6. Warming Up
Three months slowly passed. Miki began to call her father once a day to let him know she was okay. Godzilla's only condition was that Miki kept his identity as G a secret, which she did happily. She also puzzled about the handsome young lad in the photograph she found, though she never asked Godzilla about it.
Having Miki discover his secret turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to Godzilla. He felt free to sing anywhere he wanted. In the shower, while cooking, while washing the dishes...and occasionally for no reason at all. Sometimes he brought a random instrument up from the basement and sang while playing it. Miki thought he looked most amusing when he played the saxophone, but he could play circles around Kenny G.
And Godzilla began to experience something he hadn't in years-desire. It hit him one evening when he passed the upstairs bathroom. The door had been cracked to let out the excess steam. Miki was still in there, fresh from a shower, wrapped in a white towel and busily drying her hair. Godzilla's eyes were riveted to her toned legs and the perfect lines her calves drew to the backs of her knees. The towel did not hide her full hips or the gentle curve of her buttocks. Then she turned sideways, the blow dryer still going at full blast, and the towel just barely clung to her perky breasts. She wasn't full-figured, but she wasn't a rail either.
Godzilla caught himself wishing she'd drop the towel. He felt like someone lit a fire in the pit of his stomach. Then Miki shut off the hair dryer. This sudden silence jerked Godzilla back to reality. If Miki caught him staring, she'd think he was a pervert! He gasped and hurried downstairs. Unfortunately, his loud, slapping footsteps gave him away.
"Geez, it sounds like a herd of tap dancers going by!" Miki called. "What's going on?"
"I thought I heard the downstairs phone!" Godzilla replied lamely, "False alarm, I guess."
She giggled, "You have a phone in your office!"
Defeated, Godzilla trudged back upstairs to find Miki leaning out the door. He sighed, "That's my business phone. It's on a separate line."
"Oh. Well maybe you should get a land line installed up here." She said, then vanished again, trailing the smell of peaches. The door closed and Godzilla scurried into his room. He didn't dare come back out until after Miki went downstairs.
His battle with his hormones got worse when spring came around. He gave Miki money to go shopping for clothing more appropriate to the warming weather. She traded her turtlenecks for T-shirts, tank tops, halter tops, cute vests and the occasional cardigan sweater. The long pants disappeared in favor of boot-cut jeans, short skirts and very short shorts. Her outfits were always tasteful, but revealed just enough to make Godzilla sneak peeks when she wasn't looking. She never seemed aware of this...and if she was she never complained.
Miki also began to go on photoshoots. It wasn't after she did her clothes shopping that she mentioned going on a few go-sees. Some new jeans company liked her and asked her to model their petite low-rise jeans in next season's catalogue. She even brought out a few glossies from the shoot. They were all wonderful pictures, but one in particular captured his attention. The setting was a bedroom with a huge open window and the moon shining in the background. Miki stood at a three-fourths angle and her head was turned to the window. She looked enraptured by the moon. She was also topless, her hands grasping her own shoulders in a way that covered her chest, and her dark shoulder blade length hair gleamed against her skin. Our jeans are so good that nothing should come between them, said the slogan at the top.
Godzilla found himself wishing he could stand behind her and touch her bare skin. He wanted to run his fingers down to the line of her pants and-
"Godzilla?"
He blinked over at Miki. "Huh? Sorry?"
She giggled. "Airhead. Which one do you like best?"
"Oh..." Godzilla pointed to the topless one. His mind continued to spiral out of control. "I think I like this one the bre- er...the best."
Miki tilted her head. "You don't think it's trashy? My dad always thinks too much skin is trashy."
He chuckled, straightening his posture. "That's because he's your father. I think these are nice pictures, Miki."
"Thanks." Her cheeks flushed a lovely shade of pink. "I should go put it in my portfolio before it gets covered in fingerprints. Um, Godzilla? I kinda need it back..."
"Huh? Oh! Right, here." Godzilla laughed self-consciously as he slid the glossy towards her waiting hand. Their eyes met. Then Miki disappeared upstairs and Godzilla reached for his laptop. He had to write down this feeling!
Afterward, he read what he'd written. There was definite song potential in the poem. He saved it to the hard drive and sent it to his poetry folder for later. Then he stuck his head in the kitchen sink and turned the cold water on full blast. The icy spray poured between his eyes, rolled down his snout and pooled against his nostrils. He stayed there until his heart slowed and the heat in his stomach tapered away.
