"Dude, I'm pretty sure Kairi and I are being followed!"
"Wait, what?" I have a feeling I'm gonna be on the phone for a while.
"Okay, so I'll start from the beginning," Sora starts, still speaking in that hushed tone. Yep, it's gonna be a while. I sit down on one of the barstools at the island in anticipation of the long rant I'm probably gonna be listening to."So after seeing you at the flower shop, I went straight over to Stormfall, the restaurant me and Kairi are at—"
"Damn, you went all out for this," I observe. That restaurant is pretty expensive. Cheapest appetizer is like, 1,200 munny.
"Yeah, I've been saving up for a while. But listen," he snaps. "So, we get here and get seated and all that jazz. Got our menus and Kairi started talking about how much she loves oyster, and she thought that it would make for an awesome appetizer—"
"An aphrodisiac? Girl knows what she's doing." I'm pretty impressed.
"Will you just listen?!" he barks. "Anyway, we decide to get the oysters, even though they were kinda pricey. But, hey, Kairi wanted them, so it's okay! I've been saving up, after all."
"You already said that," I point out.
"Well, then stop interrupting!" he exclaims. "Anyway," he goes back to whispering, "while we were waiting for the oysters to come, I noticed this guy sitting a few tables down from us. He looked really familiar, but I couldn't remember where I saw him. That was, until Kairi started ogling the lilies I bought for her. Remember when I was leaving the flower shop and I bumped into that weird red-headed guy? Well, he's the one sitting at the table!"
"Just 'cause you see a person in two places doesn't mean that they're following you," I reassure him. Still, thinking back…something definitely did seem off about that guy.
"Yeah, that's what Kairi said, too. But, after our oysters came and we started eating, we looked over at that table and guess what? There was another guy there! Or, rather, still there. He's huge, bald, and got these creepy looking sunglasses. And, I know you're probably thinking something along the lines of, 'What the heck does that have to do anything?'" Yep, I am. "But, when I pointed him out to Kairi, she flipped! She bumped into baldy on her way, too. Apparently she, like, dropped her bracelet and he picked it up for her or something."
"Okay, so both of you ran into one of the guys sitting at the table. But what does that prove? I mean, it still could be a coincidence," I reason.
"Yeah, but they keep looking at us!"
"Don't you guys keep looking back at them? Maybe they're weirded out by you."
"I don't know, man. They're giving me weird vibes."
"Maybe you're just being paranoid. I get it, bro, you're nervous about tonight. Just relax, it'll all be okay."
"No, it's not that at all!" he retorts.
"Well, I guess we'll have to ask Kairi's opinion on that. Where is she, anyway?"
"Kairi actually agrees with me." Oh, damn. If Kairi's on alert, then this actually could be a serious problem. "She's in the bathroom right now."
"Okay, well, the theory is that these guys are following you 'cause Kairi's dad wants to make sure you two aren't up to any funny business, right?" I lean back on the counter, waiting for him to reply. "Sora, I can't see whether you're nodding or not. You gotta answer 'yes' or 'no' over the phone."
"Yes, Riku. I'm pretty sure these are my future father-in-law's henchmen, yes," he hisses. Alright, gotta think quick on my feet…oh, I've got it!
"Hey, go to the bathroom," I suggest.
"Uh..okay, why?" he asks, sounding pretty confused.
"Kairi's in the bathroom, too, right now. Albeit, the girl's bathroom, but If both of you head off in the same direction, it'll look like you guys are up to something. If those guys are really there to keep an eye on you, they might follow you in there."
"And if they do follow me?"
"We figure it out from there," I respond. I'm pretty sure we're not gonna have to worry about anything from here on out, though.
"Alright, just stay on the line with me. If I say…chunky monkey! If I say chunky monkey, that means one or both of them's on my tail, got it?"
"Whatever you say, bro," I roll my eyes. Hopefully, this won't take too long. Then again, I guess this is more entertaining than whatever cartoon I'd be stuck watching in the living room if I were to rejoin Amaya and Haru.
"Hm, I'm like halfway to the bathroom, but it doesn't look like anyone's following me," Sora observes. He's talking at a normal volume now.
"Told you."
"Well, ya never know, they could be stealthy. Maybe they've got, like, a hidden camera or something in the bathroom."
"Even if they do, it's not like they're gonna catch you doing anything. Just don't act suspicious."
"Right. Well, I'm in here, and neither of them is. But, maybe they're waiting to come in so that they don't look suspicious! Just…stay on the line with me for a couple of minutes, okay?"
"What the hell am I supposed to do if they do show up?" I'm all the way at his house. Not really much I can do.
"You're good at thinking on your feet! Just give me a suggestion as to what I should do or something."
"The things I do for you, man," I sigh.
"Hey, if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have plans for tonight, anyway!"
"Alright, I guess you got a point there."
"You know, it's a good thing you told me to go to the bathroom. I kinda needed to take a leak, anyway."
"Okay, I'll talk to you later then." To be honest, this conversation was shorter than I expected it to be.
