Ch 22: From My Boyfriend

Minami flopped on the couch, stretching her limbs as far as she could. "Mmm~"

"Tired?" Naoto laughed as he watched her.

She nodded in response, "Mhmm! It was so exhausting! Don't get me wrong, I'm really appreciative of the gifts I received and the party that was put on for me, but it felt more like work than anything else. It really drained me."

Naoto sat next to her, a sparkling mint package which matched her dress in his hand, "Well, it WAS work after all."

Minami tilted her head, "What do you mean? It was my birthday celebration."

"Yeah but they were filming the whole thing right? You had to act like you were surprised about it and then had to take a bunch of photos afterwards right? So it was work, and all for show."

"Hm…that's what Miki said…" she spoke quietly, her tone sounding defeated.

"What? What who said?" Naoto placed the mint box in her lap as she sat upright and began rubbing her shoulders gently. The exhaustion was showing on her body as well.

Minami closed her eyes and sighed, a comforting feeling flowing over her as Naoto worked on her tense muscles.

"Miki from Smile Days. She told me that none of the party was for me and it was all for the company."

"Well, she's right. It was for the company. They only threw it and filmed it to show this big extravaganza of signing a new artist. It's to make them look good. 'Wow! Look at how well they treat their new artists!' So people will say shit like that. Then, more people will be inclined to join their agency as opposed to someone else. Isn't that the case?"

He stopped massaging her and placed her hand on top of the box, urging her to open it.

"Yeah….I guess. I know that's true, but I just don't want it to be. I want it to be that they care about me for real."

"Well, I care about you for real. Now hurry up and open your present." Naoto nodded towards the box, his leg bobbing with nerves.

Minami grabbed it and held it up, smiling as she did so before she started to tear the paper away. "Of course, of course. My boyfriend cares the most about me!"

"That's right!"

Underneath the wrapping paper was a pristine rectangular white velvet box with golden letters in a fancy font spelling "ENTRANCE" on it.

Minami's hand flew to her mouth as she gasped. "Naoto! This is….."

"You haven't even looked inside yet!" He protested her continuation of the sentence.

"B-but….this brand!" She gently traced the words with her fingers. They were silky, a contrast to the fuzzy velvet that comprised the rest of the box.

ENTRANCE was a luxury brand of jewelry that only the top celebrities could afford. Their prices were out of this world and most people wouldn't even be able to dream of owning such a thing in their whole lifetime.

"Look inside! You're killing me here! I didn't just get you the box!" Naoto's leg began bobbing faster and faster, the more she delayed.

"How could you afford this?! Even just the box would've cost a fortune!"

"Minami please! Just open it!" He was biting his lip at this point and his frustration was obvious with his tone.

"Okay, okay!" She nodded and gently opened the box. There, sitting in a silk cushion, was a silver chain bracelet with three diamond charms: "M" "&" "N" along with a wavy equal sign which was the company's logo.

Her eyes widened and her mouth slowly fell open.

"This is…" She spoke quietly, her eyes scanning it over and over again to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.

It was a custom piece, meaning it was even more expensive than usual.

"Do you….like it?" He scratched the back of his head, his heart pounding in his ears. Why wouldn't she just spit it out already. He almost couldn't stand it!

Her head nodded so slowly you would miss it if you blinked. "I….love it….but….."

"But?" His breath caught in his throat. What was the but for?

"How could you have afforded this? It's impossible…"

"Hey, a boyfriend can make anything happen for his special girl!" He laughed nervously and ran his hand through his blonde locks.

Suddenly, a huge smile spread across her face as she looked him in the eye, "Will you put it on for me?"

His eyes lit up, "Y-yeah! Give me your wrist!"

Naoto gently pulled the bracelet off of its silk bed as Minami held out her right wrist. He clasped it on so the "M & N" along with the wavy equal sign were hanging down. It fit her perfectly.

"Wow! What do you think?" She gracefully held her hand up, her middle finger touching her shoulder and the rest of her fingers flaring outward, her elbows pointing towards her belly button.

It was a pose she'd learned to strike from one of Ri's jewelry advertisements. Not only did it show off jewelry on the hands and fingers, but it also looked elegant and delicate.

"I think it looks perfect on you. As it should! It was made for you, literally. Wow….I really have such a beautiful girlfriend. Will everyone look at what a fantastic model she is?!" He looked around, as if calling for the attention of a fake crowd, and clapped his hands together to applaud her.

A red hue flushed across her face. "Hey! Not in public…." She giggled as she playfully hit his arm.

Naoto flung himself to the side, "Oh! Ow! Be careful! There's so much weight aiding you now!"

"Oh what…this?" She wiggled her arm causing the bracelet to make a twinkling sound, "This is my new self-defense weapon. My boyfriend gave it to me."

"Your boyfriend huh?" Naoto rubbed his arms and wrinkled his face, "So does that mean you won't go on any dates with me? I won't tell him if you won't."

She thought for a moment, "If you can keep a secret, why not?"

Naoto nudged her in the side, gently, "You'd be surprised at how well I am at keeping secrets."

They stared at each other for a moment in silence before bursting into laughter.

"Then, let's go on a date. Where will you take me?" Minami leaned into him, causing his long sleeved, white button-up to wrinkle a bit. She stared him in the eyes with a look that said, 'I dare you to say something crazy.'

He rubbed his chin and thought for a moment, "For you? A huge celebrity with a self-defense weapon on her wrist? Only the best. I'd take you to a fancy restaurant dinner, then we'd walk along the beach afterwards and stare at the moon."

Minami laughed, "You stole that straight out of a romance novel! You make it sound nice but I'd bet you steal food off my plate and push me into the ocean….hmph…" She pouted and folded her arms.

"Huh? When have ever done something like that to you? I'll pick you up and save your feet from getting wet instead."

Minami gasped and stared at him with a betrayed look on her face, "You're not denying that you would steal food off my plate though!"

He laughed and pinched her cheeks, "We're a couple, what's yours is mine and what's mine is yours so it's not stealing!"

"Ohoho….then I guess the 5year concert tickets I got for my birthday are also yours?" A sly smile spread across Minami's face as she squinted her eyes at him.

"You got 5year tickets?!" His eyes widened.

The two had become friends over their mutual like of 5year and even had the same favorite member, Ri. Minami was clearly more of a hardcore fan than Naoto was but he still had quite a number of their CDs and some merchandise. In the past year or two, Naoto had stopped keeping up with them as much, but he still enjoyed their music.

"I got one for me and one for a friend, should I take you with me?"

Naoto nodded, "You should! I'd love for you to take ME on a date. I'd love to have even a date at all."

Minami's shoulders slumped. "Well, we'd have to go separately….just in case…"

Naoto rolled his eyes, "Come on, I even have to go to the concert separately? What's the point? We'll just meet there anyways."

"Right, we'll meet there anyways so what's the point in getting upset that we have to go individually rather than together? Didn't we talk about this? I even risked it to come here tonight." Minami huffed as she leaned away from him.

"Why do you not get it? No one cares about you right now. You're a nobody. You're being so paranoid and it's getting annoying. I want to go out with my girlfriend!" His volume was rising.

"Fine. Then I'll ask Akina to go with me since it's such a problem for you to go." She grabbed her bag and stood up, "Thanks for the gift but I'm going to go now."

"Minami wait! Don't be like that, come on!" Naoto remained on the couch, calling out to her, but she left without turning back.