Chapter 13

"What the hell happened to you two?" Jiro asked as his eyes traveled back and forth from me to Kei. None of us uttered a word. I felt guilt creep up on me for not telling him.

"It was just an accident." I tried to lighten the heavy atmosphere. "Anyway, how was the competition?" Jiro eyed me for a moment.

"I got third place." He finally answered. "So, how --"

"Hello!" Amanda's cheerful voice interrupted Jiro and I couldn't be any more grateful.

"You knew about this, didn't you mom?" I could tell he was angry and disappointed.

"I told her not to tell you, Jiro." I blurted out.

"What? Why?"

"I just didn't want you to worry."

"So now I don't even have the right to worry about my friend or my own brother."

"That's not what I meant, it's just that I wanted you to focus on your competition. I know how --"

"Stop." Jiro yelled. "I would have preferred to know about somebody I care about getting hurt. Do you remember when Kei had the accident?" Kei's body jolted as if an electric wave went through him.

"I --" Jiro held his hand up stopping me from finishing. He turned around and took the stairs to his room.

"He'll get over it." Amanda padded my shoulder. "How are you feeling, dear?"

"Much better, thank you."

"And what happened to you?" Amanda looked at Kei with wondering eyes.

"Just a fight, mom. By the way, where is dad?"

"He never made it to Hiroshima. He is still in Osaka taking care of business." A cloud of sadness passed through her eyes. "Anyway, I am so tired, I am going to sleep." Amanda took her bag and left Kei and I in the living room.

"Well that went well." Kei joked.

"Shut up, Kei."

"Mom is right, he will get over it."

"I hope so."

"You want me to walk you to your room?" Kei said as he pushed to his feet.

"Sure." We slowly made it to my door. Kei leaned closer and whispered.

"It is a shame that I will be sleeping alone tonight. I was starting to get used to sharing a bed with you." I felt my temperature rise like a thermometer. To be honest, I had the same feeling, but it was too embarrassing to share that thought. Kei kissed me, right on the edge of my jaw. It sent shivers down my spine. 'He's such a tease.' "Goodnight babe." He whispered again.

"Good night."

A week had passed without Jiro talking to me. I was feeling better physically but I was so worried because Jiro seemed like he wasn't getting over the incident. I was starting to get a little upset with him. He was such a drama queen.

"... Sam!"

"Yeah, what's up Yoko."

"I called you like ten times."

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking about Jiro." Yoko shifted in her seat. She seemed uncomfortable.

"He still hasn't talked to you?"

"Yeah, it's been a week. I don't know what I should do."

"I have an idea." Yoko had a mischievous look in her face which made me smile. She took my hand and pulled me up from my seat. "Follow me." We walked to one of the cleaning supplies closets and Yoko shoved me inside. "Wait here."

"Ok." I had no idea what she was doing, but for some reason I obeyed every order she had given me. After a few minutes the door to the closet opened and Jiro was pushed into it.

"What the hell, Yoko!" He yelled but his voice didn't mask the sound of the locks. Jiro froze for a second. "Did she lock us in?" He tried to open the door but, sure enough, it was sealed. I didn't move from the corner I was sitting in. Finally, Jiro gave up and came to sit next to me. We were silent for a few minutes then I spoke.

"I'm kind of mad at you." Jiro jerked his face my way.

"What? Why?" I could see he was really surprised.

"You haven't talked to me for more than a week." Jiro stared at me for a moment and averted his gaze.

"You didn't talk to me either."

"Well, I thought you were still mad at me." He stared at me again.

"I'm sorry... I really didn't know how to talk to you and I kept on postponing starting a conversation with you." I bursted out laughing and Jiro joined me. Suddenly the door flew open.

"I see that you guys are good now. God it was becoming awkward being around you two." Yoko had the biggest smile on, however, I noticed that it didn't reach her eyes. 'I'm just imagining things.'

We all sat for lunch together with Kei that day.

"There are rumors about our field trip next month." Yoko was so excited.

"Really? What kind of rumors?" Kei asked.

"They say we're going to Kyoto."

"I heard you were going to Hokkaido." Jiro said with a smile.

"Where the hell did you hear that Jiro?" Kei asked.

"No need to get upset, I am just bitter that our grade is not going too."

