Arima (Haruki Arima Duet, #2)

by Laine Watson

  “Yeah. I miss you.”

  “I miss you too, Summer.” She pauses. “Your mom has always been intense, but she’s your mom. I don’t know my parents. The people who adopted me aren’t in my life anymore. You’re pretty much all I have.”

  “Aw, Darby. I’m sorry I left; I’m sorry I don’t call as much as I should.”

  “No, it’s fine. I’m not trying to have a pity party. I’m happy for you. Even if your mom’s a major bitch, still try to have a relationship with her.”

  “I know. Max, I’m sure, would love to see her. I wonder if she’d like to see me happy and doing something. Would she be jealous? Would she say underhanded things to get a rise out of me? Would she intentionally say hurtful things just to massage my insecurities?”

  “I think your mom says bitch shit all the time. That’s just who she is. You can’t let it get to you.”

  “You’re right.” I take a deep breath. “How’s the new job?”

  “Oh, it’s great. Can’t complain about government work—they might hear you.” She laughs. “Here I thought I’d be working as a museum archivist or curator when I graduated—you suck, by the way, for not coming to my graduation.”

  “I couldn’t get off work. I didn’t even know Canon had semester graduations. Most graduations are in May or June.”

  “It’s fine. Like I was saying: it’s not the job I wanted. All that historical knowledge and bullshit for nothing. All I have is a boring desk job. You know, they have a headquarters near you guys. Maybe I should move up there.”

  “You should. That would be awesome.”

  “Nah, there’s really no point.”

  “What about me?”

  “What about you? I never see you unless I force myself on you. What would change?”

  “I’m sorry. It was a weird time. It’s not going to be like that anymore, I promise. You can come and stay with us whenever you want.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” she says lovingly. “You still working and not getting paid over at the high school?”

  “Yep, until next semester. I’m going to apply for the paid internship, and then try to get a job there. I already know the counselors and most of the kids. I’m really hoping I get it.”

  “I hope you get it, too. I suppose you think you’re going to chat your way out of calling your mom, loser—no way. Call her. Stop being a baby.”

  I sigh with a smirk. “Okay.”

  “Okay. Bye!”

  “Bye.”

  The call ends, and I stand at the counter for a few minutes doing nothing. Finally, after a deep sigh, I call my mother. The phone rings three distinct times, and I nearly panic and hang up.

  “Hello, Regina Vaughn.”

  There is only silence for a few moments.

  “Mom ... it’s me.”

  “Summer.” She pauses. “Well, are you coming home now? Did he have his way with you, and he doesn’t want you anymore? Or are you giving up?”

  I knew it. I breathe a little heavier. My heartbeat quickens, almost pounding out of my chest. I want to call her names and hang up the phone. Haru’s in my heart, giving me strength helping me to know that I am strong, so I calm down and take a deep breath.

  “Actually, Mom, I was wondering if you wanted to come see the new house? We’re having dinner with Haru’s parents in a couple weeks. Do you, maybe, want to come and meet them? I know Max would love to see you.”

  “Huh, the new house?” she patronizes.

  “Yeah, we’ll pay for your plane ticket. You can stay with us.”

  “You mean Haruki will pay for my ticket.” She takes a pregnant pause. “All right then.”

  She said yes! I’m going to ignore her Haruki jab.

  “You’ll come? And have dinner with his parents?”

  “Sure, why not? When’s the dinner?”

  “Well, it’s in a few weeks. I don’t have a specific date or—”

  “I can only come for one day. Wednesday will be best. Go ahead and set up the arrangements. I’ll see you in a few weeks, Summer.”

  “Oh, um, yeah. Okay.” I pause. “Mom...”

  She didn’t even ask how I was, or what I was doing—nothing.

  “Yes, Summer?”

  “I miss you.”

  “Of course, you do.”

  Chapter Two: Chatty Kathy

  A week passes and school is out for a week break. We have one every semester. Max is staying with Haru’s parents. Haru has promised to get the boxes unpacked this week. My mom and Darby are coming at some point this month, so I don’t want my mother having anything to complain about.

