first american title | tenya iida

twenty-eight

~*~

lydia's pov

This morning I starred into my jewelry box longer than I normally would. Now, I would never wear it unless we somehow mended ourselves back together, but my wedding ring stuck out to me. I picked it up and observed the diamond that shimmered underneath the early sunlight. 

"I know it's very soon but," He begins, falling down onto one knee. "Will you marry me?"

Sometimes when the alcohol would travel from a bottle to a vein; when my vision was so blurry I couldn't differentiate the many faces in the crowd. I would go home and lay on my apartment floor and sob. When there were more tears left to cry, in my head, I would remind myself that it was the biggest mistake of my life marrying him. 

But when morning came I had always changed my mind. 

Truly, I didn't regret marrying him. There would always be a tender spot in my heart for Tenya and for the way he loved and cherished me. For the moment I left I had wished I had turned back again. 

But I didn't.

And that's okay. 

Tenya is forgiving and kind and warm-hearted. And somehow, he sees the very sliver of good in me. He loves me. I love him. I think we can do this, we can fix it. 

The first few dates have already past, and they all went surprisingly well. I guess I half expected myself to snap at him at some point, but I didn't. 

Tenya's thumb grazed my knuckles. "Do you want to um, do you want to be my girlfriend again?" he asks. 

I smile. "Wife?"

He nods, a smile spreading across his lips. "Wife."

Being back together with him felt right. Peace had come back into my life in a way I couldn't describe. He was right too- about therapy. I needed it desperately, and honestly going in with a therapist was relaxing. So things were going well. 

I slide the wedding ring onto my finger, along with the band and smiled to myself. Then, I tucked my jewelry box back into the nook it sat upon.

My apartment was just outside of San Fransisco, in San Jose. It was nice, expensive, hidden away. It had to be hidden away because of paparazzi that would occasionally try to snap a scandalous picture for a shocking headline. 

I opened the windows and curtains. I took my guitar from off its stand, plugging it into the amp- the one Tenya bought me ages ago.

Chord progressions were always the most difficult part of writing music. I felt like a lot of things I came up with were already done or boring. So I strum along, playing a variety of chords until I've found something I don't hate. I find that it's always easier to come up with lyrics when you know what you want to speak about. An objective, if you will.

I hum, trying to find the right words. "Are we awake?" I mumble. "Am I too old to be this stoned?" I chuckle. "That works, doesn't it?" I tell myself. 

And so before I know it I'm writing a song. It'll probably end up as scrap, something that I'll use to write something better later. Halfway through making some minor tweaks on it, my phone buzzes on my coffee table. 

Tenya's calling. "Hey, what's up?" I say. 

"Can I come over?" He asks. 

Subconsciously I nod. "Yeah but it's an hour away you're cool with that?"

"I can always spend the night, right?"

"Yeah, you can. See you soon love."

He coughs and replies, "See you soon Star."

Until Tenya arrives, I'm going to continue writing music. He won't be here for another hour and a half, at the least. I can't wait to see him.

The hour seems to fly by, and soon enough there's a light knock. I open the door and Tenya stands, a bouquet of roses in his hands. "Tenya those are so pretty oh my gosh," I say, taking the bouquet from his hands. 

He smiles and kisses my cheek. "All for my Star."

I pull him into a kiss and drag him inside my apartment. Tenya slams the door shut as I do. He pulls off briefly looking me up and down before focusing his line of sight on my lips. My hand reaches for his hair and tugs at it while I give him an open mouth kiss. He moans as I do so. We make out for a moment, holding each other. 

Eventually, I pull off and take my shirt off over my head. "You didn't drive an hour here for nothing did you?"

His hands are on my hips shortly, his eyes focused on my body, familiarizing himself with every curve and sensitive spot on my body that he had grown so used to. "You're so beautiful," He breathes, settling his head into the crease of my breasts and looking up at me. "So beautiful."

I smile softly, my cheeks turning a shade of red. My hands rest entangled in his indigo hair. He nips at the skin, finally settling on a place to suck and bite at where later a dark hickey will be. When he pulls off, he does so carefully and goes down the rest of my body until his head is level with my belly button. His eyes fall on my left hip. His fingers are cold as they trace over the tattoo on my hip. "When did you get this hmm?" he asks.

I gulp, somehow nervous by his touch. "A few months ago," I reply.

He nods and then begins leaving a hickey on my hip while he unbuttons and slides down my jeans. And I'm so exposed to him, in a way that I love. It's so intimate and loving and perfect, and I can't help but bite my lip in anticipation to be joined with him once again. "Tenya hur-" 

There's a knock at my door, interrupting us. I throw my head back and groan, pulling my pants back up to answer the call. Tenya reaches for my arm as I turn. "Do you have to?" He says.

I shake my head. "Unfourtantley."

When I reach the door at open it, its a man in a nice suit. "Hi. Are you Mrs. Iida?" He asks.

I furrow my eyebrows and nod. "Yes, you?"

He ignores my question handing me a folder of legal papers, says, "You've been served," and then leaves. 

The pile of papers in my hands seems important, so I close the door and set them down on the coffee table and begin shuffling through them. The first few words I see spell out 'lawsuit', and 'copyright claim.'

I run a hand through my hair as I read over more carefully the papers. Tenya had come behind me, rubbing my back and observing the papers as well. I keep mumbling, "Oh my god no no no," to myself. A lawsuit case would not be good for me. I rub my eyes and start laughing. "Fuck. I'm so fucked," I mumble, grabbing my phone and dialing my lawyer.

We have a long conversation, over an hour about what to do next. Tenya stands in the kitchen, listening to every word silently. When I hang up, I groan and begin feeling myself cry. A lawsuit? Really?

Tenya hugged me as I cried. "It's gonna be fine. I promise you," He says. At least his words are comforting. 

~*~