''No mom, it's not… Uh, no, listen, just restart the browser and see if that helps.'' I sighed and pressed my phone against my ear with my shoulder. My hands were busy with emptying my mailbox and I let out a small groan when I saw much there was in it. ''So it's working now? Yeah. Okay, okay… Yeah, love you too.'' I hummed and hang up with a small huff. The phone was put back in my pocket so I could move the handful of mail back up into my apartment.
''Ugh…'' I grumbled and let the pile fall down on my kitchen table. Most of it was just flyers and junk mail but a brown envelope caught my eye. It looked out of place and my fingers itched to get it open but I let my eyes wander over it first. There was no name, no address and no sender. I flipped the envelope a couple times before I opened it and emptied its content on the table. My eyebrows shot up when I spotted the USB stick and picked it up.
''This is weird…'' I mumbled and turned it around in my hand. I tilted my head and bit my lip softly as my curiosity started to claw away at me. ''Fuck it.'' I breathed and almost ran to my computer in excitement. I watched the screen come to life and plugged it in. It quickly popped up and I clicked my into the unnamed folder, finding only a document called 'names'. Without much hesitation, I double clicked it and waited for it to open. Once it did, confusion and disappointment was what I was greeted by.
A long list of names along with other information was divided into columns and my eyes quickly moved down the list. My eyes narrowed as I read the names but I didn't know any of them. The other information was age, location, money and position. When my eyes reached the end of the second page, I shook my head slightly as I still couldn't make sense of it. With a slight scoff, I removed the USB stick and put it down next to the laptop.
I couldn't help but frown at it in disappointment but my attention was quickly moved to my phone as it began to ring. My eyes flickered back to the USB before I got up and moved back to my phone. I picked up the phone before even looking at the screen.
''Hello?''
''That took you a while.''
I smiled when I recognized the voice. ''You can at least say hi.'' I turned around and leaned my back against the kitchen table.
''Yeah yeah, what are you doing right now?''
''Nothing.''
''Mind if I swing by?''
''With beer?''
He chuckled softly. ''Wouldn't show up without it.''
''Great. Hurry over here!'' I let my head fall backwards while I let out a small groan before laughing.
''Yeah yeah, calm down. I'll be there in five.''
''Great. I'll see you then.''
''Yeah, see ya'.''
I jumped up as soon as we had hung up and moved into my bedroom with a foolish grin on my face. I pulled of my top underway and threw it on the bed before digging into my closet to find something else. I ended up with a wine red blouse before closing the door and moving back to the main room. Within the next five minutes, I somehow managed to get the place look nice.
It had been a month since we had been at the bar and we had met up multiple times since but he had never been inside my apartment. I took a deep breath just as it knocked on my door. Despite that I was trying to stay calm, I could already feel my pulse quicken and the blood throbbing in my ears. Even so, I opened the door with a smile and was met by his usual grin.
He was wearing a black T-shirt with an unbuttoned, light grey shirt over it. A chain necklace disappeared behind the T-shirt and he was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans. His hair was spiked as usual and in his hands were two six-packs.
''You brought two?'' I asked with a grin and moved so he could come inside.
''Wasn't it you that just told me off for not saying hi?'' He smirked at me and walked inside. After he put the beer down, he let his glance move around the room. I waited with anticipation for his reaction to show and he did not leave me disappointed. ''Huh, I'm so used to see this as something really dark and heavy but it looks really great now.'' He smiled at me and my heart fluttered.
''Yeah, it took some hard work.'' I grinned and flexed my arm muscles.
My efforts were rewarded by a flick to my forehead. ''Pfft, your mom probably did everything.''
''You ass.''
''I was right then.'' He chuckled and freed two of the beers from the packaging. ''Here.'' He handed me one before opening his and taking his first zip. I quickly followed suit. ''She did a great job.''
''I'll tell her that you like it.'' I smiled and put the rest of the beers in the fridge. I watched him kick of his shoes before proceeding further into the room and sat down on the couch. The fact that he was already leaning his back against the armrest and was practically sprawled out on the couch made me grin. I made my way to the couch, pushed his feet off it and sat down in the other end. ''Move, you fatty.'' I grinned at him and pushed his leg on the couch with him.
