Dirty, Dirty Liars [Mature]

[18] 十八

Love is stupid.

One day you're sneaking around with a stranger, and the next, you're thinking about them all the time, feeling like you can't breathe unless they're around, and three stupid words fall out of your mouth like vomit.

It was March in Tokyo, and everything turned pink. All the trees — cherry or not — were adorned with pink blossoms, animated characters, images, or ribbons. My necklace and my nickname were on everyone's minds and everyone's tongues. It was as if the world wanted me to think about Ryuzo in every free moment I had, when all I wanted to do was forget he existed and move on with my life.

I was set on being upset with him to remind myself of what we were and what we needed to remain, but it was barely working. All my logic went away when it came to Ryuzo.

He had become my friend, my lover, and my favorite companion in a foreign land, when all along, he should have remained the handsome stranger across the street.

I came home from a grocery run that morning, a bag of vegetables, rice, and cornflakes on my shoulder. My plan was to de-stress with the well-balanced breakfast of a soft-serve ice cream cone from 7/11. After a few sweet licks, I stopped in my tracks when the man leaned into my view.

Ryuzo stood in my way, his hands tucked into the pockets of his well-fitted black pants and an innocuous — dare I say cute — white sweater over it. With his inky hair and conniving, white smile, he looked like a monochrome angel ready to trick me straight into hell.

"Can I help you with something?" I greeted him with a jab.

"Have you been avoiding me, Mina-chan?" he replied in that deep voice.

I had. For nearly a week. "I'm not avoiding you," I lied. "I've just preferred to be in places you aren't."

"Mi-na . . . Have I upset you again?"

"What could I possibly be upset about, lover?"

I tried to pass him, but he stopped me. "We should go see the cherry blossoms."

"I've been seeing them for a while now."

"You haven't seen what I want to show you."

"Oh, so it's something other than tiny pink flowers on trees?"

He laughed, his handsome face lighting up even though he looked away to hide it. "Just come with me."

"When?"

"Now."

Wanting to stay upset with him, I searched for an excuse. "I can't, I . . . have ice cream."

He stepped forward and lifted my wrist, devouring the rest of my soft serve swirl with a single bite. He smirked with a full mouth and cocked an eyebrow in challenge.

"You little shit!" I said, trying to be mad, but his playful mood was annoyingly infectious. I tried my best to pin my smile. "Fine."

. . .

We took a train and stood in line at the park for what felt like an hour. It was a long time to keep from talking to him and to ignore the way he held me against his chest when the train packed full, but my scorn made it easier.

When we finally made it inside, my jaw dropped. Emerald grass and winding pathways tucked beneath a perfectly pink canopy of flowers. A sweet scent tinted the breeze that shuffled through the branches and sent the pastel petals free. Each one did a mesmerizing dance through the air as it fluttered slowly to the ground. I could do nothing but stare for minutes on end, setting to memory every subtle detail of the most captivating landscape I had ever seen.