“Was your family upset?” Reiji asked.
“My mother and father didn’t like my plan, but they support me. I’m going to be twenty-one, and up until now, I’ve never really pushed them on their rules. But I have to. With this. With you.”
“I’m glad you did,” Reiji replied sincerely. He wore his stupid hat, but took it off as he spoke to hang on the coat rack next to the door. “Like Goro said, it was very brave. And I think your technique with the paparazzi might work.” He leaned over to the window and peeked behind the curtain. “They’re gone.”
“No doubt they’ll be watching for us to leave,” Wataru said.
“Probably.” Reiji let the curtain fall into place. “But maybe if we give them a little, like Kumiko suggested, they’ll give us a little space when we ask for it.”
A little space. I shifted uncomfortably as I imagined what I could do with Kumiko if I had a little space.
What was wrong with me? I was more in control than this. But something about the risk she’d taken to be here had triggered something in me—a craving to be closer to her.
Kumiko yawned and I glanced my watch. It was late. We’d spent more time than I realized at her sister’s place, and the excitement and strain of the trip must have exhausted her.
“You can sleep in my room,” I said. I glanced around the living room to locate her bag. “I’ll take the couch.”
“I don’t want to kick you out of your room,” she said. She gave a little bounce. “The sofa is comfortable enough for me. And—” She studied it. “I think you’re too long to fit.”
My voice caught in my throat and I coughed, trying to clear it. Kumiko dropped her face into her hands and shook her head. “Oh my God.”
Reiji and Goro laughed and even Wataru chuckled. “Dai’s right,” he said, saving me by bringing us back on track. “You can stay in one of our rooms. We can double up.”
Kumiko lifted her head and then made a move to rub her eyes, remembering at the last minute her glasses were in place. Right.
“Thank you,” she said. “It would be easier to sleep without a hat and glasses on.”
“I want to see your face again,” Reiji said, causing her to gasp and shake her head quickly.
“We tried it,” she said. “What if it messes everything up?”
“I don’t think it would.” Wataru touched her shoulder, trailing his fingers to her scarf, but he didn’t make a move to take it off. “Things are different now.”
She kept her head turned in Wataru’s direction before slowly shaking it. “Not yet,” she said. “Not tonight.”
My friend sighed, but nodded. “Okay.”
“You can have my room,” I repeated. I wanted her in my bed, even if I couldn’t be there, too.
Her suitcase was next to the door and I went to get it. With it held in my hand, I approached her. “Ready?”
She nodded, but hugged Goro and then Wataru. When she stood, Reiji strode to her and lifted her up in an embrace so her feet hung in the air. “Sleep well,” he whispered, his voice muffled by her scarf.
“You, too,” she replied as he set her down.
I took her uninjured hand and she squeezed mine, letting me lead her to my room. When I shut the door behind me, I studied her for a second, watching her as she examined my space.
She would learn a lot about me by this room, things I hadn’t shared with her yet. The photographs on the wall were ones I’d taken, and the bookshelf in the corner was stuffed with books about photography along with a collection of lenses I’d bought at antique shops for cameras I didn’t own.
I had school books on my desk, but would she notice the jar of sea glass in the corner I stared at when I needed to think?
“The bathroom is through that door,” I said, dropping her hand. I had the strangest instinct to take everything off the wall and shove it beneath my bed, but I forced myself to stand still. “Towels are beneath the sink. If you need anything, I’ll be out there.”
“Okay,” she answered, finally facing me. She pointed with her thumb over her shoulder and when she spoke, I could hear the smile in her voice. “These are your photographs, aren’t they?”
“How did you know?” The question was out of my mouth before I could stop it.
“You told me you liked to take photographs of things that caught your eye.” Slowly, she spun, pausing as she took in each framed piece. “A carousel. A city bus. An old woman on the bus. A wave.” She stopped when she was facing me again. “The beauty in everyday things.”
