A/N 2007: Heh, I keep changing names, and got out some spelling errors. Other than that, nothing much.
A/N: Well sorry for the late update, I know you have been waiting long. (3 whole weeks!) But here's chapter 6! Hope you all have reading fun. And If you discover anything wrong plz mail me so I can correct it.
And this chapter contains a little bit, just a tiny little bit, really not much, adult ehm.. how do you say that? Content? Probably something like that.
Chapter 6
The cottage of the Hiiragizawa's had a veranda, decorated by plants in pots, like peonies, lobelia's and fuchsia's. Usually Sakura would've enjoyed the beauty of it all, but not tonight. Because Syaoran was here and she was afraid that she would give herself away with one word or gesture. Beside the love she felt for him, there was also her grudge against him, against the way he treated her. It was so difficult to stay in control of her emotions that she could feel a headache coming up. This was the moment she feared most; she and Syaoran were alone.
The barbeque was over. Tomoyo was inside to make some coffee, Mei Lin and the kids were taking a walk. Eriol said he would arrive later. There was a tense silence hanging between them now that everyone was gone. Syaoran was the first one to speak.
"So," his tone was clipped, "Are you still seeing Eriol?" He looked Sakura right in the eyes.
"Eriol?" she reacted coolly, "I haven't seen him in 8 years. Not since the last time I was here."
Syaoran arched one of his eyebrows. "So it was just a one-night stand?"
Sakura glanced at the kitchen-window making sure that Tomoyo didn't hear their conversation. Then she hissed: "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Don't worry," his eyes shone with loathing, "Tomoyo can't hear us. Why would you care anyway? When I think about the times she stood up for you! You could always talk to her and laugh with her, but in the meantime... how low to stab her in the back like that. She didn't deserve it."
"Then why seek my company? You could've gone with Mei Lin and the kids. Then I would be here alone-"
"Waiting for Eriol. Yeah, I wouldn't want to miss that."
"I'm not waiting for Eriol!" she shook her head in denial.
"You're a woman full of passion, Sakura. On a nice summer eve like this with romantic music playing," he was referring to the song that was playing, "how about you and me, alone in a room..."
Sakura stood up. "I don't need to hear this! My apology to Tomoyo, but-"
"Shall I say that you have a headache?" he mocked.
"Whatever." She wanted to walk away, when somebody came onto the veranda.
"Eriol?" she said surprised, "I didn't hear a car."
He was just as surprised as she was. A light blush tinted his handsome face. Somewhat confused she saw Eriol walking to her with a strained laugh. The next instant Syaoran was standing next to her. Before she could stop him, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
"Eriol, long time no see, old boy. Sakura and I were just talking about old times." He held out his hand.
Sakura saw Eriol hesitating. No wonder. Their last meeting ended up in Syaoran giving Eriol a black eye and a bleeding lip. Eriol took a deep breath and shook Syaoran's hand.
"Nice to see you again, Syaoran. I didn't expect you here. And you neither Sakura." His voice sounded softer, when he spoke to her.
'Probably because of his guilty conscience.' Sakura thought.
Eriol cleared his throat. "Is er... Misha here too?"
Syaoran's arm was still wrapped around Sakura's shoulder. She felt his reaction at the question, but his voice was emotionless when he spoke: "Misha died 6 months ago. I'm here with Hao, our son."
"Oh good gracious! I didn't know." Eriol stuttered, "How terrible!"
Sakura tried to save the situation by saying: "Mei Lin's here too, Eriol. She's gone for a walk with the kids. The barbeque was delicious. How was the ride? It must've been busy on the road, so-"
"Sweetie," Syaoran interrupted her, "didn't you have something to do when Eriol arrived? I'm sure he doesn't want to hold you up."
That was it! Sakura tried to pull herself away from him, but Syaoran wouldn't let her go so easily.
