T.Anjel: Everyone wants them to kiss! O.o~ sounds good… mmhmm… But it ain't happening till..oh…I don't know…maybe another twenty chapters?! Sounds good, no? Yeah! I thought so
C-Mage: Yays! Another chappy! We're going to torture you all with how slowly things go. *pulls Meiling pose* Ohhohohohohoho!
Standard Disclaimers Apply: Everyone seems to be lovin' David! Isn't he the greatest? We know he is, that's why he's all ours! But…the others are not.
Learn to Love Me – Chapter 13 – Sakura Plays Referee
The self-defense club ended quickly enough, with the kids panting for breath and inwardly congratulating themselves for either improving or for at least trying. The kids were instructed to fold away the mats and pack up the padding and other equipment used for training. "Same time next week!" I called out as the members filed out of the gym.
Without a second to lose, I swiveled to face Li-san. He grimaced. I plopped my fists on my hips and shifted my weight to one leg. "That was extremely unnecessary!" I began.
"I know," he quickly replied, defending himself as best he could.
I honestly didn't want to have this conversation, but when it came to dealing with David, Li-san was such a child. "I know you don't like David-kun," I said, toning my voice down. "But I would appreciate it if you didn't act so recklessly in front of the students!" Li-san seemed taken aback by my words. Did I say something wrong? I shook away my thoughts and continued.
"I don't understand why you hate him so much, anyway! He's a good man!" Li-san snorted. I huffed and frowned. "Can't you two get along?"
"No," he immediately answered. "Look, Kinomoto-san, as much as I love being lectured by you, can we get this over with? I have somewhere to go today."
I fumed. And let me tell you, I rarely fume. I stomped my foot down, demanding he listened to me. "Fine, I don't care if you don't get along with David-kun, it's not like I'm your mediator. But you could at least show a bit of respect, especially in front of the students. As a model for these kids, the first thing you should be showing is respect," I said, enraged at his ignorance and selfishness. The nerve of him to be acting as if what he did wasn't wrong! I growled, not able to put my frustrated thoughts in words.
I just stomped my foot again, finalizing my speech, and turned to leave. I didn't bother to look at Li-san's face. It didn't matter. I was too angry to even think straight. Was I overreacting? Probably, but I didn't care at the moment.
I stormed out of the gym and outside to the parking lot. A cool breeze reminded me the coming of the cold weather. I rubbed my hands against my arms and got in the car. I started the engine and noticed something on the windshield. A note? I took the note from the safety of the wipers and saw that it was written from David.
"I'm sorry I was acting so immaturely," I read aloud. "I promise never to do that again. Forgive me, love. Hugs and kisses from David." I didn't know whether to be annoyed or pleased by the note. Something inside me tugged at my gut saying, 'Ah, what a fake.'
"But he apologized," I argued, putting my seatbelt on and backing out of my parking space. "Unlike Li-san." I puffed my cheeks at the thought of the teacher before streaking out of school territory.
Once I arrived home, Tomoyo-san handed me the phone. "David called," she informed me with a neutral face. I took the phone and dialed his memorized number.
"Hello?"
"David? Did you call?" I asked, recognizing his voice.
"Hey, honey. Did you get my note?" he immediately asked.
"Mm," I replied affirmatively. He waited for an extra second. He must've expected me to squeal at his affectionate and caring consideration and praise him for being so thoughtful. Not happening, I thought. I was still too irritated from Li-san's behavior.
After not getting a reply from me, David continued without pushing the subject. "It's the weekend, and I think we should go somewhere. Are you busy tonight?"
"Ah…." I wasn't too sure if I wanted to go out.
"You're stressed out from scolding Li so much," he said, sounding cheerful at the thought. "The perfect stress reliever is to have a nice quiet dinner with me."
"I don't know," I replied skeptically.
"C'mon baby," David whined. "I know this great place. Very traditional type of restaurant. A good friend of mine works there; he'd give us a quiet private room. The food there is great, too!"
"David, I'm tired," I said, slumping into a kitchen chair. "I'm really…."
"I'm really sorry about my behavior, baby," David urged. "I really am. I just want to make it up to you, that's all."
I smiled. "That's sweet of you, but really, I'm exhausted."
"Please, Sakura," David begged. "Just this once."
I sighed, rubbing my temple before saying, "Fine." I heard a muffled shout of cheer from the other line.
"I'll pick you up in two hours," David said before kissing the receiver and hanging up.
