[Fan fic] Once Again ~~Sakurai Sho +fictional girl Chapter 1
.:FOREWORD:.
I stood motionless in front of the gravestone and stared blankly at it. The sky was overcast, most likely to rain any given minute. The wind was piercing on my face and whipped my hair fiercely on my cheeks. The weather matched my dark, gloomy mood. The kind of gloominess that one wished to be snug in bed and let the world pass her by.
Odigiri Kazuya.
I stared at the name on the gravestone. It had been a year since he died and my tears were drained out crying for my lost. He was my fiancé, and we had been together since we were freshmen in Keio University. I stepped forward to place a small bouquet of daisies on the stone, and turned to go home. It had started to drizzle then intensified as I walked back to my car, but I didn’t notice. Sure, there was a droplet of water on cheek, but it wasn’t a tear. I had been drained out, emptied to just a shell.
~~~~~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Starring:
Sho Sakurai
Daisy Saito (fic girl)
Minors:
Kamenashi Kazuya
~~~~~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 1
A/N: AHHH!!! I meant this as a one-shot, but I got carried away, so this looks it'll be a short chapter story. Anyway, I hope I did justice so far and thanks to those who left comments already.
BTW, reread the foreword for the "prologue" of the story. ^-^
Anyway, douzo. Yoroshiko onegaishimasu *bows*
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2007
I woke up suddenly at 2 AM, fully awake. I moved my hand next to me and for a moment startled that it was vacant, and I then remembered that he was in Kobe visiting his family and relatives for the weekend. My fiancé, Kame, insisted he was going to visit some family members who couldn’t make it for our wedding next week. I told him that we could visit them right after our honeymoon, but in the end, he got his way. I gave him a hard time for going without me early Friday morning as he pack for the weekend, but he was patient with me as always.
“Daisy,” he had sighed after he was done packing his duffle bag and sat beside me on the bed. He reached and touched my cheek and I turned my back to him in a huff. I crossed my arms over my chest, and pouted like a little girl. He wrapped his arms around me and started to kiss my shoulder before he turned me around to face him. He leaned forward to kiss me, but I turned my head and his lips landed on my cheek instead. He trailed his kisses down to my neck and I pushed him away.
“Stop,” I said and frowned at him. He was taken aback, but smiled and started to resume, and I stopped him again.
“I’m still mad at you for leaving me for the weekend,” I pouted. I knew I was acting childish, but I didn’t care. He caressed my cheek and his touch was slowly melting my anger away.
“I thought I made it clear with you why I have to go,” he said as he looked deep in my eyes.
“It’s just I don’t want to spend my weekend without you.”
He just smiled and kissed me again, slowly lowering me down on our bed. I felt his hand slowly moved up under my nightgown, and I swatted his hand away.
“I thought we agreed we’re not doing it anymore until our honeymoon next week,” I reminded him when he looked at me in shock for slapping his hand off.
“But I’m gonna be gone for the whole weekend,” he mumbled as he started to kiss me again. “It’s… gonna… be… a… long… weekend,” he said between kisses and I melted under his touch. He managed to convince me, so we ended up making love and he left later than what he had planned, but with a smile on his face.
“Bye, Daisy, I love you,” he had called out before he started the engine of his motorcycle and strapped on his helmet.
“Bye, I love you, too,” I raised my hand and waved until I couldn't see him anymore.
I giggled happily at the memory of his touch; so far, it was the best love making session ever. I turned on the lamp on the nightstand and got up. I took out the wedding gown from the closet and put it on. Kame was really tempted to see it, but I made him promise not to peek so that it would be a surprise. I twirled around in from of the full-length mirror and fixed my hair, choosing whether I should have it up in a bun or down with soft waves framing my face.
He would be home in a few hours, I smiled, and thought up what special something to make for him for breakfast when the phone suddenly rang. I wondered who would call at three o’clock on a Sunday morning and walked over to the phone.
“Moshi, moshi,” I answered. I heard someone crying from the other end. “Who’s this? Are you okay?”
“Da-Daisy?” a woman said as she tried to calm down in order to talk. “It’s Naoko.” Kame’s mother.
“Oh, Auntie Naoko, are you okay? What’s wrong?” I asked and fear gripped my heart as I listened to her. There’s only one reason why she would call me. Something must have happened to Kame.
“It’s Kazuya…” she cried harder as she said his name. “There… there’s been an accident.”
