Chapter 7
Sesshomaru wandered down the stairs silently, using his over used and very abused sense of smell to find his way to the kitchen. Entering silently he stood in the doorway and surveyed his surroundings. This room was as confusing as the bathing room. A sink the miko had called it, or something similar to it was directly across the room from him underneath a set of two windows. On the surface around it were several odd looking boxes of different sizes and colors. Cabinets of designs he had never seen before hung above the counters and a large white thing hummed over to one side and gave the appearance of having a small door on the top half and a larger door on the bottom half.
His eyes soon fell on Kagome's mother who was chopping something up on the opposite side of the room with her back to him, humming some tune he didn't recognize. Next his golden orbs reached the table in the middle of the room at which the boy who nearly ran into him a little while ago sat. The boy had noticed him some time ago and sat staring at him open mouthed with his breakfast unfinished in front of him.
Mrs. Higurashi turned around to say something to the boy when she caught sight of the demon in the doorway.
"Oh, good morning, Sesshomaru-sama," she said with a polite bow at the waist, "would you like to join us for some breakfast?" she asked gesturing to the table her son currently sat at.
"I will eat nothing, however I will join you," he said in return inclining his head in acknowledgement of the honor she'd given his title. Sesshomaru found he greatly liked Kagome's mother. She showed proper respect when she knew she was in the presence of her betters and she was quiet and unassuming. Briefly he called to mind the fact that when addressing him in front of others, Kagome had also used the honorific with his name and showed him respect and he greatly honored that. Though she was more relaxed when alone with him, which he didn't appreciate, acting like his friend, though Sesshomaru-sama, lord of the west needs no friends, she still was polite and respectful when necessary. He did however wish Kagome possessed more of her mother's unassuming traits.
"Some coffee or tea perhaps then?" Mrs. Higurashi asked politely. After a moment of his silent staring at her, she realized that was his way of showing confusion because she had used a word he didn't know. "You have never had coffee? Would you like to try a cup? It's one of Kagome's favorite drinks, especially when she needs to relax before a test. It's a little strong and slightly bitter in flavor. Some say it is an acquired taste, but others love the flavor of coffee right from the start." Mrs. Higurashi busied herself with pouring out a cup of the steaming liquid and adding a little bit of cream to the cup to cut a little of the bitterness before placing it in front of him.
The older woman understood the fact that he was unaccustomed to not knowing things and decided to make it easier on his pride by simply making herself busy and ignoring his confusion, saving him the disgrace of needing to ask. For which he was grateful.
Sesshomaru looked down at the steaming liquid in the oddly shaped cup. He had never seen a glass with a handle on it before and decided it was there because the liquid was hot and ningens heat tolerance was not high enough to withstand holding the cup with the liquid inside.
Ignoring the handle and picking it up directly, he took a dainty sniff at the liquid. It had a very full and strong smell like she had warned, but it also had almost a nutty smell to it, like nothing he had ever smelled before. He took a cautious sip, not because it was hot, but because he wasn't sure he would enjoy a mouthful of the hot liquid. After a moment he took another sip and before Mrs. Higurashi knew it, the mug was empty.
"Oh, would you like another cup?" not waiting for his response, figuring he was too polite to give an affirmative or negative, she scooped up the cup and had another steaming one in front of him within moments. He drank this one slowly, savoring it this time and settled himself down at the table across from the boy who had finally gotten over staring at him and had finished his meal.
Turning from her work, Kagome's mother took off her apron and turned to face the youkai.
"I apologize, we were never properly introduced. I am Higurashi Kaname (dunno what her real name is, so no flames!) and this is my son Higurashi Souta," she said bowing at the waist and gesturing to the young boy who resumed staring. Sesshomaru set down his mug and swept to his feet, his curtain of hair following the movement of his body and swishing over his shoulder slightly in a silky waterfall.
"Sesshomaru-sama, Lord of the Western lands, son of Inu no Taisho," he said in his deeply silky voice, inclining his head out of respect for their introduction.
"Oh, my! A lord visiting us! I didn't realize Kagome had such highly placed friends," Mrs. Higurashi said with an amused twinkle in her deep, soulful brown eyes.
"I don't really, he's actually the half brother of InuYasha and he saved my life, so I owe him a debt of gratitude," Kagome said as she entered the kitchen, nodding to Sesshomaru, ruffling Souta's hair despite his wailing protest and practically leaping into her mother's outstretched arms.