I sat in the kitchen for ten minutes, thinking about nothing in particular. I let out a long breath before getting up and taking a quick shower. I slipped on a long, simple blue dress with a touch of flower prints going down the side. I saw I had an hour left before David picked me up, so I decided to flop back on my bed and take a small nap.
I was never used to feeling this frustrated and agitated. This emotion used up too much of my energy. In what felt like a second after I'd laid down on my bed, I heard David honk outside. I groaned and rolled off the bed. Stumbling out the front door, I greeted David with a small wave. This was going to be a long night.
It was a seemingly quick trip to the restaurant. I somehow fell asleep on ride over. Walking out, I saw it was one of those restaurants styled to look like old, Japanese, traditional houses, inside and out. David led me inside and talked quietly to one of the waiters. With a small gesture telling us to follow him, the waiter led us through the beautifully decorated restaurant to the back, where there was a row of private rooms. He led us toward the end of the row and opened the shoji back for us.
I slipped out of my shoes and struggled carefully on the low platform without ruining Tomoyo-san's dress. David followed in after me. We sat across from each other at the low table and skimmed through the ten-page menu.
I told my order to the waiter and waited patiently until David was done ordering his. He gave his menu to the waiter and turned his attention to me.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Good," I lied, forcing a wide smile on my face. David didn't even notice my strained muscles as he smiled right back.
"That's good," he replied. "I thought you'd be just completely exhausted and angry at me." My eye twitched at his response, but I just kept smiling. The waiter came in through the door with a bottle of wine. He poured David and me a glass before exiting just as quietly as he came in.
David reached over and grabbed my hand. "You don't have any idea how lucky we are to have each other," he said, staring into my half-closed eyes.
I had a gut feeling that he meant "You're so lucky to have me as a boyfriend, Sakura." I shook away the thought.
"This tastes disgusting!" a voice yelled from an adjacent room.
Both David and I turned peered at the rice paper wall thinly separating the next room from ours. That voice, I thought, peering over my shoulder. That voice was so familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
"And you're claiming to be a five star restaurant!" the voice yelled again.
Ah, bingo. Meiling. I berated myself for not being able to recognize the shrill voice earlier. Without responding to David's questioning stare, I lightly opened the shoji door to our room and peered next door, where a couple of waiters were bowing apologetically to Meiling.
She continued complaining, pointing dramatically at her food. I didn't know whether to feel pity or humor for Li-san, who sat hopelessly across the table from her.
"Is it honestly just a mere coincidence that these two end up in the same restaurant with us again?" David asked, obviously disappointed with the turn of events.
I was still feeling a little ticked off from Li-san's behavior that afternoon, and I didn't feel like having a nice big dinner with them at the moment. "Let's leave them alone," I whispered, going back into our small room and shutting the shoji back shut.
The thin rice paper walls didn't help to block out Meiling's endless complaining. I was able to tune her out, but David obviously wasn't able to, evident by the way his eye kept twitching and how he kept glancing over at the door. Finally, with a frustrated grunt, he stood up and got out of the room. "David…," I called after him, but he was already at the next room, threatening Meiling and her date, Li-san.
I scrambled after him. He never really did have a good control over his temper. I stumbled over the apologizing waiters and into the small room. David was spraying spit over an enraged Meiling as he was yelling at her to be quiet. It was quite the ironic scene, but I didn't have time to contemplate that as I grabbed his arm and pulled him back, quieting him.
"David!" I scolded, frowning and staring at him straight in the eyes.
David shook me off and averted his eyes away from mine. "Yeah," he grumbled. I bowed apologetically to the waiters and slightly in the direction of Meiling and Li-san.
I grabbed David's arm again and tugged him out of their room. I purposefully avoided meeting eyes with Li-san. I wasn't quite settled from his earlier behavior just yet. David and I went into the next room and stopped in our tracks. A small group of three was sitting at our table.
"Ah…uhm…," I said, not knowing exactly why they were settled in our room.
"Oh, David!"
David and I turned around and saw a blushing waiter scratching his head sheepishly. "I know you wanted to book a private room last minute, but I accidentally booked you this room for tomorrow night. Not tonight," the waiter said, biting his lip. "Sorry, man. My mistake."
David's twitching eye told me he was irritated by the mistake, but he smiled nonetheless. "That's no problem," he said. "We'll just take an outside table here."
The waiter sighed with relief, and, just as he looked as if he was going to lead us to a table, he paused. "The waiting time is an hour," he said regretfully, looking worried.
David better not blow up, I thought.
"Do you mind waiting an hour?" David asked me, shining a forced smile.
I did, but I didn't have the heart to say that. "It should be no problem," I replied, straining on a smile as well.
