Bucket List To Love

by C. P. Santi

  Chapter 5

  The smell of freshly brewed coffee teased Aya out of her slumber. It smelled strong and full, just the way she liked it.

  “Daijoubu?”

  Now that’s strange, Aya thought. Who would be talking to her in Japanese so early in the morning? It was probably just a dream. After all, she was safe and sound in her own bed.

  Wasn’t she?

  As she drifted into full consciousness, Aya began to notice several things—the faint roar of traffic on the street below, the soft fleece of the blanket covering her, the citrusy smell of the pillow, and the way the bed dipped as if someone had just sat down.

  Oh, hell.

  Aya quickly ran through those thoughts in her head again.

  One. Aside from the fact that the dormitory building she lived in was set far back from the street, her room was six floors up. She hardly ever heard the nearby monorail even if she left her windows open.

  Two. She didn’t own a fleece blanket. Sure, with the chilly spring nights, she’d thought of buying one, but in the two weeks she’d been in Tokyo, she was pretty content with the futon her dorm had provided.

  Three. Citrus? Aya’s pillows usually took on the sweetly floral scent of her favorite shampoo (to her Dad’s bewilderment, she had brought a sizeable supply with her to Tokyo).

  Four. The weight on the bed—unless this was a freaky paranormal manifestation, it could only mean one thing—someone else was in the room.

  Oh, and she didn’t have a coffee maker either.

  Jerking awake, she sat up and stared at the guy sitting beside her.

  “Ne, do you want some coffee?” he asked. A minute later, in apparent frustration at her muteness, he ran a hand through his hair and tried again. “Uh . . . coffee? Do you want some?”

  Aya finally opened her mouth. The fact that he had clearly enunciated each syllable didn’t escape her. “You . . . you can speak English.”

  When he burst out laughing, Aya was convinced she was hallucinating. Because in the two weeks that she had known Ryohei Mori, not only had he spoken to her only in Japanese, he had also never smiled. Ever.

  “You must really have been out of it last night, if you’re only noticing it now.” He smiled as he sipped from a mug.

  “Last night?”

  “Yeah, at the kangekai, remember?”

  Aya closed her eyes. Kangekai.

  Yeah, the party held last night at the lab. Ieda-sensei had given a speech to welcome the new students, then everybody had raised their cups in a traditional kanpai. Aya remembered the mad dash for the food. Not a novice at buffets, Aya had managed to eat some sushi(still ebi) and a couple of egg sandwiches, while chatting with everybody.

  She remembered drinking more than usual. The timing of the party couldn’t have been more perfect. It was their sixth anniversary—hers and Adrian’s. Well, technically, it would have been, if they hadn’t broken up four months ago.

  Aya opened her eyes and braced herself to ask, “Mori-san, I . . . I didn’t make a fool of myself last night, did I?”

  “Call me Ryo,” he invited, probably thinking that they had gone way past formality by now. “Which do you want first, the good news or the bad?”

  In a small voice, Aya said, “Bad news first?”

  “Okay. You owe me a rug.”

  “What?”

  He smirked. At least that was an expression she was familiar with. “You puked all over my rug. It’s unsalvageable. You’re getting me a new one.”

  Aya blinked. “O-okay. That’s it?”

  “Well, you also owe me for carting you all the way from the lab. I’ll add chiropractor expenses to your tab.”

  “What . . . what happened exactly?”

  “The guys were trying to get you drunk.”

  “They what?”

  He held up both hands to calm her and hastened to explain, “Don’t worry, they didn't mean to harm you, it’s just one of those rites of passage. They try to do that to all newbies. Well, except Amat-san, since he can’t drink. Suzuki-san opened the shochu he brought from Hokkaido and you drank tantakatan like there was no tomorrow.”

  “Tantaka-what?” Aya held a hand up to her head. It felt heavy, like it was full of rocks.

  “Tantakatan. It’s liquor made from shiso or basil. Really good stuff, but potent.” Ryo explained patiently. “You sort of passed out and Ieda-sensei told me to take care of you. Since most of the guys had passed out on the floor of the lab, I decided to take you back to my apartment.”

  “Then, I didn’t do anything stupid?”

