by Peak, Renna
The woman at the desk looked flustered. "I'm sorry, miss." She gave me the weakest smile I had ever seen. I was ready to jump over the counter and throttle her.
He grabbed my hand and bent his head down to whisper in my ear. "It's a benefit of frequent visits. Don't get upset about it." I dug my fingernails into his palm as hard as I could. I saw him wince and it made me feel a little better. He bent his head back down to my ear and whispered. "Ow."
The first giggle bubbled out of me and I knew what was coming. I covered my mouth with the side of my hand as the next one came and I tried to stop it. It was too late. A full blown giggle fit overtook me. It took every bit of my willpower to not let it melt me down into a sobbing fit. I could not lose it in front of him.
He seemed to understand that I didn't really find the situation as amusing as I felt it upsetting, despite my giggling. I felt his arms around me, lifting me up into an embrace. "Hey." He whispered into my ear. "Hey, it's okay. Let's go upstairs, okay?" He kissed my cheek. "It's okay." He touched his lips to my temple and touched my chin with his fingertip, lifting it so that I'd meet his gaze. "Okay?"
I sniffled and nodded. I somehow had managed to keep it together without making a huge scene in the lobby. I couldn't believe I had been able to do that. He took my hand and led me to the elevator. He must have given my suitcase to the bellhop during my brief breakdown.
I didn't like the power he had over me. I hadn't had a panic attack in six months—hadn’t let my emotions get the better of me. And the last time I had, it had taken me two weeks to get past it. This was minutes—maybe not even that long. Either I was getting better or he had some kind of superpower. Maybe it was both.
We went up the elevator to the room. It was small—smaller than my bedroom in San Francisco. There was a huge king size bed that took up almost the entire room with a chair and desk near the window.
My eyes were darting between the bed and the chair as I stood there gawking at the tiny room. It would have been fine for just me, but for both of us? Maybe if we were an actual couple, something other than two strangers who had once had a one night stand. I wasn't going to sell myself to him for a bed in a foreign country.
He must have sensed my terror because he grabbed my hands and walked around to stand in front of me. "I meant the things I said to you the other night. I won't do anything you don't want me to do tonight or any other night."
I nodded. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired, and I can't believe this is happening." It was too much. Too weird.
He lifted an eyebrow. "Remember what I said about coincidences the other night?"
I nodded. I couldn't really say anything about it, considering how many weird coincidences had already happened between the two of us.
He nodded back. "The universe is conspiring for us to be together. We'll just have to accept it." He grinned and I couldn't tell if he was serious or not. "You should take a nap. I have to go take care of some business, and then I'm taking you to dinner. I guarantee they'll be serving food there. No fro-yo." He waggled his eyebrows at me.
I couldn't help but smile. "Okay. As long as there's real food this time."
"Oh, there'll be food. Lots of it." He bent down and placed a sweet kiss on my temple. "Get some sleep. I'll be back later."
The bellhop brought our luggage in and Brandon left. I changed into my pajamas and sat down on the bed. I opened my laptop and tried to go over my presentation for the next day, but I fell asleep before I could even turn the computer on.
12
I wasn't sure how long I had been asleep when my eyes fluttered open. He was sitting on the chair near the window, his legs crossed with a laptop perched on a knee. He had his arm draped across the back of the chair, bent at the elbow. His hand held his head up as he read. He was so damned sexy. He was perfect, even with the reading glasses that now adorned his face.
I think he felt me staring at him because he looked up and caught my gaze. His cheeks stained red and he pulled his glasses off. He raised the glasses into the air, motioning at them with his head. "Bad genes. Poor eyesight runs in the family."
I sat up on the bed and stretched my back out, giving him a grin as I did. "They make you look distinguished."