"Oh!" the waiter friend of David's said, clapping his hands together. "Or you could share a private room with someone else. If the others don't mind, of course."
I shrugged. It sounded like a better plan to me. "It's up to you, David," I said, sounding uncaring to the matter.
"If you could find someone who's willing to share the room, it's fine with me," David said.
The waiter nodded and was off to find a room.
We both stood awkwardly at the back of the restaurant, waiting for the man to come back. He did after five minutes with a smile on his face.
"There's a couple that's willing to split the cost of the room tonight," he said, motioning us to follow him.
That's how David and I ended up sharing a room with Meiling and Li-san. It was the most uncomfortable night spent in a restaurant. David and Li-san completely ignored everyone else in the room, Meiling glared at me, and I…well, I was feeling pretty hopeless.
The tension eased a notch when the food arrived, though. I actually had something to do rather than stare at the table and count the number of knots in the polished wood. I timidly chewed my food and swallowed, cautiously watching everyone else focus on their food.
As if frustrated to his limits from the tension in the room, David demanded for a bottle of the best sake the restaurant had to offer. This was definitely not going to lead to anything good.
When the sake came, David poured Li-san and himself a small glass full. He drank the small cup in one swoop. He watched Li-san's neutral face. It was a challenge.
"David…," I began, but he silenced me with a glare. This was it, I thought, moaning to myself. This was another thing they had to compete against and win.
Li-san didn't hesitate at David's silent challenge and drank the liquor in one swig. He slammed it back on the table, ready for more.
I looked to Meiling for help, but she just looked on with amusement, quietly cheering Li-san on. Well, so much for that.
Before I knew it, David and Li-san had gone through eight bottles of sake, and they were almost finishing the ninth. Li-san looked more or less stable, and David looked as if he was going to keel over any minute now.
"David! Li-san!" I said, stopping David from pouring Li-san another cupful. "Stop this! You're acting like children."
"Stop stressing, babe," David said. His eyes were unfocused, and his smile was crooked. He held the bottle in front of me. "You want some?"
I shook my head and took the bottle from him. "That's enough." David gave me a dirty look before taking it back from my hands.
"I'm old enough to take care of myself, thank you," David said sarcastically, continuing to drink with Li-san.
"Quit trying to stop them, Kinomoto," Meiling told me, twirling a toothpick in her fingers. "Let them settle their own fights."
I didn't say anything in response. As immature as it was, I did have to wait and let the two men battle it out. No matter how hard I tried to stop them, there would always be something else they had to prove themselves at.
So I sighed and let them finish off fourteen bottles of sake. I grimaced every time both men forced themselves to swallow down the alcohol and demand for more. I shook my head as David lay on the floor and moaned while Li-san hiccupped and tried to keep himself steady.
Meiling's cell phone rang, and she quickly picked it up. "Yeah?" she said and waited for a response. "No! She didn't! Yeah, okay. No problem. I'll be right there." She hung up and looked apologetically at me. "I'm so sorry, Kinomoto, but something just came up. I have to get going. I'm sorry, Syaoran," Meiling cooed to Li-san and kissed his defenseless forehead. "Well…ciao." She gave a big wave before leaving me in the small room with two drunken men.
This was not my day.
I gave an exhasperated sigh before going over to Li-san. I tapped his shoulder. "Li-san?" He turned over to me, one eye squinting.
"Kinomoto-san," he slurred. His face was an inch away from mine, and I probably would've blushed to my roots if his breath didn't smell so bad and if he wasn't so drunk. "What are you doing here?" he asked. He hiccupped and smiled. "Your eyes are green," he said, staring at my hair. "Pretty." He hiccupped again before deciding to break out into song.
I was probably blushing from the pretty eyes comment Li-san made, drunk or not. "Shh, Li-san. We're in a restaurant. You're being rude."
Li-san pouted. "But I want to sing," he whined, his eyes half-closed. He continued singing, but at a slightly lower volume. That was the best I could get from him.
"David," I said, crawling over to David's fallen form. He was knocked out completely. There would be no use in trying to wake him up. "What am I going to do?" I groaned to myself. "Li-san, can you be quiet?" I asked, looking over the table at him.
"No," he said stubbornly and continued singing.
"Excuse me, miss?"
I looked over at the doorway to see David's friend waiter standing there bashfully. I sighed with relief.
The waiter quickly scanned the room and made a hopeless face. "If it's of any help, I can take David home tonight. And…where did that other woman go?"
"She left," I answered dully at the thought of Meiling.
The waiter bit his lower lip.
