Thereafter Chapter 8, an inuyasha fanfic

Chapter 8: What now?

I had been sitting in my apartment for the last few hours. Thinking about what had happened this morning. I hadn't meant to hurt her. I was just thinking with my head, and not the one I should have been using. Now, I still felt empty and now Ayame was hurt. It's not like I actually managed to get her number last night. The second we had walked through the door she started ripping my clothes off. I stripped the sheets off my bed, rolling them up and stuffing them into a trash bag. I just wanted to forget everything that had happened last night. I dragged the bag into the hallway just in time to catch Kimi coming off the elevator. She looked like she had walked right out of a fashion magazine. Her brow leather coat, stiletto boots, expensive purse, and big sunglasses. She stopped in front of me and pulled off her glasses while I was stuffing the bag down the shoot. She was standing there waiting, and I knew what exactly what it was that she was waiting for.

She looked me up and down, crossing her arms. "You smell like cheap perfume."

I sighed. "You're still angry with me."

She hooked her glasses onto her coat. "I have every right to be. You were rude, without any reason."

"Kimi I'm sorry. I don't know why I said what I did. I shouldn't have said it. I was being a jerk, and for no reason at that. I genuinely am sorry."

"Hn. How will you make it up to me?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"That is for you to figure out."

She, turned. Dramatically flipping her hair over her shoulder. Left and went into her apartment.

I had, had it with women being angry with me today. I rubbed my temples. I had to think. What did every woman want? The truth? To be chased? Did she want me to beg? Did she want to see me be vulnerable? All of the above? I knocked on her door. There was no answer. I knocked again; still, there was nothing. I grabbed the knob hoping to turn it a few times to make it seem as though I was trying. Only to realize that she had never locked it in the first place. She left it unlocked on purpose. I opened the door, walked in, and locked it behind me. She was sitting in her usual spot on the couch, wine cup in hand. She had already changed into her nightgown. She just sat there, sipping wine from her cup. She was waiting for me to do whatever it is that I had come here to do. I sat across from her., exhaling deeply.

I had chased.

"I'm sorry," I said, but she did not look up.

"I do not want you to be angry with me."

She continued to drink from her cup.

"I lashed out at you because I was jealous. "

That had gotten her attention.

"You looked comfortable with him. There was a part of me that thought you had also shared certain parts of yourself with him. Despite what you told me. I didn't want to lose yet another person that I felt like I had gotten close to. We had shared something, and I can honestly say that you are the only friend that I have left right now. It felt like Akira threatened that, and I did not want to lose the only person who understood me."

I had told the truth and been vulnerable.

"Please Kimi."

I had begged. There was nothing left.

She set her glass down, looking me in the eyes. A serious look on her face.

The fool had done well. I was not sure that he would have realized that I had left the door unlocked. I wanted him to make it up to me. Not tomorrow, not later, but as soon as possible; meaning now. He had figured out this much. I wonder what else he had realized.

"I'm sorry." I heard him say.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I kept looking at the same spot on the wall. Sorry was just a meaningless word, men use to dig themselves out of situations that they created. A sorry was not going to be enough.

"I do not want you to be angry with me. You are the only friend that I have right now."

Again, that was not enough. I needed more.

"I lashed out at you because I was jealous."

Now that is intriguing.

I was looking at him now, waiting to hear what he would say next.

The only friend he had left. Was I something so important?

He was just like me. He wanted what I wanted. Not to be alone… to have someone.

"Please Kimi."

There was a whine in his tone. It touched something that I had lost a long time ago; my heart.

I set my glass down looking him in the eyes.

"I need you to listen to me and listen closely when I say this Kouga. Me wearing a nightgown and having my hair wrapped up does not equate to me being vulnerable with someone. It means that I was getting ready to relax; to unwind. I did not share anything with him. Not anything important. Not the way that I did with you that day. I did not cry, I did not open my heart to him and tell him how I really felt; only you. In truth, the fool was too blinded by his own ego to look and I mean really see if there was anything wrong with me. He spoke only about himself and cared only about himself. He was nice to look at and that is all, but after a while, his looks no longer mattered. I need more that a pretty face. He was shallow, and you did me a favor when you threw him out."