"Aww, I'll bring you a souvenir, Jiro." I teased him.

"Shut up, Sam."

We all laughed except Jiro. He was really annoyed that he wasn't going on a field trip. Sure enough, during homeroom, they announced that we would spend three days in Kyoto the following week. The whole class was really excited for the trip. Everybody was talking about places to go see and souvenirs they wanted to buy. Of course there was a downside to field trips, we were traveling as a group and chaperoned at all times. I wanted to spend some time with Kei so I had to figure out something. I was also relieved to see that Minako had not come back to school so she wouldn't be going to Kyoto with the class. One less thing to worry about.

"This is going to be fun." I finally said to Kei. He smiled and leaned in.

"Expect a surprise in Kyoto babe." His breath tickled my ear and sent waves of fuzziness all over my body. The bell rang and brought me back from my dreamworld.

"You want to walk home together?" Yoko asked me.

"Yeah, Kei has something to do after school anyway."

"You're such a great friend, so you're only coming with me because your boyfriend is not available." I felt my face heat up.

"No... That's... It's not...." I was lost for words. Was I really a bad friend?

"Relax Sam, I was just kidding." Yoko put her arm around my shoulders. "I would totally ditch you too when I get a boyfriend." She started laughing really hard and I joined her. "So, what do you want to do in Kyoto?"

"umm, I don't know. What is there to do?"

"Well, I am sure the school will take care of the sightseeing part of the trip. Personally, I want to see a real geisha. I'll have to figure out a way to sneak out of the hotel for that. Wanna come?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Any plans with Kei?" Yoko's question brought back Kei's words.

"He told me to expect a surprise in Kyoto."

"Oh wow!" Yoko stopped walking and clapped her hands. "You haven't... done it, right?" I felt my face heat up violently.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Relax Sam, I only asked because maybe that's the surprise."

"What?" My brain froze for a moment. 'Can that be possible?' Then, memories of our kisses rushed to my head. The feeling I got when I slept next to him. I knew this would happen someday, but I didn't think I was ready yet.

Yoko and I said goodbye to each other, but her words never left my mind. My hands were so sweaty just thinking about it. I know Kei did it with Minako before, I mean they were dating. Or whatever their relationship was. Everybody does it. I remembered all the rumors in my old high school. I even remembered Lindsey Freeman who got pregnant and had to move away.

I went straight to my room and let my thoughts torture me. 'Shouldn't Kei talk to me about this before deciding on his own? How do you even do it?'

"Ugh." I crashed in my bed and put a pillow on my face.

For the following week, my thoughts have tormented me non-stop. I even tried to avoid Kei at some point because I felt so self conscience being around him. It was finally Friday, the day of our trip. I was more nervous than excited.

"Good morning." Kei greeted me as he stole a kiss in the hallway. I instantly felt my temperature rise.

"Morning." I muttered dragging my bag.

Amanda offered to drive us to school. The ride was painfully silent. I wanted to say something, ideally about the trip, but my vocal cords refused to make a sound.

"Have fun kids!" Amanda yelled when we were leaving the car.

"We will." Kei responded. My face turned scarlet. I knew I was being silly, interpreting every single word or action as I please. But I couldn't help it. I was saved by a body which hugged me from behind.

"Good morning gorgeous!" Yoko squeezed me. "I can't believe we have to wear our uniforms, it's so stupid."

"Yes." My voice sounded like a robot.

"Come on, let's get in the bus. Kei, I'm stealing your girlfriend for the ride to the station."

"Fine but she's sitting next to me on the train." I wanted to say something to both of them, but I just didn't.

I sat next to Yoko on the bus ride to the station and all she talked about was how she was excited, then she started giving me advice about the 'night'. I tuned out most of her pointers. Then on the bullet train, Kei was holding my hand. On any other time I would have thought it was cute and romantic but, because of the state I was in, I felt too nervous to hold his hand back. He probably thought I was being cold and distant because a moment later he let go of my hand and just sat next to me silently. I felt so bad. I really wanted to be all touchy-feely with Kei, but I was freaking out big time.