“Is he okay?” I asked, praying that he got to the hospital in time. “Is he hurt?”
“A drunk driver hit him….on his way back there to Tokyo…” she burst out crying again. I sunk down hard on the floor, still in my wedding dress, when she said her next words.
“He’s dead, Daisy. He died instantly.”
My world crashed into millions of pieces.
~~~*~~~*~~~
The chirping of the birds outside my window woke me up. I groaned and put the blanket over my head. Shut up, I yelled at them in my mind. I didn’t want to wake up at all. I dreamed about that fateful day again. I don’t usually dream about it, I guess I’m suppressing that memory in my mind. Going to the cemetery earlier this week to visit Kame’s grave had probably brought it back.
It had been raining the whole night, but as I listened closely, it seemed to stop; maybe that was why the birds were out singing their stupid song. I wasn’t in the best of mood. I never had been, to be honest, since Kame died.
Since I’m up already, I slowly dragged myself to the kitchen to get some coffee. I poured a cup and checked the time. 9:00. I sighed. It’s too damn early for me. No, I didn’t have a job to go to. I hadn’t been working for almost a year already. I just couldn’t concentrate on my drafting, and the foreman I worked for saw my careless design mistakes.
Sorry, Saito-san, he had said. Lots of building code violations, lots of unbalance layout, safety violations, blah, blah blah. I wasn’t listening to him then. All I had thought about was he should just get on with it and fire me already. Yeah. I didn’t care. An architect that didn’t care about the safety of the future resident of the new building should get out of the business. I needed to be let go. I had stop caring.
My growling stomach brought me back to the present. I checked the refrigerator to see what I could eat, and found it empty. Yabai! I had forgotten to do groceries again. I slammed the fridge door a bit harshly and went back to my room to change. In a few minutes, I dashed out my apartment door.
##
Coming back from the supermarket, I parked my car in front of my four-unit apartment complex. There was a moving truck parked directly near the entrance and I paused for a moment to watch two movers struggling with a sofa. The rain from last night had left lots of puddles on the ground, and they were trying not to drop it in any of them.
I slid out of the car, bringing the groceries with me, and made my way to my apartment, making sure I wasn’t in their way. I stopped in the middle of my tracks when I saw a third person. His back was to me, so he didn’t see me staring at him. He had his shirt off, sweat glazing his well-built body. I blinked at the familiarity: Kame! I shook my head at my delusion. No, of course not, I blinked again and noticed that it was some stranger.
He suddenly turned around and took me completely off-guard. I smiled guiltily for staring at him, but he just returned it with a friendly smile.
“Konnichiwa,” he said, waved and walked up to me. “Sakurai Sho desu. Hajimemashite.” He offered his hand and smiled brightly.
I shyly looked in his eyes, trying not to stare at his defined abs, and shook his hand.
“Hajimemashite,” I said. “Saito Daisy desu. I guess you’re my new neighbor.” Duh, Daisy, you think? I scolded myself for sounding completely inept. He just smiled as if he didn’t care. As luck would have it, my growling stomach interrupted. He laughed good-naturedly at me while my face burned.
“Sakurai-sama, we’re finished,” one of the movers saved me as he handed him the liability form to sign. I took the opportunity to escape while he signed the papers, but he caught up with me and grabbed my arm stopping me just before I walked through my door.
“Hey, why did you leave like that?” he asked trying to look at my face. Of course I put my head down so he wouldn’t see my embarrassment. I peeked at him through my long hair and caught him looking at my door.
“Apartment A, huh?” he observed, taking his hand off my arm. He pointed at the door directly across from mine. “That’s mine. Apartment D. Listen, I have lunch -“
“Me, too,” I interrupted a little forcibly, showing him the plastic bags from the store. “See?”
He nodded. “Well, since I’m new here, I was wondering if you could show me the ropes,” he said and stepped back away a few inches.
I sighed and winced inside for being a bit rude just now. I nodded my head and took up his offer. After I dropped off my groceries inside my apartment and brought only the store-bought bento, I followed behind him to his.
I looked around and was completely astounded that, although still in boxes, he pretty much had organized his apartment. Each boxes marked where they ought to be, and I couldn’t help comparing that Kame was like that, too.
~~~*~~~
2005
“OCD much?” I teased Kame the first time he invited me to his place after one class.
