Chapter 45
"Nope." Hitomi said and threw the garment over her shoulder, then pulled out a blouse, held it before her torso and looked at herself in the mirror.
"Nope." she said and threw it to the ever growing pile of clothes on her bed. She simply couldn't decide what she wanted to wear.
Today Leifang and her would have their first official date. Hitomi had used the past three weeks to plan every little detail of it. First they would eat in a restaurant that she liked very much. Nothing fancy really, but quite cozy and she felt comfortable there, and after that she would take Leifang somewhere very special.
The Karateka was rather satisfied with what she had thought of. So why the hell couldn't she decide what to wear!?
She didn't have that problem on past dates. Looking at herself in the mirror she wondered how long it had been since she even had a serious date.
It must have been years now. And Hayate didn't really count.
Damn she thought. She still had been in highschool. That had also been her last relationship. Hitomi had been happy at the time and her boyfriend was a great guy, but as the end of school had slowly approached they decided it would be better to call it off since their lives were headed into different directions.
No wonder she was so damn nervous right now.
Ok ok, first order: calm down. She inhaled and exhaled a deep breath. In retrospect it was funny since she had reacted pretty much the same way when Leifang and her had gone to that club on that fated evening.
Chuckling she pulled out a black turtleneck and pulled it over her head. Better to just keep it simple. She didn't need to impress Leifang after all. Silly Hitomi she told herself.
She stopped for a moment to look at where her wound had been. The stitches had been taken out and like Hayate said it already looked like there would be no scar in a few months.
The next thing she pulled out was a pair of deep brown stockings and pulled them on. Over that she opted to wear a simple red plaid skirt and put on a pair of suspenders to keep it in place.
It was the last week of November already so it was better to dress a bit warmer.
The clothes on her bed she put hurriedly back into the closet, she would take proper care of the later, then headed over into her bathroom. She put on some lip-gloss, gave herself a last once over and a thumbs-up, then grabbed her jacket, put on her shoes and headed out.
Just as she closed her door the one to Viktor's apartment opened and a black haired pretty woman came out, saying her goodbyes to the young man before turning around and stopping. Her almond shaped, grey eyes looked at her in surprise for a moment.
Her black painted lips formed into a smile. "Hitomi. It's been a while."
"Marina. What a surprise." Hitomi said cheerfully and trying to hide the surprise in her voice.
"I'd love to catch up, but I have to go. Maybe some other time?"
"Sure." Hitomi watched as Marina headed towards the stairs, her long, black hair flowing with the movement. It hung down her entire back.
Viktor himself stood in the doorway, looking after Marina as well. Smirking at him Hitomi walked over.
"So, did I just really see your ex-girlfriend walk out of your apartment?" Viktor turned to look at her, then gave her a shrug of his shoulders.
"Yeah. So? We talk, alright." he said. Hitomi remembered when they were first together. She had known Marina that good but from what she had seen they were a good couple and she never understood why they even broke up in the first place. "Today's the big day, huh?"
"Yeah. First date and all. About time too." Hitomi said.
"Well have fun and say hello to Leifang for me."
"Will do. See ya." Hitomi said and headed towards the stairs.
"Hey." She heard Viktor say behind her. Hitomi stopped and looked at him. "I haven't told you that, but sorry that I acted the way I did back then and I'm happy for you two."
"Thanks. That really means a lot you know?"
Viktor huffed and smiled. "Yeah, kind of heard that already. Now you don't want to keep the lady waiting. Go and get her."
Hitomi didn't need to be told twice and headed down the stairs. She got her bike out of the basement and rode towards Leifang's apartment.
Eager to get there she only needed two thirds of the time she usually did and locked her bike in place before ringing the doorbell. All of a sudden the nervousness returned and she inspected her clothes for any small fuzz as well as wringing her hands together. She also checked if her breath was ok.
Keep calm, goddammit! She berated herself and opened the door when she was buzzed in and rode up the elevator.
The door was already open when she arrived.
"Leifang?" she called.
"I'm not ready yet. Come in." her girlfriend shouted. Shrugging Hitomi entered the apartment, closing the door behind her, and took a seat on the sofa in the Leifang's living room.
"No hurry. We're not exactly strapped for time." she said loud enough that Leifang could hear. Though there was something that she wanted to do before it got too late. She looked out of the window and saw that the sun was still up for a few more hours.
About twenty more minutes passed and Hitomi had decided to turn on the TV out of lack of anything to do, when Leifang finally emerged from the bathroom. And what Hitomi saw simply amazed her.
Just like when they went to the club Leifang had put on some lipstick and eyeshadow. She wore a stylish, long-sleeved shirt and a short pleated black skirt. Like Hitomi she had opted to wear stockings due to the cold weather, colored jet black.
"How do I look?" Leifang asked.
It was a simple outfit, but to Hitomi it was simply amazing.
"You look beautiful." she breathed and Leifang looked away in a bashful manner.
"Flatterer." she muttered. Hitomi turned off the TV and walked over to her.
"But it's true. You could wear rags and you'd still be beautiful."
Leifang turned beet read. "Jeez. Will you stop already!?"
Hitomi chuckled to herself at how Leifang was acting.
"Really now." Leifang mumbled. "So where are you taking me out to?"
"To one of my favorite restaurants. I hope you like Greek cuisine."
"No real experience with it, so I'm open to the idea." Leifang said with a smile that made Hitomi just want to kiss her then and there. But patience is a virtue they say.
"Ready to go?" Hitomi asked. Leifang grabbed her purse from the nearby table and nodded.
"Ready." They headed out and down with the elevator.