''Don't make me wrestle you off this couch, idiot.'' He pushed his foot back against mine and easily won.
I let out a groan but accepted the defeat. ''No fair. You're crazy at judo so of course you're going to win.''
''I would take you down even without the judo.''
''Yeah right. I used to kick your ass when we were young.''
''Lena, we were five!''
''But! I still kicked your ass back then!'' I laughed and took a sip of my beer.
The back and forth teasing continued as the number of beers decreased and it had gotten dark outside. It was nice seeing him like this and despite us being twenty-five, we acted as if we were ten years younger but whenever we needed to say something serious, it wasn't a problem to switch back to adults. It was what I needed, he was what I needed. The only thing I had to remember what we were now, friends and nothing more. Even so, the beer clouded my mind a bit and as the night proceeded, we had moved closer on the couch while talking about things we used to do as kids.
''Nononono, wait! I have the perfect thing!'' I exclaimed and stood up from the couch, almost stumbling, and ran into my office. It took me a second to find the photo album and bring it back to the couch. I sat down beside him, as he was now sitting on the middle of the couch, and leaned my shoulder against his. ''Look.'' I smiled proudly.
''You kept this?''
''Of course I did! We made this together, why would I throw it out?'' I looked back down at the photo album and we started to look through them. It was our history, our childhood and mid-teens, all in pictures with dates on the back. ''You looked so fucking cute in that school uniform.'' I giggled while looking at the picture from when we started school.
''Shut up. Look at you and your little pigtails.'' He smiled.
I glanced up at him but I couldn't tell if the faint red in his cheeks was there because of the drinking or if he was actually embarrassed.
''Oooh the pigtails.'' I laughed as we continued through the photo album and reached our early teen years.
''Yeah, you never lost your interest in them.'' He chuckled softly. ''Even in high school.''
''Hey, I was cute!'' I protested with a slight frown and looked up at him.
''Yeah, you were.'' He hummed and our eyes met but I looked back down when I felt heat rise to my cheeks.
''Look, here's us at your first judo tournament.''
We both stared at the picture of us standing in an old gym. His arm was around my waist and held me close. He had his eyes closed and his forehead leaned against my head while I was still looking at the camera, smiling.
''That was your first win as well…'' I hummed and took a long sip of my beer.
We finished the album as we shared the last beer. His arm lay on the back of the couch and I had moved to lean against his side. For a while, we simply sat together and enjoyed the silence but Kaiji choose to end that silence by suddenly chuckling.
''Hey, hey… Remember when we did it in the school's locker room?''
I spit out the sip of beer I had in my mouth and afterwards laughed loudly. Despite laughing, my thoughts quickly went back to that evening after a tournament held at our school. Everyone had left and we found ourselves alone in the locker room.
''Ow, hey.'' I mumbled as my back hit the iron lockers and one of the handles.
''Sorry.'' He spoke in between kissing me firmly and letting his hands roam my sides and then thighs.
I let out a moan as he grinded against me while his teeth caught my lip before his tongue entered my mouth and began to roam. He was still wearing his judo uniform and his scent had a mix of sweat in it, only making me want him more. My arms were around his neck as he had me pressed against the lockers and his lips kept claiming mine over and over.
''Lena…'' He breathed huskily while his lips moved to my neck. ''Can I…?''
All I was able to do was nod and bit my lip to keep my sounds at a minimum. My hands moved to pull my shirt over my head before working on getting his shirt off as well. It was easy to get off and soon enough, his firm chest was pressed against mine and I could feel his erratic breathing. He grinded against me again and I couldn't keep a moan back because of the friction he caused. My fingernails sank into his shoulders while my head fell back against the lockers, breaking our heated kiss.
The next thing I knew, he picked me up with ease and his lips moved on to my throat and neck. I swung my legs around him so he could use one of his hands to edge my skirt up and easily move my underwear to the side. His fingers brushed against me and with a trained hand, he did what he knew would make me moan the loudest. His fingers weren't making it easier for me to get rid of the last pieces of clothing on him. With a slight struggle, I finally got the knot in his pants loosened and they fell to the floor. His fingers left me momentarily to pull his boxers down and I swung my arms around his neck again while my back pressed against the cold metal lockers. He took a sharp breath while his lips roughly found mine again and he positioned himself.