Man, what is going on with me? Godzilla wondered to himself. I feel like I'm going through a second puberty!
.o
Godzilla startled awake to his door being thrown open. Dim light poured in, revealing Miki in a filmy gold bathrobe. He could see her figure silhouetted by lights outside the bedroom. Odd, he didn't recall her owning a robe like that.
"Godzilla," she whispered. Her tone of voice was strange, but pleasant. "It's so cold tonight. Can we sleep in the same bed?"
His brain did a wipe and repeat. What? He sat up on his elbow. The blankets were tangled around him in a mess of fabric. He blinked sleepily at her. "Isuppose we could for one night." And, scooting to a cooler part of the mattress, he let her have the warm spot he'd been sleeping on all night.
"Thanks," Miki padded over and climbed under the heavy blankets. The warm length of her body came to rest against his chest, their combined weight trapped by the hollow in the mattress. She started to rub his chest, "You're as cold as I am! C'mon, let's warm ourselves up."
Godzilla's heart fluttered and he swallowed. The way Miki's eyes glittered in the moonlight had him hypnotized. "Warm ourselves up?"
"Mmhmm..." she scooted closer and touched a kiss to the side of his neck. He felt her move the robe aside and her bare legs brushed his knees.
"Miki," he breathed her name. All five of his senses ached for her and there she was...lying in his arms. Closing his eyes, he tipped her chin up and kissed her. Or at least he did the best he could to kiss her with his huge teeth in the way. Suddenly, she lurched forward. He felt his entire sensory system funnel down to a single, burning point. Waves of tingling heat burst from that ember and spread across his body. "Miki!" he gasped. "Oh, my God!"
"Godzilla..." she giggled.
He lost control and whimpered.
THUD! THUD! "GODZILLA!" THUD! THUD!
Godzilla's eyes flew open to late morning light pouring into the window. He was trembling and felt strangely delicious all over.
THUD! THUD!
It was Miki pounding on his bedroom door.
"Godzilla! Are you okay in there?"
"Huh? I-I'm fine!" Godzilla yelled at the door. "I was dreaming! I'm okay! Did I wake you?"
"It's ten in the morning." Miki muffled from behind the door. "I've been up since eight. Um...I already ate breakfast so you don't have to cook for me. I'll let you be now. Sorry to bother you!"
"It's fine," replied Godzilla. He yawned, stretching as he rolled over...and he landed in a cold, gooey puddle in the middle of his mattress.
What the? Did I wet the bed? Confused, he felt under himself. Then he stared at the stringy goo on his claws. It took his brain a few seconds to recognize the substance. It wasn't pee.
"...lovely..." Godzilla let his head fall back onto his pillow. He dragged the blankets off his bed. The mess seemed to be contained on the top-sheet. He made a face as he peeled the top-sheet off the mattress and wadded it up. The stain had gone all the way through! I better wash the sheets before this gets all crusty. Wait...where's Miki? I can't let her see me all slimy!
Godzilla ran into the bathroom for a quick shower. Then he poked his head out the door, saw no sign of Miki and made a break for it down the stairs. The laundry room was adjacent to the basement stairwell. He rounded the corner just as Miki stepped out of the laundry room with a basket full of clothes in her hands.
"Oh!"
Godzilla actually shrieked. "AAH!" He tried to hide the soiled sheet behind his back. "Uh...hi."
Miki arched an eyebrow. Godzilla was panting, he looked like demons just chased him down the stairs and now he acted completely casual? Something had to be going on. "Is everything okay?"
"Fine, never better." Godzilla replied. "Just...practicing some-aerobics-cardio...stuff."
"Then why are you hiding a sheet behind your back?"
If Godzilla's face could turn red, it would have looked like a tomato. "Laundry."
She smiled, "Oh, I can wash that for you-"
"N-no, that's okay." He leaned back on the wall, preventing her from getting anywhere near the sheet. "Thanks...I'll do it. You're already loaded down anyway."
"Okaaaaay," Miki eyed him suspiciously. Then she shook her head and brushed past him. Her ponytail bounced as she hopped up the stairs.
Godzilla ran into the laundry room and shut the door. It only took about twenty minutes to wash the sheet. He grabbed it from the dryer, rushed back up the stairs and froze when he realized he still had a huge, sticky stain on the mattress itself. If he put the sheet over it, it'd just get sticky all over again! He stood there puzzling over this problem until the only probable solution came to mind.
