Love Me Bitterly Loath Me Sweetly

Chapter 35 *Unknown Circumstances*

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Kurosaki-Kun stood in the middle of the living room and surveyed me with a detached interest, gazing at my appearance. I wished I had worn something much better than my simple beige kimono.

I attempted to regulate my breathing. I thought of our grand meetup all the time. It was like little fireworks displayed in the sky, and he would pull me closer by my waist and kiss me. 

"Did you burn something?"

I blinked and realized that seeing him here for a second, I had forgotten everything that had happened before. My entire house smelled like a rotten cherry pie and a burned pan. "I-I burned the cake that I was baking." 

"Still clumsy as ever, huh?" Having apparently lost interest in me, he pivoted slowly, gazing at the little apartment. "This is where you actually live? Where's all the furniture?"

"I... this is pretty much all I need, Kurosaki-Kun." His name felt so familiar on my tongue.

He looked at me with such intensity, and I wondered if I said something wrong. Then he looked around the room; a laundered shirt hanging on the back of the chair; my good shoes against the wall. A sofa was placed in the middle, a television was mounted on the wall, and a study table was placed in the corner. 

"Yeah... You're right." The way he said it made me believe that he didn't mean it. Our eyes met and slipped away. I was a little faint. I thought I couldn't even think straight.

I walked past him, opening the window for ventilation and allowing the noise of the streets outside to break the silence that lingered between us. I felt oddly self-conscious as he sat down on the sofa. I prepared the tea and served it. The entire time, we both didn't say a word... We sipped our tea. Several times, he opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I kept stealing glances at him, noting tiny details. The familiar shape of his broad shoulders He appeared to be taller than the average man. 

"This is a shock to see you here." I finally said, placing my cup on the table. "I must apologize for how I behaved. You must have thought I was very odd."

"Perfectly understandable." The way he smiled, as if some distant voice was telling him to.

Taking in the fresh breath from outside, "So..." I bit my lip, a habit of mine. "What did you want to talk about, Kurosaki-Kun?"

He looked like he was, too, figuring out how to say it. He took a breath before changing his mind. "Don't you want to catch up first, Inoue?"

I thought about this. "With our last conversation, I don't think... Can I...," My breathing was still unbalanced, as I tried to make any kind of sense at all out of this. What if I said something wrong and he decided to leave at once? I didn't know how I would react if that happened.

"Inoue? You with me?" I saw Kurosaki-kun placing his cup on the table.

"Ya__ yeah," I said, as our gazes met and slipped away.

I thought about our earlier exchange. His face. His brown eyes were fixed on mine; when they were fixed on mine, his face had matured a little, but perhaps more handsomely.I could still feel the warmth of his hand on my elbow.

I love him. 

"You can, Inoue." That got me out of my thoughts.

I blinked. "What?"

"You're spacing out again. I mean that you can ask me anything." He said, and I held his eyes this time, and he held mine.

I'm really happy.