"No, wait, stay on the line! You never know!" he panics.
"Dude…that's just weird." It really, really is. "Besides, I'm pretty sure they're not gonna fight you while you got your dong out. That's, like, the cardinal rule when it comes to beating on other guys." Why am I even having this conversation?
"Come on, we talk while one of us is in the bathroom at each other's houses all the time. This isn't any different than that!"
The things I do for my best friend…
"Alright," I sigh, giving in.
"Awesome!" he exclaims cheerily.
I hear something shifting around on the other line. I'm not even gonna imagine what it is. It's actually pretty awkwardly quiet right now—
"Wait, Riku, you said oysters were…aphrodisoics, right?" Sora asks, slow to get all the words out.
"Yeah, aphrodisiacs. They're like…sexual performance enhancers. Like I said, pretty smart move on Kairi's part," I explain.
"Oh, I see…" he pauses. "Riku…serious question…"
"…Yeah?" I'm a little concerned, to be honest. He sounds beyond flabbergasted right now.
"How the hell do you pee with a boner?!"
…I…I can't help him out with everything.
"Yeah, bye—"
"DUDE, I REALLY HAVE TO GO! HOW DO I DO THIS?!" he yells. "Besides, I can't walk out like this!"
Sora really is something else.
"Well, first off, how the hell did you not notice?!" It's not like he's that small. He'd definitely feel it in his pants. I mean, wait. What? Forget I know that. Forget I know that.
Oh, come on, what else do you expect from two guys that have shared a locker room since…you know what? I'm not even gonna finish that thought. Forget I know that.
"I mean, I'm pretty high on adrenaline right now, with all the crap that's going on…anyway, that's not the issue! Riku, what do I do?!" he continues to panic.
"I-I don't know…try, like, going into one of the stalls and doing a handstand on the toilet or something," I suggest. The stalls are probably too small for him to lie across the toilet on his stomach and…well, you get the idea.
"Dude, public restroom! I'm not touching those toilets with my hands! Any other ideas?"
"I-I don't know…like, wait for it to…like soften up, and stuff?" What am I doing? What is this? Why am I having this conversation right now?
"How long am I supposed to wait?!"
"How the hell am I supposed to know? I don't know how your dick works!" I bark back. That is a fact. "It'll probably take less time if you, like…I don't know, picture something that turns you off…"
"Like what?!"
Do I really have to spell everything out for this kid?
"I don't know, like…picture your grandparents getting it on or something!"
"What?" I hear Amaya's voice. I look up, and sure enough, she's leaning in the doorway, dumbfounded expression on her face.
"Uh…" Awkward.
"It's not working!" Sora whines over the phone. Instead of replying, I get up off the barstool and walk up to his sister.
"Here, you deal with your brother," I deadpan as I hand her the phone. She raises an eyebrow at me and looks even more bewildered than she did two seconds ago.
"Hello? Sora?" she says. "Chunky monkey? What's that supposed to mean? S-Sora? Hello?!" She pulls the phone away from her ear and takes a look at the screen. "Huh, he hung up…"
Ah, shit.
"Is everything okay, Riku? Sora just hung up on me, and he sounded pretty panicked," Amaya observes, seemingly concerned herself.
Well, he used the code word, which means that one or both of those sketchy guys ended up coming into the bathroom. That, compounded with Sora's little predicament, I'd say…
"Yeah, he's totally fine." She raises an eyebrow at me and places her hands on her hips. Looks like I got more explaining to do.
" And 'Imagine your grandparents getting it on?' 'Chunky monkey?'" she repeats, her voice in a hushed tone. I almost forgot, Haru's in the other room. Gotta preserve her innocence and all that crap. I glance over Amaya's shoulder to take a peek at her; looks like she's distracted by the show, but I guess you never know.
"Right, I can explain that," I reply, keeping my voice just as low. Gotta think quick on my feet. I'll start off with the truth, and, hey, if necessary, I can make stuff up on the way. Besides, the best lies are the ones that don't deviate too far from the truth, right? "Well, you know what he and Kairi are up to tonight, right?"
"Oh, right! You know, I can't believe they didn't do it sooner. I know Sora's scared of Kairi's dad finding out and all, but you'd think he'd push for trying to do it in the backseat of the car, or that corner of the library everyone does it in—"
"Oh, that theology section of DI High's library?" Brings back some good memories. Oh, high school, how I miss thee and your simpler times. Kind of.
"Yeah! Although, apparently someone got caught in there this year, so now there's a lot more staff in the library patrolling which makes it pretty much impossible to do it there." Oh, yeah, I heard about that. Selphie and this kid Irvine were a little too loud and…well, you can imagine the rest. "But that's beside the point. Anyway, whenever I'd suggest any of that to him—and I told him about the library before that incident—he'd talk about how he wanted their first time to be special and all. Which, I mean, I totally get but…a year? I'd be over that in, like, two months max."