"I know this man," I said, motioning to the caroling Li-san. "I'll take him home." I smiled grimly. "Do you think you could help me get him into his car?"
The waiter nodded vigorously.
I motioned for him to give me one second. "Li-san, let's get going." He stopped singing and looked questioningly at me.
"Who are you?"
"I'm someone who wants to help you, okay?" I said sweetly. "Now, where are your car keys, Li-san?"
He looked up at the ceiling for an answer. "In my pocket," he replied.
"Well, can I take a look at them?" I asked.
He nodded and fished them out of his pocket.
"Thank you," I said, and put them in my own pocket. "Now, let's go. C'mon."
I motioned for the waiter to help me. He scrambled into the room and swung one of Li-san's arms around his neck. "C'mon, sir," he said, hefting him up onto his feet.
I took Li-san's other arm and led the way out. It took ten minutes to get Li-san's car from valet parking and fasten the teacher into the passenger's seat. I tipped the waiter who helped us. "And you could take money from David's wallet for the check," I said, shining a wide smile.
The waiter nodded with a skeptical grin and waved as I steered out of the parking lot.
"Where are we going?" Li-san asked, sticking his head out the window.
"Home," I replied. Li-san was a completely different drunk, and, as tired and frustrated as I felt, his behavior was amusing to watch.
He continued to sing and talk about the most random things on the way to my house. I couldn't trust him in his apartment alone. He would have a terrible hangover tomorrow.
I parked in the driveway and put the shift into park. "We're here."
Li-san didn't say anything. I looked over at him. He was staring at me.
"Let's go inside, Li-san," I said.
He still didn't say anything but continued to stare.
"What's wrong?" I asked. He pursed his lips into a crooked smile.
What he did next completely took me off guard. In less than a second, he moved across to my side of the car and kissed me. My immediate reaction was to back away, but his hand was cradling my head from behind and wouldn't let me. My thoughts were a complete mess, and I didn't know what to do. His breath stunk of liquor, but his lips were soft and demanding. I moaned softly against his lips and found my hands were crawling around his neck. Li-san flicked his tongue against my lips, asking me to open them. I did so without hesitation. I pulled him closer to me, kissing him back furiously, hungering for more.
Oh, Kami-sama, this was wrong. Earth to Kinomoto Sakura! My eyes snapped open, and I abruptly pushed Li-san back into his seat. My cheeks were flushed, I was panting for breath, and my heart was racing. Li-san didn't look hurt or confused; he just pouted.
"I'm hungry," he said, leaning his head back in his seat. I did the same. What was I thinking? I slapped my forehead in disbelief. Oh, Kami-sama, what was I thinking?
"Don't hit yourself," Li-san told me.
"Li-san, why'd you kiss me?" I asked desperately.
He shrugged. "You're pretty." I groaned. A completely shallow answer.
"Okay, you're going to pretend like it never happened," I said, as if talking to child. "Is that too hard?"
He shook his head.
"Good," I said with a satisfied nod. "Let's go eat something then."
Li-san clapped his hands together with glee. What, oh, what was I going to do with this man?
We got out of the car, and I dragged him into the house. 'Nii-chan gave me the horrified look as I came into the house with a drunken man.
"Who's this?" He asked, pointing at Li-san with a rolled up newspaper.
"Li-san?" Tomoyo-san came into the hall.
"Yo!" Li-san said with a wave and a hiccup. He stumbled over his feet and fell the ground.
"Li-san!" Tomoyo-san and I exclaimed, trying to get him to sit up.
"He's the teacher I work under," I told 'Nii-chan, grimacing at his disapproving look. "It's a long story. I promise to tell you later, okay? Can you just help me get him into my room?"
'Nii-chan stared at me. I blushed. "No! No! I'm going to share rooms with Tomoyo-san! There aren't any guest rooms left for Li-san!"
'Nii-chan sighed with relief and hefted the smaller man around his shoulder.
"Where we going?" Li-san asked with a giggle.
"To sleep," 'Nii-chan growled.
"Thank you," I whispered after him.
"You know you have a lot of explaining to do," Tomoyo-san said with a disgruntled grunt. I nodded. It has been a long night, and, from the looks of it, it was going to be a long morning as well. Li-san just gave the most horrible first impression to 'Nii-chan and was going to have a horrible hangover in the morning. Oh, goody, I can't wait.
~*~*~*~*~
T.Anjel: Next chapter sounds like fun.
C-Mage: -.o David's gotten so disgusting, ne? Ooo, our first kiss scene. *o* I so can't wait for the next chapter! I wonder what happens?! *T.A.-chan smacks C-Mage* *C-Mage rubs head* Ow....