“Eh?” he cocked his head to one side. I giggled.
“You know? Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Your apartment is more organized and meticulously cleaner than mine.”
“I am not meticulous!”
I looked around his apartment, looked back at him, and nodded.
“Arr, I’m not!” He started to come after me in mocked frustration. I yelped and ran from him. He chased me around his coffee table, and I accidentally knocked down his well-stacked magazines to the floor. He stopped suddenly, kneeled down, and picked up the magazines and stacked them back in alphabetized order. I grinned above his head. He seemed to sense my amusement, and looked up sheepishly.
“OCD,” I teased him again, standing above him and crossing my arms. “I rest my case.”
He suddenly lunged at me, and imprisoned me in his arms. We dropped on his couch, giggling. We stared deeply in each other’s eyes. He slowly moved in closer to kiss me, and accidentally kicked the magazines he just stacked. He started to pick them up but stopped before doing so.
“Well?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. “Aren’t you gonna pick them up?”
“No,” he said and came back closer to me. “I’m gonna prove to you I’m not OCD.”
He leaned and gave me a kiss. We started making out, but he pulled back abruptly.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I can’t concentrate when I know my apartment is messy.” He started picking his magazines up.
“You’re hopeless,” I laughed at his habit.
~~~*~~~
“Here, let me heat up your bento.” A voice brought me back to the present. I blinked and stared at my new neighbor. I gave him a slight nod and a smile as he took the bag from my hand. I followed him to the kitchen.
“Um, Sakurai-san,” I started as I sat on one of the dining chairs.
“Just call me, Sho,” he turned to me with a smile. He took the shirt that was hanging at the back of the chair and put it on.
“So, where were you from, Sho?” I asked, trying out his name.
“Just here in Tokyo. I needed my own place since my roommates were distracting me from work.” He took out the bento from the microwave and set it in front of me. “Careful, it’s hot,” he cautioned and handed me a pair of chopsticks. He had heated up his own food, and we started to eat.
“Where do you work?” I asked and took a bite of my onigiri.
“I work for a builder. I’m a construction engineer.” I nearly spat out my food, and stared at him.
“Hontou ni?” My eyes widen. “I’m an architect. Hey, maybe we’ll end up working on a building together.”
He chuckled at the possibility and nodded. “Do you ever get hit on by the other guys at work?” he asked slowly and I tilted my head at him. “I mean, you’re really pretty, and I just wondered.”
I blushed at his compliment and looked down, as I shook my head no. I told him I haven’t worked in a year, because of personal reasons. He just slowly nodded his head but didn’t press for details. The engagement ring on my left hand glittered from the fluorescent light on the ceiling, but he didn’t ask about it, either, and I didn’t bother to explain.
Sho was so easy to talk to, and I surprised myself for being comfortable around him. We barely met, and it was as if I’ve known him all my life. I left his apartment, and I noticed the sun peeking through the dark cloud. I smiled slightly and went home, somehow light on my feet.
##
Three weeks had gone since I’m seen Sho around, and I’ve wondered if he got all of his things unpack already. I made some tuna casserole last night when I craved some western food, and made too much. I thought of going over to his apartment to give him some. When I heard him come home that evening, I took the Pyrex container with me and knocked on his door before I lose courage and change my mind.
He opened the door with a smile, and I hoped he didn’t notice that I blushed slightly. He had his shirt unbuttoned, showing off his chest.
“H-hi,” I stammered and concentrate my line of vision around his face, trying my best not to divert my eyes down. It was an equally big mistake since he smiled his gorgeous smile at me. Yabai!
“I- I brought some food I cook. I was craving some tuna casserole cuz I remembered my American friend who came to visit me made it for me and it was really good, you should try it so you can experience western food too and well, anyway, I made too much of it, and thought that you might be too busy to cook that I should bring you some, you know?” Oh, my god. What the hell was I blabbering about? I told myself to shut up a couple of times, but my mouth just kept on keeping on.
Sho looked like he would laugh at me again, and I literally clamped my mouth to shut up. He shook his head as if he tried to figure me out, and stepped aside to let me in.
“Arigatou, na,” he said as he took it from me. “Come in, eat with me.” I handed the casserole dish to him when I walked in.
I noticed that the living room was arranged neatly and meticulously organized. The magazines and newspapers were placed neatly on the coffee table. I smiled at the familiarity of the scene. I followed Sho to the kitchen and he set the container on the counter and turned to face me. I smiled shyly back to him, and I’m really sure my face was now bright red.