"We've missed you so much, Kagome!" her mother said tearfully.
"I missed you guys too!" Kagome said finally letting go of her mother and stepping back before sitting down at the table next to Sesshomaru. Her mother sat opposite her next to Souta after setting a plate of food in front of her daughter.
"So, Kagome, he is the Sesshomaru? InuYasha's half brother who was your enemy? I don't understand. Where is InuYasha?" Kagome instantly lost her appetite and set down her chopsticks. Looking down so her bangs covered her face, she knew this was going to come, but she had hoped not so soon. She schooled her voice into an even tone and responded after a few moments.
"The final battle with Naraku finally came, mother," she heard her mother's swift intake of breath, but she barreled on before she lost all her courage, "InuYasha, Sango, Miroku, Kirara and… and… S-Shippo all died." Before she had even finished she felt her mother's arms encircle her and she buried her face in her mother's comforting shoulder. Sesshomaru ignored both women and stared straight ahead of him, sipping lightly at his coffee.
"Oh, honey. I'm so sorry! I know how much all of them meant to you." Kagome nodded. "It's alright, honestly I'm beginning to come to terms with it. They died protecting me and accomplishing what we had to do. Naraku was destroyed. We succeeded. So in the end, we were all victorious," she finished with a shaky smile.
"What about the shikon?" her mother asked worriedly. The miko reached into her dress and pulled on the silver chain the shikon no tama dangled on around her neck exposing it to view.
"I'll need to make a wish on it eventually, but for now I'm simply its guardian. Right now I can't think of a completely pure wish with my friend's deaths so recently behind me." Her mother nodded in understanding.
"A wish like that takes much personal and spiritual strength. Protect it and rest and the solution will come to you." Kagome nodded and returned the jewel to its place nestled against her chest. "So, what are your plans for today?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, rising to her feet and making herself busy with cleaning the kitchen. Souta excused himself and hurried out the door to school. Kagome knew she couldn't go to school like a normal girl with a demon lord sitting around at her house and she sighed silently to herself before responding.
"Sesshomaru-sama needs some clothes that fit him. I offered to show him around our world a little and we're not entirely sure how long he will be staying. So I thought I'd take him to the mall and get him a few outfits for his stay here." Kagome started back slightly when a credit card appeared in her line of vision.
"Take this and get what you'll need," her mother said with a smile on her face and a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, "I don't think the outfit he has is quite fitting for a man of his station. My husband was a good man, but not quite as tall or with such physique," she finished glancing up still smiling at the demon who didn't know whether to scowl at the woman for her forwardness or be flattered that she'd paid him a compliment. So he did what he was good at, he scowled, but he didn't fool her for a moment.
"I have some out of town errands to do for the day. Souta knows to come home and do his homework before playing his games. I won't be back until around supper time. Do you think you both will be alright until then?" she asked and Kagome nodded. "I'm taking the train so you'll have free use of the car. I don't think Sesshomaru-sama would appreciate riding in a stuffy train full of noise and lots of humans," she added taking note of the slightly relieved glint in the otherwise emotionless eyes.
"Ok, mom!" Kagome kissed her mom lightly on the cheek before running to the door to get her purse and grabbing Sesshomaru's shoes off the floor. "I'm afraid you'll have to wear these until we can get you something more suitable," she began until she heard a soft rumbling aimed in her direction. She looked up to find Sesshomaru glaring at the shoes as if he wanted to disintegrate them with his poison claws. "Sesshomaru-sama, you can't walk around barefoot, I know the sneakers aren't to your taste and they might be a little too small, but they'll work for now. Oh, and you'll need to leave your swords here," she began glancing at the two swords she saw he had strapped to his back with a length of cord, "in my era no one is allowed to walk around with a sword on them. Please, Sesshomaru-sama?" Ignoring her completely, he turned and walked back out of the kitchen and proceeded up the stairs. Kagome sighed and leaned on the table, happy to still be alive, but wondering what on earth he was doing.
She jumped slightly when he reappeared beside her wearing the boots he wore with his hakama and his swords were gone.
"They reek of blood, but they are much preferable to those… things," he said turning his nose up distastefully at the sneakers she still held and saying nothing about his lack of swords. It's not like he needed the swords to defend himself against a bunch of ningens anyway. Shrugging weakly, she dropped the sneakers back on the floor by the door and grabbed the keys to the car before leaving the house with a final wave to her mother.
