Chapter 4
I had a pretty fun time exploring campus as I ignored my cell phone for an hour or so. It surprised me how long I managed to stay angry, and I figured my time of month was probably coming around soon. That didn't make me feel guilty in the least, though, especially since I found a little teriyaki restaurant with amazingly cheap rice bowl specials. College life definitely had its appeals. The campus was like its own little town!
Alas, I wasn't completely heartless in all my hormonal glory.
I finally answered the phone.
Naru's voice was a low, heavy growl. Oh yeah, he was mad.
"Where are you?"
"Around." I made sure to slurp my chocolate ice cream extra loud into the mouth piece. "You know this place has the most adorable treat joint?"
"Get your ass back here—"
"Oo, he's using profanity with me. What would mommy say?"
"Mai, I don't have the patience for your attitude, get back here now before I fire you for good this time! And stop slurping into the mouthpiece, you child!"
"I'll slurp all I want. You're the one who volunteered me to that dog's bedroom when I didn't want to, but would you know that? No." And before he could respond to that, I hammered in, "And so much for scaring him away from rutting with me in the hallway. He'll just do it now in the comfort of his own bedroom!"
"Idiot, do you think I'd let you go alone?"
"Oh, I forgot about the camera. I feel so safe."
"As you should! We'll be watching every second and—do you really think I'd do that to you? Look, I'm sorry I said that before asking you first, but could you just please tell me where you are?"
"In front of the library," I said, with another lick of ice cream, not bothering to be loud this time. "I figured since we are here for work I might as well get a feel for the place. What, did you think I was just running about doing nothing?"
The quiet at the other end told me that, yes, he had. I had to roll my eyes at that. It was a bit hard to be mad at him now that I'd had my chance to beat him back to his place. Also, a triumphant little smirk had worked itself onto my mouth when I heard that worried tone when he asked me where I was. Possessive little freak. He totally loved me.
"Oh, side note," I said. "Next time you decide to put a 'male between sixteen and whatever' in his place, consider that I don't open my legs for any guy who wants it so you mightn't bother."
Naru made a spluttering noise. "I would—Mai!"
"What?"
"Why would you even, you know I wouldn't—ugh, forget it. Stay where you are, I'll come to you."
I gave him a 'roger, boss' and hung up. After all, the heat was getting to my ice cream, and I couldn't let precious chocolate goodness go to waste, could I? All hands on deck.
By the time he reached me, sunset was upon campus and I was licking the remains of my ice cream from my fingers. I once more flashed him my cutest smile in hopes it would smooth over anything else between us, but he didn't smile back. His expression was as hard as ever. He stood over me with his arms folded, looking every bit as imperious as he could looming like that.
"Well?"
I blinked. "Well what?"
"Didn't you come here to get impressions?"
Oh yeah. That. "I already walked around. Feels like a normal library. But, then, it would wouldn't it?"
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
I had to smirk at this. I rarely got the upper hand on him on anything paranormal. I lifted a finger. "It's not night. They say you have to walk behind the library with the man you love at night. So, shall we see if you're a cheat?"
He scowled. "Will you ever grow up?"
"Says the man who blushes and falls apart whenever I say the word 'sex.'"
Sure enough, there was the blush. To his credit, he didn't falter even a little in his usual arrogant stance.
"Have you had dinner already?"
I told him I had, and he proceeded to call up Lin and tell him to bring over a night vision and infrared camera to the back of the library. Wireless cameras really were the best thing ever. I asked Naru if he remembered when we had to run chords all over the place, and he just ignored me. But of course he would remember. Omniscient Naru remembered everything.
After he hung up, he sighed, and dropped down beside me on the steps. We sat there in quiet and stared up at the library. Trees hung here and there, casting long shadows to the east.
The library itself was an…odd building. It could have been the brain child of western idealism of Roman stonework, a prison, and modern art. While maintaining the basic square shape most building had, the front bulged out in occasional hexagonal turrets that melded into the same wall. The entrance was actually beneath these and farther back, as pillars connected to each other via arches held it up. I had been admiring the different colored stones used to build it as I ate my ice cream.
"I'm sorry I overreacted," said Naru quietly. "That I didn't ask you first, I just…I just didn't want the kind of guy who would wear that kind of shirt in public around you."
I blinked at him. "What's wrong with rock bands?"
Now it was Naru's turn to stare at me. "You don't know what that logo is for?"
"A…rock band?"
The corner of his mouth twitched, but apparently he was still in too foul of a mood to find humor in anything yet.
"That's a logo for pornography company."
We looked at each other until that settled in my brain. Sadly, instead of justifying him, that just riled me up all over again.
"And you agreed for me to go into his room?!"
"For a séance with other people," he said quickly. "Look, a séance doesn't technically work unless you have a medium in which the spirit to talk to—"
"So you're using me?"
"I was going to go with you." And in a blink he went from self-defending, cold, intelligent Naru to the floundering young man that only I ever got to see—or could see, as to everyone one else he probably looked as blank and haughty as usual. "You could have always said no. I figured if you didn't want to, nothing would budge you."
I hmphed, and returned to glaring at the weirdo library looming ahead of us. My yelling had attracted the attention of a few students passing by, and of course it was only my yelling. Naru hardly ever yelled while in a fight or argument. Yelling, for him, was left to emergencies and extreme fear.
"Look, Mai, I was just thinking about the case," he said. "We're at work…it was nothing personal."
"You're the one who made it personal by being rude to him. That's what courtesy is for, Naru-kins. It keeps business and personal separate."
His eyes kind of widened at that. "I…I never thought of it that way." He glanced over at me, half of his face lit up by the fire of the setting sun between the distant buildings. "You're remarkably intelligent. But I always knew that."
I managed to push, "You got a funny way of showing it," past the sudden breathlessness the image had given me. God, didn't he know how he looked with his dark hair aflame with sunset and his ocean blue eyes looking at me like that? And he thought he was the one struggling to contain his sexual desires, yeesh! He had no idea.
He shrugged a shoulder towards the library. "Ever been in there?"
"Nut'uh. Why?"
"It's beautiful," he said simply.
I looked back to it, just as curious as he had probably meant me to be. "Sure looks kind of funny to me."
"Don't judge a book by its cover."
"Unless it's a steamy erotic novel," I said, smirking at him, but he just gave me a droll stare. "What? I don't read those. But they're always pretty obvious on the cover on what's going on between the pages."
He just shook his head and stood up. He texted something, then slipped his phone back into his pocket and held out his hand to me.
"Come on. Let's check it out. We got some time until dark."
I took his hand, peacefully content that we had found ourselves back to happy ground again.
Then I stood, and fear, cold, hard, burst through my gut. Something was going to happen. Something horrible was about to happen.
I didn't realize my knees had weakened until Naru's hands caught my arms. "Mai?"
"I…I'm okay. I just…I just feel so scared all a sudden."
"Can you pin point why? Does anything come to mind?"
I shook my head. Then, as it faded under my attention, I pressed myself to his chest and nuzzled my face into his shirt. His tea and musk scent fed every part of my shaken soul. There couldn't be a better smell in the world than my Naru.
Well this is rare. I'm having a hard time with my muse, otherwise I would have posted up, like, five more chapters along with this. anyone got any suggestions? I mean, I have the next chapter written down, but beyond that...