“I just came back from work, and I need to change,” Sho said. “Please make yourself at home, and I’ll be right back.” He nodded before turning to his room. I looked around the kitchen and took out a couple of plates and proceeded to set the table. I found some utensils, and set it by the plates.
“Hey, you didn’t have to do this,” Sho suddenly appeared beside me, and nonchalantly put his hand on my shoulder.
“No, I wanted to,” I reasoned, totally aware of his touch. “Let’s eat.” I moved quickly and sat down, and he followed suit.
“Sugoi, Daisy, oiishi desu,” Sho praised the food halfway through the dinner. He took another forkful of the casserole and closed his eyes in satisfaction. He rubbed his stomach exaggeratingly. I laughed.
“Thanks, but you don’t have to pretend,” I teased. He opened his eyes and looked at me.
“No, I’m serious,” he defended. I giggled in reply.
“Ne, Daisy,” he said after a few moments of comfortable silence. “Um, so, where’s your fiancé? I noticed your ring, and I hope you don’t mind me asking.”
I took a sip of my water to buy time. I knew sooner or later he’d ask. I set the glass down slowly and told him what had happen to Kame. He gave me a sympathetic look.
“I’m sorry,” he gave his condolences. “How long ago did he die?”
“It’s been a year already.”
“It must have been a tough year, huh?”
“Yeah.”
There was a pregnant pause between us and for a few minutes, all that could be heard were the clattering of utensils on plates.
“Ne, Sho,” I spoke up slowly. “I'm thinking of going back to work again. I think it’s about time.”
He nodded. “When will you start looking?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Be sure to stop by my company, okay?”
I nodded.
##
The morning sun woke me up gently the next morning, and I smiled. It was weird feeling cheery, and I wondered why I felt this way. I got up to take a shower, changed to a business casual outfit, and headed to the kitchen. In my hands was a folder full of my résumés. I had the will to find a new job, and plan to carry out my decision before I changed my mind. I paused on the way out the door and look at the picture frame on my side table next to the couch. It was a picture of Kame and me in our drafting class in college, and we showed off a blueprint design we made for a project.
~~~*~~~
2004
“Is this seat taken?” I turned to the direction of the voice and nearly gasped. Standing by my seat and looking down expectantly at me was a gorgeous guy. I couldn’t speak since I feared sounding like a moron, so I just shook my head. He slid on the chair and smiled graciously. He took out a pencil box and a pad of drafting papers from his messenger bag and arranged them neatly in front of him on the table. Before I could say anything “clever”, the teacher rapped a yardstick on the whiteboard.
“Welcome to Drafting 101,” he announced. “I’m Professor Bob Builder.” He paused while he waited for our laughter to die down. “Yes, yes, the show ‘Bob the Builder’ was named after me. I’m kidding.” He looked around the room at us. “Working in construction requires teamwork and social skills. The reason why there are at least two people to a drafting table. Whoever you’re sitting with at that table will be your partner for the rest of the semester. I’ll give you a few moments to get acquainted then I’ll start the class.”
The guy and I turned to each other and he smiled, which almost made me limp.
“I’m Odigiri Kazuya, but my friends call me Kame,” he introduced himself.
“I’m Saito Daisy,” I said. “Um, why do they call you Kame?”
“Because I like turtles when I was growing up, and my friends started calling me Kame then, and it stuck,” he explained with a shrug. “By the way, daisy is my favorite flower.”
I blushed slightly, and through that small intro, I found out he wanted to be a construction engineer since he grew up going to construction sites where his dad worked. We became friends through that class, and eventually, found ourselves slowly falling for each other.
~~~*~~~
I smiled at the memory of our first meeting with each other and found myself wondering why. Usually, whenever I thought about how Kame and I first met, I ended up depressed, a sad reminder that all I have now are memories.
I turned my head to the direction of the apartment across from mine. I heard Sho opened the door and walked out. I hurriedly did the same and was just in time for him to see me get out.
“Ohayou, Daisy,” he greeted brightly. I smiled and greeted back. We both headed to our cars parked in front our complex. On the way, Sho reminded me to stop by his company to see if they needed a new architect. I told him I definitely will and slid in my car to drive off, waving goodbye at him.
