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My Life: Chapter 22 - A Date and the Aftermath

by Fitz

By the following Monday, I felt almost human again. I still coughed a lot, had a few dizzy spells, not to mention bouts where I demanded to know why I caught every little thing that went through the student body and then some. On the flip side, I caught up on all my homework over the weekend, made up a quiz Tuesday morning, and by Wednesday everything was back to normal, but for the constant supply of tissues I kept with me.

“Yeesh,” Kamatari grimaced when I had to stop, no thanks to the harsh coughing that rushed through my system. “We’ll never get any help with you hacking up a lung like that.”

I sniffed and gratefully accepted the tissue he handed me.

“I’m sorry!” I grumbled. “If I didn’t have to get this suit before next weekend, I would just stay home.”

“Kind of scary when you call college home.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You did.”

“Must be the medication.”

“Must be.”

Friday afternoon, Kamatari went suit shopping with me. He had been uncertain about driving me out to the mall, but I had retorted that I would just take a bus if he didn’t want to go with me. Of course, I would have ended up with an outfit that made me look like a cross-dressing girl, but I was not going to let that stop me.

“You’re not going to impress Kaoru if you keep coughing like that,” he offered, smiling when a sales clerk walked past us without so much as a second glance. “Hey! Do you work here?”

“Huh?” the guy blinked at Kamatari, then at me. “Yeah... Can I help you find something?”

“My friend here needs a suit,” Kamatari smiled and batted his eyelashes prettily. “You know someone who can help us?”

I sighed, then coughed again.

“Oh... sure,” the man--Jon, according to his name tag--looked at me doubtfully. “What’s the occasion?”

“Wedding,” I offered, sounding pretty pathetic, I might add, without the breath to back up that statement.

“He’s looking for something modern and not overly masculine,” Kamatari added.

“Let’s not go crazy,” I muttered.

“Come on, sweetheart,” Kamatari took my arm and pulled me forward. “You wanted my help, and you’re going to get it. Trust me on this, okay?”

“I’ll see what I’ve got in your size...” Jon said. The way he stood and talked to us, I guessed he would rather have been anywhere else but there. I was certain I could oblige him in that if he didn’t stop looking at me like I was trying to trick him. “You’ll probably have to get some alterations.”

Thus, why Uncle Hiko had wanted me to do my shopping more than a week before the wedding. I sighed and nodded.

“I figured as much,” I had to fight the urge to reach back and fuss with the string I had in my hair. It was the only thing I could find, and the ends of it dangled down into my hair like a girl might wear it. It didn’t help that it was a multicolored thing, cut off a ball of yarn Kamatari had in his closet. The guy was already looking at me like I might try to hit on him at any moment--afraid and disdainful all at once. Despite my desire to hide that stupid string, guys weren’t supposed to play with their hair. Only the girly and the vain did that. Kamatari did that. “That’s fine. Just show me what you’ve got.”

The guy flushed a bit at my demand. I wanted to hit him. Kamatari must have seen me seething because he slid between us, smiling at the man nicely. Jon forgot his reaction to me and smiled back at Kamatari. There was something to be said for leading some guys on. Idiot.

I was sick of trying on clothes by the time the seamstress came to look at the suit I settled on. Kamatari had disappeared at some point, and I was left to model for the clerk and the woman who sat on the couch outside the fitting room. She was with her husband, who was also suit shopping. Between giving me her opinion and fussing over her husband’s choice of clothing, she managed to inform me that their twenty-fifth anniversary was coming up, and they were going on a cruise to celebrate. Kamatari probably left because that woman had noticed almost immediately that he was not exactly the typical girl. Older women were funny that way. They usually could figure it out.

Kamatari returned as I was handing the jacket to Jon and turning to go back to the room to finally change back into my own clothes. He had a big smile on his face and an armload of clothes in his hands. I groaned.

“No... please...”

The woman on the couch lifted her hand to her face, probably to hide her smile, but she could not hide her shaking shoulders. I gave Kamatari my best why-are-you-torturing-me look as he held out the clothes.

“You need something new,” he announced, tugging at the collar of the dress shirt I was wearing. “You’re already going to hack all over Kaoru tonight. You might as well look nice while you do it.”

“Maybe I should just postpone our date again if everyone thinks I’m going to offend her so much,” I protested as he shoved me back into the fitting room. “Kamatari, I’m tired! I’m sick of trying this stuff on.”