  “Well, other than the pass you made at me, you’re good. The kiss was a bit sloppy, but . . .”

  She stared at him in horror, her hands flying to cover the shocked O of her mouth.

  He burst out laughing. “I was kidding!”

  Frowning, she hit him on the shoulder before she started laughing too.

  Devoid of the frown he usually wore when she saw him, his eyes crinkled up at the corners as he laughed. Oh man, he looked hotter than he usually did. Not that he was her type, but she could easily get used to this more relaxed version of her tutor.

  The wide neckline of the shirt she wore dipped over one shoulder. She looked down and panic gripped her. “This isn’t my shirt.”

  “You, uh . . . threw up over yourself last night, so I . . . I had to change you.” He stood, scratching his head, looking everywhere but at her.

  “Oh.” She hitched the blanket higher.

  Too late hon, he’s already seen your tatas.

  She peeked under the futon, and sighed with relief when she saw that she was still wearing her jeans. That was a good thing, right?

  Damn it. She was never touching tantaka-whatsit ever again.

  “Aya-san, I’m sorry. It . . . it just didn't feel right leaving you like that.” Maybe it was a trick of the light, but she thought his face had turned a bit red. “I put your shirt in the washer, but it’s still pretty damp.”

  Her own face heated in embarrassment. “I’m really sorry to have been a bother.”

  “Daijoubu. I’m your tutor and you’re my responsibility.” Turning, he rummaged in a drawer and tossed a pile of clothes on the bed. “Here.”

  She reached for the clothes. “I’m really sorry, I hope your girlfriend won’t mind me borrowing them.”

  “Oh, no. I don’t . . .” He cleared his throat. “I mean, those are my sister’s. She’s around your size, so they should fit.”

  Yeah, Aya. Subtle much?

  “Oh. I . . . thanks, Ryo. I really appreciate your help.”

  “Daijoubu,” he repeated, a small smile on his face.

  For the first time in two weeks, Aya was really glad that Ryo was her tutor.

  He sipped his coffee. “Don’t worry, it happens a lot in the lab. You won’t believe how many times I’ve had to clean up after Dei and Matsuura.”

  “Really?”

  “Trust me. And they’re not as appreciative. Or as pretty—” He cleared his throat again. “I mean, the bathroom is over there if you’d like to freshen up.” He pointed toward the hallway that led to the door.

  “Thank you.”

  He glanced at his watch. “We’ve a lab meeting in thirty minutes, so you’d better make it quick.”

  “Oh, right!” She threw off the blanket and promptly bumped into him as she stood.

  Laughing, he reached out to steady her. “Whoa, careful. Are you always this graceful?”

  She stuck her tongue out at him. “Only around you.”

  His gaze dropped to her lips and Aya swore she felt them tingle. Their gazes met and held, and for a second she had to remind herself that he wasn't her type.

  Not at all.

  But damn, he smelled good.

  Blinking rapidly, she took a step back, “Uh, I should probably go . . .”

  “I . . . uh . . . I just need to put the trash out.” Almost at the same time, he released her and backed away.

  Grabbing a knotted trash bag by the
kitchen counter, he was out the front door before she could answer.

  Aya closed the bathroom door behind her and looked at her reflection in the mirror over the sink. A wide grin spread over her face and she bit her lip.

  So, he thinks I’m pretty, huh?

  + + +

  “Ah, yokatta. You’re here.” Ieda-sensei looked up as Aya and Ryo slipped in the door. “Gomen, I have an emergency appointment, so we decided to bump the meeting up. Most everybody was here anyway.”

  Aya looked around. Sure enough, most of her lab mates were present, however most weren’t entirely presentable. Naruse’s hair was standing on end. Matsuura had traces of drool at the side of his mouth. Motomaki, his mouth wide open, had fallen asleep in his chair, his head on Dei’s shoulder. Dei elbowed him and Motomaki woke up with a start.

  Ryo and Aya sat down as their professor continued to speak. “We’ve gone over the meeting and presentation schedules for this term. You can get a copy from Kiuchi-san.” Ieda indicated one of the research assistants. “And we already assigned compes. You two will be doing Suntory.” He checked his watch and started gathering the documents spread in front of him. “Ja, I have to go. Kiuchi-san, please finish discussing the lab rules. Osakini.”