Three hours later, we were in Kyoto. We first checked in the hotel and left our luggage there. I was sharing a room with Yoko. I was so happy that they took our preferences into consideration. The hotel was pretty cool, it even had an onsen. We had four floors, two were for girls and two for the boys. There was no way I would meet Kei in the hotel.

"Are you ready?" Yoko asked. "We have to be down stairs in five minutes."

"Yeah, let's go."

The day was so full and tiring. We visited the Golden Pavilion, the Nijo Castle, and the Ryoan Zen Garden. Around seven, we went back to the hotel for dinner. The teachers told us that we could use the onsen, but we couldn't leave the hotel. Curfew was at eleven, so nobody could leave their room after that.

"Want to take a bath?" Yoko asked as she was getting her stuff ready.

"That sounds like a good idea."

We both took the elevator to the last floor. Surprisingly, the bath house was empty. It was my first time at an onsen. I felt really weird taking off all of my clothes in front Yoko. She, on the other hand, didn't have a problem at all. She was already soaking in the water.

"Oh wow! Sam, you have some nice big boobs." I felt blush creep on me and I hurried to hide my body in the water.

"Shut up, Yoko."

"Can I touch?" She had this mischievous grin while approaching me.

"No!" I started to escape from her. "Stop it!" For the following ten minutes, we played a game of tag in the water. I was so exhausted at the end of it I just decided to leave.

"Oh come on Sam." Yoko complained. "I'm just playing with you."

"I'm out of energy. I'll see you later."

As soon as I left the bath house, two pairs of hand pulled me to the corner and pushed me against the wall.

"Well that sounded like fun." Kei's face was so close to mine. It wasn't as embarrassing as figuring out what he meant though.

"Did you hear us?" My eyes widened.

"I did, along with ten other students." I felt the hair at the back of my neck stand.

"Oh my God." I felt horrified.

"You're too cute." Kei grinned. "Don't worry, I beat up every single one of them until they became deaf." I pushed him lightly but he didn't budge. He got even closer to me. I'll come to your room at nine thirty, be ready. We're going out." And then he walked away.

I was lost for a few seconds. We were not supposed to leave the hotel. I felt my heart beating in my throat. 'Is it happening tonight?' I ran to the room and found Yoko eating some snacks on her bed.

"Why are you pale?"

"Kei just told me that we are going out after nine thirty." She jumped from the bed dropping all of her Pocky sticks.

"That's awesome! Did you bring sexy underwear? What are you wearing? Let me do your makeup..."

"Stop!" Yoko eyed me in surprise. "Sorry... I'm just nervous." Yoko walked to me and took my hand in hers.

"Relax, you guys love each other. You are the cutest couple I have ever seen. There is no reason for you to be nervous. You have known each other all your lives." For some reason, her words calmed me down. She gave me a hug and smiled sweetly at me. She was right, I loved Kei and he loved me. There is no reason to be nervous.

I got ready, putting some cute - but not sexy - underwear. Unfortunately I don't own those. I wore a blue summer dress that Amanda had gotten for me. After having to wear a skirt in school, I have gotten a little used to wearing dresses and girlish clothes. 'My mom would be proud.' I even let Yoko put some makeup on me.

At nine, one of the teachers stopped by our room to make sure we were in. I pretended I was asleep. And at nine thirty sharp, I heard a knock on the door. I opened and Kei hurried in.

"Are you ready, Sam?"

"Yes, I am." I looked at him for a moment and noticed how dashing he was.

"Let's go then." He slowly opened the door making sure no teachers were in the hallway. "Come on." He took my hand and pulled me as we started running toward the emergency stairs. We took the stairs down until the eighth floor, then the elevator till the basement. After that we took the stairs up that took us to the mall. Some stores were still open, but all my attention was given to Kei.

He was wearing a black button up shirt with jeans. He didn't have his contacts on, which was surprising. He also had a small backpack with him.

"Where are we going?" I finally broke the silence. He looked back at me with his dreamy eyes and smiled.

"It's a surprise." He winked at me. He was so cute!

We walked for twenty more minutes. His hand never left mine. The streets were getting empty but that made them even more beautiful. The lights were also gorgeous. We took one last turn before taking some stairs.

"Wow." We were at a river. I was amazingly beautiful.

"Come." Kei pulled me again and we walked to a quiet place on the edge of the river. "Close your eyes." Kei's voice was full of warmth. I obeyed. I heard some noise and I could tell Kei was getting some things out of his bag.