I had her in my arms before I realized I’d moved. “Yes,” I whispered. She saw me and she understood. She tipped her head back to look at me, and through the dark lenses I could make out the shape of her eyes.
And I wasn’t horrified, or disgusted.
I was amazed.
The shock made me pause, and it gave Kumiko enough time to step back and turn her head away. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Could you see through them?”
“I could,” I answered and wanted to go on, but she hurried to the bathroom.
“Goodnight, Dai.”
Don’t go yet. But I could feel her need to retreat and regroup, and so I forced myself to leave her.
“Goodnight, Kumiko.”
23
Kumiko
Dai left, but I locked the door behind him before I went into the bathroom. When he’d looked at me, he’d seen through the dark lenses of my glasses. And I don’t know what it was he saw, but it shocked him.
I took off all the things that hid my face before walking into his bathroom. As I unwrapped my hand, placing my brace on the sink, I stared at myself. My eyes were bright, and despite my nervousness, I was happy. It was evident in the way I couldn’t stop smiling—the way I sort of rocked from side to side as if I had too much energy to contain.
My hair was flat from being under the hat all day, but had a strange bump around my ears, because of the scarf. I turned on the shower and waited for the water to heat before jumping in. Tipping my head back, I let the warm water run over me, sluicing away the dirt and sweat from my flight.
One-handed, I opened Dai’s soap and used it to clean myself. It didn’t have a scent, and I thought back, trying to remember if Dai wore any cologne or aftershave. I didn’t think he did, but even so, I stood there, sniffing the soap for way too long.
By the time I finished, the water was lukewarm and I had cracked my jaw when I yawned. My hand was on the doorknob to leave the bathroom when I heard a voice call out, “I’m in here!”
“Reiji?” I smiled. “I know I locked that door.”
“You did,” he said, his voice closer. I rested my temple against the door, imagining him in a similar position, just outside. “But it’s an easy lock to pick. I used to do it in the apartments at the Governor’s Estate.”
“What are you doing in here?” I asked. Goosebumps broke out along my skin and I tucked the towel a little more snuggly across my chest.
“I wanted to tell you how glad I am you’re here.” He was quieter, but I could still make out every word. I heard his breath as he exhaled and a thump in the vicinity of my shoulder. “I wanted to tell you…” His voice trailed off and my breath caught. This is it. “I wanted to kiss you tonight.”
I sighed, a little let down, but not too badly. Wanting to kiss me meant he cared about me, more than a friend cared for another friend.
“I want to kiss you now,” he continued. He cleared his throat. “I watch your hands while you talk. You move them a lot, did you know that?”
“I do?”
Something scraped against the door and I thought he might have been nodding. “You do. And they’re so graceful. I haven’t seen you play the piano yet, but I think about it. While we were gone, I thought about your hands on me.”
Oh my God.
Heat rushed up my body, chasing away the goosebumps. It spread across my shoulders, up my neck and into my face. His words conjured a picture I wanted to be a reality. In our time apart,
I hadn’t let myself think beyond a kiss.
But I had thought about that kiss.
A lot.
Now, though, Reiji’s hands sprang into my mind. His fingers were long, the nails short and blunt. I shut my eyes to conjure up the feel of his skin against mine and I sighed.
“Are you thinking of my hands, Kumiko?” he asked.
I gathered all of my courage. “I am,” I whispered, hoping he could hear me.
“I think the skin on your face would be smooth. Like the skin on the back of your hand, and golden. You have freckles on your hands, do you have freckles on your face?” he asked.
“No,” I replied, glancing down at my hands. He was right. I did have some golden spots on my hands. “But I do have a tiny brown freckle at the corner of my eye. Right above my cheekbone.”
“I’ll see it someday,” he said. There was such certainty in his voice, I instinctively shut my eyes against the need that rose up in me. I wanted him to see it. I wanted him to kiss it.
Kiss.