  Everybody stood and bowed. “Otsukaresama, sensei.”

  Chapter 6

  “So, what’s a compe?”

  As soon as Kiuchi-san dismissed them, Aya and Ryo had gone up to their tables in the mezzanine. Most of their lab mates remained downstairs. From where she sat, she could hear Motomaki loudly grumbling about going back to sleep.

  Dumping his backpack on the table, Ryo rubbed his stomach and frowned. “Do you mind if we eat first?”

  “Okay.” Aya grabbed her wallet and followed Ryo down the stairs.

  They invited Dei and Matsuura to join them, but all they wanted to do was follow Motomaki—who was already snoring on his spot on the floor—and get back to sleep. They looked seriously hung over.

  As they exited their building and walked toward the cafeteria, Ryo explained that compe was slang for competition. And in Japan, students of architecture joined design compes to beef up their portfolios. Compes didn’t get you any extra credits, but since Ieda Labo was a design and theory lab, Ieda-sensei encouraged non-graduating students to join as many compes as they could. He and the research assistants offered advice during lab critiques.

  They headed toward Chuo Shokudo, the biggest cafeteria in the university. It was located under Todai Seikyo, the university’s iconic main building. As they descended the steps toward the cafeteria, weathered brick walls gave way to tall columns of concrete and steel. Aya and Ryo browsed the menu on display and bought tickets from a vending machine before descending to the main level.

  It was a bit early, so there were lots of seats available. Ryo put his flip phone on one of the tables and they left to get their food.

  Heading toward the counter that serviced cooked meals, Aya grabbed a tray and gave the obaasan on duty her ticket.

  Aya thanked the obaasan when she slid a medium tonkatsudon onto her tray a few minutes later. On her way back to their table, she fetched some green tea from the dispensers in the middle of the cafeteria.

  Ryo was already seated when she got to their table. In front of him was an amazing amount of food. Aside from the usual bowl of miso shiru, he had a medium ramen, a salad, a platter of tofu, some pickled vegetables, a plate of fried chicken, and two bowls of rice. She sat down and after murmuring a hasty itadakimasu, they began to eat.

  Aya had always been a slow eater. She loved savoring the flavors and chatting while she ate. But Ryo—there was simply no other word for it—he attacked his food with gusto. Sure, they both hadn’t had any breakfast, but Ryo was eating like he had been starved for days on end. He slurped his ramen, not minding the heat of the broth and finished one bowl of rice before Aya had even managed to take a bite of hers.

  He looked up and noticed her watching him. “Daijoubu? Are you all right?”

  “Yeah. I’m good.” Realizing that she was staring, she took a dainty bite of tonkatsu. “Wow, you’re really hungry, huh?”

  “Not especially. Why?”

  “So this is normal for you?” Wow. That was enough to feed at least three people.

  “I’m a growing boy, I need sustenance. You should eat more, you’re too skinny.”

  “Uh . . . arigatou?”

  “Maa, you are such a girl.”

  This was just too weird. Aya put her chopsticks down. “Okay, can I ask you something?”

  Ryo raised an eyebrow. “Sure.”

  “What’s the deal? Do you have a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing going on?”

  “Huh?”

  “When we met, you couldn’t stand the sight of me. And now you’re all friendly and stuff. It’s creeping me out.”

  “Oh. About that.” Ryo drained a cup of cold tea before he continued. “The thing is, that day, I had been waiting for you to show up all morning. It was way past lunchtime when you showed up and . . . well, I get kind of grumpy when I’m hungry.”

  It was a few seconds before Aya could react. “That’s it? For the past two weeks, I’ve worried my head off that I’d offended you in some way. But you were just hungry?”

  “You were worried? Aw . . .” At Aya’s enraged expression he put his hands together and made a quick bow to show his contrition. “Sorry! I didn’t know you were that worried about it.” But it was obvious that he was trying to hold back his laughter.

  She glared. “How could I not be? You hardly said two words to me after. I thought I had committed some sort of cultural faux pas!”