"Amen, sister," I say as I hold my hand up. She smirks as she gives me the high-five. And now, to steer this conversation slightly of the point even further."You know, to be honest, I don't even know why the mayor's worried at all about Sora. He's like, one of those disgustingly safe boyfriends from the '50's or something. I'm pretty surprised Kairi hasn't taken more initiative."
"Exactly!" Her voice is back to a normal volume. "So, I take it that he was just really, really nervous?"
"Yep! And a little…too excited, I guess," I shrug. Again, not lying.
"Oh, so was that what the…grandparent suggestion was for?" she cringes.
"Yep." Not lying. "And then 'chunky monkey' is just an inside thing." Again, not lying. "Maybe he hung up since he flipped out when he heard your voice?" Speculation, technically speaking.
"Hm, maybe," she muses. "I'm sure he'll be fine! They really do love each other, after all. But, you should probably check up on him later…I don't want him getting too psyched out."
"Yeah, I got it covered," I nod. Probably, anyway.
"Awesome! Um, anyway, I actually came in here to ask you if you could do a quick favor for me?"
"Whaddaya need?"
"Could you watch Haru for a couple of seconds, while I run up the stairs and get a couple of things?"
Watch a five-year-old watch TV for a few minutes? How hard could that be?
"Yeah, don't worry about it," I reply.
"Thank you! You're the best!" She gives me a quick peck before turning back into the living room and leaving to go up the stairs. I can hear her footsteps as she clambers up. I look through the doorway to see Haru. She's just laying on the brown leather couch, cuddling with that plush doll and watching her cartoon while sucking her thumb.
I gotta admit…that's kind of cute.
I feel like I need to punch a wall right now or something to restore my manhood.
Ahem, anyway, going back to the issues I've got on hand right now. Apparently, judging from Amaya's reactions and Sora's choice of words, he is—or was—in the bathroom, wang out, boner, panicking, and got caught in that state by these supposed henchmen.
So maybe telling Amaya that he was 'fine' was a straight-up lie.
He can handle himself, though, right?
…Yeah, I should probably call to make sure he's okay.
I look back at my phone and go to my recent calls and hit Sora's name, hold it up to my ear and listen to the dial tone. I watch images flash across the television. There's some ad for shit you can spray on things to keep them from leaking. Pay an extra 200 munny and you can get another bottle. You know, I could use some of that stuff. My rowboat started cracking a little on the side. Haven't been able to use it for a while since I've been meaning to get it fixed.
"Your call has been forwarded to an automated messaging system," says the monotone robotic voicemail lady. Sora didn't pick up.
Well, there are two people on that date. Time to dial Kairi's number. I look through my contacts and click on her name, and hold the phone up to my ear once again. Looks like the cartoon's back on. Oh, I remember this one. It's about some really obnoxious sponge that looks like cheese that lives under the sea in a pineapple. Television gold.
"Hello?" I hear Kairi's voice on the line.
"Hey, Kairi," I reply. "Yo, everything okay? I was just talking to Sora, and he was…freaking out." I keep it vague, since I don't wanna embarrass the poor kid on his special night with her, as much as I want to.
"Yeah, everything's fine!" She sounds pretty calm.
"Sora back from the bathroom?"
"Yep! I don't really know what you're so worried about, but whatever it is, you don't need to! We're doing fine!" Now, see the thing with Kairi is…I can never tell if this girl's lying or not. It's especially hard over the phone, when I can't see her face or read her body language. One thing I do know about her, though, is that she is not stupid. She probably knows whatever's up, especially with Sora back—he's not a very difficult person to read. They most likely have it under control, I guess.
"Alright. But if you need me, don't hesitate to call," I respond.
"Yeah, yeah, we're big kids. We got it. Enjoy your night, Riku, and see you soon!" she chimes.
"Yeah, bye." I hang up.
Well, that's that. I'm sure they'll be fine. Probably.
I don't know, I still have a weird feeling about it.
"Riku!" I hear Haru call. She's sitting up, gesturing for me to come over and sit with her on the couch. Well, it's my responsibility to watch her right now, anyway. Wonder what's holding Amaya up.
"'Sup, kid?" I say, as I go over to sit down with her.
"PuPu and I were watching the show, but it's over now," she laments. I look over at the TV screen and, sure enough, the credits are rolling. Suddenly, the screen goes black. I look over to see Haru pressing the 'power' button on the remote. "PuPu said I should talk to you!"
Oh, right. That wretched doll.
"Oh, okay. What does…er, PuPu want to talk about?" When in Rome, do as the Romans do, right?
What is Rome, anyway?
"Hm…" She looks the doll straight in the eyes and begins to nod. Freaky shit, I tell you. "She wants you to choose!"
"Um, okay." What does a nineteen-year-old guy talk about with a five-year-old girl who's been disillusioned into thinking that her likely voodooed doll is her friend? Hm…well, this is the best I've got: "How did you and PuPu become such good…friends?"
Cut me some slack, this conversation could have become way stupider.
