What Men Want - Chapter 23

A few hours later, Kaori lay wide awake in bed, staring at her ceiling. Figured she couldn’t sleep a wink, constantly waiting for any sounds that would betray Ryo’s return. Damn the man! Couldn’t he leave her alone even when he wasn’t there to plague her? Jesus! What has become of her? She turned into one of those sappy, weepy, air-headed women that inhabited the soap opera world. She’s become the very epitome of the woman she loathed and despised. And all because of the insensitive, obnoxious, selfish, egocentric jerk of a man named Saeba Ryo.

When was she going to learn? When will she finally be able to rid herself of the love she felt for him? When will she finally get the fact that he didn’t care for her? At least not in the way she cared for him! When will she finally realize that all the time she spent pining for him was good time wasted in vain? When will she realize all that?

With a heavy sigh, she deduced that hell would have to freeze over and cows would have to start freely flying across the sky, cheerfully mooning rock anthems, before it happened.

“Shit,” she grumbled, kicking the covers off her. “Shit, shit, shitty shit, shit! First, I can’t sleep because of his porno dreams; now I can’t sleep because he isn’t here dreaming his porno dreams. My life sucks!”

Scowling mightily, she stomped down the hallway, intent on heating some milk and getting right back into the business of sleeping.

Opening the door to the living room, she froze in place. She’s completely forgotten that Umibozu was camping in their living room. But what struck her was his pose. He was sitting, back straight, in a wooden chair by the window. How could he sleep in such a position? But then, he was probably used to sleeping in all kinds of weird places.

Umibozu sat unmoving, staring at the girl tiptoeing over the living room floor toward the kitchen. A shadow of a smile crossed his granite-like features while watching her. She probably thought he was sleeping and tried not to wake him. He also had to give her credit; she did indeed move without making any sound, which was probably all due to Ryo and the years she’s spent with him. But while she moved silently, she was so bent over, it looked uncomfortable. He decided he had to do something.

“Trouble sleeping, Kaori?”

Freezing, half bent over, and with one leg in midair, Kaori almost suffered a cardiac arrest in the middle of her living room. Then, her precarious position having the best of her, she emitted a slight squeak before plopping down onto the floorboards on her belly.

For such a big, burly guy, Umibozu moved with an exorbitant amount of speed, reaching her side almost immediately. “Are you okay?” he asked quietly.

“Fine,” she breathed, unable to find her voice.

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he muttered apologetically, grabbing the back of her pajama top in one big fist and lifting her like she was a kitten.

He hadn’t meant to startle her. Kaori stared at the man as if he’d grown wings. She thought he was sleeping and was creeping toward the kitchen in order not to wake him, and he goes and speaks to her! Of course, she almost peed her pants! Why wasn’t he sleeping like he was supposed to?

Umibozu stared at the woman hanging in front of him, his hand still clutching the back of her pajamas. The color was slowly returning to her cheeks, and her eyes were definitely getting irritated. What was her problem? He apologized! Women were truly Mother Nature’s biggest mystery.

Kaori narrowed her eyes. Her problem was the fact she was still suspended in midair. Thank you very much! She wasn’t a five-year-old. She could stand on her own two feet!

“Could you please put me down?” she hissed.

Blushing furiously, he slowly lowered her onto her feet.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. Then, seeing her pajama still bunched up under her armpits, he blushed even more as he tugged it down around her waist.

You moron! You stupid, stupid idiot! Look what you’ve done, you brute. God, let me die! How can I be such an ass? Ground, open up, and enjoy your meal! I’m not a people’s person! I should have remained in the jungle with the monkeys!

“Sorry,” he mumbled again, desperately wanting to bolt.

Kaori’s anger evaporated in a heartbeat. For such a huge man, he sure had some pretty low thoughts about himself. So he wasn’t a people’s person, so he didn’t know how to act when women were around...No one should think such things about themselves. To hell with monkeys, she would make sure, at least for tonight, he didn’t feel inadequate.

Flashing him her most brilliant smile, she gently placed her fingers on his arm.

“No, I’m the one who should apologize, Umibozu-san. You’re here solely on your good will, and I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. I’m sorry for snapping at you; it’s just that I get cranky if I don’t get enough sleep.”

He gulped. Okay, Hayato, focus here! This is Kaori. She’s Miki’s friend. You know her; she’s nice. So what if her hand is on your arm? You don’t have to start hyperventilating for such a small thing. It’s not a big deal. Just breathe and don’t faint!

Suppressing a laugh, Kaori quickly removed her hand. He was practically glowing in the darkness.

Finally being able to breathe normally, Umibozu took a slow, almost careful step back. “Uhm...” God, it’s hot in here. “I...”

“Would you care for a cup of hot chocolate?” Kaori asked quickly. “I usually drink warm milk when I can’t sleep, but this time I’m in the mood for something with a little more kick. It’s just that I hate drinking it alone. Would you mind keeping me company?”

“Uhm...” He was starting to choke. But he loved hot chocolate as much as he—feared!—hated cats, and if there were some little marshmallows in it...

“Would it help if I managed to find a few little marshmallows to put in the hot chocolate?” Kaori asked coyly. At moments like these, her mind-reading ability wasn’t so bad.

“I think I can manage a cup of chocolate,” he groused, thankful beyond words. The girl seemed to know him well.

Kaori smiled, leading the way into the kitchen.

They’ve been sitting in pleasant silence, each with a steaming cup of chocolate in hand, for what seemed to be hours. Staring at the marshmallows frothing on top of her drink, Kaori listened to Umibozu humming the Indiana Jones theme in his head. When he’d started to hum, well, think-hum, she’d had a hard time keeping herself from laughing out loud. Who would have thought he was a movie fan? She always imagined him sitting in a dark corner, polishing his bazooka, but now she had a quite clear image of him in the middle of a theater with a full carton of popcorn, staring intently at the screen.

She smiled. At least his humming prevented her from thinking too much about her predicament. Ryo still hasn’t returned, and she was slowly starting to worry. It wasn’t like him to stay out this late, but the events of the previous morning were pretty much out of the ordinary. And she still couldn’t understand his odd reaction and his staying out late.

And here she went, thinking about him once again. Shit, shit, shitty shit!

Umibozu stared through the darkness at the girl in front of him. He knew she was trying hard not to think about Ryo and his disappearance, and she was failing miserably. If only she’d refrain from starting to ask questions. Because he sure as hell didn’t know what to tell her.

“Umibozu-san?” she asked softly.

Oh, God. Here we go. He knew she wouldn’t be able to resist. Damn Ryo and his stupidity. Couldn’t the bastard have stayed at Mick’s long enough to learn the truth?! Oh, God!

Clearing his throat, he peered at her intently. “Yes, Kaori?”

There were so many questions warring inside her head, she didn’t know where to start. Why had she even spoken? Couldn’t she just have stayed there in silence, listening to him hum softly in his head? No, she had to open her stupid mouth!

Clenching her fingers in her pajamas, she took a deep breath. “Do you think he’ll come home tonight?”

“No.”

There was such finality in that quietly spoken word, it made chills run up her spine. “How can you tell?”

He was silent, staring in bewilderment at the tears spilling out of her eyes as his unspoken words rang in her ears, echoed inside her mind.

I wouldn’t.