C-Mage: Yays! Another chappy! We're going to torture you all with how slowly things go. *pulls Meiling pose* Ohhohohohohoho!
Standard Disclaimers Apply: Everyone seems to be lovin' David! Isn't he the greatest? We know he is, that's why he's all ours! But…the others are not.
Learn to Love Me – Chapter 13 – Sakura Plays Referee
The self-defense club ended quickly enough, with the kids panting for breath and inwardly congratulating themselves for either improving or for at least trying. The kids were instructed to fold away the mats and pack up the padding and other equipment used for training. "Same time next week!" I called out as the members filed out of the gym.
Without a second to lose, I swiveled to face Li-san. He grimaced. I plopped my fists on my hips and shifted my weight to one leg. "That was extremely unnecessary!" I began.
"I know," he quickly replied, defending himself as best he could.
I honestly didn't want to have this conversation, but when it came to dealing with David, Li-san was such a child. "I know you don't like David-kun," I said, toning my voice down. "But I would appreciate it if you didn't act so recklessly in front of the students!" Li-san seemed taken aback by my words. Did I say something wrong? I shook away my thoughts and continued.
"I don't understand why you hate him so much, anyway! He's a good man!" Li-san snorted. I huffed and frowned. "Can't you two get along?"
"No," he immediately answered. "Look, Kinomoto-san, as much as I love being lectured by you, can we get this over with? I have somewhere to go today."
I fumed. And let me tell you, I rarely fume. I stomped my foot down, demanding he listened to me. "Fine, I don't care if you don't get along with David-kun, it's not like I'm your mediator. But you could at least show a bit of respect, especially in front of the students. As a model for these kids, the first thing you should be showing is respect," I said, enraged at his ignorance and selfishness. The nerve of him to be acting as if what he did wasn't wrong! I growled, not able to put my frustrated thoughts in words.
I just stomped my foot again, finalizing my speech, and turned to leave. I didn't bother to look at Li-san's face. It didn't matter. I was too angry to even think straight. Was I overreacting? Probably, but I didn't care at the moment.
I stormed out of the gym and outside to the parking lot. A cool breeze reminded me the coming of the cold weather. I rubbed my hands against my arms and got in the car. I started the engine and noticed something on the windshield. A note? I took the note from the safety of the wipers and saw that it was written from David.
"I'm sorry I was acting so immaturely," I read aloud. "I promise never to do that again. Forgive me, love. Hugs and kisses from David." I didn't know whether to be annoyed or pleased by the note. Something inside me tugged at my gut saying, 'Ah, what a fake.'
"But he apologized," I argued, putting my seatbelt on and backing out of my parking space. "Unlike Li-san." I puffed my cheeks at the thought of the teacher before streaking out of school territory.
Once I arrived home, Tomoyo-san handed me the phone. "David called," she informed me with a neutral face. I took the phone and dialed his memorized number.
"Hello?"
"David? Did you call?" I asked, recognizing his voice.
"Hey, honey. Did you get my note?" he immediately asked.
"Mm," I replied affirmatively. He waited for an extra second. He must've expected me to squeal at his affectionate and caring consideration and praise him for being so thoughtful. Not happening, I thought. I was still too irritated from Li-san's behavior.
After not getting a reply from me, David continued without pushing the subject. "It's the weekend, and I think we should go somewhere. Are you busy tonight?"
"Ah…." I wasn't too sure if I wanted to go out.
"You're stressed out from scolding Li so much," he said, sounding cheerful at the thought. "The perfect stress reliever is to have a nice quiet dinner with me."
"I don't know," I replied skeptically.
"C'mon baby," David whined. "I know this great place. Very traditional type of restaurant. A good friend of mine works there; he'd give us a quiet private room. The food there is great, too!"
"David, I'm tired," I said, slumping into a kitchen chair. "I'm really…."
"I'm really sorry about my behavior, baby," David urged. "I really am. I just want to make it up to you, that's all."
I smiled. "That's sweet of you, but really, I'm exhausted."
"Please, Sakura," David begged. "Just this once."
I sighed, rubbing my temple before saying, "Fine." I heard a muffled shout of cheer from the other line.
"I'll pick you up in two hours," David said before kissing the receiver and hanging up.
I sat in the kitchen for ten minutes, thinking about nothing in particular. I let out a long breath before getting up and taking a quick shower. I slipped on a long, simple blue dress with a touch of flower prints going down the side. I saw I had an hour left before David picked me up, so I decided to flop back on my bed and take a small nap.