Haru's eyes light up as she sits up taller on the couch, head turned towards me while she swings her little legs, PuPu in her lap.
"Sora brought PuPu home for Amaya after the Island Festival because she thought she was cute. But, since Amaya was so busy with school, PuPu would get lonely, so I started playing with her! Amaya saw how much we liked each other, so she let me take care of her!"
"Interesting," I admit. I mean, as interesting as a little girl's life probably gets, right?
"PuPu says she likes you, though!" That's…actually really reassuring. "She likes that you bought Amaya flowers. She wants to spend more time with you." I could probably do without that though.
Suddenly, I hear the doorbell ring.
"Pizza!" Haru shouts, as she jumps off the couch. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot about that.
"I'll get it," I tell her as I get up from the couch. She nods at me and starts waltzing around with PuPu.
As I reach the doorway to the foyer, I hear footsteps rushing down the stairs. I look up to see Amaya coming as I reach for the knob of the front door.
"Coming!" she pants. "Sorry, I lost track of time organizing my sock drawer!"
"…Organizing your sock drawer?" I reply incredulously. Well, just saying, that's a little obnoxious.
"Well, yeah. So, I went up to grab my phone and wallet," she holds the two up in each one of her hands to show me, "but I saw that my sock drawer was open, and it looked super messy, and I knew you were keeping an eye on Haru…so, I guess I kind of took advantage of that. Sorry about that!" She looks pretty sincere about the apology but…
"You're a real piece of work, Amaya," I scoff, as I open up the door for the pizza delivery guy. I hear her chuckling behind me.
"Hey guys!" says someone with a familiar energetic voice I open up the door. I take a look and, sure enough, it's Tidus.
"Hey, man," I greet back. "It's been while. I didn't know you worked for Pizza Shack!"
"Yeah, just got the job a couple of days ago for the summer. Gotta make some money before going off to college, y'know?" he beams. "You hanging out with Sora tonight? This is his house, right?"
"Yeah, it's his house, but he ditched me so I'm wasting away in all this estrogen over here," I gesture over to Amaya. She just rolls her eyes at me.
"Oh, yeah, aren't you guys dating now?" he asks. "Selphie said something about that."
"Who hasn't Selphie told?" Seriously. Stella, Tidus, and heck, even my own dad. (He came home a couple weeks back from work and told me he ran into Selphie on the way back; apparently she congratulated him or something. I just ended up getting the sex talk. For the first time from him, might I add. Yep.) Amaya just giggles and nods her head.
"Yeah, we're staying in tonight, babysitting," she explains.
"You're the best, PuPu!" I hear Haru cry from the living room.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot you guys had a little sister! How old is she now?" Tidus asks.
"She's turning six soon!" Amaya beams, like a proud mother. "Starting kindergarten this year!"
"That's awesome! So, I'd totally love to stay and chat with you guys, but I have a few more deliveries to make and I'm running kinda short on time," Tidus states apologetically.
"Don't worry, we totally understand!" Amaya replies.
"Alright, well here's your order: three personal pizzas and sides of breadsticks for each!" He holds out a huge paper bag, which I take from him. The aroma of cheese, sauce, and bread floods my nostrils immediately. Damn, I cannot wait to eat! "That'll be 1,800 munny!"
"Got it right here." Amaya starts opening up her wallet.
Now, as much as I don't really want to spend the money, it's not like I can let her pay.
Dating girls is ridiculously woes of trying to be a gentleman.
"Don't worry, I got it," I assert, as I put the bag down on the hardwood floor and reach for my wallet in the pocket of my jeans.
"That's really sweet, Riku, but I told you, it's on me!" She starts fishing around her wallet for the cash.
"Nope. I got it," I reiterate, as I hastily get the cash out. I quickly count it and begin to hand it over to Tidus. Suddenly, Amaya's hand swats mine out of the way.
"It's on me," she affirms, as she retracts her hand and takes the munny that she has resting atop the pockets of the wallet.
"Tidus, take it," I say, as I quickly attempt handing him the munny a second time. "I added an extra 300 for your tip." Bewildered, he begins to reach for it.
"No, wait, Tidus, it's my house, I'm the one paying!" she counters, extending her hand with money as well. "I added an extra 400." So this is how it's gonna go down, huh? He retracts his own hand, looking even more befuddled than before as he tries to figure out who's side he's gonna take.
"Here, I can add an extra 150 on top of that, for a total of 550."
"I can give you 600!"
"700!"
"750!"
"800!"
"Guys, I really gotta go…" Tidus interjects, weakly.
"You know the Bro Code," I say, as I shove the 2600 munny into his chest. Rule number one: You must always have your bro's back, no exceptions. It's the trump card. I win.
"But—" Amaya starts.
"Gotta say, I have to side with Riku on this one!" Aww, yeah. I look over to see her extremely confused and defeated. "B-Besides, free pizza for you, right Amaya?" he tries to reason.
"I guess," she huffs. Seeing a nervous Tidus, she quickly perks back up. "Alright, thanks, Tidus!"