“You can nap in the car on the way back,” he poked at my shoulders. I glared at him, and he did the unthinkable. The bastard goosed me.

My yelp had half the store looking at me strangely. I nearly dropped all the clothes, and I had to bite my lip to keep from swearing at him.

“Don’t--!” I gritted my teeth in annoyance and glowered at him, silently promising murder if he tried that again. “Don’t do that.”

“Go try the clothes on,” he replied serenely, not at all bothered by my scowl.

Muttering to myself, I stomped back into the room, dumping the clothes on the bench in there and unbuttoning my shirt. I eyed the shirts he’d picked out and pulled one on, also putting on my jeans before walking out again. Kamatari smiled, blithely unaware of my irritation as he took the dress pants and shirt and considered me.

“That’s nice,” he murmured. “Go try on something else.”

“Give that to the clerk,” I retorted. “I’m supposed to pay for it before they’ll alter it.”

“Sure, sweetheart.” He had slipped back to calling me that again. I wasn’t sure if I should be worried or grateful. I decided to ignore it. “Go try on that white sweater.”

I ended up buying the suit, a plain dress shirt, two new ties--which cost an arm and a leg in and of themselves--and a light knit shirt which I was ordered to wear that night. It was nice, for all the pains Kamatari put me through to get it. It was somewhat fitted, but not too bad, and had one of those V-necks. It was kind of plain, with a white strip across the front while the rest was a really dark blue. He’d tried to put me in navy, which I had starkly refused. I couldn’t say why, but I hated that color.

I took Kamatari up on that offer for a nap on the ride back to campus. He was decent about it, flipping the radio to WLTE and showing me how to put the seat back. I fell asleep, lulled by the thought that at least I would still be able to afford dinner that night thanks to Uncle Hiko coughing up the money for the clothes.

^_^

The date was probably dull compared to what most guys might expect of a first date. But for the nervous fluttering of my stomach, it was not much different than any other time Kaoru and I had gone out.

We went to Chipotle, which was not exactly the height of formal dining, but it was nicer than the usual. Not to mention a person had to call ahead unless he wanted to wait forty minutes for a table. I chose the place because Megumi had raved about it before and recommended it again earlier that week while we were studying together. And because it was within walking distance of Kaoru’s dorm. The world must have liked me that day because it did not rain, which it had been doing most of the week. Minnesota weather could be so unpredictable.

I met her in the lobby at six. She looked nice in a pink shirt and a long, kind of flowy white skirt with lots of tiny pink and blue flowers on it. Her hair was half back, held in place by little silver barrettes with butterflies on them. I’d never seen her so dressed up. Even that time I went to church on Christmas morning with her family, she had dressed in a plain wool skirt and a sweater, and her hair had been in its typical pony tail.

In those moments when I first saw her, I was very glad I had agreed to by a new shirt. It was still cool out, so I wore a white tee shirt under it, which the neckline was somewhat visible, but other than that, it was just the new shirt and my khakis. After a week of scrounging and borrowing strings from Kamatari, I had finally bought some elastics for my hair, so it was back in a pony tail as well--up higher because I could get more back, and I looked less scruffy that way.

“Wow, Kenshin,” Kaoru said when she walked through the security doors to meet me. “You look really nice.”

Wasn’t the guy supposed to compliment the girl first? Of course Kaoru would beat me to it. Making me look bad...

“Thanks,” I smiled and gestured to the door. “You look pretty with your hair like that.”

She blushed. Score one for the smooth talker. I held the door open for her, too.

“How’re you feeling?” she asked as we walked toward the restaurant. “You sound better. Not so stuffy.”

“Ah... yeah.” Nice conversation topic. I nodded and smiled uneasily. “I’m feeling a lot better.”

“Did you get your suit?”

“Yeah...” I wrinkled my nose at the memory, and she laughed. Talk was light after that. I told her about my shopping experiences, and she described her chemistry lab. Apparently, someone in her lab group got his jacket sleeve caught in one of the spectral analysis--whatever she called it--machines. They spent twenty minutes trying to get him free. By the time we got to the restaurant, she had me laughing so hard I started coughing. Kaoru was patting my back when we got there, and she had to give the hostess our names. Lost a point there. I wasn’t supposed to make her worry about me on our date.

^_^

Dinner was fine. Kaoru ordered dessert. I had a bite of her brownie, but my appetite still was down, so I didn’t order anything for myself. Nothing unusual happened. Check that--I paid for the meal, which was unusual.