Kagome chatted about nothing in particular as they crossed the courtyard to the shrine and descended the stairs to the waiting car. She continued to chat nervously, her mind racing as she tried to figure out how to get the demon to even get in the car, let alone sit quietly while they drove.
Finally they reached their destination and stopped. Sesshomaru stared at the contraption of steel and wheels and tried to make heads or tails of it. Kagome took a deep breath.
"This is called a car. It's like a carriage from your time, but it's motorized, meaning it drives on its own power." Sesshomaru raised one slender eyebrow at that and Kagome continued, "this is how we ningens generally get from place to place. Seeing as there are not many demons in this era, flying and leaping from one location to another would draw undue attention to ourselves." His look of incredulity confused her for a moment until she realized what she had said. "Yes, there are no demons in this era that I can sense thus far. That doesn't mean they don't exist, I just haven't met one here yet."
Sesshomaru glowered at her for a moment before letting her continue. She stepped over to the passenger side door and pulled up on the handle, popping it open for him, swinging the door all the way open.
"You sit inside it in the seat and the driver operates it. If you'll get in, I'll show you, but just to warn you, when I start the car up it will make a kind of… growling sound. It's not growling at you, that's just the sound the car makes so it can move." Sesshomaru stared at her in what she guessed was his dubious expression, though it looked just like every other expression he usually made. Nothing. His perfect porcelain like face didn't change a bit; he simply stared at her before gracefully folding himself into the passenger seat, making sure to sweep his hair to the side so it wouldn't get caught in the door. Kagome closed it behind him with a sigh of relief that she had gotten this far and ran around to the drivers side and slipped in beside him, closing the door behind her.
"This key," she held up the car key, "turns the car on so it'll make that growling sound," she stuck the key in the ignition and turned it on. Sesshomaru detested the way she was telling him all this stuff as if he was a child, however he was grateful for the growling warning as it did indeed sound like an animal or demon growling. Kagome rolled down both windows, knowing he probably felt rather caged, hoping the open windows would relieve some of the tension she saw wound so tightly in his body.
As Kagome put the car in drive and began their journey to the mall, she decided to do so silently and give him a reprieve from her "lessons" in her era. She actually felt guilty for speaking to him in such a … degrading manner. So instead of talking she let him stare out the window and soak in the sights as she drove.
Sesshomaru sat beside her, staring out the window at the alien world she was taking him into and submerged himself in his own thoughts. The miko's world was so different from what he had originally imagined. He didn't think it would be that much different, but then five hundred years is a long time. However, he did not believe the miko when she said there were probably no demons around. Already he could feel faint auras as they drove along the bizarre looking streets filled with people of all sorts, but he figured that they hid their presence in such a ningens dominated world. How in Kami's name could the roles have been reversed so?
He continued his musings as the scenery changed and the buildings became more closely packed together. Their silence gave him the opportunity to turn his thoughts inward to the things that had been troubling him. Namely Rin. Whenever he thought of Jaken, his loyal retainer, it was never with more than a passing feeling that he had served his usefulness and had served it well albeit with more annoyance than should have been necessary. His time had simply come. However, when his thoughts alighted on the little bubble of energy that had always clung to him he got the most painful clenching in his chest. Briefly he wondered if it was that coffee stuff that had done something to him, but although he knew it possessed an ingredient that he recognized was an energizer for most ningens, it didn't do much to affect him. So it wasn't that.
This feeling was disturbing to him because it was so foreign, much like the scenery all around him. He felt lost and confused, feelings he detested for their very properties. It wasn't his pride he was feeling because he knew what it felt like to have his pride injured and that wasn't it. Pride, however, was responsible for his initial loss of control during the battle. It was completely unlike him to lose control like that. But why was that such an injury to his pride? Did the human child cast a spell on him? Was something wrong with him? Everything in him had raged, livid that he'd failed to protect what was his. And she was his. After mulling it over in his mind for quite a while, he began to admit to himself that he had felt a fatherly pride toward the girl and that her loss created just that. A loss in his life. A Rin shaped hole that couldn't be filled by anyone else. He grudgingly admitted to himself that he would miss her persistent presence by his side and studied himself fiercely to discover when exactly that change had come over him.