He swallowed; hard. Hopefully, he had realized how much of a fool he had been. Still, he seemed someone relieved that I was no longer upset.

"Why were you with him then?" Why even waste your time with him? When I am here?"

"It does not matter now."

He shook his head. "No. It is your turn, to tell the truth now."

I exhaled. "You want the truth. Alright. I was ashamed to see you again. I had shown a side to you that no one has ever seen, and I felt pitiful for it. I am not a woman who likes to be vulnerable. I thought I could avoid you after letting you see that part of me. That I could forget you." I smiled. "Yet here I am. Unable to get rid of you."

He relaxed on the couch. "Because we are a perfect fit."

I smiled. "Because we are a perfect fit." I repeated. "Well, as your friend. I feel free to say that the woman you brought home last night is beneath you."

"Ouch. That is very judgmental."

"I'm being honest. From what I saw, she was… desperate."

"Desperate okay-. Wait, from what you saw, what do you mean by that?"

I picked up my glass and took another sip. "I saw her through the peephole. Fiery red hair, cheap little black dress… cheap perfume." I said smiling behind my glass.

"You were watching me."

I rolled my neck. "Just watching over a friend."

He smiled. It was adorable.

"You're a trip, you know that."

I nodded. "I do."

"Anyway, she is not desperate… just another fool who loved too much I guess." he said repeating my own words to me.

I set my glass down again. "Spend the night."

He looked up at me, with a shocked expression on his face. "I'm sorry?"

"Spend the night," I said again. "I do not want to be alone and have missed your company. I want to keep it a while longer. So, stay the night."

I could see the hesitation on his face. He acted as if I had just asked him to sleep with me.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright, sure."

I stood. "Wonderful. Get whatever you need from your apartment. I will go bathe."

He seemed surprised. "Oh, you want me to stay over starting right now?"

I smiled. "Yes. Now go. I will go bathe. You should too. Can't have you smelling of cheap perfume in my bed." I said walking into the bathroom.

I listened hearing the door close. I could hear him rushing into his apartment. It made me smile. He was eager to please me. He cared about what I thought; what I wanted. That was nice for a change. I would be lying if I said there wasn't that looming fear that one day he would lose interest, just like the others had. That he would no longer want to be my friend. I ran the water. Filling up the tub, until it was the perfect temperature. Scalding. I poured the Epsom salts and. I slipped the straps off of my shoulders. Letting my nightgown drop to the floor. The cold air made my nipples harden. I shivered and stepped into the tub. My skin stung but in a good way. I relaxed into the water, dunking my head under. Enjoying the few passing moments of silence before coming up for air. The Epsom salt always removed any trace of fragrance that I wore. I came out smelling new, fresh; smelling like myself. I sat there in the water, listening to him scramble. I heard my front door open. I could hear him lugging his things inside. Just what had he brought? He had closed the door and stopped making noise. I assumed he was just sitting; waiting for me to come out. I soaked in the water until it had gotten cold. I got out of the tub and dried my skin, as well as my hair. Not completely, but just enough to leave it damp. I wrapped the towel around myself. Walking into the living room, there he was sitting on the couch; waiting for me. He was the only one I could show this side of myself. I was not afraid to let him see me after I had stripped everything away. Just bare; only me. He noticed I was only in a towel and his eyes immediately hit the floor.

What a gentleman.

I walked over to my closet and got another nightgown laying it over the back of the couch. I draped the towel over his head, drying his wet hair properly. I left it there slipping into my nightgown. I grabbed the towel off of his head placing it back in the bathroom. Walking over to the couch; laying my head on his lap.

I smiled. "You smell much better now."

He chuckled. It was comforting.

"Do I now. So," he said. "What now?"