Fine then, you can rinse the rice for me," Meilin said. She tossed him a white apron, which he quickly put on. "Do you like to cook?" she asked him.
"Only when I'm cooking with a pretty lady like you," he answered. She blushed. This guy is never serious.
"So, what are we making?" he asked.
"You'll see as we go along," she replied. "Do you have any requests?"
"Nope, I'll be happy with anything," he said as he placed the rice into the rice cooker. "What do you want me to do next?"
She pointed at a section of pork sitting on the cutting board. "Can you cut that into thin slices?"
"Sure. Is there a knife for me to use?" he asked. She picked up the knife next to her. As he reached to take it, their hands brushed against each other. She quickly pulled her hand back and looked away, blushing. This is a new feeling…
He watched as she looked away and easily noticed the slight blush on her cheeks, which made him blush as well. I wonder what she thinks of me. It might be nice if she actually… He sighed. Yeah right…
He looked up at her worriedly as she gasped. She was looking at her finger. He could see blood.
"Are you okay?" he asked, taking her hand and looking at the cut. It was pretty deep. She tried to pull it back, but he kept a firm grip on it. "Let me help you," he said. She looked at him in surprise.
He quickly drew her finger under the faucet to wash away some of the blood. "Where can I find a band aid?"
"In the bathroom closet," she mumbled. Still holding her hand, he led her to the bathroom where he found some medicine, applied it, and then put a band aid over the cut.
"Does it feel okay now?" he asked worriedly.
"Yeah…" He really does look worried…but it's only a cut. He's so strange…
He turned and led the way back to the kitchen where they began to work once more in silence.
"Umm…thank you," Meilin said after a few minutes. Masato looked over at her and smiled kindly. "You're welcome." Meilin looked shyly away and looked at the band aid on her finger. She blushed. He's so nice…much nicer that Syaoran. Her eyes widened. What am I thinking? Could I possibly like this guy? She quickly stole a glance at him. He is very handsome…with that dark black hair that sometimes falls over his eyes… She blushed even more. Whoa…I need to stop thinking like that. He's in college. He would never be interested in some one like me.
Meanwhile, Masato was also stealing glances at the young girl working beside him. Her expressions keep changing. I wonder what she's thinking about. Her hair looks so soft…I wish I could touch it… He looked away. What am I thinking? She probably already has some one she likes. I certainly don't deserve a girl like her anyway.
Just then, they heard voices in the living room as Sakura and Syaoran entered the apartment. They immediately came to the kitchen where they found Meilin and Masato, both with light blushes on their faces. Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other and smiled.
"Where is Wei?" Syaoran asked.
"He's taking a nap," Meilin replied.
"Do you need any help?" Sakura offered. Meilin smiled at her. "Nope, Masato-san and I will be just fine. And I have to prove I'm a better cook than you anyway, remember?"
"Let's leave them alone then," Syaoran said, leading the way out of the kitchen. He stopped as he noticed the band aid on Meilin's finger. "What happened?" he asked, pointing at her finger.
"I cut it, but Masato-san took care of it for me," Meilin replied, her blush returning.
Syaoran smiled. "We'll be in the living room if you need anything," he said as he left.
"It's a lucky thing we took our little walk," Syaoran said, sitting on the couch beside Sakura. She smiled at him. "We need to figure more ways for them to be alone then," she suggested. He grinned.
***
"It's ready!" Masato called out. Sakura and Syaoran walked over and sat at the table with Masato as Meilin brought out all the food. Wei also joined them. They stared in awe as more and more food kept coming. And it all looked great.
"Sugoi!" Sakura exclaimed, looking at the food before her. There was tonkatsu (pork with bread crumbs deep fried), specially seasoned red snapper, tuna sushi, rice, miso soup, and a beautiful salad. She had even cut up some fresh fruit as a desert.
Syaoran also stared at the food in amazement. "This really does look good, Meilin."
"Of course," Meilin said.
"Itadakimasu!" they chorused as they eagerly began to eat.
"Kero would love this," Sakura said. Masato looked up at her. "Who's Kero?"
Sakura hesitated. I'm an idiot. "Uh…he's another one of our friends."
"Interesting name," Masato commented. Syaoran, Sakura, and Meilin glanced at each other. "He's certainly quite interesting," Sakura mumbled.
Masato turned to Meilin. "This really is wonderful, Meilin-san. And no offense, but I must admit, this dinner is better than yesterday's."
"You did help though, Masato-san," Meilin said.
"Not that much," he replied. "You did all the hard work." Meilin smiled happily at him as everyone continued to eat.
They ate slowly, savoring every last bite they took. But finally, about an hour later, they all had finished their meal.