''Yeah… I remember that.'' I laughed while I felt my cheeks burn. Nonchalantly, I let my head turn away from him while I drank the rest of the beer. There was no way I would show him my reaction just by remembering that episode. I drank the rest of my beer and frowned slightly. With a slight struggle, I got up from the couch and carefully moved to the kitchen to check my fridge. Once I had done that, a smile appeared on my lips. ''Hey, do you like white wine?'' I asked while pulling the bottle from the fridge. ''I got it from my parents when I moved in here but I didn't have a reason to drink it yet.''
''Well, the night is still young.'' He grinned from the couch.
''I'll take that as a yes then.'' I hummed and found two glasses before moving back to the couch with them and the bottle in my other hand. ''Here, I can't open it.'' I smiled and handed him the bottle.
It opened with a soft pop.
''Here, this is for you.''
''What is it?''
''It's a promise ring.''
My curios glance moved up to his flushed face and I smiled softly. ''I can see that but what's the promise?''
''That I'll someday get a proper ring and ask you to marry me.'' He smiled in the midst of his embarrassment.
My glance fell back down on the silver ring with a little blue stone in the middle. My cheeks began to warm up but the smile never faded. ''I like that promise…'' I murmured softly while I continued to admire the simple but beautiful ring.
''That's good…'' The relief was obvious in his voice.
I slipped the ring on and started grinning. ''It fits perfectly.''
''Of course, what did you expect? Idiot.'' He hummed and tousled my hair with his large hand. ''Just remember the promise.''
''Of course.'' I grinned and looked up at him.
His fingers moved down from my hair to my jaw, tracing it until he reached my chin. His eyes followed his hand as it moved but went back to mine once his thumb had run over my chin. ''Good.'' He murmured softly before leaning down and catching my lips with his.
A sudden jolt of throbbing pain robbed me of my peaceful dream, leaving me to slowly gaining consciousness and wake up. Almost instantly, the pain hit again and made me cringe slightly. I quickly judged that it was safe to say that I had a headache.
I lay in silence and let my mind start functioning but everything was sped up once I noticed the obvious presence of someone else in my bed. Slowly, I looked over my shoulder and stayed still once I came face to face with the man who was practically spooning me. I swallowed thickly as my mind began to recall what had happened after we had finished that bottle of wine but the memory was fogged. I couldn't remember what had happened after our last glass.
I turned back around as carefully as I could. My hand quickly moved to my lips, it didn't feel like we had kissed, it hadn't been much at least. I let out a soft sigh and let my head fall back down on my pillow. The most reasonable explanation for this was probably me insisting that he stayed over but why he was in my bed and not in the guest room was a mystery.
With a racing heart, I watched his peaceful face as he slept like a baby. Before I knew it, my fingers were softly brushing some of his spiky hair away from his forehead. It reminded me of when we were still together. He could sleep through everything while it didn't take much for me to wake up. It was alright though; it meant that I had the chance to see him like this. His expression was so soft and peaceful, unlike when he was teasing me or just grimacing whenever something didn't suit him. He used to be so childish at times but now he was all grown up and even working as a bodyguard. I frowned slightly. What an idiot, why would he take such a dangerous job? Maybe he had matured much more than I realized?
I let out a soft sigh as he began to shift around. To my luck, his arms left their hold on me and he turned to lie on his back. I took the opportunity to carefully move out of the bed before I would get lost in bittersweet memories again. After finding a sweatshirt and a pair of black leggings, I softly closed the door to the bedroom and moved to the kitchen. Coffee usually helped me through a hangover. It was then my glance moved to the clock hanging on the wall.
It was noon.
''Shit.'' I breathed and momentarily forgot about the coffee but my worry went from the time to the sudden noise I heard from outside.
It was like a loud bang and something being smashed and it startled me. A few seconds later, a thud sounded from the bedroom and the door was almost thrown open. I turned around to see a fully awake Kaiji almost running out of the room while looking around. I figured he was looking for the source of the sound but I was baffled by how quick he had woken up and gotten somewhat dressed. Sure, his belt wasn't closed and his T-shirt was wrinkled, but he was fully clothed. The bodyguard training had apparently turned him better at getting up in the morning, much to my surprise considering my experience with him in the morning.
