Chapter 20

KaoruxOCxHikaru

The next morning I woke up to the aroma of breakfast. I sat up and noticed that Hikaru was no where in sight. Strolling into the kitchen he grinned at me while putting together two plates of food. Had he really made breakfast?"Was just about to come wake you up," he stated, filling a couple of glasses with orange juice.

"Did you make this?" I asked, looking at the spread of pancakes, eggs, bacon and croissants.

He laughed, "Who else could have?" he asked.

"You can cook?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"I guess that's for you to decide." He replied with a smirk, and kissed me on the lips.

"You're acting rather charming this morning." I noticed suspiciously, "You know my birthday's not until tomorrow."

He lifted my chin to meet his gaze, "If you'd honestly prefer me to treat you like my toy I will." he teased, "and just because it's tomorrow doesn't mean anything. I have a whole day planned for us, so let's just eat. You'll need your strength." he said with a wink.

As he turned to set the table I murmured, "Thank you Hikaru." he paused, and looked over his shoulder.

"I treat thank you's like sorry's. You'll have to prove to me how thankful you are later." his grin had never looked more devious.

I shook my head and sat down at the table, enjoying the nice spread that he had created. It was unexpectedly really good. It made me wonder how he accomplished such a task when he was so used to being waited on hand and foot.

"So what about these plans for us?" I questioned, fearing the answer.

He was nibbling on a piece of bacon, and then he grinned, "Well, we've never gone swimming before, so I figured, why not?"

"Swimming in fall?" I asked. "You're crazy, we'll freeze."

"Indoor pool." He corrected, and my face lost all pigment, "What's the matter with swimming? Afraid of me seeing you in a bathing suit or something?" he asked dryly, taking a swig of his orange juice.

Well that was certainly one of the reasons, "there's nothing wrong with it…"

"You should know better than to try to lie to me Yankee." He said lowering his head to look more devious.

I didn't know what to say, I mean I couldn't just tell him. I know his reaction would be something completely sarcastic and rude… like always, "I'm not lying." I said after a pause.

His eyebrow perked, and he tilted his head. Slowly he stood up, and that's when I knew he was coming over to physically drag it out of me.

"Okay! Okay!" I surrendered, as soon as his foot landed the first step. "Sit down!" I instructed, and slowly he sat down, leaning in to hear my response.

"I…" I muttered. "I can't swim…" I confessed in a whisper.

I heard him chuckle a little, which caused my eyes to look straight at him, "That's good." he said.

Now I was confused, "How?"

"Cause then, I get to teach you." he said with a large toothy grin.

My heart leapt up into my throat. Hikaru, touching my half naked body, in a pool, to help me learn the backstroke?! I felt a chill go up my spine as I started eating a croissant.

"Why're you so worried?" He asked.

"I…" I looked up into his eyes and were captivated by them, "I'm not sure."

He gave a small smile, as if he had just read my mind, and then let his eyes wander down to his food, as he continued eating.

His limo picked us up at nine o'clock. On the way to wherever we were going Hikaru was acting like his normal self. Teasing me with his touch, and mocking me with his words. One would think that by now, I'd be used to it. We pulled up to this huge building. I was surprised by how large it was, "Where are we?" I asked him.

"The Ootori family owns this place. It's sort of like an indoor amusement park, but it's supposed to be an artificial relaxing getaway. We almost lost Honey here once, because he got caught up in some rapids." He laughed.

I gulped.

He could see the fear in my eyes and changed the mood, "Don't worry Yankee. I'll be right there the whole time."

As we started toward the building I realized this was a public place, hence, anyone could watch my embarrassment. "I assume this place is always a little busy."

"I rented out the area we'll be in. It'll only be you and me. Calm down." He said, tapping the tip of my nose with his index finger.

When we got to our area, I was star struck by how big the place was on the inside. As my eyes wandered, I noticed two black haired twin girls, in maid's attire, patiently awaiting our arrival. "Take good care of her alright?" I heard Hikaru say, as he pushed me toward them.

"Wait… what?" I said raising an eyebrow.

"Come along." they said in unison, and dragged me into the changing room. I could hear Hikaru's laughter echoing in my ears.

They stuck me in this baby blue bikini, that had a skirt over the bottom. I looked at them like they were crazy.

"It compliments your figure." said the left one.

"And now you'll match the young master." said the other.

I almost laughed when I heard her call Hikaru master. It was also ironic that the twins had twin maids.

"You don't understand." I said. "I don't have a figure."