Outside Leifang gave Hitomi a confused look as she saw the karateka's bike.
"We're not taking a taxi?"
"Nope. Hop on." Hitomi patted the pannier rack. Leifang gave her an unsure look before sitting down sideways with her legs tightly closed. Her arms went around the German's waist almost immediately when she started to pedal.
The ride took about forty minutes and they stopped in front of a small but nice looking restaurant. From how it looked Leifang would have guessed that they would need a reservation but she was surprised that they could simply sit down and order their food.
Their prices were reasonable too.
"The previous owner of this place had turned the whole building into a high-class restaurant." Hitomi told her once they had ordered and having noticed Leifang's look. "But it didn't turn out how he wanted so he sold it again. And then the family that currently runs it bought it, kept the look and just turned it into a regular restaurant."
"It's still a nice place." Leifang said.
"Mhm. I thought it was quite fitting and I wanted take you somewhere a bit more fanciful that a burger shop or something like that. You know, make you feel special." Hitomi admitted.
Leifang reached out and placed her hand on top of Hitomi's. "It wouldn't have mattered, really. You make me feel special just by being with me."
Now it was Hitomi who had to blush. Clearing her throat she said. "You know, the first time I went here was with my parents. I was eleven or twelve. It had been my father's idea since at the time he had become rather tired of all the japanese inspired food."
She could still remember how mad her mother had been when her father had admitted as much. That she hadn't been to keen on the food either hadn't helped either. God, her mother had been mad at them for an entire week until she calmed down. In a way it had been funny but she was sure those glares had shaved off a few years of their lifes. But in the end she had taken it all to heart and started to put more variety into her cooking.
"I really took a liking to the food here. And ever since I started to come here frequently."
"Well, thus far I think it's lovely here. Who knows, maybe I'll be taking a liking to it too."
They looked at each other, smiling, and Hitomi suddenly had to think about them going here more than once. With luck they might celebrate their anniversary here too.
Don't get too far ahead now, Hitomi She couldn't even say if they would still be together in the far future.
Still. Looking at Leifang now, who was keeping herself busy by looking curiously at the paintings on the wall, she couldn't help but wish for them to come through and have a long lasting relationship.
Her musings came to a halt when their food was being brought.
"That tasted really amazing." Leifang said as the waitress took their plates to deliver them back into the kitchen. Hitomi herself could only agree.
Though not on Leifang's choice of food. "I still can't believe you took mussels."
"What's wrong with them?" Leifang asked, propping her chin with her fist.
"They are just...yuck!" Hitomi said and made a face that clearly told what she thought of them.
"Too bad, now I'm tasting like them." Leifang said, then caught herself. Hitomi blinked, then gave her a flirtatious smile.
"Oho, so does that mean I'll be getting my good night kiss?"
"And if I take back what I said?" Leifang asked with a smile of her own.
"No take-backs with kisses."
"Says who?"
"It's in the constitution, don't you know?"
"Is that so." Leifang leaned slightly forward. "Which article?"
"It's..." Hitomi looked around to think of a clever comeback. "It's in one of the bills."
"Which bill?"
Just then the waitress came back to the table, holding the bill for their dinner and Hitomi all but snatched it from her. "This one." she said. "I bought you dinner, so courtesy dictates that I get a good night kiss."
Leifang laughed silently ash Hitomi handed the money to the dumbstruck waitress. "We'll see." she said finally as the woman left. "But honestly, I had a great time today."
"It's not over yet." Hitomi sing-songed and led her outside.
Sitting on her bike again she rode them out as far as the historic Old Town and from there to the outskirts towards the Castle Hill. While the German pedaled Leifang pulled herself closer to Hitomi, resting her head on her back and enjoying the warmth that she gave off. In the distance the sun was starting to set.
The Chinese hadn't been to this part of town yet, so she tried to catch as much of a glimpse of everything as she could from this position. She noticed that the buildings were getting fewer and fewer until there were only trees to be seen.
They stopped soon after and Leifang spotted a tower standing nearby. Hitomi placed her bike against one of the trees, then grabbed Leifang's hand and pulled her towards the tower.
"This is the Castle Hill Tower." she explained simply and led her up the winding stairs. Leifang had to smile at the eagerness that Hitomi radiated and found herself being infected by it. They arrived at the top of the stairs and stepped onto the windowed viewing platform.
What Leifang saw was probably one of the most beautiful views she had ever seen. You could see the whole town from up here. Leifang stepped foward and placed her hands on the rail.
The last rays of the setting sun illuminated everything in a red light. Here and there were already a few lights turned on, giving it an even more magical look.
Hitomi approached her from behind and encircled her waist, placing her head on top of Leifang's shoulder.
"I always wanted for someone to take me here after a date." she told Leifang. "Just two people and a romantic view. And now that I'm finally here," She pulled Leifang closer. "I wouldn't want to share it with anybody else."
"Thank you. For showing me this." Leifang said. They remained that way until the sun was completely set and all the town lights turned on. The Chinese loosened the grip that Hitomi had around her waist and turned around.
"Today was amazing." Leifang said.
"Does that mean we'll be repeating this?" Hitomi asked. Leifang just gave her a teasing smile and sat down on top of the rail. They looked deeply into one another's eyes. She placed her hands on either side of Hitomi's face as the Karateka stepped forward, standing between Leifang's legs, and brought their faces close together so that they could feel each others breath on their skin.
"Yes." she breathed and Hitomi leaned forward to touch her lips with her own.
All of a sudden Hitomi didn't mind the taste of mussels all that much.
And that concludes their very first date. I hope you guys had as much fun reading this as I had writing.
See you all next week. :)