I was never used to feeling this frustrated and agitated. This emotion used up too much of my energy. In what felt like a second after I'd laid down on my bed, I heard David honk outside. I groaned and rolled off the bed. Stumbling out the front door, I greeted David with a small wave. This was going to be a long night.
It was a seemingly quick trip to the restaurant. I somehow fell asleep on ride over. Walking out, I saw it was one of those restaurants styled to look like old, Japanese, traditional houses, inside and out. David led me inside and talked quietly to one of the waiters. With a small gesture telling us to follow him, the waiter led us through the beautifully decorated restaurant to the back, where there was a row of private rooms. He led us toward the end of the row and opened the shoji back for us.
I slipped out of my shoes and struggled carefully on the low platform without ruining Tomoyo-san's dress. David followed in after me. We sat across from each other at the low table and skimmed through the ten-page menu.
I told my order to the waiter and waited patiently until David was done ordering his. He gave his menu to the waiter and turned his attention to me.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Good," I lied, forcing a wide smile on my face. David didn't even notice my strained muscles as he smiled right back.
"That's good," he replied. "I thought you'd be just completely exhausted and angry at me." My eye twitched at his response, but I just kept smiling. The waiter came in through the door with a bottle of wine. He poured David and me a glass before exiting just as quietly as he came in.
David reached over and grabbed my hand. "You don't have any idea how lucky we are to have each other," he said, staring into my half-closed eyes.
I had a gut feeling that he meant "You're so lucky to have me as a boyfriend, Sakura." I shook away the thought.
"This tastes disgusting!" a voice yelled from an adjacent room.
Both David and I turned peered at the rice paper wall thinly separating the next room from ours. That voice, I thought, peering over my shoulder. That voice was so familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
"And you're claiming to be a five star restaurant!" the voice yelled again.
Ah, bingo. Meiling. I berated myself for not being able to recognize the shrill voice earlier. Without responding to David's questioning stare, I lightly opened the shoji door to our room and peered next door, where a couple of waiters were bowing apologetically to Meiling.
She continued complaining, pointing dramatically at her food. I didn't know whether to feel pity or humor for Li-san, who sat hopelessly across the table from her.
"Is it honestly just a mere coincidence that these two end up in the same restaurant with us again?" David asked, obviously disappointed with the turn of events.
I was still feeling a little ticked off from Li-san's behavior that afternoon, and I didn't feel like having a nice big dinner with them at the moment. "Let's leave them alone," I whispered, going back into our small room and shutting the shoji back shut.
The thin rice paper walls didn't help to block out Meiling's endless complaining. I was able to tune her out, but David obviously wasn't able to, evident by the way his eye kept twitching and how he kept glancing over at the door. Finally, with a frustrated grunt, he stood up and got out of the room. "David…," I called after him, but he was already at the next room, threatening Meiling and her date, Li-san.
I scrambled after him. He never really did have a good control over his temper. I stumbled over the apologizing waiters and into the small room. David was spraying spit over an enraged Meiling as he was yelling at her to be quiet. It was quite the ironic scene, but I didn't have time to contemplate that as I grabbed his arm and pulled him back, quieting him.
"David!" I scolded, frowning and staring at him straight in the eyes.
David shook me off and averted his eyes away from mine. "Yeah," he grumbled. I bowed apologetically to the waiters and slightly in the direction of Meiling and Li-san.
I grabbed David's arm again and tugged him out of their room. I purposefully avoided meeting eyes with Li-san. I wasn't quite settled from his earlier behavior just yet. David and I went into the next room and stopped in our tracks. A small group of three was sitting at our table.
"Ah…uhm…," I said, not knowing exactly why they were settled in our room.
"Oh, David!"
David and I turned around and saw a blushing waiter scratching his head sheepishly. "I know you wanted to book a private room last minute, but I accidentally booked you this room for tomorrow night. Not tonight," the waiter said, biting his lip. "Sorry, man. My mistake."
David's twitching eye told me he was irritated by the mistake, but he smiled nonetheless. "That's no problem," he said. "We'll just take an outside table here."
The waiter sighed with relief, and, just as he looked as if he was going to lead us to a table, he paused. "The waiting time is an hour," he said regretfully, looking worried.
David better not blow up, I thought.
"Do you mind waiting an hour?" David asked me, shining a forced smile.
I did, but I didn't have the heart to say that. "It should be no problem," I replied, straining on a smile as well.
"Oh!" the waiter friend of David's said, clapping his hands together. "Or you could share a private room with someone else. If the others don't mind, of course."