"I haven't seen Eriol for 8 years!" she said with pent-up fury, "We have a lot-"
"I think," Syaoran's voice sounded in her ear, too soft for Eriol to hear, "that Eriol wants to go inside and greet his wife." He looked at her, daring her to ignore him with his eyes. "You don't want to be the fifth wheel, do you?"
It took her a lot of effort, but Sakura remained calm. She let Syaoran take her away from the Hiiragizawa's cottage. Once they arrived on the beach she wanted to ram her elbow in his stomach, when he suddenly let go of her.
"So that's settled." Syaoran said, "Eriol is probably thinking that we're going out. I don't think he's going to risk getting the shit beat out of him again. Maybe this summer is going to be fun after all, don't you think, honey?"
"I'm not your honey!" Sakura snarled, "You better count on it that I'm going to help Eriol out of the dream, concerning you and me."
"Don't even think about touching Eriol Hiiragizawa, Sakura. Otherwise, I guarantee you'll regret it."
"Is that a warning? Or maybe a threat?"
"Consider it a threat."
"You won't get to me," Sakura said calmly, "take it from me." She could've said that he couldn't break what was already broken- her heart. She stuffed her hands in her pockets, turned away form him and stared at the dark water. Suddenly she wheeled around and looked at Syaoran. "You know, I'm getting tired of this lecture of yours. For the last time, I'm not interested in Eriol Hiiragizawa! So if you want to have a fun vacation, shut up about it okay?"
He just stared at her, but when he heard voices he turned away. Sakura saw Mei Lin and the children coming their way.
"Come on. Let's meet them half way."
She understood that this was his way to offer peace and decided to accept it for now.
"Alright." She agreed. And to her surprise her headache began to fade away.
Syaoran walked a bit slower so she could keep up with him. There was sand in her sandals. Because it wasn't comfortable she stopped to get it out. Syaoran stopped as well. As she was standing on one leg she lost her balance and grabbed Syaoran's arm to regain it once more. She felt a shock go through her arm as she grabbed him. Quickly retreating her arm, as if bitten by a snake, she mumbled an apology. She looked up at Syaoran to see him staring strangely at her. What was wrong with him?
"Is something the matter?" she asked. And to her surprise she saw the corners of his lips twitch into a small smile.
"You and me, we did have some great times together, didn't we? You could be so annoying... But still a vacation without you wouldn't be the same. How many summers were we together here anyway?"
Seven summers... even if you woke her up in the middle of the night, she would know the answer. Those summers were the happiest summers of her life. But she deliberately said: "Five? Or maybe six? Let me think. Granny took me her after the death of mommy and daddy, so the first summer I must've been seven."
"And I was ten. Do you remember that we sat in the sailboat in the middle of the lake and saw the sun rising? That was my birthday gift to you. You became ten that summer, if I'm correct. You were so afraid that we wouldn't be back before your granny woke up and would find out that you crept out." His eyes twinkled merrily.
Why? Why did he have to dig up the memories of the past? When everything was still sparkling beautiful. Who could've thought that happiness was so frail...
Her sandals dangled loosely in her hand. "Since then I've seen the sun rise a lot of times." She hoped that he wouldn't hear how emotional she was right now. "I went to Hawaii with Tomoyo and Mei Lin 5 years a go. And we saw the sun rise on the top of the Memorial Punchbowl. That moment was unforgettable." If Syaoran wanted to dig up memories, he could do it alone. It was too painful for Sakura.
The walk with Mei Lin gave the kids new energy. Except Hao, he was stumbling behind the other kids, tired out and didn't protest when his father picked him up and said that it was bedtime for him.
"Your father is here." Sakura said to the children of Eriol and Tomoyo. The children cheered loudly and ran to he cottage to greet their father.
"What lovely children they are." Mei Lin said, when she and Sakura walked further. "But Hao... I pity him. I hoped he would get along with Mamoru, but they didn't really like each other. And Miyuki tried to be friends with him, but he acted just like his father."