Both sets of eyes went down to my chest, and then slowly back up to my eyes.

"Oh forget it!" I growled, and stomped out of the changing room. When I saw Hikaru, I not only realized that he was seeing me like this for the first time, but that I was also seeing him half naked again. I wanted to run back inside. He was so beautifully carved, I could have fallen for him just seeing him like that. My face was flushed… that much I could be sure of.

The closer he got to me, the more red I became. "I knew they'd find something for you." he cooed, and ran his fingers through my hair. I got goose bumps, and stared down at my feet.

He was enjoying this. Taking my hand in his, he started to drag me off to the pool. I could feel my hand shaking in his grasp, as I'm sure he felt it too. "You don't have to be so paranoid. You look great."

I glanced up at him, but my eyes went down to my feet again. When we got to the water's edge, he jumped in, and looked up at me. "Well? Come on." He motioned for me to come in as well, and I just stared at him. "Yankee…" he said with annoyance.

I shook my head, and crossed my arms.

"Don't be difficult." He warned.

I stuck my tongue out at him, and looked away.

He held his hand out to me, "Please Chelsea."

I froze. He always used my name whenever it was most crucial. "Hikaru…" I said in an almost whining voice.

"I'll be gentle." he murmured, staring up at me with an expression I had never seen on his face before. It was like he really wanted this, but at the same time, he was also a good actor.

Hesitantly I took his hand, and stepped down into the water.

When I did, he pulled me close to him, and held me. I froze, but soon relaxed, just a little bit, in his embrace. I wasn't sure why he was hugging me. I wasn't sure why he had this sudden change in attitude. All I knew, was that deep down, Hikaru really cared about me.

"Come on," he said again, pulling me further, and deeper into the water. I was afraid, but I knew if I just tried to trust him. If I just gave him an inch, maybe he'd give me one too.

We were now about six feet deep in water, and he was holding me up. I suppose he could see the fear in my eyes, and quietly, he leaned into me, and started speaking to me in whisper, "Relax." which only made my breathing tremor. He laughed lightly when he noticed that only made me more nervous, "steady your breathing, or I'll give you a reason to shiver." He said sliding his hand up my back.

I got chills on top of my goose bumps and took a deep breath. "Stop teasing me, and I might be able to." I said flatly.

"Who says I'm teasing?" he asked with a smirk.

"Hikaru," I growled.

He leaned in closer, and let his lips brush against mine as he spoke, "Again with my name hmm?"

I looked away annoyed and red. He was being so difficult.

Guiding my face back to his, he stared thoughtfully in my eyes. "Take one more deep breath, but don't release it." he instructed.

"Why?" I asked.

"Just do it." he said flatly.

I did as he told me, and he pulled me in for a kiss. He stared to guide me down under the water, and once submerged, it was like time stood still. Of course it was only temporary, as we surfaced only a moment later. I stared at him thoughtfully, for a second, and then started slicking back my now messy, long red hair.

He got close to me again, and I paused, "Did we really come here so you could play with me?" I asked.

His expression grew sort of hurt, "I just love being close to you." he muttered.

Did he just use the 'l' word? "We didn't have to come to a pool for you to do that." I sighed.

"If you can trust me to teach you, then that will make me very happy." when he said that, my eyes went to his, and he ran his hand down my cheek.

"You're acting so different." I whispered.

I felt his hand shake a little, and for some reason, my instincts said hold him, so I did, and he rested his head against my shoulder. "What's wrong Hikaru?" I asked.

He took a deep breath, letting it tickle my neck, and I shuddered. "Nothing's wrong." he whispered, and nuzzled at my neck.

That's when I noticed, my breathing was steady, "I got you to calm down." He mumbled.

Pulling away from me, he took my hands in his, "Alright," he stated with a grin, "Lesson number one."

The more and more I thought about it. The more I realized Hikaru was letting me get to know him. He might have a rough teasing nature, but deep down he wanted someone he could really open up to. He wanted to open up to me. He wanted to trust me. Little by little he was, but would that change upon Kaoru's return?

Author's notes: Okay, so you're aloud to be mad at me T.T I am so sorry. I've been so busy lately with vacation stuff, and anime convention stuff that I haven't had the time to just sit down and write. I finally got time to do it this morning so here it is! Now I'm hoping that I'll still have time to update frequently, but I also have other story ideas buzzing around in my head! A writer's job is never complete! =P anyway, hope everyone's enjoying their Monday. Oh, and Kaoru will be back soon =D ;)