Meanwhile, in her room, Miki methodically put her clothes into their proper places. She had just closed her underwear drawer when Godzilla knocked on the door. "Miki?"
She automatically replied, "I'm decent! You can open the door."
The door creaked open. Godzilla poked his head in. "Uhhh, Miki, can I borrow your hair dryer?"
"My hair dryer?" Miki stared at him, blinking. "I guess so-"
"Thanks!" Godzilla vanished. His footsteps clattered around the corner. Then he passed her room again and his bedroom door banged shut. Miki heard her hair dryer start running full blast. She couldn't help but giggle into her sock drawer. I better not ask.
.o
Gentle piano music drifted around the wooden basement. Miki smiled, listening to Godzilla play while she leaned against the grand piano's curving side. The cordless phone sat on the floor nearby. One of the designers she saw last week was due to call at any moment and inform her on her next shoot.
"Remember that Romeo and Juliet song I did on the violin?" asked Godzilla without ever missing a note.
"That was gorgeous," Miki replied. She gazed at the piano's shiny black finish and marveled at its smoothness.
"I wrote lyrics for it. Would you like to hear?" He grinned up at her. Funny...at one time Miki found that expression frighteningly unpleasant...and now she thought his smile was rather charming. She liked how he squinted and stuck his tongue out when he laughed.
"Yes! I love it when you sing, Godzilla."
"Okay," Godzilla adjusted his position on the piano bench. His cheeks were warm, but no one could ever tell he was blushing. He began to gently play an intro. "The lyrics are in Italian. It's...more poetic that way."
Miki hugged herself and nodded, still smiling softly.
Godzilla slithered his fingers down the scale. He opened his mouth and the soft lyrics rolled out with the same inflections he'd played on the violin, "Un giorno sai, per noi verrà. La libertà di amarci qui senza limiti. E fiorirà il sogno a noi - negato si svelerà l'amor celato ormai." Then he closed his eyes and played more intensely, his vocals floated over the piano like feathers on the wind.
Miki rubbed at the goosebumps forming on her arms. Her eyes were welling over just like before. She saw Godzilla take in a deep breath. Suddenly, he tilted his head back and let the lyrics burst free as loud as he could sing them. His voice literally filled the entire room until the walls rang. He was pleading with her for something, but what? She stayed still, listening, absorbing the music until he brought the song to a close.
The music stopped. Godzilla's voice and the last piano chord hung in the room for many long seconds before finally going silent. Somewhere during the interlude and the final chord, Miki had moved around the piano to stand beside the bench. His strange, tear-rimmed white eyes gazed up at her. Up close it was easy to see the silver sheen of his irises. Miki flashed back to what she'd jokingly said to Hideo-
...I'll just focus on something good about him...
...It's like talking with a really crippled up person in a wheelchair, just...ignore the chair and focus on them...
-and swallowed as her vision misted over. It seemed so unfair for Godzilla. He was a wonderful person with an amazing voice! Yet those beautiful things were trapped inside the flesh of a hideous monster. Miki suddenly realized that half the time she didn't even notice Godzilla's ugly exterior. He was just...a person...like anybody else-a person she cared about a lot. If only people could see past his face and get to know him they would realize he only looked scary!
How long have you been alone here? Miki asked silently. She reached out and laid her palm lightly against his cheek. His eyes darted nervously to her hand, then refocused back on her. She felt him tremble at her touch. How long has it been since anyone touched you?
Godzilla drew a sharp breath. "M-Miki?"
Miki let her hand slide forward across the bumpy line of his mouth. His lips quivered as her fingers glided across his smooth fangs. She sat down on the bench. He followed her motion with his eyes and gulped nervously. Again, they stared at each other. Then Miki leaned forward. Godzilla blinked at her like a deer in headlights until a sudden calmness came over him. What was there to fear? He couldn't kiss like a human...but it didn't matter. They both moved closer and their eyes started to close.
The phone rang.
"Oh!" Miki jumped, startled and blushing. Without thinking, she grabbed the phone and answered it. It was the designer. She shot Godzilla an apologetic look and mouthed 'I have to take this'. He nodded and she darted out of the room for something to write on.
Godzilla touched his face, right where the warmth of her hand still lingered, and smiled. He would forever remember that moment-the exact second in time at 4:32:06 p.m. on January 11th of the year 2007-as the moment when he fell completely in love with Miki Saegusa. And in that same instant he realized how he felt about Miki, he found the theme of his next album. Every song would be something he wanted to say to her.