He cocked an eyebrow. "Distinguished? Isn't that code for old?" He snapped his laptop closed with a flick of his wrist. "I hope I didn't wake you." He ran his hand through his gorgeous black locks.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and rested my feet on the thin carpet that covered the tile floor of the room. "Not at all." I raised an eyebrow of my own. "And in my world, distinguished is code for sexy." I couldn't believe I had just said that out loud, but I grinned anyway.
He touched a finger to his chin then rubbed at the stubble covering his jawline. "Remind me to visit your world more often." He looked down at his closed laptop. "I tried working in the business center, but it was packed. Too noisy. I didn't mean to wake you."
I shook my head and stood up, stretching my back again. "You didn't wake me." I padded over to my suitcase that was leaning against the wall where the bellhop had set it earlier. I pulled out a change of clothes, jeans and a top, just like he was wearing. I sat down on the edge of the bed and looked back over at him. "Thank you."
"For what?" His steel blue eyes met mine and I noticed they were the same color as his t-shirt.
"Letting me stay here. I think I would have figured something out, but really, thanks."
He shrugged and narrowed his gaze. “Of course you would have figured something out, but I'm sure you would have done the same thing for me."
"Maybe, but you probably wouldn't have had an emotional meltdown in the lobby of the hotel, either.” I rolled my eyes to the ceiling in embarrassment. “God, I'm sorry about that."
He smiled and shook his head. "You have nothing to apologize for. You just had a… what? Twelve-hour flight? And then the hotel loses your reservation? I'd still be downstairs in a puddle of tears if it had been me. It would have been a lot more than a bad case of the giggles."
I knew he was just saying it to make me feel better, but it did the trick. "Well, I don't usually do that. Lose control of my emotions, I mean." I forced a weak smile.
He shrugged. "Everyone should lose control once in a while." He stared into my eyes for just a beat too long. He stood from his spot on the chair. "Are you ready for some dinner? Because I'm starved."
"Should I wear anything in particular? Is there a dress code I should know about?"
He raised his eyebrows. "What you're wearing now is just fine."
I narrowed my eyes at him, giving him my most menacing look. I was wearing yoga pants and a tight t-shirt with no bra. I glanced down and saw the 'Hoyas' logo across my chest and pulled the clothes I had just taken out of my suitcase up to cover my breasts. "Very funny."
He crossed the room and came to stand in front of me. He traced my cheekbone with a fingertip to my hairline and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "I have seen them before, you know. And from what I remember, they're perfect."
I felt the heat rise in my cheeks and I shook my head. I couldn't even speak—he made me so flustered. I looked down at the floor to avoid his gaze.
I heard him chuckle. "Casual is fine. I have to make a call. Can you meet me in the lobby in twenty minutes?"
I nodded, still unable to make eye contact.
He traced along my other cheekbone with his fingertip, tucking an identical lock of hair behind my ear. He brushed my temple with his lips and whispered into my ear. "Don't be late."
I felt the heat rising in me, not just in my cheeks this time, but all through my body. He made every hair on my skin stand on end. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to regain my composure.
I heard him chuckle and walk to the door. "Twenty minutes, Jen." The door opened and then closed behind him.
I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. I had to maintain control of myself tonight—I couldn't let him get to me like that. Losing control tonight could on
ly end in disaster.
I brushed my teeth and changed my clothes. After I had applied a bit of mascara, I tried to do what I could with my messy hair. On a good day, the brown mop was just straight and did nothing. On a day like today, a ponytail was the kindest thing I could do for it. I brushed out what I could and threw it in a low pony at the nape of my neck. It didn't look great, but it had to have been better than it looked before.
I headed down to the lobby with two minutes to spare. I saw Brandon at the check in counter speaking with a male employee. He didn't look happy. I thought maybe he’d had a change of heart about sharing the room, but I only had a moment to wonder. His eyes met mine and he broke out into a wide grin.
He walked up to me. "You clean up nice, kid." The twinkle in his eye told me he hadn't reconsidered anything.
I returned his smile. "Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself." And he didn't. His tight blue t-shirt enhanced every one of his toned muscles, and I was sure he knew it. I motioned toward the check-in desk. "What was that about?"