"I guess I should be heading home," Sakura said. Syaoran looked up at her. "I'll walk you home." She smiled at him, but turned toward Masato. "It's okay, Masato-san and I can make it by ourselves."
"I was thinking about staying and helping Meilin-san clean up, so you two can go ahead," Masato told them.
Meilin looked at him surprised. "You don't have to help."
"I want to help," he said. She stared at him for a moment. "Whatever." Masato smiled.
"Then I'll guess I'll see you later, okay Sakura-chan?"
"Okay," Sakura said as she began walking toward the door. "Thank you for the dinner!" she called out as she left, Syaoran following close behind her.
"That worked out great," Syaoran said after they had walked quite a distance from the apartment. "Now they can be alone again." Sakura smiled up at him and took his hand as they walked the rest of the way to her house. They stopped as they reached the gate, and he pulled her close. He hesitated as the porch lights came on, but decided to ignore them, and leaned in to kiss her. As their lips touched, the door to the house suddenly slammed open, revealing a very angry Touya. They slowly pulled apart.
"Goodnight Syaoran," Sakura said softly as she began walking through the gate to her house.
He watched as she gently pushed Touya away from the door. She turned once more to wave at him, before she shut the door.
He smiled and began walking back to his apartment, taking a longer route just in case Meilin decided to walk Masato back.
Meanwhile, Masato and Meilin had finished cleaning up with the help of Wei and began making their way to Sakura's house where he would be staying again.
"You know, you really don't have to walk me back," Masato told her. "I don't want you to have to walk back to Syaoran's apartment alone."
"It's okay," Meilin said shyly.
"I had a lot of fun today," he said. "Everyone was really nice…especially you."
Meilin's eyes widened, and a deep red blush covered her face. I am so glad it's dark out here.
"I'm glad you came and visited when I did," he continued. "It would have been a shame to miss meeting you."
Her blush grew even darker. "I…I'm glad too," she said.
"So, do you like Japan?" he asked her. "Or do you miss Hong Kong when you visit?"
She sighed. "I like them both a lot. Up till recently, though, it's kind of depended on…" She suddenly stopped. "Nevermind."
He looked at her questioningly. Even in the dark he could tell she had suddenly become a little depressed.
"I know that I just met you, but I can tell you're not exactly happy about something…it kind of makes me worry about you," Masato said slowly. She looked up at him surprised, then looked away. He sighed.
"It depended on Syaoran," she mumbled. His eyes widened. She could tell he was a little confused. "Whether I wanted to be in Japan or Hong Kong depended on where Syaoran was. I wanted to be with him." By this time they had stopped walking. Masato was looking at her worriedly as she talked. She just kept looking down at the ground.
She sighed. "When we were little, our parents arranged our engagement. And even though they did so without talking with us, I was happy about it. I really liked Syaoran. And although he was really nice to me most of the time, he never really seemed to feel the same way I did. But I just kept hoping that someday he might." She stopped, trying to force the tears threatening to spill down her cheeks back. "But then when I came, he told me about how he felt about Sakura, and so I was really upset. He talked to me, and tried to make me feel better, and it worked a little. But I'm still kind of disappointed."
They stood there for a moment in silence. He noticed as a few tears escaped and rolled down her face. He gently took his hand and wiped them away. She turned toward him for the first time since she had begun to talk. "I'm sorry I told you…" she began, but he put a finger to her lips. "It's okay," he said. "I'm glad you told me. It helps me understand some things."
They continued to walk. Masato sighed. Now I feel kind of guilty…I really wanted Syaoran and Sakura together. And all this time, with the way I've teased them, I must have been making things even harder on Meilin. But…when Sakura told me before that Meilin didn't have a boyfriend, I was kind of happy. I…do I really like her so much?
He looked over at her. I wish I knew how to make her happy…
He stopped as they neared the Kinomoto house. She looked at him questioningly. He looked down and then back up at her. "I really don't know if I should say this considering what you just told me, but I really want you to know that…I really like you."
She looked at him shocked at what he had just told her. "I know that I'm a few years older and that you're not even planning on staying here, but that doesn't seem to matter to me right now."
"Are you serious?" Meilin asked.
Masato looked straight at her. "I would never joke about something like this. I really do like you." He hesitated, but then quickly leaned over and kissed her. She just stood there surprised. Masato smiled at her then began walking once more toward the house. "I hope I can see you tomorrow!" he called out.
She watched as he made his way into the house. She touched her lips, still feeling the warmth of his. What in the heck just happened?
***
End of Chapter 7
I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed so far. I really appreciate it! ^_^ And I hope you liked this chapter as well. Please keep reading!!