Why Don't I Hate You...

6

malia's pov.

Ever since Yoshi and I started talking, we haven't stopped. I've been with him the entire night. People would come up to us here and there but it was mainly just us two. The only reason why I said I was into him was so Mary didn't think I was into Shohei but I actually think I'm kinda interested in Yoshi.

The only problem is the interpreter. Don't get me wrong, he's a nice guy, but I would like to have a conversation with Yoshi. Just Yoshi. With the language barrier and the translator, it's kinda hard to fully connect with him.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I have to go use the bathroom. I'll make it quick so you two can keep on going with your conversation," his translator said.

We both just nod our heads and watch him walk away. This would be my chance to talk to him one on one but I can't. He doesn't speak much english. Fuck. I start to think of ways to communicate but they all sound stupid.

Yoshi had pulled out his phone and started to type something. I assume he was just answering all unread text messages until his interpreter came back. But to my surprise, he pulls up google translate on his phone and shows me what he wrote.

"I know it sucks having my translator around 24/7 but we can always find different ways to communicate. I'm slowly learning english right now so once I know a little more we can start talking without him."

I smile while reading the text. It's like he was reading my mind. I grab my phone and go onto google translate and start writing what I want to say to him.

"That sounds good! For now, we'll just have to work with what we got."

He just smiles and puts his phone away. His interpreter comes back and we continue on with this conversation.

shohei's pov.

Two years. Two years with no contact with Malia. In these past two years she's never left my mind. Even though I'm married now, Malia would still pop up in my mind occasionally.

I finally had my chance to talk to her tonight. It was small talk but it was still something. I even made her laugh a little. I thought it was going somewhere. Maybe we could be friends again? Tonight was the night when I thought I could fix things with her. But then Yoshi had to get in the way and take her from me. I knew that wasn't his intention but damn. He really stole my moment.

"Everything okay, Shohei?"

I look up and see that Mary had sat down next to me on the couch.

I just smile at her and say, "Yes. I'm okay. Everything's good."

"Are you sure? You've been kinda quiet. You were all talkative earlier. Did something happen?"

I consider for a second telling Mary. I've never really talked to her besides today but something about her is so comforting. I just feel so compelled to tell her my whole life story.

That was until I realized that her and Malia are like best friends. I knew if I had told her she'd tell Malia something or she'd be weird about the whole thing. Actually. Scratch that. She'd definitely be weird about the whole thing because she's also friends with Mamiko.

"No, I'm okay. Everything's good. I think I'm just a little tired. I might head out soon."

"I understand. I think everyone's getting a little tired. It looks like everyone's gonna head out soon."

I just nod my head. I look around and see that most people are gone. The only players left are me, Yoshi, Cody, Chris, and all their plus ones.

"Actually, I think I'm gonna head out now. I'm really tired."

"Okay. Well, I hope everything is good with you. I know you said you're fine but I can tell you're lying. I'm not gonna push you to tell me though. I know you and Chris aren't super close and me and you haven't talked much, but if you ever need to talk to someone I'll always be here to listen."

I smile at her and say, "Thank you, Mary. You're a good friend."

She smiles back and nods her head. Then she hugs me goodbye and walks back to her husband. I text Ippei that it's time to go.

I go around the room saying bye to everyone. The goodbyes took a little longer than expected because each person started a small conversation with me as I was leaving.

Finally, I get to Yoshi and Malia. Of course, they're still talking. They haven't left each others side all night. I walk up to them and tap Yoshi's shoulder.

"Yoshi, I'm gonna head out now. I'm pretty tired and I gotta get back to Mamiko. I'll see you later."

"Okay cool. I think I'm gonna head out soon too."

Once I'm done with Yoshi, I walk over to Malia. She didn't have the usual annoyed look on her face that she normally gives me. Instead, she looked calm and joyful. She wasn't smiling from ear to ear but I can tell by her slight smirk and her smiley eyes.

"Malia, I'm heading out now... it was nice seeing you again. I know I'm not exactly your favorite person, but I would really like to catch up with you sometime. "

"Yeah, I guess... maybe we could go get lunch soon."

"Yeah! That'd be great."

She smiles and says, "Okay cool. I'll see you around."

After she says that, I stand there for a second just looking at her. I was debating whether or not to hug her in this moment.

I so badly want to hug her right now. I want to have her in my arms, wrap them around her small figure. To feel her warmth. Smell her perfume. But I decided against it. I'm sure she'd be uncomfortable.

I was about to walk away when all of sudden she starts walking closer to me and wraps her arms around my torso. I almost immediately hug her back. It felt just as nice as I remembered. We lingered there for a second. I didn't want to let go of her. But, unfortunately, our hug came to an end when she pulled away.

She waves and goes back to her conversation with Yoshi. I walk away from them and head towards the door. I take one last glance at Malia before I leave. This just doesn't feel real. I can't believe I'm seeing her right now and I can't believe she just hugged me. I thought I would never see-

*buzz*

I grab my phone and see that I have many unread text messages. All from Mamiko...

•• messages ••

mamiko
hello?
i noticed you didn't reply back to my text
is everything ok?
i'm going to sleep soon
decoy fell asleep in our bed lol
call me when you're leaving the party

shohei
heading home now
everything's okay. i saw your messages, i just forgot to reply back. i'm sorry.

•• messages ••

Oh god. I feel so guilty. I'm a horrible husband. Im thinking all this stuff about Malia and wishing that I was Yoshi right now while I'm a married man.

I'm married to Mamiko. She's amazing. She is just everything I could ask for in a wife. There's nothing wrong with her. Our relationship is strong.

So why do I have to keep on reminding myself that I'm married to her? Why do I have to keep on reminding myself that she's the one I love?

Why is it that I ignored my wife all night just so I could put all my attention on Malia?