  I’m used to waking up early, so when I open my eyes at six a.m., it’s not that surprising. However, Haru is up and talking to my vagina again.

  “Haru.” I glance down at him. “What are you doing?”

  “Sorry, Kathy gets a little uneasy. She always feels like you keep her covered up, and she doesn’t have anyone to talk to.”

  “Haru...”

  “She tells me you’ve been using a new foaming wash. She doesn’t like it. She wants you to go back to the rose oil one. This one makes her smell sweet. She’s a dirty girl; she doesn’t want to smell sweet. She wants to smell like rose petals and sex.”

  Haru must not like my new vanilla and lemon wash.

  “Get away from me, Haru.”

  He sits up. “Why are you being so mean? You just woke up. How do you wake up with an attitude, and I’ve been playing with your vagina for fifteen minutes? You should be so turned on right now, you can’t stand it.”

  “Haru!” I sit up and throw my hands in the air. “Why are you playing with my vagina while I’m sleeping?”

  “She’s a chatty Kathy. What do you want me to do? Ignore her? I don’t think she’d let me inside of her as much if I did.”

  I sigh, annoyed. “Haru, stop playing with my vagina when I’m asleep, okay?”

  “I can’t make any promises. It’s unfair for you not to respect Kathy’s individuality. I’m here for her.” He presses his palm into his chest. I almost forget he’s talking about my vagina.

  “Whatever.”

  “So, can you stop being rude? We were in the middle of a conversation,” he says, glancing down at my middle. “Humans...” He shakes his head disapprovingly. “Can you believe her, just interrupting us like that? Now, what were you saying?” Haru pulls me toward him and spreads my legs, placing his face right in my flower.

  It’s hard to stay annoyed with him when he’s so playfully dirty.

  “You don’t want to talk while she listens? Why not? You guys really need to get along.” He pauses and listens. “Yeah, it would make me happy... I know you’d do anything to make me happy.” He pauses yet again. “I love you too.” He slowly kisses my vagina as if it were lips.

  “Oh my goodness. Are you making out with my lady parts, Haru?”

  “What d'you say, Kathy? Kiss you deeper?” He presses his tongue further past my folds and inside of me. A tiny moan comes from me as I scoot close to Haru’s face. I spread my legs wider as I lose all annoyance with him. He wraps his arms around my legs, and I whimper sweetly.

  “God, you taste good, princess.” To delve deeper, he bends my legs at the knees, locking them in place. His stubble scratches against me as I press myself into his face, erupting.

  “Mmm, tastes like someone’s having a yummy orgasm,” Haru says.

  My body jerks, and my flower contracts. I want to relax and enjoy my body coming down from my orgasm, but he has other plans. Suddenly, my legs fall to the bed, and Haru is between them. He lies across my body. Our eyes meet.

  “I love you,” he confesses.

  “I love you too.” I giggle. “What else am I going to say? You just gave me an orgasm in under ten minutes.”

  He kisses me.

  “What are you going to do today since you’re out for the week?”

  I push him off of me, our sweet mood stolen as I prop myself up on my elbows. “Seriously? We’re supposed t
o be going through the boxes and making the house look like we live in it and aren’t just squatting in a well-furnished home. That’s why Max is with your parents, right?”

  “Oh!” Haru puts his hand over his face. “I forgot. I have a lot going on this week.”

  “No way you’re leaving me to do it all by myself. You’d better figure it out. You promised. My mom and Darby will stay with us. You—”

  “Okay-okay-okay.” He yawns. “I’ll see if I can get off early or something.”

  “Today?”

  “Yeah, sure.” He scratches his face and grabs me, bringing me closer toward him. “What if I just stay home? We could get it all knocked out today and have some alone time—just you and me.”

  I gleam with happiness. “That’d be perfect.”

  “Maybe we could sleep in a little?”

  “I’d like that a lot. We never get to sleep in, not even on the weekends.”

  “Let me send my boss an email.” He grabs his phone.

  Since we’re sleeping in, I close my eyes to drift off to sleep again. After a few moments, I groan. “Haru!”