Around noontime, I arrived at Matsuba JM Construction, the company Sho worked for and headed to their office. The receptionist greeted me and asked if she could help. I told her that I was looking for a job, and she called one of her boss. Soon, a good-looking guy emerged from the back office and came up to me and introduced himself as one of the owners of the company, Matsumoto Jun. I handed him my résumé, and followed him to his office. I looked around to see if I could find Sho anywhere, but unfortunately, I didn’t see him. He must be at some construction site or out to lunch.
After the interview, Matsumoto-san and I walked out of the office and nearly bumped into Sho and another good-looking guy. Goodness, I wonder how the receptionist could handle being surrounded by all these gorgeous men.
“Hi, Daisy,” Sho greeted me and turned to the other guy. “This is Aiba Masaki, one of my boss. He’s also the other owner of this company.” I shook Aiba-san’s hand as Sho pointed to Matsumoto-san. “You’ve met Jun already.” I nodded.
“Jun, you gotta hire her,” Sho casually placed his arm over my shoulder and I looked up at him in surprised. “She’s gonna be a great asset to the company. You saw her blueprints, didn’t you?” He smiled at his boss. I played along and smiled sweetly at Matsumoto-san and Aiba-san.
Matsumoto-san rubbed his chin thoughtfully and looked at Aiba-san, who shrugged and smiled at me.
“Well, since Sho speaks highly of you, I guess we could use another architect in our team,” Matsumoto-san agreed and offered his hand to welcome me in their company. Sho dropped his arm off my shoulders when I enthusiastically shook Matsumoto-san and Aiba-san’s hands. He led me out of the door to my car, turning to them that he’d be back in a flash.
“Thanks for helping me back there, but you’ve never seen my drafts yourself,” I turned to him once we got to my car. He shrugged.
“I know, but neither did Jun, didn’t he?” he smiled knowingly. Come to think of it, he’s right, and I looked at him in realization. He chuckled. “I trust you somehow, and they trust me, so it’s all good.”
“You must be good friends with those two,” I said and laughed along.
“Yeah. Remember the roommates I told you about?” He pointed his thumb at the building behind him. I laughed harder. “They constantly bug me if I’d finish inspecting the blueprints or codes or anything else at home. One time, Masaki even came in my room when my date and I were-“ He stopped talking when he realized he had said too much and blushed.
I giggled at what he meant to say, and somehow, I felt slightly jealous that he had been with someone else. I pushed that thought out of my head quickly. I bid farewell, and slid in my car. He waved at me as I drove away. I smiled at his reflection on my rearview mirror. He looked really hot and sexy in his collared shirt and suit jacket. The boy could dress, just like Kame, I thought. I frowned when I did that comparison game again. Stop doing this, Daisy, I scolded myself again. They’re totally different. They even look different. I shook my head in frustration, and forced myself to concentrate on my driving.
I came home feeling tired, but elated. I plopped face down on my bed, not bothering to change out of my interview clothes. I turned to the picture of Kame on the nightstand and smiled. I grabbed it and kissed his smiling face.
Kame, I got a job, I said to the picture. I hugged it close to my chest. I love you, so much Kame. You’ll always be in my heart. I closed my eyes and pictured his smiling face. That image stayed for only a moment, then his face slowly faded to Sho’s smiling one. I opened my eyes suddenly, startled at what I was thinking. What the hell was that? I almost gasped out loud. How did Sho suddenly just popped into my head? I shook it off dazedly, and decided to take a shower to calm myself.
Daisy, get a grip. I scolded myself yet again. Kame is the one you love, not Sho. You only know him for a few days. He’s just a friend. You’re right, I agreed with myself. Sho’s smile is still fresh and since he had helped me out earlier, it’s only natural to be thankful by thinking of him, right? Oh, god, I’m delusional. I’m talking to myself!
As soon as I stepped out of the shower, the doorbell rang. I wrapped a towel around my body, and padded barefoot to the door. There, standing outside was the guy in question. He blushed at the sight of me in a towel, and I almost regretted answering the door and almost naked, no less.
“Hey,” I greeted shyly, gathering my dripping wet hair bunched it up over one shoulder. “What’s up?”
“Um, Jun and Masaki wanted to go out for drinks, and I wondered if you’d want to come with us,” Sho invited me, barely looking my way.