"Are you done?" After a few minutes of not answering.

"You can open your eyes." When I did I was welcomed by a Kei, sitting on a blanket with some snacks and drinks next to him. He had his hand extended to me. I was speechless. I took his hand and sat next to him. "What do you think of my surprise?" I looked at his innocent eyes and instantly felt bad for the past week. I had thought him to be a pervert and only think of sex. My eyes water a bit.

"It's perfect." I smile at him and he let out a small sigh of relief. 'Oh my gosh, he was nervous. He is too cute.' I just wanted to hug him, which I did. "Thank you."

"What would you like to drink,? We have melon soda, grape soda, tea, and water."

"I'll have some grape soda, please." Kei poured me a cup and handed it to me. I looked closer to the snacks he had displayed on the blanket, he had sushi, corn dogs, chocolate, melon bread, dumplings and rice crackers. I couldn't stop staring at him. Who would have thought that after all those years of a one-sided love, he would turn out to be the perfect boyfriend. I hugged him again.

"What is that for?"

"For you being an amazing boyfriend." He wrapped his right arm around me and squeezed me.

I was in bliss. We watched the reflection of the city lights in the river. We ate some delicious food. Then, we lied down in each other's arms and contemplated the stars.

"What do you want to do after high school, Sam?" His question came out of the blue. I looked at him but he was still staring at the decorated dark sky.

"I don't know yet. But I think I want to become a doctor. I was always fascinated by how the human body heals... What about you?"

"Well, I'm thinking of going to Business School because I will be taking over the family business."

"Really, I didn't know you wanted to be in the theater business."

"Well, it's more have to than want to. Plus, it's as close as I can get to Kabuki." A chill ran down my body. It might have been the breeze picking up, but I think it was the sadness I felt in Kei's voice. I squeezed him closer to me drinking up his irresistible scent.

"I love you, Kei." He finally looked away from the stars and into my face.

"I love you too." His lips softly crushed mine and I found myself lost in feelings I never wanted to end. The magic of our surroundings added to the romance. I felt I was in a dream. As Kei continued kissing me, my body was getting to a new state, a state that I was a stranger to. I wanted to touch him more, I wanted to feel him more. I was losing control over my body little by little.

"We have to go back, babe." Kei pulled away from me and left me out of breath.

"Of course." I got up as fast as I could. I was so embarrassed by all the feelings that were flowing in my body. I was really flushed but I was thankful to the Kyoto night to hide it.

We walked back to the hotel silently and snuck into the staircase. Went to the first floor and took the elevator to the eighth floor. We then took the stairs again to the eleventh floor. As we approached the door to the hallway, I felt blood rush to my head and my heart pumping as fast as an African drum. I pulled Kei back right before he opened the door.

"What are you doing, Sam?"

I closed my eyes and reached with my hands to palm his face. I crushed my lips on his with such a force that we both crashed on the wall. I felt a moment of hesitation cross Kei. But his hands betrayed him as he pulled me closer to his body and kissed me even more intensely. I heard my voice letting out some moans but I didn't care.

"Kei." His name escaped my lips with an unrecognized voice.

"Sam... We can't do this." He breathed. He tried to pull away but I held tighter.

"Kei, don't let me go." I felt the impact of my words on Kei when he dived again into my mouth. We both lost ourselves once again in a magical kiss out of this world.

"Sam, someone might find us."

"Kei, I want to sleep with you." Once more, my words had an impact on Kei, but this time his hands yanked me back as he eyed me with a huge shock. As I tried to take in some much needed air, my brain caught up with my mouth and I realized what I had just said.

"What did you say?" Kei's voice came low and threatening.

"I... I don't know what I said." My face betrayed me.

"Don't play games with me, Sam."

"I... I said, I want to... to..." Sam yanked me and slammed me into the wall. Long gone was the sweet Kei who prepared a romantic picnic for us by the river. He was replaced by an intense Kei whose eyes were shining with desire.

"Say it." His warm breath caressed my cheek. We held each other's gazes fiercely. We were both out of breath. I don't know where I found the courage to repeat what I had said, but I did.

"I want to sleep with you... Kei."