"No problem, you guys enjoy the rest of your night!" He turns around and starts walking across the porch to leave; I shut the door behind him. And then it hits me.
I just spent a whole week's worth of munny from PaopuBucks on this date.
Tidus knew what he was doing, just standing there. I don't know whether I respect him or want to hit him over the head with a vase next time I see him. A little bit of both, to be honest.
"Riku, what the heck was that all about? I told you, I was gonna pay for it!" she says, slightly raising her voice. She doesn't sound angry, she's more…disappointed.
"I didn't want you paying for it," I shrug, as I bend over to pick up the paper bag.
"As nice as that is of you, it's really not that big of a deal. I work for my own money, too, with my job at CS Maxx," she reasons, calmly. We start walking back towards the entrance to the kitchen as she continues. "I know you're trying to be chivalrous and all, and I really do appreciate that, but it's okay to swallow your pride and let me pay for things sometimes, you know? It's nothing to be ashamed of."
"Amaya, it's like I told you, it is not that big of a deal," I sigh, as I enter the kitchen. I feel her shoulder brush the back of my arm as she follows close behind me.
"But it is, considering you ended up paying a ridiculous 800 munny in tip for a pizza delivery to try to prove whatever your point was! Seriously, that's probably some sort of record or something."
"Alright, fine, so I got a little competitive or prideful or whatever you wanna call it," I admit, as I set the bag down on the island. "I appreciate you wanting to pay, but seriously, it's my job, let me handle it."
"That's so medieval of you," she scoffs, as she sets her wallet and phone on the countertop and starts removing the cardboard boxes from the bag. It smells delicious. "Seriously, let me pay you back!" She reaches for her wallet.
"I'm not gonna take it," I state.
"Come on," she whines. "I really wanted to pay for it."
"Now you're just being stubborn," I roll my eyes. Suddenly, it hits me. I've got a solution that'll make both of us happy. "Just think of it as my compensation for all the fun you and I are gonna have later tonight," I wink.
…And I can whole-heartedly say that I instantly regret saying that.
I think I just implied that Amaya's some sort of prostitute. Oops.
Yeah, something about the way her eyes widen at me tell me that she doesn't appreciate that.
"Shit, wait, I didn't mean it like that!" I try to save myself, but something tells me that it's a little too late for that.
"So, how exactly did you mean it?" she asks, seemingly genuinely curious as she slides over a personal pizza box to me. I know she's pissed, but there's not a trace of it in her demeanor. Ah, shit.
"I…crap, alright, pay me back, it's cool," I say, exasperated. The fact that she's not even flinching freaks me out, I admit. And that's what she wanted to do in the beginning, anyway, right? I'll let her have her false sense of victory. After all, I am not letting the one thing keeping me going tonight get away from me.
"Well, you just spent the last ten minutes arguing how it's your job to pay," she shrugs."You've made your point. I get it. I wouldn't want to take that pride away from you."
This is actually infuriating. Alright, just stay cool, man, you'll get out of this.
"I—"
"Pizza!" Haru yells as she runs into the kitchen, PuPu in arms. Okay, so this situation just got leveled up from Proud to Critical. I can do this. I can still get out of this with a five-year-old in the room.
"Yep, sit on the barstool over here, baby," she gestures to the one next to me, and there's one other adjacent to that one, where I'm assuming she's gonna sit. Damn, she can't be that pissed at me, right?
Haru climbs up the chair excitedly, PuPu in her lap. Amaya takes a napkin out of the bag and stuffs it in Haru's shirt like a bib, and then opens up the pizza box in front of her. Oh, the stench of anchovies and onions.
"You know, baby, you've been really good tonight," Amaya beams at her sister.
She has?
"I have?" the kid beams.
"Yeah," Amaya replies, taking her own seat. She begins to open up her own box; the aroma of barbeque chicken begins to waft throughout the air. That, along with Haru's pizza is…well, it's an interesting smell, to say the least. "You know, if you continue to behave, I might push your bedtime to later. Like, maybe when mommy and daddy come home? How does that sound?"
Oh. Oh hell. Oh no she didn't. Oh no she didn't.
"Yay!" Haru cheers. "That means I get to spend more time with Riku, too! Aren't you excited?! R-Riku, are you okay?!"
"You look like you've seen a ghost," Amaya states. To be honest, I don't really know or care what I look like right now. "Everything okay?" The innocent tone in which she asks the question pisses me off to the max.
Alright, this is a battle of wills.
Let's look at the facts. Alright, I admit, my motives this night haven't been completely innocent. But it's been a couple of month since I've been with a girl. Sure, Amaya and I have been dating for a couple of weeks—longer than I last with most girls—but we've also both been busy, so we haven't been able to have as much fun as we could have, if ya catch my drift. I'm a little…thirsty? Yeah, there's a good word. But, if I remember correctly, this girl hasn't seen any action for at least a year. I am, more likely than not, not the thirstiest person in this room. Which means, I have an advantage here.