  “Yeah?”

  “Leave my vagina alone while I’m asleep.”

  “Aw...” He climbs under the covers and cuddles my middle. I push the covers back to see his face. “I was going to sleep in it. It’s all creamy and delicious. I want to nuzzle in and fall asleep,” he says, laying his face right in my flower, his hair spread out over my stomach.

  I bat my eyes and exhale, a sweet smirk appearing on my face. The warmth of his body lulls me back in to a comforting state, so comfortable I could go back to sleep. I lie back on my pillow and close my eyes, my hands playing in Haru’s hair for just a moment. I glance down at him.

  He’s such a weirdo.

  He falls asleep right there. So do I.

  Chapter Three: Hayden

  When I wake up, Haru isn’t in bed with me. Where is he?

  “Haru,” I call, getting my things to take a shower. He doesn’t answer. “Haru!” I call again.

  “Downstairs,” he replies.

  “You better be going through boxes,” I say from the stairs, right before I step in the bathroom.

  “I am.”

  While in the shower, the steam comforts me. I linger under the water after I’m clean. A smirk comes across my face. Haru is so strange sometimes. Part of me wonders why he likes me. I guess he can’t help it as much as I can’t help being in love with him.

  I turn the water off, dry myself with a towel, and put on some clothes. I look in the mirror and smile. If Haru has gone through the boxes, maybe he can take a little break.

  I giggle to myself. Kathy wants what I want. Ugh, he’s got me referring to it as “Kathy.”

  After I head downstairs, I peer down the hall into the living room. I can’t see Haru, but I hear rustling and his voice along with another.

  Who’s he talking to? I smile as I walk into the living room. My smile leaves when I see a semi-familiar face.

  Are you kidding me?

  “Hey, princess. You remember Hayden?”

  I narrow my eyes at him without answering. Ugh, he’s just as gross as he was in college. No wonder Darby didn’t like him.

  “Princess,” he calls with throw pillows in his hands, gaining my attention. I’m in no mood to casually chat.

  “What is he doing here?” I cock my head to the right and let out an agitated sigh, pouting. Some alone time, my ass.

  Hayden stares at Haru dumbfounded. The throw pillows fall out of his hands and drop into a box.

  “He sort of transferred with me.” Haru’s voice gets higher.

  “You’re just now saying something about it?”

  “What’s the problem?” Hayden scoffs.

  I ignore Hayden. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “I didn’t think it was something that needed to be discussed.” Haru comes closer to me, “He’s my friend.”

  “Is this who you go out with?”

  “Yeah, him and a couple other guys. C’mon, Summer, is it really that big of a deal?”

  I narrow my eyes and stare in the opposite direction. “I still wish you would have told me. You said we were going to have alone time. I thought we would spend time together this week since Max is over at your parents’ house.”

  Haru sighs. “Yeah, princess, we can. Hayden’s helping with the heavy stuff. That’s all. I figured it would go faster if we had some extra hands.”

  I huff a little, glaring at Hayden.

  “Listen, Max’s bed still isn’t up, and our headboard has been in the guest bedroom since we got here. We can get this knocked out today, okay? You wanted to do this, right? Quicker it’s done, the quicker we can get on with our lives.”

  “Still, you should have told me.”

  “Let it go, Summer.” Haru laughs, walking over to me and kissing me, fizzling out all my annoyance with him. “Can you do the guest bedroom? Get Max’s closet together and find some of his toys he’s been bugging us about?”

  I sigh. “Yeah.”

  “Good girl,” Haru teases, the tone of his voice, sexy.

  I quickly shoot my eyes at him. My cheeks burn, and my lips purse aggressively. “Haru!” I chastise with a whisper. I don’t want Hayden hearing Haru talking to me sexy.

  “Now, get up there.” He kisses me and turns me around, pushing me toward the stairs.

  He nudges me a little when we reach them.

  From the top of the stairs, I turn around toward Haru. “Why are you talking like that in front of Hayden?”