Sakura looked at Mei Lin, seeing the sadness in her eyes. Sakura knew Mei Lin wanted children and she guessed that seeing the children of Tomoyo and Eriol made her feel lonely. On impulse she hugged Mei Lin and tried to change the subject.
"So how was Cherry's Lodge? It took you so long that I guessed you walked all the way over there. I remember that I always wanted to eat there as a child. It was fascinating to see the waiters and waitresses in their black and white uniforms."
Mei Lin laughed. "It still looks like that. I was thinking, maybe you and me should go for dinner and eat at Cherry's Lodge. Maybe next weekend? How about that? Something to look forward to when you come here again."
Next weekend. Sakura's heart became as heavy as lead. They won't be seeing her next weekend, As soon as she was back in town she would make up an excuse so she wouldn't have to come anymore.
"Saturday seems the best date. " Mei Lin mumbled.
"Mei Lin, are you going to stop at Tomoyo's?"
"Yeah, I'm just gonna say bye to them. Has he heard about Misha?"
"Yes, Syaoran told him."
"It must've been shocking news"
"Yeah, he looked pretty shaken up. Hey Mei Lin, could you tell Tomoyo that I'm tired and I wanted to go to bed early?"
"You're not sick, are you?" Mei Lin asked, concerned.
"I have a headache, but it's fading. I just want to sit for a while." They were standing in front of their cottage.
"Goodnight Mei Lin. I'll see you in the morning."
"Goodnight Sakura."
Relieved Sakura entered the cottage. She didn't lie, she really was tired. The point was... Could she sleep, knowing that Syaoran was sitting 10 meter further at the Hiiragizawa's? Not to mention that Mei Lin was still sad about Hiroshi. She decided that she would write him a letter as soon as possible and try to get them back together again. She walked to her room and lay on her bed, immediately falling asleep as her head hit the pillow.
She woke up with a start. Looking at the clock hanging in her room she saw that it was 4 in the morning. Why did she wake up? Was it Mei Lin stumbling around? Didn't she feel well? Quickly she stood up to check on her. Creeping through the hall she opened the door to Mei Lin's room, only to see her sleeping, snoring softly.
Seeing that she was okay, she closed the door, smiling and walked to the kitchen. Now that she was up, she didn't want to go to bed again.
The lake glittered in the moonlit sky, she saw as she peered out of the window.
Filled with the sudden urge to go outside, she complied to her need. A few seconds later she was walking over the grass towards the beach. And on the beach she steered her feet towards the pier and walked on it, feeling it dancing softly on the rippling water. At the end of the pier she stopped, leaning on the rail. She closed her eyes and smiled softly, when suddenly a hand reached out and touched her shoulder, and she let out a piercing scream.
Her scream echoed over the water and she heard jeering laughter.
"Sorry to startle you, but you startled me, when you appeared here so suddenly." He dried his hair with a towel. It was then that she noticed that he was only wearing a pair of swimming shorts. She felt her skin tingle and automatically stepped a step back when he looked at her revealing night-gown with eyes full of passion.
"What are you doing here anyway?" she asked, her voice higher than usual. His laugh was as the caress of velvet.
"Nothing," he answered, "Nothing...yet." His tone implied that that could change. He leaned back on the rail, folding his arms across his chest. "How about you?"
"I woke up and couldn't sleep anymore, do I decided to go for some fresh air. It was peaceful here... until you showed up."
"It could still be peaceful, or even exciting. Who knows." He gave her a meaningful look.
"Rather not." She replied curtly. "Otherwise I won't be getting any sleep."
"They say that you can get a good night sleep after some good sex. Very relaxing."
"I didn't say I was tense."
"No matter what, sex helps a man." He said smiling. Sakura snorted
"Typical for a man to say something like that. An aspirin and warm, milk is just as good for me."
"Come here."
"Why?"
Suddenly he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. Not against his chest, but close enough. Too close... Sakura gulped. It was hard to breathe with him so close to her. She tried to pull her hand away, but he grabbed her other hand too. His eyes glittered as if he was up to something.