I thought about it for a moment, but since I couldn’t think of any excuses, I agreed. He told me he would come by in an hour to get me, and went in his apartment to change. I quickly closed the door, and dashed to my room to change. I picked out my favorite halter top and a pair of skinny jeans. I slipped on my strappy shoes, and glanced at my reflection thoughtfully.
Maybe it’s too sexy for just hanging out with a bunch of guys, I thought. I decided to fix my hair first before changing my shirt to something else. After my hair was done, I applied my make-up. I was almost finished with the make-up when the doorbell rang again. I checked my watched and was surprised that it had been an hour. I didn’t have time to change, so I just grabbed my purse, and went to answer the door.
“Hi,” I greeted him with a smile. Sho stared at me in surprised, a small smile on his face. “I know, I’m over-dressed, ain’t I?”
“No,” he shook his head. “You look great.” I smiled. He didn’t look too bad, either. He started to reach for my hand, but caught himself, and quickly dropped his arm back to his side. I pretended I didn’t noticed, and we headed to his car and on our way to the club.
##
“Matsumoto-san, Aiba-san, konbanwa,” I greeted them when we walked up to the table where they were waiting. They had already ordered their drinks, and Aiba motioned for a passing waitress to take Sho’s and my orders.
Jun crinkled his nose. “Sheesh, so formal,” he complained when the waitress left. “Just call me Jun and you can call him Baka.”
“Who’s a baka?” Aiba-san retorted and glared at Jun. “Maybe she should call you DoS.” He turned to face me. “You can call me Aiba-baby.” I blinked.
“Oi, don’t say unnecessary stuff no one understands,” Sho reprimanded him.
“Gomen, gomen,” Aiba-san laughed. “Call me Masaki.”
“Thanks for inviting me,” I smiled. “I hope I’m not intruding on your ritual.”
“Nah,” Masaki slurred. “Jun and I wanted to see Sho with a girl by his side again.” He drank another shot of whiskey.
“Urusei!” Sho exclaimed while I looked down and blushed. “Sorry, Daisy. He talks weird stuff when he’s drunk.”
“It’s okay.”
The evening went by in a blur. Hanging out with the three guys was fun. Jun and I had danced for a while until Sho cut in. He twirled me around the dance floor, and I’ve noticed that he was a good dancer, too. The up-beat music changed to a slow song, and I found myself dancing slowly with him. I encircled his neck with my arms, and he pulled me close to him, his hands pressed warmly on my bare back.
We stared at each other’s eyes while we swayed to the music. I was mesmerized with his eyes, until I diverted mine to his lips. I stared at them and wondered if he was a good kisser, and I caught myself thinking how his lips would feel on mine. I snapped to my senses and blinked twice. I stopped swaying, and mumbled an excuse to check on Jun and Masaki. I walked back to the table, and I could sense him closely following me.
When we arrived at the apartment complex, I hugged him goodbye to ease the awkwardness I felt after I walked away from him earlier in the middle of a dance. Neither of us mentioned anything about what had happened, which was a good thing.
“I’ll see you tomorrow at work,” he called out before I shut the door. I nodded to him.
“Oyasuminasai,” I said and slowly closed the door. I listened as he went inside his apartment before I turned to get ready for bed.
I was still shaken about how I could have thought about Sho and his luscious lips on mine. What was wrong with me? It was as if I was on autopilot as I changed into my nightgown, and sat beside the nightstand, and put on some lotion. I was so confused why I was acting this way about Sho. I slowly pulled back from my deep thoughts, and the first thing my conscious mind registered was the picture of Kame on the nightstand. His smiling face made me guilty, so I laid the picture frame face down, turned off the light, and went to sleep.
~~~***~~~
2007
Kame twirled me around on the dance floor as we danced to a samba version “Can’t Take My Eyes of Off You.”
“I love you, baby, and if it’s quite alright oh, pretty baby, to warm my lonely night,” Kame sang along to the song. I giggled, but I was elated.
“Trust in me when I say….” He continued, never missing a beat of the footwork. He dipped me at the end of the dance. I giggled more when he brought me back up.
The song switched to a slow one, and we embraced and swayed to the music. He pressed his forehead on mine, and we stared deep in each other’s eyes. I closed my eyes and playfully puckered my lips. He chuckled before giving me a peck on the lips.
“This is the best anniversary date, ever,” I said, tracing a finger on his cheek. “Thank you.”
