A/N: Anything you recognize from MG, I do not own.
Chapter 6: lei your hands on me
Lei had no idea why but he didn't feel the least bit self-conscious spending the day with a woman who wore a black veil. They'd gone to an amusement park after breakfast and spent the day there. They'd played in the arcade where he won her several stuffed animals, which she'd given to children they'd met while walking along the park. She'd treated him to his very first sidewalk-bought hotdog, complete with mustard, relish & sauerkraut. She'd gotten him to ride the roller coaster with her right after and hadn't laughed when he'd vomited the very same hotdog, barely digested, the minute they'd gotten off.
She hadn't minded the fact that they'd gotten interrupted several times by fans asking for his autograph. And she made him laugh. Her jokes weren't always funny but he found himself laughing just the same. Maybe it was her voice. Maybe the way she moved her hands when she talked. Lei didn't know. But there was definitely something about her that captivated him, even though he had yet to find out what she really looked like.
They were sitting on one of the park benches, after eating another hotdog, when he thought to ask, "Aren't you worried about the publicity that this date will surely elicit?"
"Why would it? They won't even know who I am. I should be the one asking you that." she answered, turning her head towards him.
He didn't answer.
"Well?" she prompted. "Aren't you worried about the publicity? After all, you've shunned the media in the last couple of years."
"No." Strangely enough, he really didn't care about the publicity.
She just shrugged at his response. "Well, what do you want to do next?"
"Shouldn't I be asking you that question? You were the one who bought my services after all."
She grew silent for a while, as if thinking about what to do next. "Wanna go star-gazing?"
He looked at her in surprise. "Could you see in the dark with that black veil over your eyes?"
She laughed merrily. "I have a mask I can wear later." she answered mischievously.
"Why don't you just do away with the whole thing and let me see your face instead?" he found himself asking.
"How about I let you feel my face?"
"Feel your face?" he asked curiously.
"I'll let you feel my face under this veil, that way you can picture me in your mind."
Lei thought about it for a while. He'd never been good at imagining using only his sense of touch, but figured that was as good as he was going to get so he agreed. "You got yourself a deal."
"Okay. Give me your hands." she held out hers for his.
Lei offered her his hands and felt a jolt of electricity at the contact. He tried to figure out if she'd felt the same but the darkness of the veil made him unable to even discern her features much less see the expression on her face.
"Now close your eyes so you can picture my face much better." she told him solemnly.
Lei complied and started tracing her features under the veil. "Smooth." He couldn't help but utter at the feel of her skin.
She laughed. "Thanks."
He continued tracing her features. "Hmm…nice forehead…no bangs…" he paused as he tried to determine the shape of her eyes and found that he couldn't, so he moved on, "nice nose…pointed chin…" he continued.
His fingers followed the shape of her mouth and when he rubbed his thumb on her lower lip, he felt her breath hitch. He felt his own breath hitch when she her tongue darted out, unconsciously or consciously he didn't know, and touched his thumb.
He withdrew his hands quickly after that small contact got him suddenly wanting to kiss her.
Bad.
That had never happened to him before. At least not in the last 9 years. He suddenly had a weird sensation that he knew her. How or why or when he had no idea. Could she be Jing? If she was, why hide her face? Shouldn't he have been able to tell if it was her? He had after all loved her before. But the woman in front of him felt different. Ah Mei? He hadn't seen her since that night when he'd admitted to her that he loved Shan Cai so he wasn't sure he'd be able to tell if it were her. And her voice was different.
"Give it up." she whispered.
"Huh?" he asked in confusion.
"Stop trying to figure out who I am. You'll know soon enough." she answered, reading his thoughts perfectly.
Lei shook his head and smiled instead. She was right. He would find out soon enough.
He couldn't wait!
***