“When we break this curse, I’m going to kiss your hands. One day, I want you to play the piano for me, and I’ll lay my lips at your shoulder. You’ll think I’m teasing you, trying to distract you, and I will be, but then I’ll be the one distracted. Enthralled. I’ll kiss my way to your neck, maybe bite you, because Kumiko, you’re so adorable I want to nibble you.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. There was something so strange about a grown man saying, “nibble,” but at the same time, his promises made my legs shake.
“Well, I don’t want to bite you, or hurt you. I just want to taste you.” Reiji laughed, so I knew I hadn’t hurt his feelings. Then he got serious. “I think you’d taste like cherry blossoms.”
“You’re a poet,” I said without thinking. “I wouldn’t have thought it about you. You always seem so lighthearted and a risk taker, but you feel things deeply, don’t you, Reiji?”
“With you, I do,” he said. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, Kumiko. You feel like this big thing, this momentous event is on the horizon and I’m racing to get there, but I’m also really really enjoying the anticipation.”
“You feel important, too,” I admitted. “I’ve never done the things I have with you. I’ve taken risks I never dreamed I could take. I stood up to my family and made demands. I’ve never done that before.”
He was silent and I wondered if he was still there, or if, like I’d seen him do before, he paced around the room with his hands in his hair.
I almost didn’t expect him to speak again, but he did, and my heart nearly burst. “If I opened this door now, could I kiss you?”
Yes. I opened my mouth to answer. My lips formed the word, but right before the sound left my throat, someone else spoke. “What are you doing in here?”
Dai.
“Fuck, man. You have the worst timing.” Reiji spat the words.
“This is my room,” Dai reminded him. “And I thought this door was locked.”
“Did you try it?” I asked, trying to lighten the tension that hung heavy in the air. I didn’t need to be in the same room with them in order to sense it.
“I did,” Dai said. “I forgot my pajamas. I knocked but no one answered.”
“I was in the shower,” I said and shivered in my wet towel.
“We’ll leave you,” Dai said, and there was a bit of a scuffle outside the door with lots of furious whispers before I heard a put-upon sigh.
“Goodnight, Kumiko,” Reiji said.
“Goodnight, poet,” I replied.
“Goodnight,” Dai said.
“Goodnight, Dai,” I told him. Their footsteps echoed through the room before the door shut. I waited a second more and then opened the door. The room was empty, but someone had turned the sheets back on the bed.
And there, on the pillow, sat a bunny. A big, ugly, slightly evil looking stuffed bunny. Yeah. I was definitely going to kiss these guys.
For the first time since I could remember, the sun woke me up. The heat of it warmed my cheeks and behind my closed lids, the light was bright orange.
I turned on my side, not wanting to leave the warm sheets and comfortable pillow, but then I remembered where I was, and who I was with, and suddenly, I was wide awake. The bunny’s dead eyes met mine, and I screeched. That’s right. One of the boys bought Mopsy a playmate.
With more energy than I thought I could muster, I pushed the covers off and peeked out the window.
Sunshine, blue sky, and just beyond the houses across the street—the ocean. It was right there. A sound escaped me, something between a squeak and a squeal.
At some point during the night, someone had placed my bag in my room and I smiled. Locking the door after Reiji proved it wouldn’t stop him was moot, so I’d left it unlocked. I’d lain in bed a long time after Dai and Reiji, thinking about kissing. I’d traced my lips with my fingers and wondered if I’d be any good at it. Would I figure it out, or would I make a fool of myself?
The same thoughts wouldn’t leave me alone as I dug through my bag for my beach clothes. I’d found a hat for this very occasion and had packed it, hoping I’d get the chance to wear it.
It was a wide-brimmed straw hat with a veil that would drop around my face and settle around my shoulders. I put it on and stared at my reflection. I looked like a beekeeper.
Oh, well.
I checked my phone. It was really early; the sun may have barely been in the sky, which was good for what I wanted to do. The woman on the plane said the tide pools in the morning were beautiful, and I wanted the guys to take me there.
After adjusting the brace on my hand, I was ready to go.
