Jealousy (2)

I sat in the chair, my arms and legs crossed, nervously shaking my feet. Sato sat calmly across from me.

"Surely your sister can sew it up in time?" I asked.

"It will probably be done tomorrow," he replied.

"And why did Sumida call them anyway? I didn't want this fuss, but she's already stressed out," I said. "Eh, she's always been like that."

"It's your own fault, you know. You're the one who decided to try it on even though you know you're taller and... ahem... yours is bigger than hers," he said, his gaze dipping just below my face.

"Pervert," I said calmly.

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

We were silent for a moment. "Gosh... I didn't mean to. But why did she call them anyway? I told her we would find it ourselves," I said, relaxing my arms and legs and sighing as I leaned back in my chair and tried to calm down.

"Yeah, are you still asking? Who here was so jealous..."

"I wasn't jealous!" I yelled, cutting him off abruptly.

I glared irritably into his calm eyes, but he just put his index finger to his lips. "Shh... You don't want anyone to hear us, do you?"

"Ugh..."

There was no hint of mockery or teasing in his eyes. He remained perfectly calm, which only made me more irritated. He reminded me of my mother scolding me.

"And yes, you were jealous. You were so jealous that you wanted to prove that you were a better princess by wearing that costume, even though it didn't fit you. And then you tore it up."

Why is he reminding me of that? I want to punch him.

"You're testing your luck, you know?" I said, kicking the chair between his legs with my shoe.

He remained silent, looking at me calmly, as if he wasn't frightened by the threat in my eyes. Then he just asked, "Why did you let her play a role you wanted to play anyway?"

"Because... she begged Sumida and me, and if I was against it, it would be suspicious..."

"You also included a kiss in that scene. Did you want to kiss me that badly?"

"Shut up."

"And when you gave her that role, didn't you consider that I would have to kiss her instead of you?"

"If you had, I would have killed you."

"At least I didn't have to argue with Sumida to remove that scene… She quickly agreed."

"Do I disgust you?"

"No, of course not."

"Prove it." I crossed my arms and legs again, giving him a demanding look.

"How?"

"Let's play..." I suggested, "Hmmm… You're going to play a character…"

"What character?"

"Well, I dont know, let's say… Hmmm… Do something, and let's see if you can make my heart beat faster." 

"What am I allowed to do?

"I will allow you to do anything."

"Really? Anything?"

"Yeah," I replied confidently.

"Hmm…"

"Improvise," I commanded.

He quietly rose from his chair and approached me. When I met his gaze, his face leaned confidently toward mine, and his hand gently stroked my cheek. I felt his soft fingers on the skin of my cheek… gently caressing my skin while he looked at me with eyes full of tenderness and love...

Oh, my God. My heart skipped a beat.

"Could you close your eyes?" he asked softly, his calm gaze fixed on me.

I stared at him, mesmerized, through half-closed eyelids that soon closed obediently at his request.

I felt my breathing become a little more irregular...

Then I heard a light, short sound; it was the slight rustle of his jacket. I instinctively felt his face moving closer, his other hand resting softly on the chair next to my thigh, gently touching my skin.

A moment later, his warm, soft lips met mine. He kissed me gently and slowly... and I responded in kind... Our kiss was somehow innocent and tender.

When he pulled away after a moment, and I opened my eyes, I asked, "Hmmm... did you eat something with strawberries?" 

Looking into his eyes, my arms wrapped around his neck (I don't remember at what point I hugged him myself, lol), I just waited for his response.

"Oh yeah, I think it was gum," he said, looking at me closely. I could feel my heart pounding, ready to burst.

"Did I make your heart beat faster?" he asked.

Well… he did make my heart beat faster. But just a kiss? I thought he would do something more bold. Well, he's always been a coward.

"Maybe? Who knows…" I replied ambiguously.

"You are terrible."

"Don't you love that part of me, though?"

"Of course I do... and even your jealous part too, everything about you," he said simply.

He irritates me so much.

"Huh? Again? Don't get so cocky. How many times do I have to tell you? Who are you to make me jealous? Nobody wants you but me anyway," I told him with a sharp grin. That was his punishment for making me feel that way.