She held my hand as we walked back to her dorm that night. It was not the first time she had done that, but it was the first time we had been on a date and she had done it. I found myself continually looking down at our hands, clasped lightly between us. But then Kaoru curled her arm around mine, linking her fingers through mine and leaning against me, blocking my view. That was okay. I was floating.

I walked all the way up to her room. Her roommate had gone out that night, so we did not have an audience. That was nice--not so awkward.

“So,” I glanced around her room curiously. It had been awhile since I had last visited. In fact, I didn’t think I had been there since before winter break. It looked much the same. “Doing anything this weekend?”

I was stalling, but Kaoru did not seem to mind.

“Make yourself comfortable,” she suggested, turning on some lights. “Not really. I hoped you would feel well enough to spar tomorrow, but you’re still coughing.”

“We can still spar,” I said quickly.

“How about we do brunch instead,” she replied, smiling at me. My heart was attempting to beat its way straight out of my chest. The smile I gave her was probably the dumbest looking thing she’d see for awhile.

“Okay.”

“Want to play a game or something?”

“Sure.”

She turned on the radio, and we played Trivial Pursuit. It was the original Genus edition, and therefore horribly outdated. My knowledge of useless facts from the nineteen-eighties was little to none, and Kaoru won the game in little under two hours. By that point, it was pitch black outside, and I still had to get back to the other side of campus. I really was not looking forward to the walk alone in the dark.

“I should go,” I admitted finally, glancing at the clock. It was after ten.

“Already?” Kaoru followed my gaze. “Oh. I didn’t realize it was that late.”

“Yeah...” I sighed and pushed myself to my feet. I got my shoes and jacket on and hesitated at the door. I really did not want to leave. Part of it was because I was having a nice time. Most of it was just my apprehension at walking across campus at ten-thirty on a Friday night. “That was fun.”

“We should do it again sometime,” Kaoru agreed. Was I grinning like an idiot? Oh yeah.

“Are you doing anything April fifth?” I wondered.

Kaoru lifted her eyebrows at me before walking over to her desk. She flipped through her planner and stopped on the appropriate week.

“It doesn’t look like it--”

“My aunt is getting married that afternoon,” I smiled when she looked at me. “Will you be my date?”

She smiled and picked up a pen. I grinned as she wrote down, ‘Kenshin, aunt’s wedding’ in cursive scrawl across the date.

“Looks like I’m busy now,” she giggled. “What should I wear?”

“A little nicer than what you’ve got now,” I shrugged. “I’m wearing a suit.”

“Sounds like fun,” she put down the planner and walked over to me. “Good night. Be careful.”

“I will,” I agreed. “Good night yourself.”

I hesitated for a moment, then leaned forward and kissed her forehead lightly. Okay, so it wasn’t on the mouth, but I had good reasons. Even so, she actually looked disappointed.

“I don’t want to get you sick,” I murmured, squeezing her hands before pulling back.

“I’ll risk it,” she replied huskily. I tensed in surprise as her hands caught my face and pulled me forward.

First date ever... First time ever kissing a girl... The night was full of firsts, and I liked it. I was floating away on cloud nine when Kaoru finally let go. It was part lack of breath, part something else, but I was lightheaded and content as could be.

Kaoru giggled and brushed her fingers through my bangs. I looked at her uncertainly.

“Tickles,” she admitted.

“Mmm,” was about all I had the mind to say at the moment. “G’night.”

“Good night,” she said again.

I walked away, turning the wrong way before quickly discovering my mistake and going the other way to the stair well. I had always been something of a cynic when it came to this stuff, but I swear to god, that night as I walked down to the main lobby of Kaoru’s dorm, my feet were not touching the ground. They did not meet the earth again until I reached the corner just down the street from Boynton Health Services.

I hit the ground hard once I was aware enough to recognize what I was doing. Reality set in, and I picked up my pace, glancing around uneasily. I hated walking alone around Minneapolis late at night. My freshman year I was a bit more careless about that, but there had been a few strange disappearances earlier my sophomore year, and that was enough to make anyone leery. So I stuffed my hands into my pockets, put my head down, and walked as swiftly as I could manage toward the bridge.

It was not the nicest way to end the night. Walking around the University campus at night was just damned creepy. Even through the well-lit enclosure, there was a slight echo, so every time I took a step, I felt like I was hearing someone else, following me. It was stupid, really, but it drove me outside, where there was no such echo. There were not as many lights out there, but I could see well enough. I grumbled to myself about what a wimp I could be and continued my path to the dorm.

