I Only Have Eyes For You

by Khardine Gray

  “When I what?” He leaned into her as if he knew what she was thinking.

  “Nothing,” she replied very quickly as her cheeks started to burn.

  That mischievous, cheeky smile spread across his face. “No, California Girl, if you have something to tell me you should tell me. Or do I have to eavesdrop again to find out?”

  She found herself completely paralyzed by his stare and she couldn’t move her lips.

  He ran his finger along the edge of the hand he held, sending sparks of electricity up the full length of her arm. He then inched his other hand slowly across her waist, exploring her skin there, teasing her closer to him.

  Like a magnet, he drew her to him, and they both leaned in closer at the same time, and closer.

  His nose brushed lightly against her cheek, and she could almost feel his gorgeous lips on hers. Savannah thought she did, too, for a split second as he swept them over her lips.

  But just then the kitchen door opened, and they both jumped apart.

  Chapter 12

  Hiroshi knew from the minute Jake came inside the kitchen that he was aware something was going on.

  It wasn’t just because it was Jake. He was sure it would have been completely obvious to anyone who’d seen them jump apart.

  “I should go to bed. I have to be up early tomorrow,” Savannah stated, her voice shaky with nerves. The same nerves that compelled him to tease her.

  He didn’t want her to go. He wanted to kiss her and explore her lips. He wanted to give into the strong attraction that drew him to her and find out if she tasted as sweet as he’d imagined.

  “Full day planned,” Jake boomed heartily with a big smile.

  “Every inch of the day,” she replied.

  “Cool, have fun.”

  “I will. Goodnight.” She gave Jake a quick hug. Then she focused on Hiroshi and gave him this soulful look with her beautiful eyes. “Goodnight Hiroshi. Thanks for the meal.”

  “You’re welcome.” He could barely look at her without wanting her and trying to hold off that overbearing sexual attraction that riveted him.

  Damn it, he thought as he watched her go. He thought it again when he turned around and saw that Jake was staring at him, eyes heavy with suspicion.

  “What?” he asked, trying to look as cool as he could manage.

  The suspicion became more evident on his face. “Don’t what me.”

  Hiroshi walked around to the counter, back to where he’d been before and started clearing away the plates.

  “You know, I had my suspicions, but now I’m completely convinced,” Jake continued energetically. He had that enthusiastic look he got when he’d thought up some brilliant idea.

  “About what, Jake? You’re not making any sense.”

  This was bad. He shouldn’t have gotten so close to her. Now his focus was completely weak.

  Instead of the cool demeanor he’d exhibited since he’d met her, he just wanted to go find her and kiss that sparkly gloss right off her lips. No words, no questions. He’d just go to her room and kiss her. Maybe that’s what he should do.

  No. He shouldn’t. He couldn’t. He needed to get ahold of his thoughts.

  All these weeks he’d been doing fine resisting her, even on that night when they went to Ebisu. It was bad enough that he fanaticized about her daily, but what she wore that night never left his mind.

  Hearing her talking about him to her friends was like throwing out a bait for him to catch.

  But, there was so much to think about, and his work with the training center was severely delayed because of the time he’d been spending in Washington. He’d been twice in the last few weeks, spending more than a week there each time. He could only foresee more visits, too, because they were extremely busy.

  “You like her,” Jake declared with an accusing stare.

  “Sure, she’s a nice girl. She hasn’t given me a reason not to like her.” He started loading the plates into the dishwasher.

  Jake grunted. “That’s not what I mean.”

  “Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Hiroshi avoided eye contact. Jake was one of the few people who could tell when he was lying, or side stepping a subject.

  “So my eyes must have deceived me because you two looked pretty close to me when I walked in here.”

  Hiroshi looked at Jake then. “I was showing her how to use chopsticks.”

  “Looked like you were about to do more than that to me.” Jake narrowed his eyes again. “Man, I wasn’t born yesterday.”

  “And yet sometimes I totally think that about you.” Hiroshi shook his head and laughed.

  “Rosh, come on man. I’m actually serious here. It would be okay, you know. I would be okay with it if you liked her.”

  Hiroshi didn’t know what to say to that. The truth of it was he did like her, a lot. He’d tried hard not to, and even kept his distance but failed miserably.

  “You think I’m good enough for your sister?” Jake knew how wild Hiroshi used to be. “Come on, nice girls like that don’t go out with guys like me.”

  If Savannah had any idea of what he’d been like she would probably run a hundred miles.

  “Rosh, in my eyes no one is good enough for my sister. But if I had to pick someone, I’d go with the guy I trust, and that’s you.”

  He stared at Jake. For all the time that he’d known him, he’d never heard him say something like that. “Really?”

  “Of course, bro. Also, I wouldn’t be recommending my sister to you if I wasn’t a hundred percent sure that you’d changed. Which you absolutely have.” Jake nodded with conviction.

  It meant a lot to hear that. “But she might not like me.” Although he was at least ninety percent certain she did.

  “I wouldn’t mention it if I didn’t think she did.”

  “Did she say something to you?” He just wondered.