Now, Amaya's pretty upset at me here. So my comment was kind of out of line. But, come on, isn't she overreacting just a little bit here? Maybe 'cause it's fresh…but, if I make her forget about it and remind her of what she's been desperately craving for past few months, then…
I win.
Step one: Remind her of what she could possibly be missing out on.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just getting a little hot in here, that's all," I reply. I get up out of my seat and start slowly taking off my leather jacket, making sure to keep my body tense so that all my muscles stand out. I take a glance over at her and—
Great. She's not even paying attention. She's helping Haru tear apart her pizza slices. Gotta bring this up a notch.
"Amaya, it's really hot in here," I say. I see her look at me, and I immediately grab the bottom of my white T-shirt and pull it up to my face, to 'wipe off sweat.' Look at dem abs, girl. Look. At. Dem. Abs. A couple of seconds later, I let release the shirt and let it fall back into place, and take a look at her again.
"Hmm," she contemplates, tapping her chin in thought. Hard to tell what she's gonna say next. "I hate wasting energy with the air conditioner…I'll get you a nice, cold glass of water! Haru, do you want water, too?"
"Yes, please!" she chirps, as she takes a bite of her pizza. Amaya gets up and walks over to one of the cabinets to pull out some glasses.
Goddammit, that didn't go according to plan. That's okay, I'll think of plenty of other things. Just gotta stay focused on the goal.
"Riku, are you gonna eat your pizza?!" Haru asks. Oh, right, I haven't even opened my box up.
"Yeah," I reply, as I unfold the box. Ah, sweet aroma of pineapples and ham.
"Here you guys go!" I hear Amaya say. I see a couple of glasses full of water plant down in front of me and Haru, resonating a little 'clinking' sound as they hit the countertop. "Hopefully that helps!" She smiles as she walks by me and ruffles up my hair before going back to her chair.
Girl, you do not mess up my hair.
The thing that sucks even more is that there isn't a mirror in sight, so I can't fix whatever damage she's done and—
Wait. Has she caught on to me? Is she just trying to throw me off? Because messing my hair up sure is one way to do it. As much as it kills me, I'm just going to have to let it slide. I am not letting her be victor.
"Your hair actually looks really good like that," Amaya says, giggling. I look over at her. "I dig the bedhead look," she winks.
This girl is dangerous. Oh Lord. Am I supposed to believe her? Do I roll with it? Do I roll with it?
"Yeah, your old hair made you look like a girl, Riku!" Haru chimes.
"My old hair was awesome," I retort, banging my fist against the countertop. The two of them are caught up in a fit of giggles.
I've come to the conclusion that I hate the female population. Or, at least, the females in Sora's family. Well, maybe not his mom, she's a nice lady. She wouldn't insult my hair. Screw it. Just eat your pizza and keep your dignity, Riku. By the time we're done here, the burn won't be as fresh for either of us, and I can make moves to win this all back in my favor. I got this.
I tear out a slice and take a bite, and instantly my taste buds are transported into a world of bliss. The way the textures and flavors of the savory ham, sweet pineapples, and gooey cheese combine is heavenly. It really doesn't get any better than this. I don't even regret shelling out all that munny for this experience—this was definitely worth it.
I take a breadstick and dip it into the hot marinara sauce, relishing the taste of tomatoes, garlic, and bread—always a winning combination. A sip of water to wash it all down, and I repeat the pleasant cycle.
And that's how dinner continues. I savor every single bite of the delicious pizza I paid for. I hear Amaya and Haru bicker and banter every now and then, but I don't really pay them too much attention. I catch little bits of their conversation here and there. Haru does most of the talking. She goes on a lot about how excited she is for the school year to start, but she's nervous or something since it's gonna be her first time going to school and all that jazz. Amaya reassures her that everything's gonna be okay and talks to her about how fun it is and to not be nervous. Pfft, there's a lie if I haven't heard one. At one point, Haru starts talking with her mouth open, and Amaya gently reminds her of how "rude" that is, and wipes her mouth of all the sauce that dribbles down on to her chin. The little girl apologizes and goes on and on about other things five year olds are probably interested—I don't really know. At this point, I've completely zoned out. All my attention's on the wonderful textures and tastes dancing on my tongue. Who needs human interaction when you've got food?
Before I know it, sadly, I reach the last bite.
"Wow, Riku, you can eat a lot!" Haru observes.
"Wow, a whole pizza and all the breadsticks?" Amaya says, admiration in her voice.
"Well, yeah, it was only a personal pizza," I shrug.
"It must have tasted really good!" Haru shouts.
"Heavenly," I state, as I wipe my mouth with a napkin.
"Amaya, I'm full!" Haru whines. I look over to see that she's only eaten one slice of the four of her personal pizza, as well as one breadstick. Weak. I'd offer to eat the rest of it, but…those toppings are a little worrisome, to say the least. Amaya's pizza's about halfway done, two breadsticks left of the original four for her. I could definitely snack on that later.