He nodded toward the desk. "I was checking to see if a client had checked in."
"And did he?"
Something in his face twitched. "Well, he is a she, and no, she hasn't. It seems they've had a glitch with their reservation system and overbooked about a hundred rooms."
The pang of jealousy that hardened in my stomach when he talked about her took me by surprise. "So, are you inviting her up for a sleepover, too?" I think my voice betrayed my envy.
His eyes squinted and a smirk took over his face. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were jealous." He chuckled. "And no, she and I have never met, so I won't be inviting her up. Unless, of course, you're into that kind of thing."
"Funny." My stomach softened a little. Maybe she was just a business client. No big deal, right?
"They're sending everyone to Kyoto. Hopefully, she'll figure out how to get here on the train tomorrow morning." He gave my upper arm a playful pinch. "She's not as resourceful as you, though. A little coddled, I think."
I raised an eyebrow. "Ah, and I'm not coddled? Are you sure about that?"
He let out a low chuckle. "You don't seem like the coddled type, no." He nodded toward the glass entryway. "Shall we go? Let me coddle you with some dinner?"
I rolled my eyes and grinned. "Dinner sounds great."
"Are you open to trying anything? Or do I need to take you to McDonald's?" He raised his eyebrows and looked into my eyes.
"It's not going to be shark or anything, right?" I grimaced. I couldn't stand the thought of eating something like that.
"No, no shark. No whale. It'll be the most delicious thing you put in your mouth while you're in Japan." He waggled his eyebrows at me. "Well, maybe." He gave me a sheepish grin.
I rolled my eyes. "Enough already, innuendo boy. Take me to your delicious dinner. I'll let you know later if it's the most delicious thing I've ever had in my mouth." I raised my own eyebrows and started for the door.
He hurried after me. "God, I could kiss you right now." He put his arm around my waist as he sidled up to me.
We exited the door onto the busy street. "Didn't I read that public displays of affection are frowned upon in Japan?"
He let his hand drop from my waist and it grazed the bottom of my ass before he grabbed my hand. "Not hand holding."
I squeezed his hand. "Good." I looked up at him with a grin. I could have kissed him right then, too.
13
We crossed the busy parkway to the train station. Brandon went up to a kiosk and bought two tickets for the train. It would have been an understatement to say the place was intimidating. I had always thought the D.C. Metro was intimidating enough, but this was another animal altogether. I'd never seen so many signs. If I had been on my own, I wouldn't have even bothered. This kind of train station was the reason they made taxis, after all, at least in my opinion.
He guided me onto a train that went to God-only-knows-where. The signs were in Japanese and English, but I didn't know one prefecture from another. If he were to ditch me, I would have had no prayer of finding my way back. And he thought I wasn't coddled. God, I was the most spoiled, coddled woman I could think of. I hated myself for feeling so helpless.
People packed the train, too many people. I didn't think that another person could even fit on, but each time the train stopped, more people managed to press through. I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest and I could hear it throbbing in my ears. A cold sweat formed at the back of my neck and I tried not to shiver.
My body was pressed against his before long because of the crush of people on the train. I felt his arms slide around my waist. At least, I hoped they were his arms. He bent his head to whisper into my ear. "Are you claustrophobic?"
I nodded into his chest. "A little."
He turned his head and kissed my temple. "Two more stops." He rested his chin on the top of my head.
I turned my head and pressed my cheek to his chest. I felt his arms tighten around me and I felt so safe, so protected that I almost relaxed. I caught a glare from an older woman standing next to us who had been watching our exchange. I squeezed my eyes closed and waited for the trip to be over.
It seemed to take forever, but I felt him pull me from the train car a few minutes later. I opened my eyes and found myself swept onto the platform outside the train car with the rest of the exiting passengers. The crowd dissipated and I was able to breathe again. I let out a long slow breath.