  “She’s my sister. She doesn’t have to.” He laughed. “Besides, she seems to be the only person, aside from your crazy car friends, who can stand you talking about car parts and blah, blah, blah cars. For me, that was a dead giveaway.”

  Hiroshi laughed at that, recalling the way she listened to him at the racetrack. He had to admit that he hadn’t met any other woman who could stand to listen to his car talk for more than a handful of minutes. Savannah had listened to him for hours.

  “So listen up,” Jake began. “I know you’re dead worried about the training center. Worry no more. My idea came through.” He paused for effect and took a moment to gloat.

  Hiroshi straightened up and stared at him, completely eager to hear this idea of his.

  Jake cleared his throat for more dramatic effect. “I approached the board of universities and colleges in the U.S. After all, we take on hundreds of interns a year across the company. I thought that it would be an idea to propose the center as a placement provider for computer science and engineering students. Harvard jumped on board straight away. And when they did, Princeton and Yale followed, and the rest of the Ivy League hopped on, too. Of course when they did, Oxford and Cambridge in England didn’t want to be left out. So, they’ll fund placements for their students as of next year when we go live.”

  What? What was Jake really saying?

  Hiroshi covered his mouth in amazement. “Jake…”

  “This center of yours is about to take off in a massive way, and in a different direction to what you originally planned. It will be so much more than just a training center. And that’s not even the best news.”

  “What could be better than that?” He beamed at him with excitement.

  “MIT, they want to meet with you to discuss investment options. Not only would they be interested in sending their students to the center, but they want a piece of the pie.”

  “Jake.” Hiroshi was in complete awe.

  “I know, right? I’m brilliant, aren’t I?”

  “Yes, you’re freaking amazing. This is unreal. I never thought…” No, he never imagined, was more
the word, that something like this would happen. “Thank you. Thank you so much. What you’ve done is fantastic.” This was so much more than what Hiroshi planned. Jake had taken the center to another level and beyond the scope of what Hiroshi had even envisaged.

  “I know. I can’t wait to see what will happen.” He smiled wide but then his expression grew serious. “I have to give you some advice, and forgive me if I step out of line. This is going to be huge. I really think you should do this on your own, as in without Fujita Tech backing you.” He got this encouraging look in his eyes. “That way you won’t have anyone standing in your way, and even worse than that, taking the credit for your hard work. I think this should be your project, your business, whatever. And I’m still going to be with you a hundred percent.”

  Hiroshi thought about it and what it would mean. “You think so?” Hiroshi asked. Jake nodded.

  He knew Jake would have thought it all through before making the suggestion.

  It was just that it was such a bold move. There was also the issue of Washington. If he did what Jake suggested, there was no way that he could look after both things.

  “Rosh. I’ve seen you, year in year out living to please your father and those no-good cousins of yours. I won’t even talk about your uncle. I’ve worked with the company for over ten years now. I worked with your grandfather long before I met you and I know he wouldn’t be happy with the way they treat you.”

  Hiroshi sighed and looked at him, considering his words. He was very sensitive when it came to his grandfather. A part of him understood what Jake was saying and wanted to accept it, but another part, the guilty part, questioned it. His family gave him hell sometimes, but he deserved it.

  “I think you’ve done enough to prove yourself,” Jake added.

  No. He hadn’t done enough. If he had, his father would have been more supportive. He’d worked so hard for the last couple of years, and things were basically the same as they were after his grandfather’s death.

  “It’s important you know that when I approached these people, I didn’t go to them saying it was Fujita Tech that was setting this center up. I said it was Hiroshi Fujita,” Jake explained. And that had every significance that it could possibly have. It said people knew his name and trusted it, not just the company. He’d always worked on the basis that he’d never earned his role like the others had, and they never forgot to remind him that he was handed the position.

  “So, you have a choice: you can run this solely on your own, or if you feel better, you can run it under the Fujita umbrella. But for heaven’s sake at least keep it as a stand-alone entity.” Jake had never looked so adamant.

  “If I did this on my own my family could come at me with some kind of trade secret lawsuit.” He wouldn’t put it past any of them. Kaito would be the first one to think of that.

  “No, not if you do it properly. Besides, we could fight them. Not only does owning Washington entitle you to those rights, but I designed a lot of the software that they use, and the new operating system. Being the genius that I am I have ideas flowing out of my head. I go wherever you go, man, so do my ideas.”

  Hiroshi appreciated Jake’s loyalty. He hadn’t thought about the number of designs Jake had had a hand in and yes, the new operating system. “Thank you, that means a lot.” He regarded Jake with great respect. “I’ll think about the best option.”

  It was good to have options, but he had to bear in mind that he’d originally come up with the idea for the center as a way of contributing to the company as a whole. He didn’t want to be greedy, or push aside his main intentions.

  Jake nodded in agreement. “Good. Business talk over.” There was a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. “The next thing you need to do is get a life.”

  “Get a life?” Hiroshi didn’t understand what he meant.

  “Yes, get a life. Even for a day. Like tomorrow, I can handle things while you take the day off. You clearly like my sister and I’m certain she likes you, too, so why don’t you kids go do whatever they do these days. And, let me handle things.” Jake smiled.