“I love you,” he whispered softly to me. When the song finished, he led me off the dance floor and back to our table. He signaled for the waiter, and I looked at him strangely.
“Why are you ordering again?” I asked.
“I want dessert, don’t you?” he replied before turning to the waiter.
He ordered two crème brule and a few moments later, the waiter came back with them and set the cups in front of us. I took a spoonful of the smooth custard, and was surprised when I bit on something hard. I took whatever it was out of my mouth, and was shocked to find a diamond ring pinched between my index finger and thumb. I looked up at Kame in surprised. He gave me the widest grin ever.
“Ah, I thought you would swallow it, I was so worried,” was all he said. He reached across the table and merely took the ring from me. He wiped it clean with a damp tip of the napkin he had dipped in the water glass.
“Kame,” I gasped. I wanted to ask if he was about to do what I think he’s about to do, but I could feel myself all choked up.
“Will you marry me, Daisy?” he asked, and slid off his chair, and knelt on one knee beside mine. The other patrons of the restaurant looked our way, but I was oblivious to them. “You’re the only woman who ever make me feel this way, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
I clamped a hand over my mouth, too shocked to speak, so I nodded eagerly. With tears of happiness, Kame slid the engagement ring on my finger. We hugged and kissed each other as the other patrons gave us a congratulating applause.
“I love you, Kame,” I promised. “I’ll always love you.”
~~~***~~~
I woke up from that dream and turned to lie on my back. My eyes adjusted to the darkness, and I stared at the ceiling. I had promised Kame that I will always love him, but why was Sho filling my thoughts recently? He’s just a friend, anyway, so why am I all confused about this? I closed my eyes back and mercifully, I didn’t dream about either of them.
##
I smiled at the receptionist at the Matsuba JM Construction. She looked up at me and smiled in recognition.
“Saito-san, ohayou gosaimasu,” she greeted cheerfully. “Ready on your first day of work?”
“Hai,” I replied. “Um, sumimasen, but I don’t think I caught your name the other day.”
“Ninomiya Charlene desu,” she replied and handed me a lot of stuff. “Here’s the company handbook, the company directory, client/builder contract you need to be familiar with, maps to our current project sites, company website and email handbook, and” she paused to catch her breath, then continued. “I would have handed you your badge, but I need to take your picture for it first.”
I struggled with the folders and binders in my arms. I felt one slowly slipping and I expected a crash, when a hand came from behind me and caught it in time.
“Yosh,” Sho said, waving the folder in his hand. “Got it.” He smiled at me, and took half of the load from my arms.
“Arigatou,” I breathed, still trying to get a good grip on the ones I still have.
“Ne, Charlene, it’s not like you to forget to show Daisy her cubicle before handing her all these crap,” he said to the flustered girl.
“Gomenasai,” Charlene bowed. “I just got excited that another girl is working here.”
Sho sighed, and smiled. “I guess it can’t be help.” He turned to me motioned me to follow him. “I’ll show you to your cubicle. Hey, Char, tell Kazunari I said hello, and he still has my Nintendo DS.”
I bowed to Charlene before I tailed behind Sho to my new workstation. He placed binders and folders on a table close to the wide window with a view to the parking lot. I placed the ones in my arms as well, and stretched.
“Who’s Kazunari?” I asked curiously. “Is that her boyfriend?”
“No, her husband, who’s also my cousin. Let’s go. We have a meeting at the conference room.” He paused for a moment and pointed to a room directly across from my workstation. “That’s my office, by the way.”
I followed Sho again through the halls, giving me a tour in the building before arriving at the conference room. Jun and Masaki were already there, along with a couple of people. I bowed to the guests before Sho pulled out a chair for me.
“Ohayou gozaimasu, Matsumoto Jun desu, yoroshiko onegaishimasu,” Jun stood up to address us. “Aiba-san and I would like to welcome Iwase Ken-san and his wife, Rei-san. We had a privilege of building their home a few months back and they had come again and asked us to design an apartment building for them.” Jun sat down.
“Thank you for accepting us again,” Iwase-san said. “Yes, Rei and I decided to invest in an apartment building, and we were pleased of the job you did on our home that we know Matusba JM Construction will do it again. Yoroshiko onegaishimasu.”
“We have Saito Daisy-san as the architect of this project,” Masaki placed a hand on my shoulder. “She will draw up the plans, and you can give her what you two have in mind for each unit and each floor.”