He was still deep in thought when the movement of the car slowed and come to a stop. Looking around him, he realized they were outside a large building of some sort with people everywhere. Kagome pointed at the door handle on his side and pulled the mirror image of it on her own and the door popped open to let her out. He mimicked her movement and exited the car, grateful to finally be out if its confines and in the open again.
Surveying his surroundings, he found himself to be in a field of unyielding black material filled with lots of "cars" she had called them, but each one looked different from the rest. Kind of the way all horses appear different, he reasoned with himself. Kagome smiled at him genuinely and motioned for him to follow her, waiting for him to fall into step beside her before she began to speak.
"I figured it would be best to go to the men's store and get you some decent clothing and shoes first before we did anything else, after that I planned show you around the rest of the mall and then take you around Tokyo." Sesshomaru gave her the barest of nods, looking rather bored with it all when he was in reality resisting the urge to stare all around him in interest like a school boy on his first day out of the classroom.
They entered the building and he allowed himself to glance around at he high ceiling decorated in glass and the lavish amount of plants in pots everywhere. The amount of people wandering this mall disturbed him, but his bored expression never left his features. Outwardly, he looked as if he'd been there a million times. Kagome marveled at his calm acceptance of the place as she quickly steered them into the men's store, trying desperately to ignore the odd stares they were receiving and the lustful glances many of the women around gave the tall demon at her side.
Hoo-boy, she thought as they reached the relative safety of the men's department. Kagome sifted through the racks with Sesshomaru close in tow. They browsed through the section together, though it was more Kagome leading and Sesshomaru following silently, giving his opinion when asked, not that it made a whole lot of a difference. They ended up picking out several nice shirts, a few pairs of pants, socks, undergarments and a nice pair of shoes. On a whim, Kagome grabbed a few nicer t-shirts and a few pairs of workout pants that closely resembled swordsman attire, an idea occurring to her. Those she kept on her while she readied the others for Sesshomaru to try on while they headed toward the dressing room.
"Well, aren't we tall, pale and handsome today?" came an overly cheery and definitely femininely lilted male voice. A sales clerk dressed in a form fitting suit approached the pair, looking Sesshomaru up and down appraisingly, giving Kagome the creeps.
"What can I help you with? Anything I can help you try on?" he continued suggestively making Kagome shudder involuntarily.
"No, we're alright thank you. He just wanted to try these on to make sure they fit properly, but I'm sure he can manage on his own," Kagome cut in, hoping to make the flirtatious man go away.
"Oh but Sweetheart," he said dramatically, "a man if his caliber can't be dressed in just anything!" Putting limp hand on Sesshomaru's bicep, he attempted to steer the demon lord into the dressing room, "We must get you dressed, just come with me," he began, but never got the chance to finish.
"If you do not remove your hand from my person this instant I will remove it from your wrist," Kagome groaned slightly and the man jumped back as if he'd been burned. Holding her face in her hand, she held out her outfit choices to the demon and gestured to the men's room once her hand was free of the garments. Sesshomaru disappeared into the dressing room once he had the clothes but not before leveling the clerk with a look of death.
The clerk shivered dramatically and ran a tapered finger down one cheek.
"What an absolutely cold and gorgeous man," he said more to himself than the woman standing off to the side.
"Yes, well he's also absolutely straight and absolutely unavailable," she retorted, disgusted with the man. He threw her a look of scorn, crossed his arms over his flat chest and stuck one hip out to the side.
"Oh, and I suppose you think he's taken by you, right?" he practically spat at her.
"No, actually he's taken by himself. He's the only one good enough for him." Sesshomaru chose that moment to emerge from the dressing room in one of the outfits she had chosen for him and leveled her with a frosty glare. Kagome rolled her eyes.
"Oh you know it's true, so don't even look at me like that!" she then took the time to appraise his appearance and had to admit she'd never seen anyone look more delicious in her entire life.
He was wearing a deep blue button down shirt with the top two buttons undone, exposing well shaped collar bones and his elegantly long neck. The shirt fit perfectly, showing a hint of the well muscled body beneath it here and there. It tucked in at the waist where a pair of black dress pants began with a black leather belt encircling his lean hips defining them even more. On his feet were a pair of black shoes that were comfortable, with good soles, but still looked appropriate for the outfit. All in all, he looked amazing.