  Haru takes a few steps toward and grips my arm, securing me in place. “Does it embarrass you? Or are you pissed off because Hayden’s here, and we can’t have sex right now?”

  I stare up at him with telling eyes, even though I try to hide the truth.

  “Aw, princess.” His crooked smile gives me a girlish tingle in my belly. His tone of voice washes over me, his playful smirk mocking my desire. “Don’t worry. When he leaves, I’ll give you want you want.”

  I bat my eyes and take a deep breath, letting my eyes linger on Haru for a moment. He stares down at me and takes another step toward me. His fingers grip my chin as he tilts my face upward and closer to him. My eyes close immediately as my lips part. His tongue glides over mine. My mouth is getting wetter, and so are other places. I reach up to him, ready to jump in his arms as we kiss. As he holds my face firmly in his grasp, his other hand brushes over my left breast. A small moan falls from my lips, but Haru catches it and pushes it back in along with his tongue.

  I want to eat him; he tastes so good. He pulls his lips away from me.

  He stares down at me. “Mmm. You’re so ready.”

  I exhale in frustration, yanking my face out of his grasp. I lose my footing, almost tumbling back onto Haru. He spins me around slowly.

  “Calm, princess.” He steadies me, his hands sliding down my arms to my hands. He holds them. “Let’s just do this, and then I’ll make you even wetter. Okay?” He turns to head down the stairs, my fingers almost slipping out of his grasp. As he glances back at me, his hands and mine part.

  A second later, he pulls me forward by the wrist. “You’re only pissed because you want to be fucked.” He smiles arrogantly. “Soon enough, princess. Soon enough.” He releases me and continues down the stairs.

  I close my eyes and huff.

  I hate when he can tell everything about me.

  Chapter Four: Tattered Past

  I go through the boxes in the guestroom for hours, and I can still hear Hayden and Haru. After getting some of Max’s toys out and taking them to his room, I traipse downstairs. When I walk into the living room, I see Hayden sitting on the sofa, having a drink.

  “Where’s Haru?”

  “He went to shower. We’re pretty much done in here.” He takes a swig of his drink.

  Then why are you still here? I glance around anxiously, finding my calmness as I stare at Hayden. He looks different—more grown-up. His hair is
in a nice short style, and his blue eyes are more brilliant than I remember. It’s hard to imagine him in a suit like Haru. He’s still that 'skeezy’ college kid to me.

  “So, I remember you a little. Did we meet at a bar or something?”

  “No.” Well, a club.

  “I swear I’ve seen your face before. We do know each other. Arima asked if you remembered me.”

  I purse my lips and slightly roll my eyes. “So, you guys are college buddies?” I ask to jog his memory.

  “Yeah.” He stares at me thoughtfully, his eyebrows furrowed. “Are you sure we didn’t meet you at a bar or a party?”

  “I’m sure. I was Max’s babysitter.”

  “Wait, your name’s Summer, right?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You’re that racist chick he tutored his senior year. I forgot.” He sneered.

  I turn my face away, my cheeks burning. “I’m not racist.”

  “Clearly.”

  “Then why did you say it?”

  “Because that’s who you were for a long time. He could not stop talking about how much he hated you. Then a bunch of shit happened, and he didn’t really talk about anybody. We barely talked.”

  I glance up at him, forgetting my embarrassment. “Well, what happened?” I fold my arms and shuffle my feet awkwardly.

  “Let’s just say his life changed.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “He isn’t who he was in college. Honestly, I don’t know who he is right now. This is the first time I’ve seen him remotely functioning and happy.”

  “He said you guys weren’t that close.”

  “We weren’t. We still aren’t super close, but he’s my friend. A lot has happened with him. When he mentioned you watching his kid, I was suspicious, but he was right.”

  “Right about what?”

  “You look so much more innocent now, like a different person. I mean, you look the same, just... I don’t know, different.”

  “Yeah, I know what you mean.” I bow my head. “You and Haru too. Haru used to look innocent.”

  “Yeah, life changes who you are. So does pain. Your past self could look at you through a mirror and not recognize you.”