Pretty Boy

Chapter 8

I agreed to meet Adam's family when I drove him home, walking him to the door and ringing the doorbell. His house was pretty ordinary looking, not as big as mine.

His father opened the door, an intimidating looking man with dark brown hair and eyes. He placed a hand on top of his son's head. "Is this your date?"

"Yes! His name's Shuji!"

"Looks like a prick." He chuckled and held his hand out to me. "Nice to meet you, Shuji."

I shook his hand. "You too."

"Come on, I want you to meet my mom!" Adam dragged me inside and into the living room, where a beautiful British woman was sitting and watching tv.

"Adam! Did you have fun?" She smiled brightly when she saw him.

They smile the same.

"Yeah! Lots!" He deals an arm around my shoulders.

"Shuji, isn't it?" She asked, standing up and wrapping her arms around me. "I'm Adam's mother. Thank you for bringing my baby home."

"It wasn't any trouble."

"Oh nonsense." She let go and laughed. "He's a hassle, isn't he?"

"Well you're right about that. He asked the waitress if they had chocolate milk."

"He's a child. Begged us to let him dye his hair bright green. My fingers were green for weeks, I looked like a witch."

"Your accent is very beautiful."

"Oh, thank you! Adam picked it up while we were in Brighton. I'm the one who taught him to talk since his dad was working overseas. Sorry if I'm a bit rubbish at Japanese, I just learned recently."

"You're doing great."

"Can I take him to my room?" Adam asked.

"Sure? Do you guys need like a condom or anything, I don't know how it works with-"

"Mom!" He covered her mouth, embarrassed, as I stifled a laugh. "It's not like that...come on, Shuji." He pulled me down the hall and into his room. The bedsheets, carpet, and curtains were all black. His walls had all been painted over with designs of cartoon characters. A neon green electric guitar sat in the corner. "Well, Lemon Boy, what do you think?"

"Lemon Boy?"

"It's a song that reminds me of you. Since you're so...bitter."

"Don't keep calling me bitter."

"You are though." He plopped down on his bed and sighed. "Own it. It's cute."

"Stop saying that." I glared at him. "Or I'm going home."

"Fine. But you've gotta admit, you're pretty mean."

"You've gotta admit, you're pretty annoying."

"Touché."

By the time I went home, it was pretty late. My mom had tried to wait up for me but passed out on the couch. I draped a blanket over her and jogged upstairs into Yuki's room. "You're home." She smiled at me and set her tablet down.

"Yeah. I brought you leftovers." I handed her the box in my left hand.

"Have fun on your date?"

"Not exactly. I think I might have gotten myself into some trouble."

"Sit down, talk to Mommy."

I sat down on her bed and bit the inside of my lip. "I agreed to play a game with him. A game where whoever falls in love first loses."

"So he's got a brain." She started eating the food I gave her and frowned. "I don't see why you're worried, you're emotionally closed off and super charming. Not to mention sexy. You'll win easily."

"Yuki....I've never been with someone before, let alone a guy. What if I screw this up?"

"I'll tell you what. Get him roses and take him to a concert. Ask mom for some extra money, get backstage passes. Emo boys love that kind of thing."

"He likes rock music."

"Ask hun his favorite band and see if they're playing anytime soon. He'll I'll even get you plane tickets if they're not in Japan."

"I can't just throw money at him."

"It's not throwing money, it's something he'd like. It's thoughtful and sexy. Just don't let him know you're doing it and get permission from his parents. Make sure he's free and tell him that you want to take him out."

"....what if he's scared of planes and their closest convert is in America or something?"

"Then you've got a fun car ride together!"

Turns out his favorite is Paramore, and they'd be playing in Japan next week. Which was perfect for me.