Kagome clapped her hands excitedly, and nodded in approval earning herself an elegantly raised silver eyebrow. Both of them ignored the sales clerk who literally had to pick his jaw up of the floor and wipe the drool from his chin. Sesshomaru pointedly stared at Kagome.
"This is appropriate then?" Kagome nodded vigorously.
"The others fit?" she asked and he nodded, "good, we'll have you wear that and put the clothes you came in inside the bag instead." Reaching up to remove the tag from the shirt, her hand lightly brushed against his silver hair and then his neck, and she couldn't help reveling in how soft his skin felt when he was hard as steel underneath. Quickly squashing this line of thought, she removed the tag from his shirt, pants, belt and shoes and held on to them as they brought those and the rest of their purchases to the counter.
The sales clerk managed to pick himself up enough to hurry over to the counter and push away the female clerk currently gaping at the vision of silver and blue in order to ring them up himself. The other clerk shot him an annoyed glance but he ignored her as he finished the transaction. Kagome paid with the card and before he slipped her receipt in the bag he jotted down a number on the back then looked at Sesshomaru suggestively.
"If you ever get lonely, you know where to come," he began, but Kagome didn't let him finish, she grabbed the bag and Sesshomaru's hand and dragged him from the store before the demon lord could explode and kill the clerk, not caring if he was mad at her touching him.
Sesshomaru let himself be dragged by the hand from the store, leveling his most cold stare, usually reserved for those he was about to horribly maim at the clerk, telling him exactly how lucky he was to be alive. The clerk paled and shrank back, completely ignoring the female clerk yelling at him for pushing her out of the way when such a gorgeous guy was coming up to the counter.
To say Sesshomaru was upset would be a gross understatement. Glaring ahead of him once the clerk was out of sight, he even failed to realize that his own hand was still clasped in that of the young woman's and she was still dragging him along. He knew he needed something to calm him down and ripping someone to shreds was probably not an option. Though he wasn't entirely sure of the customs in this era, he was pretty sure he wasn't allowed to kill ningens at will. Although the next best thing presented itself when he finally took a deep breath.
"Coffee," he said icily, surprising Kagome and making her stop and look back at him questioningly, "coffee. Now." Comprehension dawned on her face and she smiled in relief. She was confident now that he wasn't going to kill anyone.
"Sure! The coffee shop is over here in the food court," she said turning and pulling him along. After a moment he realized she still held onto him and at first he thought of extricating himself and berating her for touching him, but then decided against it, remembering it was still her world and he simply let her do what she felt was needed. However he would not be dragged along like some dog on a leash.
Extending his long legged stride, he sided up to her easily and matched pace with her, surprising the little miko that he was holding her hand and walking along side of her as if it were perfectly natural. Slightly weirded out that Sesshomaru was acting like a normal man and not the cold, stoic demon he usually was she turned away and scanned the full food court, spotting the coffee shop and leading him in that direction.
Kagome couldn't suppress the flush that came to her cheeks at all the looks they were getting. Men and women stared at the odd couple, mostly at the taller of the two, though the majority of the looks thrown at Kagome were ones of intense jealousy. Sesshomaru's knee-length silver hair swayed back and forth with his long strides, his bangs parted slightly to show the blue crescent moon that stood out proudly against his pale skin and the magenta stripes running down from his ear across each cheek only accentuated his strong jaw and perfect high cheek bones. Kagome felt ugly and plain next to the ethereal beauty of the demon lord.
As if sensing her unease and interpreting it wrong, he automatically pulled her closer to him, removing his hand from her grasp and placing it instead at the small of her back. Kagome felt herself get slightly light headed from their closeness and didn't miss the evil stares sent her way by almost every woman in their vicinity. As if it was bad enough that she could actually feel their jealousy before, of course he had to react protectively, only ensuring their further envy and loathing. Ignoring them, she and Sesshomaru stepped up to the coffee counter and ordered their drinks, waiting a few moments before receiving them and sitting down at a table on the edge of the food court.
Sesshomaru's behavior further confused her when he didn't slide into the seat across the table from her like she had expected him to. He slid into the booth seat right next to her, his arm brushing against hers as he lifted his coffee to his lips and sipped elegantly, like anything he ever does ISN'T elegant, she thought sarcastically and shifted in her seat nervously, staring down at the coffee cup clasped between her hands on the table.