I shrugged. It sounded like a better plan to me. "It's up to you, David," I said, sounding uncaring to the matter.
"If you could find someone who's willing to share the room, it's fine with me," David said.
The waiter nodded and was off to find a room.
We both stood awkwardly at the back of the restaurant, waiting for the man to come back. He did after five minutes with a smile on his face.
"There's a couple that's willing to split the cost of the room tonight," he said, motioning us to follow him.
That's how David and I ended up sharing a room with Meiling and Li-san. It was the most uncomfortable night spent in a restaurant. David and Li-san completely ignored everyone else in the room, Meiling glared at me, and I…well, I was feeling pretty hopeless.
The tension eased a notch when the food arrived, though. I actually had something to do rather than stare at the table and count the number of knots in the polished wood. I timidly chewed my food and swallowed, cautiously watching everyone else focus on their food.
As if frustrated to his limits from the tension in the room, David demanded for a bottle of the best sake the restaurant had to offer. This was definitely not going to lead to anything good.
When the sake came, David poured Li-san and himself a small glass full. He drank the small cup in one swoop. He watched Li-san's neutral face. It was a challenge.
"David…," I began, but he silenced me with a glare. This was it, I thought, moaning to myself. This was another thing they had to compete against and win.
Li-san didn't hesitate at David's silent challenge and drank the liquor in one swig. He slammed it back on the table, ready for more.
I looked to Meiling for help, but she just looked on with amusement, quietly cheering Li-san on. Well, so much for that.
Before I knew it, David and Li-san had gone through eight bottles of sake, and they were almost finishing the ninth. Li-san looked more or less stable, and David looked as if he was going to keel over any minute now.
"David! Li-san!" I said, stopping David from pouring Li-san another cupful. "Stop this! You're acting like children."
"Stop stressing, babe," David said. His eyes were unfocused, and his smile was crooked. He held the bottle in front of me. "You want some?"
I shook my head and took the bottle from him. "That's enough." David gave me a dirty look before taking it back from my hands.
"I'm old enough to take care of myself, thank you," David said sarcastically, continuing to drink with Li-san.
"Quit trying to stop them, Kinomoto," Meiling told me, twirling a toothpick in her fingers. "Let them settle their own fights."
I didn't say anything in response. As immature as it was, I did have to wait and let the two men battle it out. No matter how hard I tried to stop them, there would always be something else they had to prove themselves at.
So I sighed and let them finish off fourteen bottles of sake. I grimaced every time both men forced themselves to swallow down the alcohol and demand for more. I shook my head as David lay on the floor and moaned while Li-san hiccupped and tried to keep himself steady.
Meiling's cell phone rang, and she quickly picked it up. "Yeah?" she said and waited for a response. "No! She didn't! Yeah, okay. No problem. I'll be right there." She hung up and looked apologetically at me. "I'm so sorry, Kinomoto, but something just came up. I have to get going. I'm sorry, Syaoran," Meiling cooed to Li-san and kissed his defenseless forehead. "Well…ciao." She gave a big wave before leaving me in the small room with two drunken men.
This was not my day.
I gave an exhasperated sigh before going over to Li-san. I tapped his shoulder. "Li-san?" He turned over to me, one eye squinting.
"Kinomoto-san," he slurred. His face was an inch away from mine, and I probably would've blushed to my roots if his breath didn't smell so bad and if he wasn't so drunk. "What are you doing here?" he asked. He hiccupped and smiled. "Your eyes are green," he said, staring at my hair. "Pretty." He hiccupped again before deciding to break out into song.
I was probably blushing from the pretty eyes comment Li-san made, drunk or not. "Shh, Li-san. We're in a restaurant. You're being rude."
Li-san pouted. "But I want to sing," he whined, his eyes half-closed. He continued singing, but at a slightly lower volume. That was the best I could get from him.
"David," I said, crawling over to David's fallen form. He was knocked out completely. There would be no use in trying to wake him up. "What am I going to do?" I groaned to myself. "Li-san, can you be quiet?" I asked, looking over the table at him.
"No," he said stubbornly and continued singing.
"Excuse me, miss?"
I looked over at the doorway to see David's friend waiter standing there bashfully. I sighed with relief.
The waiter quickly scanned the room and made a hopeless face. "If it's of any help, I can take David home tonight. And…where did that other woman go?"
"She left," I answered dully at the thought of Meiling.
The waiter bit his lower lip.
"I know this man," I said, motioning to the caroling Li-san. "I'll take him home." I smiled grimly. "Do you think you could help me get him into his car?"