As I walked out of my room, four heads swiveled in my direction.
Reiji’s eyes widened as he scanned me from head to toe. “What are you wearing?”
“You look like a bride and a beekeeper, and also, a pioneer.” Goro tilted his head as he considered me. “It’s an odd combination. Bold look.”
I burst out laughing and spun in a circle so they could take in the whole ensemble. I’d covered my bathing suit with a long, comfortable dress. “What? Too much?”
“No.” Wataru poured me a cup of coffee from the carafe and held it out to me. “It seems, though, that you have a plan.”
Dai intercepted the cup before I could take it. He added cream and a little sugar, and I wondered if he asked someone how I took it. “Did you sleep well?” he asked while stirring.
“Yes,” I answered. “Which reminds me, who do I have to thank for the bunny?”
“That would be me.” Goro raised his hand. “I went—” A ball of orange fur ran rocketed across the room, and slid across the countertop. With lightning fast reflexes, Goro caught the ball and lifted it into his arms, cradling it like a baby. The tubby thing’s purr echoed through the room. I’d never, in my entire life, seen such a fat, content cat. “Come to meet your new mommy?” Goro asked.
“Mr. Whiskers, I presume.” I stepped closer to the cat, whose tail swung like a pendulum. “Does he like pets?” I asked. We never had animals growing up and my fingers flexed for wanting to touch the soft fur and fluffy body.
“He does,” Goro said, and as if he was agreeing, Mr. Whiskers purred louder.
With the back of my hand, I touched his face. The cat’s slanted eyes shut, and he pressed his face harder into me.
“Your coffee is getting cold,” Dai reminded me.
Right. I couldn’t pet the cat and drink my coffee, not yet. I looked longingly at the rotund belly, but accepted my coffee.
The cat suddenly went insane, hissing and wiggling, but Goro calmly placed him on the floor. “Mr. Whiskers doesn’t like more than eleven pets.”
Mr. Whiskers sounded like a nut, but he was cute, and that made up for a lot as far as I was concerned. Besides, I could count. In the future, I’d stop before I got to eleven.
In the future.
I was thinking about the future. One where I woke up to coffee and Mr. Wh
iskers.
“You were saying, about the bunny,” I said to Goro.
“Right,” he said. “Apparently, you can buy the exact same bunny online for about three dollars. So I ordered it.”
“Thank you,” I said. Carefully, I lifted the veil and angled the cup beneath it to take a sip.
“So what’s your plan?” Wataru asked. “What is the purpose of this magnificent hat?”
“The beach!” I said and put the coffee on the counter. “A woman on the plane said we should go to the tide pools at Hisaka Beach. Is it far from here?”
Wataru smiled and shook his head. “No. It’s a mile down the beach. We could walk there.”
“Let’s go now.”
“Now?” Wataru asked. “Like, right now?”
“Yes.” I tapped the counter. “How long until we can leave?”
“We can go now,” Dai said. “Like you said, let’s go now.”
It took the princes minutes to get themselves together. Dai only needed to grab his camera and Wataru his sunglasses, before we were out the door.
The street was empty. No paparazzi and no cars.
It was perfect.
We walked in silence across the street and down a rickety wooden walkway to the beach. I stood for a moment, breathing in the air. It felt like it stuck to my skin and I had the strangest urge to lick my arm to see if I tasted salty.
I heard a click and startled, whipping my head around to find the source of the sound. It was Dai. He held his camera to his face and lowered it when he saw me staring. “Sorry.” He shrugged. “Couldn’t help it.”
Goro took my hand and gave me a little pull. “Hurry up. Before anyone sees us.”
We jogged the rest of the way, our feet thunking against the planks until the ocean drowned out our footsteps.
There it was.
Everything dropped away except the waves. I kicked my shoes off and hurried to the shore. The sand was cold, much colder than the air, and the water, when it touched my toes, was freezing. “I thought it would be warmer.”
While Beauty Sleeps Page 15