"Alright, baby, that's okay," Amaya replies, sweetly. "I'll put it in the fridge and you and Sora can finish it later."
"Okay! Can I have ice cream now?!"
"Ice cream? I don't think we have any ice cream," Amaya responds, confused.
"Riku bought us some! It's in the freezer!" She points to said appliance.
"Oh, really? Wow, you spent so much money on us today!" Amaya exclaims, turning to me. Well, way to point out the obvious.
"It's not a big deal," I shrug. It really wouldn't be, if it weren't for this little pickle going on right now.
"Well, Haru, you seem to have plenty of room for dessert," Amaya observes. Haru shrinks a little.
"PuPu really wants ice cream. She's hungry, and she can only eat dessert," she mutters, holding her doll a little more tightly.
"Hm, well let PuPu know that she can only have ice cream if you eat another half a slice of pizza," Amaya replies, skeptically.
"I'd give her the ice cream, honestly," I interject. There might be some tension between me and her, but I'm not gonna let her get on this voodoo'd being's bad side. Amaya gives me a quizzical look. Gotta come up with some sort of excuse. "You said she was behaving, right?"
"Yeah!" Haru yelps. "Please?!"
"Alright, how about this?" Amaya starts. "Either you have your ice cream now and go to bed on time, or you eat a little more of your pizza, have ice cream after that, and get to sleep later?" Damn, sweetening the pot…but is Haru logical enough, or—?
"Hm…well, PuPu says she's really hungry, so…can I have the ice cream now?" she asks, sheepishly. Ha. You forgot, your sister takes after her brother Amaya.
"O-okay," Amaya replies, seemingly caught off-guard. One point for me, there. She closes her and Haru's pizza boxes and goes off to the fridge to put the boxes inside. Once they're in and all set, she opens up the freezer on top to look for the ice cream. "Well, Haru, if you continue to behave as well as you are, I might give you the bedtime privilege back, too!" she beams, turning around.
"Yay! Okay! I'll be extra good then!" she exclaims, practically jumping out of her chair with PuPu in her hand as she runs up to her sister.
Oh, I can arrange against that.
First and foremost, though, I have to get somewhat back on Amaya's good side. No point in getting Haru to bed early if Amaya's pissed at me. Even if the sexytimes don't happen, that's not really the biggest issue—it'll just be awkward.
"Here you go, Haru," Amaya bends down to give her an unwrapped bar of the sea salt ice cream.
"Yay!"
"What do you say?"
"Thank you, Riku!" she turns to me, eyes gleaming with joy.
"No problem, kid," I wave it off. She starts ravenously biting into the ice cream.
"Don't eat too fast, or you'll get a brain-freeze, baby," Amaya states, concerned, as she goes back to grab the other two ice creams. Haru pays no heed and goes on at the same pace.
"I have to finish it before it melts!" she reasons, between bites. Amaya just shakes her head as she closes the freezer door, two wrapped ice cream bars in her hand.
"Here you go, Riku," she say, hand with ice cream outstretched as she walks over to me.
"Thanks," I say, standing up to meet her. She hands me the ice cream, and I plant a gentle kiss on her forehead. I notice her blush a little when I pull away. Advantage: me. She quickly shakes her head and pulls out a barstool to sit down and unwrap her ice cream bar. I sit in the one next to her. Haru's still standing next to the fridge, ravenously eating up hers. She's three-quarters of the way done already, and no brain-freeze? Impressive.
I look over at Amaya, who's started biting into her ice cream.
"Wow, this flavor is really good," she says, almost surprised.
"What, don't trust me?" I wink, as I take my own bite. The salty and sweet flavors mingle with the cold, creamy texture of the ice cream. Damn, this shit is good. Go me.
"You can certainly be a little questionable at times," she scoffs, as she takes another bite. I notice a little bit of the sticky blue stuff on the corner of her mouth. Oh, I can work with this.
"Gettin' a little messy there," I smirk, as I use my thumb to gently wipe her lip. I linger where her lip separates for a moment longer than I need to, before I draw away and lick the ice cream off my thumb. Her cheeks turn crimson.
I totally have the upper hand here.
"Guess I'm gonna have to be a little more careful, then," she says quietly. Her brow furrows a little, like she's trying to think deeply about something.
"I'm done Amaya!" Haru shouts.
"Okay! Can you throw your ice cream stick away for me, please?" Amaya asks sweetly. Haru does exactly as she's told, as she quickly saunters over to the trash bin in the corner and discards it.
"I'm gonna go dance in the living room with PuPu!" she announces, as she starts skipping in the direction of said area.
"Okay, but be carefully, baby. Don't bump into anything!"
"I won't!" I hear her yell from the living room. I listen to the thumping of her footsteps as she begins 'dancing'. It's an interesting beat to listen to as I continue to chow down on my delicious ice cream, savoring every bite and lick.
I'm about halfway through, when I look over at Amaya.
"Mm…Riku…this tastes so good," she says, with a…sultry tone in her voice? I blink rapidly to make sure what I'm seeing is real.