''What was that? Are you okay?'' He asked once his glance found me and I snapped out of my thoughts.
''Yes, I'm fine.'' I swallowed and looked at the only door to my apartment. ''I'm pretty sure it came from outside.''
''Right. I'll go check and you stay here, got it?'' His voice was surprisingly serious and he had a matching look in his eyes. After I had nodded, he quickly put on his shoes and went outside, closing the door behind him.
I stood still as I waited for him to return and if there would be anymore sounds. Everything remained quiet and all I could hear was him moving down the metal stairs outside.
Since when had he gotten so serious? The only other times I had seen him like that were whenever he had a match or was training for one. It seemed like a whole new side of him and I couldn't help but be impressed. Yes, he had definitively matured a lot more since we were teenagers.
After a few more minutes, I heard him come back up the stairs and I watched the door as he stepped inside. He had a slightly worried expression on but he seemed mostly annoyed.
''I didn't remember this as a troublesome neighborhood.'' He hummed and kicked off his shoes.
''It's not. What happened?'' I asked with a puzzled look.
''Someone trashed your mailbox; it's been removed from the wall and pried open with a crowbar or something.''
''Seriously?''
He nodded.
''That's… unusual…'' I mumbled, not sure what to do with the information.
''Did anything strange happen here?''
''No, not really…'' I crossed my arms over my chest and watched as he looked at me. ''Everything's been quiet and there's only been the regulars to the bookstore, plus a few kids.'' I shrugged.
''Are you sure that you didn't piss anyone off?'' At first I thought it was meant as a joke, but both his expression and voice stayed serious.
''I… no, I haven't…'' I mumbled while looking down, trying to recall my weeks in details. ''Wait,'' I looked back up at him when I remembered something, ''I got this brown envelope with no name or anything on it. It was in my mailbox yesterday. I thought it was strange but I forgot about it when you called.''
''An envelope? What was in it?'' I could tell he was getting more worried and it only made me nervous.
''Nothing. Just a USB stick with nothing special on it.''
''Show me.''
It took me a few seconds before I nodded and moved to the next room to find my laptop. What if this was actually something really serious? I shook my head, such ridicules thoughts. Everything was probably a misunderstanding, I told myself as I brought my laptop along with the USB stick back to Kaiji, who hadn't moved one bit. The serious expression was still on his face as I put the laptop down on the kitchen table and turned it on.
We stood in silence as it came to life and he didn't move as he watched me plug in the USB stick and open the document on it. I turned it around so it faced him and looked at him nervously.
''There's nothing else on the USB. Just this document with a bunch of names I don't know.'' I spoke as he moved closer and his eyes scanned the list while he scrolled down.
Once he reached the last page, his expression changed from serious to surprised and he looked back up at me. ''You're sure this is everything?''
''Yes.'' I nodded faintly.
Within the next few seconds, he had grabbed the USB stick, dropped it in his pocket and was grabbing his coat while stepping into his shoes.
''What's going on?'' I asked, obviously worried by his sudden haste.
''Nothing. Just stay here until I call you.''
''Kaiji-''
''Just stay here, alright?'' The way he looked at me made me shut up and silently nod after a few more seconds. ''Good. I'll call you later.'' He was already on his way out as he spoke.
I followed him out on the stairs and watched as he almost ran down them.
''Kaiji!'' I called out his name as he reached the bottom of the stairs and was about to round the corner.
He stopped just before we would have gotten out of sight and looked up at me. ''Don't worry; I know what I'm doing. Just stay here.'' He smiled reassuringly and I felt myself calm down a bit.
''Okay.'' I somewhat smiled at him and then watched as he disappeared around the corner and out of sight.
I waited on the stairs for a couple of minutes before exhaling and going back inside. Everything had suddenly turned strange. It was the first time I had seen him act like that and I couldn't shake the feeling of something being wrong. It was like the cold breeze followed me inside and stayed with me as I finally decided to brew some coffee. Maybe it would help me with my headache but I mostly hoped that it would chase some of that coldness away.