The Art of Learning to Love

6

He walked away stiffly, his heart hammering in his chest as he willed himself not to look back at her. He knew she was standing there, probably confused about his change in demeanor, wondering what she'd said or done to make him be so curt to her.

He'd wanted to suggest a nice place for dinner. His plan had been to return her to her hotel so she could rest and get ready and pick her up again at 7:30, to make their 8pm reservations.

But he'd seen two Yakuza brothers step out of a store seconds after she'd started talking to him. He knew it seemed harmless, but he was always careful. He knew if they noticed him they'd joke about fucking tourists always being lost and say something disrespectful about Annabel.

The thought made his blood boil, an anger spiking at the idea that anyone would speak ill of her. Shaking his head, he continued walking cautiously, almost sighing in relief when the two men hadn't noticed him as they continued engrossed on whatever was on one of their phones.

Making a sharp right turn, he leaned against the nearest wall, waiting a few seconds before regrouping and heading towards the nearest train station. He knew it was where Annabel would be directed, the train would take her to a station about 10 minutes from the hotel. But he didn't want to have her take the train, so he found his car and hurried towards the station.

He spotted her as she was a street away, the sad and worried look on her face dropping his heart to the bottom of his stomach. The idea was foreign to him, he'd never let a woman get this close, he'd never found a woman who made him laugh or use his intellect as much as she did. Not one he was physically attracted to anyway.

She wasn't his usual type that was for sure. When he'd been in university in America, he'd refrained from socializing too much, mainly because he was there to study. But he also had felt that American girls didn't find him attractive. The women always seemed to go for one type; the all American boy next door with blonde hair blue eyes and played a sport. The African American boy was the next choice.

So he had never given it any thought. He'd been good at reading people even then, knew almost what they were thinking and he knew the girls weren't interested. He dated a few Korean girls and one Chinese one but none of them amounted to anything. He'd known that from the beginning of each relationship.

Annabel made him feel things he had no business feeling. Like he mattered. Like he was more than just a Yakuza scum.

"Annabel!!"

He jogged towards her, reaching out to grab her arm before she hurried down the steps of the station.

She shook his hand off, stepping to the side as a group of women chartered loudly as they hurried to the escalator.

"Come, I'll take you back."

"No. Have a good afternoon."

"Annabel..." he'd growled her name lowly, the alpha male in him wanting to be heard and obeyed by this woman who was driving him crazy. But she shook her head.

"You're an asshole! You just left me there, didn't even explain—" he pulled at her arm, tugging her behind him with a little more force than necessary, ignoring the cry it elicited from her mouth, not stopping until he was practically pushing her into the car. She was fuming, also on the verge of tears, her cheeks red as she hyperventilated to regulate her angry huffing.

"I'm sorry. I'm doing this for your own good... there were some unsavory people that Tom knows leaving a shop a few doors down from where we were. I told you... you could get hurt" he reminded her, swallowing hard as the lie left his lips easily but not without pain.

He hated lying to her to protect her. He was a bigger threat than Tom though and yet here she sat, in his car, frowning as she seemed to come down from her emotional response.

"Why didn't you say something?! I would've walked away!" She cried, bursting into tears as he put the car in gear. Hiroshi pulled over once it was safe to do so, finding a handkerchief in his pocket before handing it to her. He tipped her chin up, brushing away a few tears that she's missed as they ran down her cheeks, tapping her skin with his thumb before pulling away.

"I panicked. But I will keep you safe for the remainder of your days here Annabel."

***
He didn't know why he'd promised her that. Knew he shouldn't have said that to her when he was an even bigger threat to her safety than she knew.

But he wasn't one to offer things lightly. He'd meant every single word. She'd seemed perplexed but had nodded, offering him a sweet smile a few seconds later. Smiling back, he let out a slow breath, his body feeling flooded with relief at her being safely sat next to him. He wanted to reach out and hold her hand, but held himself back, knowing it was entirely too soon to physically touch her.

He also didn't want to be too forward. Despite the fact that in his opinion Americans were portrayed as Uber liberal with their affections, everyone was different. It made him realize that she spent an entire day with him and had not flirted with him once. The disappointment that surged through him was foreign, he'd never felt that emotion concerning a woman before.

Thinking about it as he drove had him on autopilot. She wasn't interested in him. Asian men probably weren't her type, he figured, stopping the car in front of the hotel and turning to her.

"Thank you for today Hiroshi. I honestly didn't imagine I would've had such a fun time in Japan. You've been a great guide" she said sweetly, undoing her seatbelt and looking at him expectantly.

But he just nodded.

"Be ready at 7:30 for dinner. Wear something nice."