Once back, I took the elevator up to my floor. No one was about, thank god. Of course, it was a Friday night and people either went out or went home. It was not common to find students in the lounge on weekend evenings.

I ducked into my room, dazed by the intimidating walk and still a little high off that kiss from earlier. I thought about that, letting myself remember what it was like to kiss Kaoru. It certainly was nicer than thinking about what a scary place Minneapolis could be.

In my pajamas, I collapsed on the bed with a heavy sigh and stared at the ceiling. I recalled I had not taken my medication yet. In fact, I had not taken it in almost two weeks. There was so much other stuff in my system that I just didn’t want to add anything else. I was lucky I had not had a fainting spell yet that week. Wouldn’t that have been nice, blacking out in the middle of my date or on the walk back to the dorms? The thought of how vulnerable that would have made me was enough to make me shudder. I got up and retrieved the pills.

Too exhausted to do much else, I turned on my radio, intending to set the sleep timer and return to bed. Sometime the previous month, the radio waves must have mysteriously changed because I didn’t get the eighties station anymore. After that, all I got was the local light rock station. So, WLTE it was. Delilah was playing her sappy love and friendship songs until midnight, by which time I hoped to be sleeping soundly. I was fortunate it wasn’t Saturday, though. Those days, they played all seventies music. While there were a few good songs from that decade, it was mostly disco rock, which was annoying as hell.

Radio timer set, alarm enabled, I was set for bed. I wrapped my arms around my stuffed gorilla and sighed again. Pressing my face into the stuffed animal’s furry side, I snickered softly. Strange, how one little date could make a person change. I was still giddy. I laughed again, hugging the gorilla tighter, and let Delilah’s voice bore me to sleep... Soothe me to sleep. Right.

Oh, I was chuckling again.

^_^

Saturday morning started normally. I got up fairly early, dug through my closet for some clean clothes, and went to the bathroom to get ready. That was the nice thing about being a morning person. Almost nobody else was, so I usually got to the shower first without having to worry about anyone else banging on the door for their turn.

The morning did not get unusual until I started brushing my teeth and noticed I was not alone in the bathroom. I had the water running and was bent over, brushing my teeth. After I did the usual rinse-and-spit routine, I lifted my head so I could put my toothbrush in its case, which was resting on the ledge in front of the mirror. I certainly did not expect to see a reflection other than my own there.

“Geez!” I whipped around to face the intruder, fumbling for the towel that slid down from my shoulders. I stared into Chou’s boldly grinning face. “Don’t do that!”

He shrugged carelessly.

“Get lucky?” he asked.

“Chou!” I glared at him.

“We want the details, kid,” Chou replied. “Come on.”

“What--? Hold on!” I protested when he grabbed my arm and proceeded to pull me out of the bathroom. I pulled back, tossing my towel over the hook on the wall and trying to get my clothes. “Chou, I’m in my underwear!” Which was true. I was only wearing boxers, the rest of my clothes waiting until I was almost ready to leave the bathroom. I was leaving the bathroom at that moment, but Chou was not about to give me the opportunity to dress.

“Very nice, by the way,” he remarked, still yanking me out into the hallway. “Blue cotton--very boring.”

“Do you have to announce that?!” I hissed. “Chou, my clothes--!”

I lunged back and snatched the clothing off the edge of the sink just before he pulled me out of the room. Resigning myself to walking in the open in nothing but a pair of boxers, I settled with making Chou go as fast as humanly possible. He seemed surprised when I shoved at him, urging him to his destination, wherever that was. He went into his room, pulling me right along.

Not only was Kamatari there, but so was Sano, Aoshi, and--so help me--those four friends of Aoshi. Shikijou started laughing the instant he saw me. He explained his reasoning before I had the chance to glare at him for his audacity.

“No wonder you’re always wearing those baggy clothes!” he snorted. “Look at you! There’s barely anything to you!”

I might not have been as built as Shikijou, but I was fit. Short, granted, but certainly stronger than the average guy. I had the build of a runner--slender and almost lanky. My height did not allow for the typically gangly look of a dedicated runner, and he didn’t have to make it sound like I was some skinny slip of nothing.

“Just because I’m not a six foot seven weight lifter--” I started.

I did not bother finishing that. Everyone else was laughing so hard, I doubted they would have heard me. Sano snorted, making everyone laugh harder. Kamatari’s giggling stopped for a minute.