Setting his coffee down, he shifted in his seat so he was slightly turned toward her, lifted one long fingered, deadly clawed hand and swept her hair back from her face and ear gently, mindful not to nick her with his claws. His knuckles brushed against the sensitive skin of her neck when he did this and tingles ran down her spine at the sensation he caused. Her heart leapt into her throat when she felt him lean down close to the ear he'd exposed, his hand resting on the seat behind her, holding her hair back and whispered in her ear, his warm breath playing across the sensitive skin of her hear and neck sending more pleasurable shivers down her spine. Oh what in Kami's name was he doing to her?
"What has you so nervous?" A light blush tinged her cheeks and her neck felt hot. "Your heartbeat doubled its pace as we approached our table and has remained that way. What's wrong?" Kagome was stymied that he had even bothered to ask and mentally cursed demons and their infinitely superior hearing. Sesshomaru's thoughts ran along the same lines as hers except for the cursing his own hearing part. He had no idea what possessed him to act the way he was, but her nervousness was intensely bothering to him and he wanted to know what caused it. He didn't understand the nuances of this world yet and the nervousness of his guide did not bode well. The strategist in him demanded knowledge of a situation he couldn't comprehend on his own. She clearly knew something he didn't. And Kami knows, when Sesshomaru wants to know something, he's going to find out one way or another.
Kagome shifted nervously and Sesshomaru remained where he was making Kagome acutely aware of their close proximity and could feel the heat radiating off his body. Somehow his closeness didn't bother her as much as she thought it would and with him so near, even suppressed, his aura still surrounded her and comforted her, which struck her as strange seeing as she was a miko and he was a demon. One would think their auras would reject each other.
The little miko looked up at the demon lord and almost started at how close their faces were, her vision was practically filled with molten pools of amber and her response got stuck somewhere between her voice box and her mouth. Before she was able to completely force her response out a loud familiar voice broke their spell.
"Kagome! Oh my Kami! Kagome! Are you alright? What are you doing here? Have you gotten over your gastrointestinal anastomosis?" Kagome was going to have to congratulate her grandfather on that one. "How come you didn't come to school today?" Suddenly the pair was surrounded by the eager, questioning faces of her three friends who couldn't seem to stop asking questions long enough for the poor flabbergasted girl to answer. Eri, Ayumi and Yuka, her friends from high school stopped their incessant questioning when they realized the man, not high schooler or teenager but definitely adult man, was glaring at them coolly as if they had interrupted something important.
Eri plopped down into the booth across from the couple and was followed quickly by the other two, the three girls managing to squeeze their slim bodies together into the small booth and started in on the still silent Kagome.
"So where have you been? Your grandfather told us you were sick again and wouldn't be back in school. You've been gone for a while. And who's this, may I ask?" she finally finished gesturing to the stoic demon lord.
"No you may not ask," he cut in coldly causing all the girls to stare at him with their mouths open. Kagome jumped in quickly to appease the situation.
"Guys, it's nice to see you again. I'm sorry I haven't called you all, but besides being sick I had a lot of makeup work to do," she began. Sesshomaru took note of the blatant lie, but made no comment, thinking to ask her about it later. "And this," she said gesturing to the man next to her, "is Sesshomaru-sama, InuYasha's older half brother." Now the girl's jaws really hit the floor.
"HIS OLDER HALF BROTHER!" they squealed together, making both demon and human cringe. Kagome opened her mouth to give them part of the explanation, leaving out quite a bit of course when she felt Eri grab her hand and begin dragging her out of the booth. "Come with us, we have to talk to you!" Eri began, tugging on her friend's hand when she felt strong, deceivingly slender fingers grip her wrist in just the right place to make her entire hand go numb and let go of Kagome's hand before tossing her hand away as if in disgust.
Eri looked up to find a very angry silver haired man glaring at her and her cohorts with one protective arm around their enigma of a friend.
"She is going nowhere. She stays with me," he stated with finality. Kagome turned to Sesshomaru desperately trying to avoid confrontation.
"No, it's alright, Sesshomaru-sama. I need to use the restroom and they can escort me so you can stay here and finish your coffee." She smiled at him weakly and he had no choice but to just nod and turn back to his coffee in what she took to be a huff.
Would he never cease to confuse her? She felt a tug on her arm and hesitantly got up and followed her friends to the restroom, wondering nervously what they wanted to talk to her about so badly.