The Tutor

Chapter 12: Delving Deeper

They watched The Shape of Water while they ate their pizza, and Nick, who had seen it before, knew that he would be a puddle before it was half over. Sumire heard his preliminary sniffs and wordlessly handed over a box of tissues, which he accepted gratefully.

"Oh my god, what an absolutely beautiful movie," she declared when it was over. She took a deep breath and fanned herself. She poured herself another glass of wine, finishing off the bottle. Nick wondered if the wine was affecting her at all.

"What, are you made of stone?" Nick asked, wiping his eyes. "How can you not cry?"

Sumire looked at him and shrugged. "I don't know," she mused. "I've just never been much of a cryer. I mean, I was when I was little. I remember crying a lot when my fish died. My father and I had a little burial service for it in our yard in Japan, but the last time I remember really crying was at my father's funeral. Maybe it just hurt too much, you know? I learned to lock it down.

"Don't get me wrong," she continued, gesturing at the screen, where the credits were now rolling. "I felt everything I was supposed to feel. It was a gorgeous film. The love they had for each other, even though they were so different, was so pure, you know? And how he was abused, it was just awful. I'm just not wired for tears." She took a swallow from her glass.

Nick's phone buzzed with a text.

He looked at it and sighed.

"What?" Sumire asked. "Is it Gwen?" Gwen was his latest, a model he'd met at a party a couple of weeks ago.

He nodded. "I was totally up front with her, I told her I was leaving for Japan in a couple months, I wasn't looking for anything serious, it was strictly a 'for now' situation--" he ran his hand through his hair. "She's at my house right now, looking for me, and she's pissed." What he didn't tell Sumire was that he'd had plans with Gwen for tonight that he'd canceled, telling her he was sick and that he was just going to chill at home, and Gwen had gone to his house with chicken soup.

"Oh no," Sumire commiserated, her voice full of sympathy. "Poor thing, how awful."

"Thanks," Nick replied, trying to figure out how to remedy the situation.

"No, not you, you heartless ape," Sumire answered, shaking her head at him. "Her, Gwen, wanting to see you so badly and not being able to find you? It must feel so terrible." At his wounded look she continued. "I'm not saying it's your fault, Nick, I'm just saying that knowing it's a temporary situation doesn't necessarily help a person turn off their feelings, that's all. The heart wants what the heart wants, and she probably hoped that, once you spent time with her, you'd grow fond of her and want to be with her, you know? Regardless of Japan or whatever."

She gave Nick a look. "I don't suppose the fact that it was a 'for now' situation kept you from sleeping with her?"

"Why would it?" Nick was honestly baffled. "I mean, that's the point of 'a hook up,' right?"

Sumire turned to face him on the couch, drawing her legs up in her Hello Kitty PJs and putting her arms around them so she could rest her chin on her knees. "Well, everything's just a million times more complicated when sex is involved, though, isn't it?"

"Not for me," Nick replied indignantly. He crossed his arms across his USC T-shirt, hand still holding his phone.

"So what are you going to tell her?" Sumire asked.

Nick was silent for a moment, then he simply turned his phone off and set it aside.

Sumire made an "Are you sure?" expression, but said nothing, merely nodding as she took another sip of wine.