“He’s a bit of a lightweight,” he declared, winking at me and grinning when I blushed and started pulling on my shirt. “Lighter now than two weeks ago. We’re hoping he gains that weight back.”

He was referring to how much weight I had lost during my bout with the flu. I had probably dropped five to ten pounds, which brought me down to under a hundred pounds. Okay, so they were right. But it wasn’t like I was anorexic or anything!

“You’re not going to hear anything about my date last night if you keep making fun of me,” I snapped, hopping around a bit to pull on my jeans. They stopped laughing, immediately protesting.

“Come on, kid!” Chou grinned. “We’re just playing.”

Shikijou was snickering again, and it took me a minute to figure out why. My jeans were the relaxed fit, my shirt oversized and folding around me without much shape. I mentally smacked my forehead and glared at him.

“Why are you guys so obsessed with my date?” I demanded, releasing my ponytail with one hand to jab my finger toward Aoshi’s friends. “Why do you guys care?! I barely know any of you!”

“Just because you don’t know us,” Hannya smiled. “We hear enough about you through Aoshi, Misao, and Kaoru. This is something we’ve all been anticipating for some time now.”

“You...” They hung out with Kaoru? I looked at him in surprise. “You talk with Kaoru?”

“Actually, Hyottoko helped her with her preparations for last night,” Beshimi snickered. My eyes went to Hyottoko, my incredulity probably plainly visible. Hyottoko flushed a bit under my scrutiny.

“She wanted an opinion,” he muttered. “And some help choosing earrings.”

Earrings? Kaoru had been wearing earrings?

“We all went shopping with her and Misao,” Hannya added. Shikijou nodded, a pained look on his face.

“They made us wait and give opinions when she came out of the fitting rooms to show us the clothing,” he sighed. “It was a painful experience. You owe us.”

I owed them!

“Come on, Kenshin,” Sano spoke up finally, his usual, roguish grin on his face. “Where’d you go?”

“Chipotle,” I muttered. Sano had already known that, and judging by the bland expressions of the others, so had they. “And then we went to her room.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Kamatari’s lewd smile. My face heated as I realized what that meant.

“We played Trivial Pursuit!” I said quickly. “And then I walked back. That’s it!”

“That’s it?” Chou seemed disappointed. “You mean you didn’t get her into bed?”

“CHOU!” I scowled at him. “No! I didn’t even think about that! It was only a first date!”

“I’ve had a few of those,” Hannya snorted. Aoshi nodded in silent agreement, as did Sano. Unlike Aoshi, Sano had something else to add.

“Same here,” he chuckled. “A few kisses, and a lot of girls don’t mind taking it further... even on a first date.”

“Speaking of which,” Kamatari murmured, looking up with a knowing smile. “Did you even do that?”

“What? Kiss her?” I blinked. They were all looking at me expectantly, although some of them looked doubtful. “Uh...” My face must have been twenty degrees hotter than the rest of me.

“Thank god,” Sano sighed. “I’d have been really disappointed if you didn’t even do that.”

I didn’t respond, letting them take my silence however they wanted. They could believe I kissed Kaoru, which I did, but they did not need to know that she was the one who really instigated it. If I had not been sick all the past two weeks, I would have done it, so there was no need to make anyone think otherwise.

“Oh, it must have been good,” Chou remarked.

“Agreed,” Beshimi snickered. “I’ve never seen him grin like that.”

That made me blink and quickly stop smiling.

“Aww... he stopped!” Kamatari giggled.

“Shut up!” I grumbled, finally getting all my hair up into a ponytail that was not filled with impossible tangles. I let the hair fall, the wet strands slapping my back rather unpleasantly.

“He’s done his hair up nice,” Kamatari continued. “Think he’s going to see someone special?”

“He’s always got Saturday mornings with Kaoru,” Sano smirked.

“Shut up!” I said again, glancing at the clock. Damn it. I still had plenty of time left before I had to leave.

“He keeps looking at the clock,” Aoshi observed solemnly.

“Anticipating when you go to make out with--I mean, to meet Kaoru?” Shikijou teased.

“No! I mean, yes!” That sounded awful. My face was never going to return to it’s usual temperature if this kept up. “Yes, I want to meet her. No, I’m not going to go make out with her. As if it’s any of your business anyway!”

