Settling Slowly

Chapter 7 - Three little letters called S - P and A

He raised an eyebrow. Then he loosened his tie and popped open his top button. "Is it?"

I scoffed. "Get out of my room."

He smiled. "It makes business sense."

"Tell me your parents don't know you're planning this," I begged the sky.

He scoffed. "Of course they don't. They don't agree with it, but it used to be standard practice in my family."

"Standard practice," I said a little faintly. Then I refocused and turned back to him. "Get out of my room. Hell, get out of my house!"

He took another step to far and put on what I had to admit was a sexy smile, but I was so not falling for it. I kicked him in the nuts. He cried out in pain and whoever had been quietly coming up the stairs started running.

"Zoey?" Mum asked and came to a stop at the bedroom door. She paused as she took in the sight of her prospective partners' son curled up on the floor. Then she gasped and went to help him. "I'm so sorry, Hikaru," she said. "Zoey's not feeling -"

"Not a problem, Mrs. Jones," he said as he winced. He got up. "A simple misunderstanding that I can explain to her."

"Misunderstanding?" I asked.

"I'm sure it was, Zoey," Mum said sharply.

Dad and Dan appeared behind her.

"Mum, he came in here 'asking' for sex!" I said putting air quotes around the word asking.

Now, there is one thing you have to understand about my mother. She was beautiful enough to be a model, she was soft and caring, she didn't like arguments and she most certainly did not approve of violence. She was the kind of woman who could charm a room with her delicate laughter, hold conversation with important business partners with ease and she accidentally made men fall in love with her without even trying.

She could also scare the absolute shit out of people with a single, cold glance.

A glance she turned on Hikaru Yamimoto. He instantly backed up three paces and crashed into the door frame.

"Zoey, do his parents know about this?" she asked enunciating each word perfectly. I was so glad she wasn't looking at me.

"No."

"M - M - Mrs. Jones -"

"Don't you dare 'Mrs. Jones' me young man," she growled. "My daughter is only eighteen years old. This you knew and you came into my house thinking you could rape her."

"R- rape? I'd never!" he defended almost pleading. "I'm sure we can come to an understanding that -"

"And understanding?" she asked. She grabbed his ear and pulled him from the room.

He yelped and let her drag him down the stairs. His parents were at the bottom of them and gasped something at her in Japanese. She snapped something back in the same language, threw Hikaru out of the door and made it quite clear that they were not welcome in the house and she probably ended the business deal as well. Then she slammed the door.

Dad, Dan and I were still upstairs and we hadn't moved since Mum got angry. I don't think any of us had breathed either. Mum hurried up the steps and strode over to me.

"Are you ok?" she asked now back in cuddly Mum mode. "I'm so sorry, if I'd known they were planning that - Are you alright? I can't believe people still do -"

I began to chuckle. They all looked at me in absolute, utter confusion.

"I have to tell Lexie about this!" I laughed. "Oh my god!"