Her eyes are half-lidded, as she slowly separates her lips to let out her tongue, which meets the base of the ice cream. She gradually, teasingly moves it up in a gentle lick. I feel myself involuntarily gulp.
And the shittiest part? I can't stop watching.
"Mm…" she moans, as she starts sucking the top of it, making audible slurping sounds as she goes. Holy shit, that's hot.
Goddammit, pull yourself together, Riku! She must have figured out what I was trying to do. Come on, man, gotta take back the advantage!
She turns to look me dead in the eyes, hers still half-lidded and sultry. "So…good…" she whispers.
Pull it together, man!
"I-I'm glad you think so," I say quickly, as I turn my attention back to my own ice cream. J-Just block the images out of your mind, bro. You can do this.
"Riku…" I hear her say softly. And before I can stop myself I look over to see her—
Oh my God, she's slowly putting the whole thing in her mouth! Little by little, the blue creamy stick of goodness is engulfed by those big, plump lips of hers. Holy shit, that stuff is deep! H-how is she not gagging?! She begins to pull it out, just as teasingly and tantalizingly as she put it in. Her mouth makes a popping noise as it leaves the ice cream, and she uses the back of her hand to wipe her lips.
"DAMMIT YOU WIN!"
"Hm?" she smirks.
Ah, shit.
Well, it's already out in the open. Keep whatever dignity you can and wave the white flag, man.
"Look, I'm sorry about earlier," I start.
"About what?" she asks, as she puts her elbow on the countertop, chin resting in her hand as she looks at me.
"I…about that comment I made earlier, with me doing all that I did for you as 'compensation' and stuff. It was supposed to be funny but I clearly wasn't thinking about it," I respond, calmly. "I really didn't mean for it to come off that way."
"I see…and?"
"And what?"
"You tell me," she says, as she slowly starts licking the ice cream again.
I close my eyes and think hard—looking at her isn't going to make it exactly possible for me to think straight. Let's see…
"Damn, I don't really know," I say, exasperated. Honestly, nothing comes to mind. I'm pretty sure I've kept all the other potentially douchey comments to myself.
She takes a deep breath and sighs before she begins to speak. "I was really upset that you wouldn't let me pay—not because it wasn't chivalrous or anything like that, it really was—but like I said, I work for my money, too, and I have a right to spend it as I see fit. I'm happy you paid for the tab, but I really did intend to do it myself. Just…don't hold me back from being independent, okay?"
"Oh, well, damn, I really didn't know you felt that way," I reply. The way she genuinely worded it makes me feel a little guilty, to be honest. "Again, didn't mean for it to come off that way…Sorry."
A big heartwarming smile creeps back up on her face.
"It's okay, I'm just really glad you understand," she says, as she leans in to kiss my cheek. "A lot of guys don't."
"Really? But you worded what you wanted pretty black-and-white."
"I don't get it, either," she shrugs, as she takes a normal bite of her ice cream.
"So…we good?" She turns towards me, smile still on her face.
"Yeah, we're good! Just don't pull anything else stupid," she warns. "Anyway, Haru's probably going to screw up, so I'll end up putting her to bed around 9:45-ish? If anything, she'll probably be exhausted by then, anyway. After that, we can have some time for ourselves!" She says it so innocently, and I'm actually kind of relieved.
Blinded by, what I'll call from here on out as 'the thirst', I guess I forgot how much I really liked just talking to this girl. I mean, hey, if we go all the way, I sure as hell ain't complaining, but even if we end up just sitting, hanging out and talking, well…I definitely can't complain about that.
"Sounds good," I smile back. I look over at the digital clock atop the oven.
8:45? Another hour 'til then.
I can do this.
A/N: Hello beautiful people who read through that ridiculously long chapter! My compensation for taking so long to update the fic?
Before I go any further about myself, if you guys like Amaya, then head on over to Painted With a Palette's story "Rags to Riches." Guess who makes an appearance? :D Link's in my profile!
Ahh so yeah, sorry these updates are so slow! Life's been catching up to me on the social end and, more importantly, on the academic ends of things! But, from here on out, I would say we've got two more chapters, plus an epilogue to go, so hopefully when this is all said and done it'll be around the time for New Year's and I can start new stories by then!
Oh, yeah, this chapter's humor was obnoxious. I am totally aware. But that's me. Obnoxious, over-the-top, suggestive humor. Let me know what you guys thought about it! I know I lol'd a couple of times writing this, but then again, that's just me aha. Oh, and be sure to point out any errors because, I'll admit, I probably didn't proofread as thoroughly as I normally do!
Shoutouts: Oh my God, 39 reviews?! And dat follow/fav count doe...you guys are awesome! Thank you so much, especially to Songbird Rebel, SoraxKairi7, ultimatebrat, mysticmoogle, Painted With a Palette, KittyKat1217, and ANP Productions for your reviews, and to everyone that has fav'd and followed so far, it really means so much!