“Easy, Kenshin,” Sano laughed. “We’re just having fun. No one ever thought you’d ever actually date anyone.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I complained. I still had a good twenty minutes before I really needed to get going. Sighing in resignation, I took up the empty spot on Kamatari’s bed between him and Sano. “It really wasn’t that exciting. We went to dinner, walked back to the dorms, and spent a couple hours playing board games. I had to leave, we kissed, and I came back. End of story.” I gave Chou a pointed look, and he smirked.

“And today?” Kamatari wondered.

“We’re going to lunch,” I gestured to Beshimi, pointed at the tissue box behind his head, and nodded my thanks when he handed it to me. Picking up a tissue, I held it for a minute, muttering a complaint, “We usually work out, but she thinks I’m not well enough.”

From the amused glances of the men around me, I knew I didn’t have much of a case. I blew my nose and sighed.

“What’s the big deal about me dating, anyway?” I demanded. “What about Aoshi? Nobody ever asks him.”

“We do,” Shikijou smirked. “We’re waiting for the wedding announcements.”

Aoshi grimaced, and I glanced at him sympathetically. I made a mental note to request that he did not invite his friends over the next time I went on a date. They were worse than Sano and Chou. I had to admit it surprised me, but Kamatari was right up there with the lewd looks and comments, although his were more subtle. Of course, that tended to make them worse.

For a few seconds, everyone was quiet. At the risk of sounding like I was changing the subject, I just kept my mouth shut. Fortunately for me, the guys decided they were finished interrogating me. Conversations slipped into various subjects, and I found myself caught up in a heated discussion with Kamatari over a report I was writing for psychology. I was partway through my argument when my eyes caught on the clock, and I gasped.

“Oh no!” I scrambled off the bed. “I’m going to be late!”

I tripped over Hyottoko’s leg on the way out, only to have Hannya reach out and steady me. Muttering a thanks, I flew out of the room, ignoring the laughter behind me. Jerks.

^_^

I took a chance and ran down the stairs to the bus stop. The buses don’t run as often on the weekends, but I got lucky for once, reaching the curb just as the driver put the bus into gear and started pulling away. Even more lucky, the driver actually noticed me and, miracle of miracles, stopped. I climbed up the steps, thanking the guy, and sat down. It was not difficult to find a seat, as there were only three other people on the bus.

There was a stop just across the street from Bruegger’s, and I got off there. I was still late, but at least I did not have to sprint the entire way. The bus was faster, too.

Kaoru was already there, sitting by the window and drinking from a bottle of chocolate milk. I smiled sheepishly and waved at her as I approached. She wasn’t mad that I was late--she never was--and she smiled and stood to meet me.

“Sorry,” I said immediately, not at all displeased when she reached out to take my hand. “I lost track of time.”

“Typical,” Kaoru smirked at me. Although it had started out strangely, the heavens must have been smiling on me that day because she tugged on my hand then. When I followed the motion, leaning toward her, she met me with a light kiss. I blinked in surprise, then sighed contentedly. I could get used to that. Kaoru giggled and reached up to tug on my bangs lightly. “I like your hair like this. You know... you don’t look as girly with it up higher.”

“Really?” If that was the case, then I could certainly put the effort into doing my hair in the morning. Especially since Kaoru would kill me if I bypassed all the effort and just cut it. That wasn’t what I said, though. The first words out of my mouth were something of the dopey type, “You like it up?”

She laughed again and pulled me up to the order line. All the while, she kept holding my hand. Yes... I really could get used to this.

“You busy this afternoon?” she asked.

“Hmm?” I was off in what I decided was akin to what Misao liked to call her ‘Happy Place.’ Kaoru could have told me she taking up exotic dancing, and I probably would have responded the same way... Whoa... shortly after, I would probably be whacked for asking her where her next performance was.

I found myself fighting a smirk and failing as I chuckled softly. Whooo, boy. Those erotic images needed to go if I was to survive this day. Kaoru looked at me curiously.

“What’s so funny?”

I choked down another chuckle.

“Nothing,” I said quickly. “Just... Um... This afternoon?” Hurrah for the guy who could change the subject so smoothly. “No. I’m not doing anything.”

“Oh...” she smiled brightly. “Then would you like to hang out with me for a few hours?”

“Sure.” That was a no-brainer.

“Good!” Kaoru squeezed my hand lightly. “I need to find a dress to wear to your aunt’s wedding.”

I was flying, falling... crashing... Shopping? Damn it. I sighed and followed Kaoru to the counter. While she ordered, I studied my options, all the while silently whining about having been suckered into dress shopping.

^_^