The waiter nodded vigorously.
I motioned for him to give me one second. "Li-san, let's get going." He stopped singing and looked questioningly at me.
"Who are you?"
"I'm someone who wants to help you, okay?" I said sweetly. "Now, where are your car keys, Li-san?"
He looked up at the ceiling for an answer. "In my pocket," he replied.
"Well, can I take a look at them?" I asked.
He nodded and fished them out of his pocket.
"Thank you," I said, and put them in my own pocket. "Now, let's go. C'mon."
I motioned for the waiter to help me. He scrambled into the room and swung one of Li-san's arms around his neck. "C'mon, sir," he said, hefting him up onto his feet.
I took Li-san's other arm and led the way out. It took ten minutes to get Li-san's car from valet parking and fasten the teacher into the passenger's seat. I tipped the waiter who helped us. "And you could take money from David's wallet for the check," I said, shining a wide smile.
The waiter nodded with a skeptical grin and waved as I steered out of the parking lot.
"Where are we going?" Li-san asked, sticking his head out the window.
"Home," I replied. Li-san was a completely different drunk, and, as tired and frustrated as I felt, his behavior was amusing to watch.
He continued to sing and talk about the most random things on the way to my house. I couldn't trust him in his apartment alone. He would have a terrible hangover tomorrow.
I parked in the driveway and put the shift into park. "We're here."
Li-san didn't say anything. I looked over at him. He was staring at me.
"Let's go inside, Li-san," I said.
He still didn't say anything but continued to stare.
"What's wrong?" I asked. He pursed his lips into a crooked smile.
What he did next completely took me off guard. In less than a second, he moved across to my side of the car and kissed me. My immediate reaction was to back away, but his hand was cradling my head from behind and wouldn't let me. My thoughts were a complete mess, and I didn't know what to do. His breath stunk of liquor, but his lips were soft and demanding. I moaned softly against his lips and found my hands were crawling around his neck. Li-san flicked his tongue against my lips, asking me to open them. I did so without hesitation. I pulled him closer to me, kissing him back furiously, hungering for more.
Oh, Kami-sama, this was wrong. Earth to Kinomoto Sakura! My eyes snapped open, and I abruptly pushed Li-san back into his seat. My cheeks were flushed, I was panting for breath, and my heart was racing. Li-san didn't look hurt or confused; he just pouted.
"I'm hungry," he said, leaning his head back in his seat. I did the same. What was I thinking? I slapped my forehead in disbelief. Oh, Kami-sama, what was I thinking?
"Don't hit yourself," Li-san told me.
"Li-san, why'd you kiss me?" I asked desperately.
He shrugged. "You're pretty." I groaned. A completely shallow answer.
"Okay, you're going to pretend like it never happened," I said, as if talking to child. "Is that too hard?"
He shook his head.
"Good," I said with a satisfied nod. "Let's go eat something then."
Li-san clapped his hands together with glee. What, oh, what was I going to do with this man?
We got out of the car, and I dragged him into the house. 'Nii-chan gave me the horrified look as I came into the house with a drunken man.
"Who's this?" He asked, pointing at Li-san with a rolled up newspaper.
"Li-san?" Tomoyo-san came into the hall.
"Yo!" Li-san said with a wave and a hiccup. He stumbled over his feet and fell the ground.
"Li-san!" Tomoyo-san and I exclaimed, trying to get him to sit up.
"He's the teacher I work under," I told 'Nii-chan, grimacing at his disapproving look. "It's a long story. I promise to tell you later, okay? Can you just help me get him into my room?"
'Nii-chan stared at me. I blushed. "No! No! I'm going to share rooms with Tomoyo-san! There aren't any guest rooms left for Li-san!"
'Nii-chan sighed with relief and hefted the smaller man around his shoulder.
"Where we going?" Li-san asked with a giggle.
"To sleep," 'Nii-chan growled.
"Thank you," I whispered after him.
"You know you have a lot of explaining to do," Tomoyo-san said with a disgruntled grunt. I nodded. It has been a long night, and, from the looks of it, it was going to be a long morning as well. Li-san just gave the most horrible first impression to 'Nii-chan and was going to have a horrible hangover in the morning. Oh, goody, I can't wait.
~*~*~*~*~
T.Anjel: Next chapter sounds like fun.
C-Mage: -.o David's gotten so disgusting, ne? Ooo, our first kiss scene. *o* I so can't wait for the next chapter! I wonder what happens?! *T.A.-chan smacks C-Mage* *C-Mage rubs head* Ow....