He bumped my shoulder with his arm. "Are you going to be okay?"
I nodded. "I think I'm a little more high maintenance than you give me credit for." I managed a weak smile.
"We all have our fears." He shrugged. "We'll take a cab back to the hotel." He took my hand and we walked out of the station onto the sidewalk. We were in a large shopping district, filled with stores and restaurants.
I loved how he made it sound like no big deal, the fact that I was terrified of crowds. Maybe I made it more than I should have. "I'll pay." It was the least I could do, especially considering how big of a pain in the ass I thought I was being.
His brow furrowed and he looked down at me. "Don't be silly. It's not a big deal, Jen."
We walked in silence a few more blocks. I had forgotten how overwhelming the shopping districts were. I had a vague memory of shopping with my mom in one of the large markets in Tokyo when I was little, but it was almost like it had happened in a dream. I was only a child the last time I had been in Japan, but the overwhelming feeling was the same as it had been then. I couldn't read any of the signs except for the few that were in English, and, of course, I recognized the American chains. Those signs, the McDonald's, the Burger Kings, the KFCs, were all the same no matter where you went.
We walked up to what looked like a diner and he guided me inside. Everything was white except for the red chairs. It looked like they were trying to knock off a 50s-style diner. We sat down at one of the few open tables near the back of the restaurant.
A waiter came to the table as soon as we sat down and Brandon said something in Japanese. He looked at me. "Anything you won't eat?"
I shook my head. "Only whale. And shark."
He shook his head and grinned at me. He turned back to the waiter and ordered in Japanese. The waiter gave a nod and smile to both of us before leaving our table.
I narrowed my eyes. "Curry? With pork, right?"
His eyes widened and he tilted his head. "You could have told me you spoke Japanese." He raised an eyebrow at me. "Maybe I shouldn't have assumed you didn't, seeing that your company sent you alone on a business trip here."
My cheeks flushed a bit. "It's a little rusty. It's been a while." I wished I had a glass of water to disguise my embarrassment.
The waiter appeared with water almost as soon as the thought left my brain. Brandon raised his glass before taking a sip. "I shouldn't have assumed. My mistake." He gave me a weak smile. "So you've been to Osaka?"
I shook my head. "I don't
think so. I lived in Tokyo for a while when I was young."
He nodded and fiddled with his glass. "Military brat, huh?"
"Something like that." I took a sip from my own glass. I wondered how much longer I could get away with not telling him who I was. It would be easy to explain that my dad had been the ambassador to Japan when I was a kid--before he was elected to the Senate. But then, you know, he'd know who I was. I couldn't stand the thought of him judging me for it. I was far from being a spoiled little rich girl, but I hadn't lived the life of a military child, either.
"So where else have you lived?" His eyes looked hopeful. It was just my luck that now would be getting-to-know-you time. I supposed that it was inevitable. Our present relationship had skipped a bunch of steps.
"Oh, just California and the east coast." I guess it wouldn't have been a huge deal to say D.C. My Hoyas shirt probably gave that away, but he didn't need to know that I'd pretty much lived there since my dad was elected to the Senate. My stomach knotted and I felt acid creeping up the back of my throat. "What about you?" I could turn it back on him. Get him to talk about himself.
He shifted in his seat like there was a rock under him. "Oh, you know, here and there. I don't really call one place home." I could tell he was forcing the smile I was seeing. "The apartment in San Francisco is the most permanent place I've lived in years."
So he was hiding something, too. It almost put me at ease, knowing I wasn't the only one withholding information. The waiter appeared with two plates of food that smelled delicious. I hadn't eaten since the plane and I hadn't realized how ravenous I was. I picked up the chopsticks and took a huge bite of the tasty mixture of rice, sauce and pork. The flavors were so familiar and when I realized why, it hit me why like a punch in the gut. Daniel's mom had made this dish for me many times. Pork curry was his favorite thing in the world. I set my chopsticks down. What had been a ravenous appetite was now gone.