  “You do realize I’m nearly a year older than you, right?”

  “Not the point, Rosh. And it’s six months, but so not the point. So, back to the point, which is to get a life.”

  Okay. It had been a while since he could get a life. The closest he came to it was probably when he’d taken Savannah to the tracks.

  With all that Jake had managed to achieve, perhaps Savannah was no longer the distraction he feared.

  A warm glow flowed through him at the thought.

  So maybe he could allow himself a little indulgence. Just a little. Hiroshi thought for a moment, and he knew just the thing to do.

  Savannah’s face lit up when she saw him rushing up to her the next morning. She was waiting outside on the patio for her guide.

  “Hiroshi,” she smiled at him. He was glad she looked happy to see him.

  He looked her over. She was dressed perfectly for the hot day in denim shorts that showed off her golden legs and a light pink top that complemented her skin tone. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, making her seem younger, but at the same time drew all the attention to her high cheek bones.

  “Are you going to work?” she asked.

  “No, I thought I’d go with you to Kyoto. If you want.” He offered a hopeful smile.

  She looked at him with her mouth slightly agape, drawing his eyes to her full lips that he’d almost kissed last night.

  He moved closer to her. “It would be nice to spend the day with you. I even packed lunch and these things.” He pulled out the Rainbow Bright bonbons Jake had given to him. “No joke intended.” He shook the packet, and she smiled.

  She looked from him to the bonbons and then back to him. “You want to spend the day with…me?” She pointed to herself.

  “Yes, if you’ll have me.”

  “I’ll have you,” she said quickly, and then a bewildered expression crossed her face when she realized what she said. “I mean, I would like you to spend the day with me.”

  It was hard not to laugh at the embarrassed look on her face. “Cool.”

  * * *

  Savannah was thoroughly impressed with Hiroshi’s knowledge. She’d enjoyed her sight-seeing trips so far with Ishida, but it was incomparable to the time she’d spent with Hiroshi.

  His knowledge didn’t just come with an explanation of the place. He’d fascinated her with wondrous stories and details that could only come from someone who’d truly valued the history that had been passed down to them.

  When Hiroshi started talking she became completely engaged in all that he said, and she didn’t even need to take notes. He explained it in such a way that she just remembered, so when the time came for her to write, the words would flow from her memory.

  He intrigued her so much that she was able to push aside her nerves and thoughts about last night.

  She’d spent the night fantasizing about how badly she’d wanted to kiss him. When she’d first seen him this morning, it was the first thought that popped into her mind.

  It was all she could think of on the journey here, even though Kyoto was one of the places she’d been dying to visit for weeks. It wasn’t until they’d gotten out of the car and started looking around that her focus shifted to their surroundings.

  She loved Kyoto, just as she knew she would, and now that she was here she realized that she would have to come back to make sure she visited everything. There was too much beauty and culture to just browse over with a day trip. Savannah wanted to make sure she captured all the details of the masterpiece religious architecture in the temples and the landscape that surrounded them.

  They’d started on the northern side, working their way across five temples, all truly breathtaking. The Sanzenin, Manshuin, Daitoku-ji, Enkō-ji and the famous Kinkaku-ji—the Golden Pavilion. That was where they decided to break for a late lunch. After lunch they were going to Ginkaku-ji, the Silver Pavilion, modeled after the Go
lden Pavilion. It was a Zen temple along the eastern mountains. She thought that if it was anything like the Golden Pavilion, Savannah was sure she was going to love it.

  Hiroshi took her to a park just outside the Pavilion where they got a good view of the temple’s glistening structure. The golden reflection shimmered across the rippling surface of the pond, giving life to the garden around it. Savannah took a few photos of this view then packed her camera and notebook away so she could enjoy lunch with him.

  She watched Hiroshi take out a plaid blanket from his rucksack and then a medium-sized lunch box.

  “Thanks for bringing lunch.” She smiled at him and wondered how early he must have gotten up to prepare it. They’d left before seven this morning.

  “You’re welcome.” He smiled back and opened the box to reveal a selection of sandwiches cut into mini triangles. He laughed when he saw the impressed look on her face. “You look surprised.”

  “It’s just that they’re all so neat.” She giggled.

  “I think presentation matters. Especially with the way you were over the fish last night.”

  “I ate it, though, which is good, right?”

  “Yes. It’s good to try new things,” he stated. She agreed, but for her there was a limit when it came to certain foods. “I thought I’d jazz it up today. We’ve got chicken heart—grilled—cow eyes and duck butt.” He waved his hand across the box as if he was talking about a box of treasure.

  She looked from him to the sandwiches.

  Was this one of those times when he was joking?

  She sincerely hoped so as there was no way she was trying any of that, even if he tried to feed it to her with his shirt off.

  His face looked serious, and there was no hint of humor there. There never usually was, which was why it was so hard to know when he was joking around.

  She observed him as he picked up a sandwich and started nibbling on it.

  “Yummm, cow eyes,” he said, looking like he was relishing the taste. On seeing that, her stomach turned, and she heaved like she was going to throw up as the bile rose up into her throat. He caught hold of her just as she was going to run off and burst out laughing.