I was lying. I knew a lot of girls paid attention to him because he was handsome, serious, and seemed mature for his age, although I knew there was a lot of childishness in him as well.

For a moment we stared at each other as if in a staring contest. His eyes were so beautiful and deep that I could have drowned in them...

"Do you like it when I talk to you in such a harsh way? Is it your fetish or something? Do you like it?" I asked.

"It's not like that. I don't care if you talk to me softly or harshly. I like it because I like you."

What the hell is wrong with this guy? That's the part of him that I find so annoying.

"Cut it out," I said.

"I love you."

I looked at him incredulously. "Do you really? You seemed really angry back then."

"And so were you. But wasn't that part of our game?"

"Lately, our game has started to feel a little too real..."

"Can we stop then?"

"You know..."

"Yes, yes. I know. But I thought you stopped liking me too, you know. I thought, 'Maybe she doesn't like me anymore.'"

There was a pause, and I wondered if I should tease him a little or answer honestly. "I love you too, you know..." I finally said.

"Then tell me more often."

"Oh, stop being so cheesy, you used to be so awkward," I finally took my hands off his neck.

He laughed softly, moved away from me, and sat back in his chair.

"Of course, we've been dating for a while now, so I'm not so awkward anymore. Do you not like me like this?"

I remained silent, a little pensive, not wanting to admit that I actually enjoyed his bluntness a little… Or maybe not a little...

But maybe there was no point in hiding it. "Well, I won't lie, sometimes you give me butterflies..."

"Really? Then I'll be like that more often."

"Just don't get too cocky."

"What if I do?"

I curled my lips into a smile. "Don't worry, I'll put you in your place in no time."

"That's why I love you."

I looked at him. "Oh God, you know, if you keep saying that, my heart might grow cold."

He just stared at me thoughtfully for a moment, then lowered his eyes, and I noticed that his cheeks were slightly flushed. Finally, he spoke somewhat seriously, "If I'm being honest... Do you know why I'm acting like this? It's because this is my first relationship. I just don't know how to act, so all I can do is show you my feelings directly. Sometimes it might seem like I'm overconfident, but that's just because I don't know how to do it any other way. I love you... and I don't know how to express it..."

God, what kind of essay was that? He didn't have to explain everything in such detail...

"Okay, okay, I understand. No need to get all red," I said, feeling my own cheeks flush as I looked away from his face.

In the silence that followed, I finally found the courage to say those words again, "I love you too..." I said softly.

"It makes me happy..." I heard his soft voice.

"But can I trust you?... You say you love me, but you're never jealous of me," I said, turning to him.

"Pfft... Don't you know I had a fight with Nakazawa because of you?"

"Uh, what? Are you serious? Why am I just hearing this now?"

"Yes, I'm serious..."

"Idiot..."

Silence.

The silence between us was normal. Not only did we not feel awkward, but we had grown to love that silence from the moment we met. There was a kind of tenderness in that silence. Sitting next to him, I felt pleasant waves in my chest...

"You know, you're right, we shouldn't hide it anymore," I said.

"Well... you're the one who told me to keep our relationship a secret."

"I know. I just wanted her to confess to you and for you to reject her, and then I would have told her..."

"Is that all?"

I was silent.

"Did you tell her to confess?" he asked.

"I tried..."

"Well... I also tried to give her a hint. But you know I couldn't be direct."

"I don't want to hurt her. I'm such a coward..."

"It's okay, she's your sister after all..."

Silence.

We loved sitting quietly, just the two of us, whether we looked into each others' eyes or not, sitting close together or far apart. Sometimes we didn't need words.

"There's no need to drag this out. Let's tell her. I don't want to hide our relationship anymore. And her flirting... It's getting awkward. It's better for us and for her," he finally said.

I sighed, realizing that I couldn't argue with that, "Yeah... You're right."

"If you want, we can do it together..."

I just shook my head, "No. I have to do it alone. She's my sister."

Yeah... I'll tell her. And then I'm going to listen to her cry. And if I have to, I'll hug her tight, no matter what... Even if she hates me, I'll never let her go.