"What are you doing?" Sakura's voice sounded hoarse.
Syaoran's laugh made a shiver go up her spine. "Just testing." He mumbled. "So pay attention." He bowed his head and took the strap of her night-gown his teeth. Again she tried to pull away, but he didn't even budge.
"Have patience," came his muffled voice. Ever so slowly he worked the strap off of her shoulder, letting it fall past her elbow. The upper piece of her night-gown slid off and clinged halfway her breast. "Now tell me..." Syaoran let his mouth slide over the soft skin of her breast. Sakura inhaled sharply, feeling new sensations invade her senses. "...if you like this." With his cheek he pushed the cloth further down. His tong circled the now erect nipple and he took it in his mouth, gently sucking on it. A shiver of intense longing drove in Sakura's veins and she moaned softly.
"Well?" his voice sounded far away. "Do you like it?"
A sound of pleasure escaped her lips and Syaoran let her go immediately. Dazed she stared at him.
"I take it the answer is yes." He stated with an arrogant smile adorning his lips. He pulled her night-gown up again. "So what's it going to be Sakura?" He sounded like a doctor, giving a patient his advice. "Sex or an aspirin and warm milk? Your call."
It took a moment for Sakura to come to her senses. Then she became so angry she would've loved to kick him in the crotch. She could scream and beat him up with her bare fists! She could tear her hair out, strangle somebody! HIM for example! With incredible effort she managed to control herself and even bring up an- she hoped an amused- smile.
"Sex is fine Syaoran, but I'll take the aspirin and warm milk. It was an interesting test. I have the impression you've used it before."
"Not with such a result coming out of it. That'll be fun when I have you in my bed."
"Dream on!" she sneered. "Let me through! I want to go back."
"Just a moment."
"Yes?" annoyed she stopped when he barricaded the way.
"Have you decided to sell the cottage?"
Sakura had trouble to not burst out in hysterical laughter. How could he think about something like this after what just happened. Although, this was her chance to find out something more about his plans.
"I was asking myself the same question about your cottage." She said avoiding a direct answer. "Is this only a one time vacation or what?"
"I'm thinking about moving back here. If that works my main office will be relocated and I'll keep the cottage. I'll probably build a few rooms extra to accommodate the house."
"Oh so now the cottage is not good enough for you anymore?"
"Times change Sakura. This cottage is nice and all, but it's only fit for the summer. I want o be able to come here anytime of the year. Then I'll be able to teach Hao ice-fishing, langlaufen, and maybe even skating. Things he never did in his life"
"You and your father used to come here in the winter. Did all those years in China turn you into a wimp?" she scoffed.
"No, I haven't turned into a wimp." He said glaring at her. "But when we're coming here, I need to have space for Hao's nanny."
"Hao has a nanny?"
"Not yet, but I'm busy with it."
"What if you re-marry?" "I will never marry again!" He said vehemently and Sakura looked up at him.
'That isn't surprising,' she thought, 'Misha was everything to him, like he told me so many times, those summers ago.' But he was still young, he couldn't just spend the rest of his life mourning, could he?"
"But what if you fall in love?"
"Love is the last thing I'm looking for." He said curtly. "After I find a suitable nanny I'll arrange something."
"What do you mean?"
"I'll take a mistress," he said, "A nanny and a mistress. What does a guy need more?"
Sakura looked unbelievingly at him. "Are you serious? I've never-"
"I'm just practical, Sakura. I bet there are a lot of women jumping to be my mistress. I've got enough to offer. Just not my heart." He smiled coldly.
""Yeah," she replied coolly, "You've got everything a mistress can wish for."
"You think? Maybe it's something for you then?" He arched an eyebrow mocking her.
"No way, Syaoran!" Roughly she pushed him away and stomped off of the pier. What was that guy thinking?
TBC
Well that was it for chapter 6, review plz! That's not too much trouble is it? The more reviews, the faster I'll probably update My thanks for the people that reviewed my previous chapters.