For the next two hours, the six of us discussed the details of the clients’ vision of their apartment building, and set up an appointment to go see the building site.
“Ah, how exciting,” I gushed between bites of my cup noodle lunch.
“Nani?” Sho asked, and noisily slurped a long strand of noodle. We were having lunch at his office since he had more work to do, he had invited me to keep him company for the time being.
“To invest in a building together,” I sighed. “I’ve always dream of designing my own home, and a condominium. That’s why I became an architect, you know.”
Sho just smiled at me. We continued eating silent for a moment, lost in our own thoughts.
“Hey, I guess your prediction is right,” he broke the silence. I looked at him questioningly. “We are working on a building together.”
I smiled. “Awesome.” There was another comfortable silence again.
A knock came at the door, and Masaki poked his head inside. He called Sho to the conference room to meet another client from another building project. I went back to my workstation to sketch my first project in a long time. I was so involved with my work that I didn’t sense someone standing near me until I almost bumped her with my chair.
“Sumimasen,” Charlene said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“It’s okay,” I assured her. “I needed a break anyway.”
“Well, it’s almost time for our Christmas gift exchange tradition here and I was wondering if you want to be part of it.”
“Sure, I’d love to,” I said with a smile.
“Oh, good,” Charlene sighed with relief and sat down at the desk next to mine. “I was afraid you wouldn’t want to since you’re new and don’t know the rest of the crew yet.” She jotted down my name on the list in her notebook
“You’ll enjoy our party,” she continued. “We invite the office staff and the building crew and we usually hold it at the conference room since it’s the only big room that can fit most of us. Anyway, by the end of this week, I’ll have everybody who wants to participate draw the names out of the hat. It’ll be fun.”
I just smiled and nodded. She got up and excused herself, saying she needed to get back to making phone calls. I went back to my work, and realized that I haven’t been to a Christmas party, or any kind of party, in a while. I knew it had been only a year, but it seemed such a long time ago that I hadn’t social with other people.
“Oh, yeah,” Charlene came again, interrupting my thoughts. “I forgot to take a picture of you for your ID badge. Please come to the front since I left the camera there.”
I got up and followed her to the reception area. She told me to stand in front of a plain white wall and smile, and I did what she said. She fiddled around with the computer, and five minutes later, out came my badge from a printer.
“That was fast,” I said in amazement. Charlene smiled and proudly patted the machine.
“This baby could print anything,” she said. “If only I can take it home.” She laughed and handed me a clip for my badge. I clipped it on my shirt, and went back to work, thanking her as I left.
The tap on my shoulder startled me, and I jumped. Sho chuckled and apologized for startling me and I grinned at him sheepishly.
“You’re concentrating hard on this, aren’t you?” he asked, and looked over my shoulder at my sketches on the desk.
“Well, it’s my first project in a long time and I want to do it right,” I admitted.
“You can finish it up tomorrow,” he said. “It’s time to go home.”
“Oh, already?” I checked my watch, and sure enough, it was. “I’ll just take some of these home and work on them.”
“No,” Sho said, shaking his head. “Don’t bring work home. Your home is a place to rest and relax. Just leave it here. It’ll be okay.”
I paused at his words and stared at him for a moment.
“Nani? Doushite?” he asked.
“Nothing. It’s just that Kame used to say that, too, before.” I quickly gathered my things.
“Great minds think alike,” he said with a smile. I smiled widely at him, and we walked to the parking lot together.
“Hey, what are your plans tonight?” Sho called out to me across the lot.
“Nothing. Why?”
“Wanna come over and play Mario Cart? I’m getting bored playing by myself now.”
“I don’t know how to play that,” I replied.
“Easy. Just come over, please?”
“Okay, okay,” I laughed and got in my car. I looked over to his, and an idea came to mind. I pulled out of the space and got near him.
“Race you home!” I yelled at him, and without waiting for his reply, I quickly peeled out of there.
I laughed when I parked my car at my usual spot, and saw him on my rearview mirror. I got out of the car and did a small victory dance.
“I win,” I said when he got out. He pouted playfully at me and walked over to where I’m standing.
“That’s not fair,” he whined. “You took off before I knew what was happening.” We laughed at the same time.
“Daijoubu, daijoubu,” he said with a determined look on his face. “I’ll beat you in Mario Cart.”
Chapter 2