  “Hey! I was kind of pissed too, you know.”

  “Oh, really? I’d never have guessed.”

  He rolled his eyes. “How would you feel if the girl you’d been waiting the whole morning for told you she didn’t need you?”

  “I didn’t say that!”

  “Might as well have.”

  “At least we saved you the trouble.” Snorting, she crossed her arms over her chest.

  He leaned forward. “Ne, I’m getting paid to help you out. I feel kind of guilty that I’ve done nothing to earn it.”

  “But still! You walked out on me!” Aya was half tempted to shove one of her chopsticks up his nose.

  “Ah, sou ka. That’s why you seemed a bit distant.” He nodded, looking as if he’d just figured it out.

  “I was being careful! I didn’t want you to bite my head off again.”

  “I did no such thing!”

  “Ehem, ehem.”

  Aya and Ryo both looked up. Two very curious girls were standing beside their table.

  “April! Reggie!” Aya’s eyes widened when she saw her friends.

  “Are we interrupting?” April’s eyes twinkled mischievously as she balanced her tray.

  “We can sit elsewhere.” Reggie suggested.

  “No, no. Sit here.” Aya gestured to the seats beside her. She introduced her friends to Ryo and they continued eating. After he had finished, Ryo excused himself to get some tea.

  “Wow, girl. You na.” April whistled.

  “I cannot believe how cute your tutor is!” Reggie squealed.

  “Mine always looks like she smelled something foul.” April scrunched up her nose.

  “Maybe it’s your perfume,” Reggie teased.

  “Hoy! This is Victoria’s Secret ha!”

  Aya and Reggie laughed as she sniffed her shirt.

  “We should ask Ryo to join the goukon,” Reggie told Aya.

  “A goukon? Who’s organizing one?” Aya asked.

  “Well, some of the senpais have been talking about it.”

  Reggie finished the last of her ramen, as April filled Aya in on the details.

  A few minutes later, Ryo appeared with two soft cream cones. He offered them both to Aya. “Which one?”

  “Huh?”

  “Chocolate or blueberry?” When Aya simply stared, he sighed. “It’s my apology gift. Now we’
re even, okay?” He shoved the chocolate cone at her.

  “What if I wanted blueberry?”

  “Then, sorry. I like blueberry.” He took a big bite of his dessert.

  “Why did you even ask in the first place?”

  “I was trying to be polite.”

  Reggie giggled. “You guys are so cute.”

  “When did you start going out?” April cupped her chin in her hand as she leaned forward.

  Aya had just taken a bite of her cone. She almost choked. “We aren’t . . .”

  “But we did spend last night together.” Ryo winked.

  “I didn’t . . . we didn’t . . .”

  “Ne, Aya-chan, don’t protest too much, it makes you look guilty.” If looks could kill, his blood would’ve already been a puddle on the floor. Ryo grinned. “Eat your ice cream. It’s melting.”

  Aya looked at her laughing friends. “Is it possible to change tutors?”

  Ryo crumpled up the remains of his cone. “Don’t worry, you won’t be stuck with me for long.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Next semester you get Matsuura-kun.”

  “Oh, so we change tutors every semester?” Reggie asked Ryo.

  “Keiko-san gave me the impression that I’d be stuck with her for a year.” April looked hopeful.

  “Usually, tutors are assigned on a yearly basis. But I’m leaving next semester so Matsuura-kun will take over,” Ryo explained.

  “Why are you leaving?” Reggie asked.

  “Oooh! They booting you out?” Aya smiled snidely.

  “Baka.” Ryo laughed. “Actually, I’ve been accepted to study at TU Delft.”

  “Where’s that?” April asked.

  “In the Netherlands,” Aya answered. Of course, she knew of the school. It was pretty famous, especially for architects and engineers. TU Delft had really good research and design programs.

  “Congratulations. That’s so exciting!” April clapped her hands.

  “Omedetou.” Reggie enunciated each syllable. “I learned that in class today. It means congratulations, right?”

  “Arigatou na.” He nodded.

  “Wow. Aya’s really lucky she got you as a tutor,” April commented.

  He looked at his tutee and grinned. “She’s lucky all right.”